Joining the tourist hordes in Malta

I'm heading to Malta. It's an island I've somewhat thought about as being a mildly interesting place to go because of - what? - its antiquity, southern Med vibe and British ties? But what hooked me was the Mediterrane Film Festival. As a film blogger (Windsor Detroit Film) I'm on the British Film Institute's (BFI) email list, and a London PR agency is promoting the fest, now in its fourth year. Any excuse, right? I'm staying in the Castille Hotel, an old world hostelry that looks out over the Grand Harbour. There's even a rooftop terrace. Will I see the ghosts of the likes of Carl Grant and Grace Kelly (yes, I know she was the Princess of Monaco not Malta). Probably not but I can at least imagine. The island is sunsplashed, getting more than 300 sunny days a year and reputed to have the best climate in the world. It has long been a British protectorate but now (since 1964) is independent. Tons of Brits retire there. And as coincidence would have it Britain's Daily Mail newspaper (which I regularly read) this weekend did a big splash on Malta. The headline? "Malta is having a moment." Tourism has always been high but for some reason there's been a recent jump. And the island has an incredible seven tourists to every local - and I've complained about other places being overtouristed! Actually, I'm almost looking forward to it. The place is overloaded with history, harbours - seafood! - and is only 17 miles long and sounds easy to get around. If I get tired (or bored, always a possibility with me) I can just hang on the terrace or at an outdoor patio, reading or tapping on a laptop, pretending to be an expatriate. Temps in the low 90s with full sun all this week. See you!

- Ron Stang, Windsor Ontario Canada, a frequent traveller