Best Cruise Destinations does NOT include Malta!

At the site Boomster, writer Pam Baker wrote a good article on 'Best Cruise Destinations,' including Bermuda, Dubai, and The Poles.

Unfortunately, she also included Malta as one of her favorites.

No.

She writes, "The island is gorgeous with its magnificent ornamental gardens, ancient walls, historic ruins (from different periods over many centuries) and its beautiful churches."

I hate to disagree, but Malta is NOT a favorite destination -- not for me, anyway. Not when I visited in the 1990s.

The capital (and only significant city) was flattened during WWII -- I mean, flattened. When you take the historical walk, every single "ancient" building was rebuilt, from the ground up, in 1946-1950 timeframe (by the Brits, in appreciation for the island's brave populace). There is *nothing* on the island from prior to WWII - unfortunately.

The churches etc. are, however, good imitations of what they looked like in previous eras. It's a kind of Disneyland of old Malta. Pity, that.

We weren't impressed with the food, either. We figured, Malta has been conquered by the Arabs, the Italians, the French, the Visigoths--it should have the most wonderful blend of cuisines in the world!

We forgot that the most recent conquerer of Malta was -- the British, in the early 1800s. As a result, Malta is the last refuge of legendarily bad English cooking. Awful.

Also a pity.

I pictured a quaint Mediterranean island. I got a soft-limestone rock where the elegant homes looked like upscale prison blockhouses.

Oh well.