Barbados: Friday 18th November

Today is our last full day in Barbados! We were up and out early and we drove up towards Speightstown which is the 2nd largest town on the island. I had read that the town was how Barbados used to be and definitely had an olde worlde feel about it.

After visiting the local museum and having a look around the town we stopped off at the Fishermans Pub for lunch where they served up local food - we could have had local delicacies of pigs tails or cou cou (cornmeal & Okra dish) but we played it safe and had macaroni pie, flying fish and plantain which was very nice, with a lovely view over the sea.

Lunch!

View at lunch

It felt very hot and humid in Speightstown so we were glad to cool down in the car whilst we drove to St Nicholas Abbey, and old plantation house that is now a musuem and rum distillery.

It was very interesting to look around but the heat beat us and we decided to skip our last stop and head back to the hotel to cool down!

We have had a lovely holiday and have had a good mixture of things to do and relaxing.

 

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Barbados: Thursday 17th November

Today we decided to have another lazy day and enjoy the sunshine so after a late breakfast we drove along the south coast and took a walk along the beach and boardwalk admiring the views - although it was hot there was a lovely breeze coming off the sea.

We then returned to St Lawrence Gap and had lunch at one of the beach bars and we enjoyed watching the world go by (and I especially enjoyed my two rum punches!). For the rest of the afternoon Carole and I sat by the pool just relaxing.

In the evening we went to Champers which is a very nice restaurant about a 10 minute drive from our hotel. Although Peter and I aren't huge fans of fine dining this is definitely worth a visit! We all enjoyed our food, especially the desserts!

Hmm coconut pie for me

 

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Barbados: Wednesday 16th November

Today we woke up to glorious sunshine which was an improvement on yesterday so after breakfast we headed off to Huntes Garden which is a private tropical garden in the middle of the island. After travelling for about 30 mins we arrived at the gardens just as the heavens opened! We had umbrellas up but when it started to become torrential we took shelter under one of the plants for what seemed like ages! The gardens were lovely but we couldn't really fully appreciate it due to the weather.

Due to the weather we changed our plans and went in to Holetown which is one of the main towns - the sat nav took us on a very random route and we went along some very potholed roads - it was quite a journey!

We had a look round the shops and had some lunch and then made our way back to the hotel.

In the evening we went to an open air bar for drinks and dinner where they had live music - it was a good night but it was very humid and we could see lightning flashing around us!

 

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Barbados: Tuesday 15th November

Today we decided to have a lazy day and spent the morning relaxing by the pool either reading, snoozing or taking a dip! It was quite overcast but still hot so it was fine to sit by the pool but we were more 'cloud' bathing than sunbathing!

Trying to get on the lilo

Pulling Carole round the pool!

Just relaxing!

In the afternoon I had booked us afternoon tea at the rather posh Sandy Lane Hotel on the West Coast (it is where Simon Cowell stays when in Barbados so very posh!). When we arrived they even take your car from you to valet park which was a first for me! Unfortunately it was raining when we arrived so we weren't sat right near the beach but in a covered courtyard but it was still very nice!

There was so much food that we only ate about half and brought the rest home in a doggy bag to scoff later!

In the evening we went out for drinks at a local bar - it was happy hour so Carole and I had two for one cocktails and Peter had beer. Carole was tiddly after two so we made our way back to our hotel to polish off the rest of the cakes!

 

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Barbados: Monday 14th November

After breakfast by the beach, we had a full day travelling around the east of the island. As we were up early we left around 9am and believe it or not we got stuck in a traffic jam! We crawled along for ages until we were able to pull off the main road to go to our first stop - the Gun Hill Signal Station - I know that doesn't sound very exciting but we went for the views rather than the Signal station!

We then made our way to Andromeda Botanic Gardens - our sat nav decided it couldn't cope with the tiny lanes we were going along and stopped working so it took a bit of guess work and a few 3 point turns before we found the place and we were the only ones there! It was nice to look round the gardens but it was so hot and humid we were sweltering by the end!

We then drove up the rugged East Coast of the island, stopping to take in the views and take some photos. The ferocious Atlantic waves crash on to the beach, and is too dangerous to swim, but we saw a few people surfing! The beach is scattered with large coral boulders that broke away from ancient coral reefs thousands of years ago.

Eek the water is coming!

I forgot how bad the roads are on the East Coast - they are very steep and very pot holed!! I would have to shout to warn Carole if there was a particularly bad pot hole coming up otherwise she would be thrown about in the back of the car!

We stopped off at a little cafe along the East Coast that specialises in home cooked Bajan food - we stopped there when first visited Barbados 4 years ago and we were keen to go back as it was so delicious!

Our last stop of the day was the flower forest - we had to drive down a very steep and bumpy road to get there and the driving wheel was practically jumping out of my hand! The Flower Forest was lovely - it is like a rainforest with lots of trees and flowers in a gully. We also saw monkeys, lizards and even a mongoose (which looks like a ferret!) It started raining just as we were about to leave so we stopped for a tea - yes, how very British that in 90 degree heat we were sitting there drinking tea watching the rain!

 

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Barbados: Sunday 13th November

Yesterday me, Peter and mum-in-law Carole flew in to Barbados - we had a good flight but we were one of 3 big planes that arrived at the same time and it was bedlam at the airport! It took us 2 hours to clear immigration and customs and get out of the airport!!

We were glad to finally make it to the hotel and after unpacking and a quick rest we went out for a dinner and had our first rum punch of the holiday (it is the law to have at least one rum punch a day whilst in Barbados!)

Cheers!

Tiredness hit us all during the meal as our bodies thought it was 1am because of the time difference so we were all tucked up in bed by 10pm!

After a good nights sleep we were up early (6am!) and I enjoyed having my cup of tea out on the balcony overlooking the beach. This morning I had booked a gospel breakfast at one of the secluded hotels on the Island - it was about a 30 min drive through the countryside and small towns to get there and it was nice to see 'ordinary' life with people going about their daily lives, such as queueing up for the bus in their Sunday best on the way to church!

The gospel breakfast was lovely - the hotel looks over a beautiful beach - and we sat eating our breakfast whilst listening to singers singing gospel - I found it quite moving and really enjoyed it.

For the rest of the day we chilled out at the hotel - catching up on X-factor (it has to be done!) and then lunch by the beach followed by relaxing for the rest of the afternoon under a coconut tree on the beach - I even went swimming in the sea!

 

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Venice, Italy: Tuesday 17 May

Today is our last full day before we fly back home tomorrow. We were out early again to go and see the Rialto Market in action - it is a busy market close to where we are staying selling fruit, veg and fish.

"I'll have one swordfish please"

We then had breakfast like the Italians do and went to one of the local bakeries for a pastry and coffee whilst standing at the counter (the Italians are far too busy to sit and have breakfast!). It was a local place and it was bedlam with everyone jostling each other to get served - I chose what I thought was a donut but instead it was a sweet roll filled with a vanilla cream dusted with sugar which was very nice.

After our Italian breakfast experience we walked to St Marks Square to visit the Palazzo Ducale which is the palace that Venice's government once ruled from for nearly seven centuries!

Our view on the way to St Marks Square

We first went on a guided tour of the 'secret passages' which showed us the prison cells, the interrogation chamber and a number of hidden rooms where Venice's Council of Ten (equivalent of their CIA in the olden days) worked. Even Casanova was imprisoned here for too much philandering! We then looked around the rest of the building on our own - I found it very interesting but Peter got a bit bored half way through but we were in there for over 3 hours!

In the courtyard of the Palazzo

One of the huge rooms!

After our morning at the Palazzo Ducale we made our way along the waterfront to the Castello neighbourhood which is to the right of the Grand Canal and St Marks Square. As we walked along the waterfront we came across a huge clipper ship.

The Castello area has a strong Naval influence as they used to build all the large ships here, and the sailors used to live in this area. We spent the afternoon walking through the neighbourhood, stopping off for a Spritz along the way!

 

This evening after dinner we stopped off to have our last gelato of the trip! We have really enjoyed our time in Italy - I liked Florence but I have loved Venice and will definitely come back to visit again.

 

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