Things I’m looking forward to in March

March has made its debut and it will bring with it longer daylight hours and warm breezes. For those who love summer, March is a promise that the crazy season is on its way. It is a month that fills me with bursts of unexpected energy, fuelled by the sudden fierce winds that will send clouds scudding crazily across the sky.  Truth be told, March is one of my favourite months and I always make sure that there are some things for me to look forward to:

• Our trip to Rome.

Rome is definitely one of my favourite cities in the world and I’ve already visited 4 times, the last time being in 2003 for our honeymoon. This is the longest time between visits and I can’t believe that 15 years have passed since my feet last walked on the cobbled streets of the Eternal City. Hopefully, we will pack as much sightseeing as we can during our 5 day visit, which is why I am always on the look-out for insider’s tips and Natalie Kennedy’s blog An American in Rome is a wonderful resource for all sorts of information about the City on Seven Hills.

• The Malta Artisan Markets at Palazzo de Piro

This year’s spring edition of The Malta Artisan Markets, which is taking place between March 10-11, will be held at Palazzo de Piro in Mdina.

These markets have become a fixture on the local arts and crafts scene and provide a welcome opportunity for artists, bakers and craftspeople to display and sell their products. Entrance to the markets, which are held 4-5 times annually, is free. The Malta Artisan Markets generally take place in beautiful historic settings and past editions have been held in, amongst others, Fort St Elmo and Palazzo Parisio. During the summer months open-air venues such as Birgu and Kalkara are chosen.

• Poppies

Poppies are my favourite wildflowers. There are two kinds that grow here: the red, common poppy (Papaver rhoeas) and the rarer purple poppy (Papaver somniferum or opium poppy).

The term opium poppy may be a misnomer as I am not sure to what extent local poppies contain opium – if they contain any at all. Opium aside, the warmer March temperatures usually make the poppies bloom and they seem to appear as if by magic – one day there are only a few flowers here and there and another day, whole fields are swathed in red. They are truly a sight to behold and the funny thing about them is that they rarely grow in the same place in subsequent years. Every year I wait for the crimson poppy blooms with a level of impatience, although their arrival is bittersweet as it means that much warmer weather will soon be on its way and I prefer spring to summer any day.

• Zeppoli

Zeppoli (zeppole in Italian) are balls of pastry that are deep fried in hot oil (like doughnuts) and, when cool, filled with a mixture of sweetened ricotta, orange zest, dark chocolate and nuts. They are then drizzled with honey and dusted with powdered sugar. Zeppoli are traditionally made for the feast of St Joseph, that  is celebrated here on March 19 and is a public holiday. A public holiday that comes with its own traditional dessert sounds like a match made in heaven to me and the best thing is that there are only two more weeks to go before we have a day off and get to stuff our faces nibble on some zeppoli.

And how about you, dear readers, do you have anything you’re looking forward to in March?