Wednesday, 17 June 2009

Our job experience in Malta

Malta is a densely populated developed European microstate in the European Union.
The island nation comprises an archipelago of seven islands situated in the Southern European areas of the Mediterranean sea.
The country's official languages are Maltese and English, which replaced Italian in 1934.

Every year our school organizes the educational trips to Malta, first of all, to improve the student’s English language, and train them for the hotel and restaurant services, working in different hotels.
Last year we were delighted to visit this magnificient area.
We had the opportunity to attend the English course, based on the Inlingua Method with 20 lessons, and gain experience in the hotels as receptionists, waiters and chef’s assistants for 2 weeks.
In the end we received 2 certificates : one for completion of the English Language Course and the other one for the hotel experience gained during this period.
Moreover, we had the possibility to visit some places, like Sliema, a beautiful city, where we carried out our job experience, San Julian, with several nightclubs, discos and pubs, Mdina, medieval town situated in the centre of the island, commonly called the “Silent City” by natives and visitors alike, Valletta, the capital, and Gozo, an island of the Maltese archipelago.

We visited most of these places by the typical city buses, which have become tourist attractions in their own right and appear on many Maltese advertisements to promote tourism, as well as on gifts and merchandise for tourists.
We visited also “The Professional Hotel and Catering school” of Malta, that is among the most equipped professional schools in Europe, and Hilton Malta Hotel that belongs to one of the most famous hotel chains in the world.




It is very luxurious.


During the day, we had some time to go for a walk, go shopping and buy some souvenirs, that represent the maltese culture.

The Festival of the artichoke




Each year in April the town of Ramacca organizes the “Festival of the Artichoke” that wants to be a moment to promote a better understanding of the organoleptic quality, and the nutritional and health value of the artichoke. During the festival it is possible to taste various food made with artichoke. There are always a lot of visitors, including foreigners so this feast represents an important moment of social and cultural enrichment.
Not only it’s possible to enjoy the colourful stalls, but in the course of the event in Ramacca a conference is generally held involving all the authorities, industry experts, producers and traders.

The festival of the strawberry in Maletto

Every year in june , Maletto becomes the city of strawberry attracting turist from all over world. Strawberry in Maletto has become the most important resors ecomonyc.
During of the feast the local people prepare a huge cake which
Is more than 1000 chilos and offer it to every one.
During the feast the locals offer strawberry to visitour to taste it for free and also pizza , arancini and cosmetics mode of strawberry.
The fruit ripes from the begining of May fill the end of june.
You can also find different types of strawberry : sweet mode of strawberry , the flower of strawberry that blooms from January fill December and the traditional strawberry which has very sweet taste and smell.

The Festival of the Pistachio of Bronte

BRONTE, LAUGHING TOWN NEAR CATANIA,IS THE COUNTRY OF PISTACHIO, FRUIT WHOSE GARISH GREEN COLOUR HYPNOTIZES.
PISTACHIO,OR THE “GREEN GOLD”,AS THEY CALL IT IS ALMOST ENTIRELY PRODUCED IN SICILY AND PARTICULARLY IN BRONTE. THE PISTACHIO REPRESENTS IN FACT THE MAIN ECONOMIC RESOURCE OF THIS TOWN.


EVERY YEAR IN THIS SUGGESTIVE PLACE AT THE FEET OF MOUNT ETNA ( THIS YEAR IT HAS BEEN THE XIX EDITION ),IT TAKES PLACE THE FAMOUS FESTIVAL CELEBRATING THIS APPRECIATED FRUIT AND ALL THE GASTRONOMIC DELICACIES THAT HAVE AS PRINCIPAL INGREDIENT THE PISTACHIO.
YOU CAN TASTE:CRUSHED-ICE DRINKS,PASTRIES,CAKES,ICECREAM PASTA, MEAT AND FISH AND A LOT OF OTHER DELICACIES PREPARED WITH PISTACHIO.DURING THE FESTIVAL THERE ARE PERFORMANCES OF FOLKLORIST
GROUPS ,MUSICAL SHOWS,CONFERENCES ABOUT PISTACHIO .EVERY YEAR THIS SUGGESTIVE FESTIVAL ATTRACTS THOUSAND OF TOURISTS THAT WANT TO TASTE THE SICILIAN SPECIALTY.

The festival of nespola

Every year in the month of May in Caltabiano, 60 kms far from Catania you can enjoy the festival of nespola, a very juicy and sweet fruit. Nespola” is a typical fruit, only produced in Caltabiano. It finds there the right habitat to grow up. The production of this fruit is about 800 tons every year. Local people make a lot of tasty things with ”Nespole”: ice-cream, drinks, tarts, jam and crepes.
Visitors can taste them while having a look at the shows and parades of sicilian carts.

The Feast of arancino


Every year the 6th , 7th , 8th and 9th September you can enjoy the famous feast of arancino in Ficarazzi, a few miles from Catania. In the last editions this nice festival has drawn thousands of people eager to taste arancini (rice balls) from the classical ones (with butter, meat sauce, mushrooms) to the latest and tasty (with chicken, octopus, peppers and nutella cream).More than 16 different flavours to delight the palate. A real great success for this delicacy which has a lead role in the gastronomy of our town.




The Festival of Seppia

In Donnalucata a delicious coastal town,the festival of the squid takes place on the 19th March on the occasion of the celebrations of St. Joseph. The products of the festival are the best flavours of traditional cuisine.The squid is processed and cooked in the traditional way: it can be roasted, fried, used to season spaghetti or arancini,
During the festival, you can taste all these delicacies and enjoy the celebration of saint Joseph with a spectacular horses parade. Horses are decorated with drapes made of palm leaves and wall-flowers.In the streets and squares bonfires, are arranged and the evening ends with the tasty barbecue around the fire.The following day, on Sunday, the traditional procession in the honour of St. Joseph is held, the simulacrum of the saint is carried by the faithful through the streets of the town accompanied by a procession and a band.