Where ambassadors are

US ambassador Molly Bordonaro tells Sharon King Hoge of ForbesLife where she spends her time when off duty:

Molly Bordonaro was a partner at The Gallatin Group, a public affairs consulting firm, worked in commercial real estate, and ran for Congress from her native Portland, Oregon, before being appointed ambassador to Malta in 2005. Local recommendations include:

Etienne serves fresh Mediterranean fish cooked with Arab spices and Italian techniques. At Zest on the waterfront in St. Julians, try the wonderful prawns in curry and coconut sauce and other Mediterranean dishes with Arab influences. You can sit on an inlet watching the colorful, old-fashioned Maltese fishing boats, each painted with an eye that, as local lore has it, protects against evil.

The Hilton Malta in St. Julians is a big luxury hotel with wonderful views of the sea, and it's close to restaurants. Xara Palace, a small boutique hotel in a 17th-century palazzo, located in the ancient capital of Mdina, makes you feel as if you're on a movie set.

The world's only prehistoric subterranean temple, the Hypogeum, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.