Dreaming of the Caribbean sunshine ...

Oh my word ... it's FREEZING here! We've had our first snowfall of winter, nothing major, just a light dusting of about an inch or so, but it was snow none-the-less and compared to the weather I've been enjoying for the past few weeks, the chill was still a bit of a shock!

So, do you want to see some photos of where I've been for the past 2 weeks? Sure you do ;-)

First off, the airline we flew with [to Barbados] was Virgin Atlantic and it was a fab flight. We were in a Boeing 747 (aka Jumbo Jet) and even though we were sat in regular economy class seats, it was still so much better than some of the other flights we're taken over the years. Here's a picture of our Jersey Girl ...


We stayed at the Sugar Cane Club Hotel & Spa in Speightstown on the north west coast of the island. This was looking out from the terrace of our room and where we ate breakfast every morning ...


The hotel pool was gorgeous! So cooling and refreshing and welcome relief from the hot Caribbean sun ...


The hotel gardens were immaculately kept ...


Our room was a garden view room on the ground floor ...


As they drive on the correct side of the road (i.e. the left), we hired a car for a couple of days so we could tour the island ...


Now the last time we visited Barbados was back in 1993 and at that time, the only town we visited was Bridgetown (the capital). This time as we had the car, we took full advantage and visited just about every "town" on the island. We also visited a new designer shopping mall called the Limegrove in Holetown and oh boy, talk about BIG designer names!!! Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Ralph Lauren to name but a few ...


A few people said we wouldn't need a map to get around, and in some respects they were right. The island is only 14 miles wide by 20 miles tall and so we were almost always by the coast and it was just a case of knowing which side of the car the beach was on to then figure out if we were on the east or west side of the island!

At one point we took a wrong turn and ended up at this gorgeous old mansion called St Nicholas Abbey. It's the oldest known Jacobean building on the island and also the location of one of the many original (and still working) sugar mills and rum distilleries ...



When we left the abbey, we were advised to turn left, drive to the top of Cherry Tree Hill and park in the lay-by for spectacular views of the islands Scotland District (so called because the original British settlers thought it had a striking similarity to the views of the Scottish highlands) and we weren't disappointed ...


This next one was taken from the opposite side of the bay, looking over the town of Bathsheba ...


The Barbadians really like their colours and everywhere you go, you see Chattel style houses and shops all painted in bright, cheery colour that just make you smile ...



Whilst on holiday, Iain celebrated his 40th birthday and we decided to splash out and booked a table at one of the best restaurants in Barbados called The Bajan Blue at Sandy Lane. Wow! This place is AMAZING, pricey but amazing and you only turn 40 once, right?


The food was delicious, the service was first class and at the end of the meal, all the waiting staff sang Happy Birthday and presented Iain with this adorable [and very tasty] little chocolate cake ...


Unfortunately, all too soon the sun was setting on our little Caribbean adventure ...


We both thoroughly enjoy our break away and hopefully we'll return again some day, who knows, maybe in another 18.5yrs ;-)


So now we're back home and getting used to the huge temperature difference. The average daytime temperature in the shade in Barbados was 32oC, whilst the temperature here in chilly Oxfordshire has been a frosty -1oC over the past few days ... brrrrrrr! Still, all I need to do is browse through my photos and I can feel the sun's rays warming my skin all over again. ~sigh~