Barbados

A wonderful friend of mine from college and her fiance fulfilled her lifelong dream of getting married in Barbados and we were fortunate enough to be part of the experience. We used the wedding into a week long vacation/anniversary trip half with friends and half just the two of us :)

We arrived at BGI where our other friends had gotten in an hour before and waited on us. We got through customs and got our baggage and our rental car from Stoute's. Tiida! Tiida!

It was the BIGGER size car, and I wasn't confident that the four of us and our luggage would fit, but with a little engineering we were in and headed for the villa. 

• Happy Notes regarding driving: Barbados uses round-a-bouts effectively, locals are helpful when you are lost, having a rental car gives you the freedom to do what you want when you want to. 
• Unhappy notes regarding driving: wrong side of the road, wrong side of the car, road conditions, map relevance, map scale, people walking and riding in the middle of the road, yellow buses that don't stop, lack of road signs, unclear road signs, parking, I could go on...

By nothing short of a miracle, we made it to our house on the first try. Allamanda was the perfect home for our trip. The owners were helpful when planning and the property managers were very helpful while we were there. It was pretty far away from the everything which has its advantages and disadvantages. Having our own pool was a major plus, I think we had "night swim" time every single night. Other than being safe, clean, and reasonably priced, Allamanda was a short walk away from Bottom Bay. It was very different than other beaches we've been to and it was quite beautiful. 

The whole reason we were in Barbados was for the wedding. My friend spent almost 2 years planning and it showed! It was absolutely EXQUISITE down to the tiniest detail. The pictures are amazing, but I'll just share this one.. 

 She was SO BEAUTIFUL! The wedding was held at the Crane Resort (whoa baby!) After the beautiful cliff-top ceremony we headed inside for a bajan dinner, reception traditions, and danced the night away. So much fun! Congrats B&B!!!

Food Recap:

• Bert's- perfect for our first night in town...sports bar atmosphere...the rest of the crew had the first of many flying fish and rum punch meals and it was GOOD! I had a yummy jerk chicken pizza.
• Side Shore Beach Bar & Bistro- everyone (except me) had flying fish again. i think i had a wrap... flying fish is definitley the way to go. the deck is only a few feet away from the Caribbean. laid back and beautiful place to have lunch.
• Fisherman's Pub- drove all the way to Speightstown because I read good things (probably on a blog somewhere). We did not have a good experience. We were uncomfortable in Speightstown. We felt like the only tourists around and it was very obvious. It was hard to find parking. After a fun trip down a one-way street the WRONG way (with the locals laughing on the side of the road, might I add) we finally made it. To be fair, it was probably 1:30-2:00 when we got there. There were only a few other patrons. Lunch was not good. It was served off of a buffet that looked like it had been sitting there since 10am. Service was bad. The people were not friendly. Would not go back. 
• This brings me to a side point-- I think Barbados is probably a MUCH different place November-February. We were definitely there in the off season.
• Cutters GREAT little sandwich shop. Clean and air conditioned little eating area. We took ours home. 
• Cheffette It's hard to even type it without chuckling. I don't know why. It is the Barbados equivalent of McDonalds: Low quality fast food with a gaudy purple and yellow decor. That being said, when it's your anniversary and you drank too much the night before AND spent the whole day on a booze cruise, AND were really glad you didn't make those reservations at the big beach party (Harbour Lights) because all of your energy is gone... going through the drive-thru and eating broasted chicken and chips at home on the couch with your sweetie may just be oddly perfect. 
• CinCin Recommended by my hairdresser for the wedding, it did not disappoint. CinCin earned an A+ from the get-go: VALET PARKING! We ate there near the end of the week and after all of the driving stress, I think we would have paid somebody $100 to park the car :) Super modern. Super fancy. Super pricey, especially when you see the bill in Barbados dollars (twice US). But, we live within our means and you know what? We like to dress up and splurge on occassion. It's something my parents instilled in me and something hubby has come to appreciate (Thank you, Jesus!) You can't tell very well from this pic but it is RIGHT ON the Caribbean, like our table was hanging over.

 Food  was scrumptious. We started with a pan fried gnocchi with crispy jerk pork and caramelized onions in a sweet pea puree. I NEARLY licked the bowl. Hubby would have killed me, so I refrained and simply made a metal note to learn how to make sweet pea puree ASAP. I know it sounds gross but just TRUST me!  Entrees were Kingfish (I think) for him and I had a yummy braised short rib. For dessert we had an iced nougat parfait (it was OK, I was still thinking about the pea puree to be honest) and the waiter brought a slice of cheesecake with "Happy 3rd Anniversary" written beautifully on the plate). Very sweet. We drank wine and paid for tap water from a bottle (I think that one shocked him more than the total bill, haha). TWO THUMBS UP! 

• Tapas I'm sure I've written on my feelings about Tapas before. I LOVE IT! I think it is the ideal dining experience for a group of close friends. Pairing close friends, good food, and good wine maybe one of my favorite things in life. When my BFF made the reservation, she requested a table on the water. It is a neat area right next to our table was a railing, then a boardwalk and then straight into the Caribbean. Much like CinCin atmosphere, but a little less intimate because of the boardwalk. I don't remember what all we ate and I can't find an accurate menu online, but the highlights were BEST calamari we've ever had, perfect fried shrimp, tuna carpaccio (I didn't eat but everyone else really enjoyed), fish cakes, shark fritters (different and yummy), potatoes with aioli, there was more and we finished it all off with some kind of warm chocolate brownie dessert, a slice of cheesecake and tiramisu. Fun experience, would definitely go back. On a side note, this BFF and her hubby are wonderful travel companions. We all get along very well and they share our adventurousness and laid backness depending on the situation.   
• We shopped at the local grocery store, Emerald City a couple of times and had all of our breakfasts at home. That definitely a plus of renting a house. It's a big money saver for sure. 
• One more thing, while we were getting ready at The Crane, we ordered up lunch from their restaurant The Carriage House. I had a crab wrap that was to die for!

I'm sorry I'm so long winded. I can't help it. Also, the purpose of this blog is to remember details of our travels so if we go back to or friends are going to a destination we've already been to we don't have to say, "oh what was the name of that place where I had that really good crab wrap?" it's just here.  


Adventures

• This is Ruby Church of the Nazerene. We bravely ventured here for church on Sunday morning. They welcomed us with open arms. It was the best worship experience I've ever had. We were the only white people for miles and we stuck out like sore thumbs, but the people were kind and welcoming and we sang and we danced and we praised Jesus. They recognized the children of the congregation. It is obvious that Barbados takes a lot of pride in their education. I read that the literacy rate is 98%. That is incredible, but not surprising in just the little big of recognition that we saw. The sermon was good,   it was on Luke 9:57-62. That verse was also featured in the book I was reading on the flight home. (Kisses from Katie...very good!) I think God is trying to teach me something, I just haven't figured it out yet. I am SO GLAD that we felt called to go to church in Barbados and SO GLAD that Ruby is where we ended up. 

• Barbados Wildlife Reserve We really enjoyed this one. Across the street from the actual reserve (and included in your ticket) is the Grenade Hall Forest. They've done a very good job with the path and signs along the way teaching you about medicinal plants and such. I would have like to have more time, but we hurried through it in order to get to the 2:00pm feeding at the wildlife reserve. I would definitely recommend being there at 2:00. The reserve is filled with tortoises and let's just say we must have been there on national tortoise mating day. I cannot begin to describe... We wound around the reserve and found the feeding area. It was like something out of a dream... This man was just sitting there, playing an accoustic guitar and green monkeys were running practically across our feet to feed. It was a something I'll never forget. We also saw mara (rabbit deer) and some other cool deer-like animals. We didn't stay long but it was cool, and I more than fulfilled my goal to see a monkey!
•  Just minutes from the reserve is the St. Nicholas Abbey. Don't think abbey, think plantation. I was expecting monks or nuns, definitely not. This is EASILY the best organized tour in Barbados. Therefore, it was one of my favorites! To begin, there were knowledgeable guides on hand, a informative, well-done brochure, and a film for us to watch about the plantation in the 1930s. There was a complimentary rum punch and we bought two very yummy slices of fresh banana nut bread from the cafe on site. After the movie was a rum tasting. Their rum was a "sipping rum" much more like a brandy. It was quite good, but we don't drink enough rum to have paid the steep price per bottle. They were closing as we finished tasting, so we didn't get to see as much of the plantation grounds as we would have liked, but I would definitely go back. 
• Andromeda Gardens The gardens were a beautiful concept. They were designed by a horticulturalist named Iris who had traveled the world collecting plants and her husband. When they died, their trust went to the garden. It was well done and had an amazing variety of plants, but it just isn't our thing. We appreciated it, but I couldn't help but wishing my mom and aunts were there because they would have LOVED it. 
• Jolly Roger Booze Cruise what's more fun that being on a giant boat in the middle of the Caribbean Sea on a beautiful day with great company and an open bar?? Can I fit anymore prepositional phrases in that sentence? This blog is a grammar stickler's nightmare...I'm sorry! If I were turning this in to someone I would actually try and proofread, but I'm just typing as I think (obviously). I was terribly hung-over so I did not enjoy the cruise like I should have. However, I can appreciate a great party even when I'm not fully participating. There's music, a lunch buffet, booze, booze, booze, and that's all before they anchor the boat. The first anchor, we didn't get off the boat, we just watched. The provide all of your snorkeling masks and life vests. The second stop was so much fun. We stayed here for probably 90 minutes or so. You could choose to jump off the plank or swing from a rope swing. They fed the turtles so we were literally swimming with sea turtles (AMAZING!)
• EarthWorks Pottery. We were disappointed by this. I think maybe our expectations we just too high. It was difficult to find and a lot smaller scale and expensive than we were expecting. 
• Hubby and BFF's hubby have a fun story about a local guy Shawn (?) taking them to see the blow holes at Little Bay while we were getting ready for the wedding.
• We were very disappointed that both the Mt. Gay Rum and the Banks Beer factories were closed.
• We tried to shop in downtown Bridgetown, We bought some duty free at Cave Shepherd, but overall not a good experience.
• The only thing on our list of things to do that we did not make was Oistins Friday Night Fish Fry. By Friday night we were whooped and needed a quiet night in to pack and relax. Oh well, you just can't do it all. 
• My favorite area on the island was the St. Lawrence Gap. It was probably the most touristy but it had a lot going on and seemed very central to everything.
• I think over the 7 days we saw the whole island, some on purpose, some on accident.
• Totally random: Our bag had to be <50 pounds (or we were charged an absurd amount) Here is what the luggage scale read... 

It's a gift, my friends! Also, NEVER come back into the US through Charlotte. Their customs situation is a MESS!

I don't think we'll ever go back to Barbados. But, the trip had some great moments with some great friends. We celebrated 3 wonderful years of marriage and most importantly we watched two beautiful friends join their lives together!