Oh Barbados…where do I start?
– This is the final stop on my round the world trip which is exciting and sad at the same time. Barbados wasn’t originally planned for my adventure, but after talking to Teresa a month earlier, she invited me to join her and a few other friends (as she had booked a ticket and her plans changed). So she turned that trip into a girl’s getaway and invited four of us to join her. Who could turn that down? Teresa made this way too good of a deal to pass up as she offered to fly me there on her American Airline miles, used her Hilton points for the hotel room (and we could pay to upgrade to a suite since there would be five of us) and it would just be a super fun girls trip. I thought this would be so much fun and the perfect last stop on my round the world trip.
– As we were planning this week, we realized that the hotel room only allowed for 3 people and space was going to be an issue (and the hotel would not guarantee the suite upgrade until we checked in). So I told Teresa I could find another place to stay that was close by (and it was not a problem as I have been doing this for the past 19 months). She didn’t want to have me to do, but I offered to) and was happy to. So I researched many hotels and in the end found a hotel for $50 a night that was down the road so I was set to go. Plus now I have a lot of knowledge of the island that was helpful. In the end, we were able to get the suite upgrade which had three bedrooms, three bathrooms, three ocean front balconies and a lounge areas for the five of us to chill in. It was so unreal and we ended up only paying $80 each for the upgrade for the week. That was cheaper than many hostels I stayed in, plus with Teresa’s Hilton status, we got access to the executive lounge with breakfast and more importantly evening cocktail hour. So two and a half hours a night of cocktails, wine and beer and the five of us made the most of it and lived it up before going out. We easily drank our money’s worth and saved a lot going out.
– So getting to Barbados was one of the easiest journeys as I was able to meet Teresa and Conni at JFK (as they flew from San Diego on the red eye). Only problem was I couldn’t find them at the airport and when I called the cell phone , I got voicemail. I was actually worried that something happened to their flight as they should have been there and answering. So I did what any resourceful girl would do….walked to the Admirals club to look for them as I knew Teresa was chilling there at LAX and would be there at JFK if they arrived early. When I got to the Admirals club, they said no one matching my description was there or had been. So this worried me more as we were set to depart in an hour. As I was talking to one of the Admirals girls, she asked me if these girls came in on the red eye and were “giggling girls” and I said probably. Ends up this worker had let them into the other Admirals club on the other side of the airport and they were there napping. So we called and woke them up and were able to meet up.
– I had suggested that every girl grabs a bottle of liquor from duty free to help us all save some money and enjoy cocktails while we were all getting ready and this worked well…for most of us. I carried my bottle of vodka on my flights, cabs and right when I got out of the cab at the hotel, my plastic bag broke and there went my liter of vodka…running down the driveway and sadness hit. Teresa made a joke that I was able to get it all the way to Barbados and then crashed and no use crying over spilled vodka. Oh well, we had plenty of other bottles from the others and the cocktail hour, so we were all set. Just sad to make the effort and then lose it when we were so close!
– We knew Teresa was a “big wig” at the Hilton and the Hilton really impressed us. After we checked in to the room, there was a knock at the door and a bottle of wine, cheese, fruit and crackers were sent up with a nice note to enjoy our visit. This is service I could get used to! So we all relaxed a little in the room, got to know one another, (as all four of us knew Teresa, but none of the four of us had ever met each other). It was about 4pm now, we were off to explore the hotel compound, beach and pool area and it was amazing. Private beach, couple pools and it was going to be a great week.
– We read that Barbados has a late nightlife, so the first night, we thought we would get ready, hit cocktail hour in the lounge and then head out around 9pm for dinner. Seems like a normal island plan. What we found at the restaurant was the worst service ever. Not that we expected or needed much, but we couldn’t get anyone’s attention for water or anything. We later learned that people eat early in Barbados and us showing up after 9pm was an “inconvenience” and they weren’t ready to keep serving, so they ignored us a lot more. I thought it was just slow as it’s “island time”, but learned from our hotel concierge that that’s most likely not the case. Interesting way to treat paying customers. So a slow, but fun dinner out and for some reason, Teresa and Whitney thought a after dinner drink of some whiskey was a good idea, yet neither of them normally drink this. So we had to laugh as they tried to choke it down.
– Our second day, Wednesday, November 4th was going to be a relaxing and beach day. We were expecting our fifth friend, Jenny, to arrive in the afternoon so we didn’t want to go too far from the hotel, and it was beautiful beach. So a day at the beach, with cocktail flags on our beach chairs ! We made many trips to the water as it was hot, and there was a fun sandcastle that I played around with. I even had a little afternoon entertainment as we watched all the planes fly over our beach, so from around 2:00pm on, every plane we saw we tried to figure it was Jenny’s flight. So we had to figure out if it was an American, Jet blue or Virgin flight and then figure out when she would show up at the hotel. It kept us entertained for a couple hours at least.
– That night, we went dinner at Brown Sugar, a place that a few locals recommended as, “the best local island cuisine”. So we tried it and had some local fish that were good…and we had some of the best service ever! After dinner, we were going to head out to a local music and dance show that we heard about. We chose the more local of the shows that was right on the beach and not so touristy. We also heard there was some local transport called “The Zedar” that runs on the main road. It’s essentially a big van that stops and drops off as needed for the set price of $0.75 US a person. This was much cheaper than a taxi, and I have taken these in many countries and wanted to again as it’s much more of the local transport so you see how the locals really live. So we walked to what we were told was a Zedar stop (but we learned they would really stop anywhere). The Zedar was so fun with local music blaring and all the locals rocking out in the van. So score one for the Zedar, and we knew we would be taking it most nights out.
– We got off the Zedar at Harbour Lights, for the show and after learning there was a cover for the show and drinks (about $25 US – with all you can drink all night) and we were set. Most things are negotiable on the island, but this place had a sign at the entrance stating their “prices were good and not negotiable”…so I didn’t even try. The price was great for the night and we were in. It started to rain during the show, but we still enjoyed some fire performers, limbo lady under a fire bar, two guys on tall stilts and even a lion dressed guy doing acrobats. Fun times and then the music started for more fun.
– I don’t really remember how this happened, but I was ordering a drink at the bar and the bartender asked if I wanted to come back behind the bar and make a few drinks. I figured why not…and thus I became a bartender? I knew how to make the basic cocktails and thought it could be fun. So he took me under his wing, taught me some fancier drinks and shots (including stoplight shots, and a few other colorful shots) and I tended bar for the rest of the night. This was fun and a great way to monitor what we were all drinking. After learning how to use the fountain gun, alcohol measurement bottles and other mixers… I was set to mix cocktails all night. I didn’t try to pull a Tom Cruise in Cocktail and flip any bottles as the only free standing bottles were the top shelf, and I didn’t want to break one of those. I also was able to make sure the girls all had lots of water, so one cocktail and then a refill on the water. This allowed us to stay till the place closed down and we all had a fun time. For my service, I was able to make two sets of top shelf shots for my friends and me…so that was a score (and $50 US worth of shots). I later learned that Teresa was quite jealous of me tending bar as she is the real mixtologist with her skinnytini’s book. I wish she would have come back behind the bar as that would have been fun with the two of us mixing it up. Next time…
– ***Teresa wrote a great book on low calorie yet tasty cocktails (available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Borders. Look for Teresa Howes “Skinnytini’s” for a great gift!). Check it out at: http://skinnytinis.blogspot.com/
– Barbados is a major cruise ship destination and each morning we would watch a new cruise ship sail in around 11am and then out that night. So our next morning, we thought we would venture into the main town of Bridgetown and see what really was there and what all the tourist did on the short visit. Once again , we took our favorite Zedar ride into town and again the music was blaring and was super fun. I guess most of the guests at the Hilton don’t ride the Zedar as when we asked more about where it takes us in town, they encouraged us to take a taxi as they would drop us right in the middle of town and the Zedar dropped us across the river. We asked about safety and they all said it was safe, but most guests don’t want to have to figure out where to go ,and I said that was my specialty. So once we got into Bridgetown and across the river, we saw lots of tourists that were fresh off the cruise ship. They all wandered back and forth to choose which of the touristy restaurants would work for lunch. And yes…we ended up at one of them too as we were all starving and it was raining and we didn’t care to wander too much. In the end, our food was quite tasty and more of the local flavor than I expected. Watching all the tourists from the boat, you can see why people say “I have been to Barbados and it was nice…but no need to go back”. But I will completely disagree with this as the short amount of time these tourists had in Barbados didn’t even give half the flavor to the island and there is much more to do if you spend a couple nights there.
– After lunch, Conni and I decided to explore the town a little more on our own and saw a lot more of the locals out selling handicrafts, fruits and just enjoying life. When finished in town, Conni and I headed back to take the Zedar, and were laughing as there were a lot of signs advertising condoms and “protecting your wicket” (as Cricket is a very popular sport in Barbados). So we had to get a few photos of them.
– Thursday night out was all about exploring “The Gap”. This is the part of town with most of the restaurants and bars, and we were out to party. We arrived after happy hour at the hotel (around 9pm) and we soon realized this was way early as none of the bars had any life yet. So we found a place with dollar beers and sat around drinking and talking till it was time find a more happening bar. At this point, Whitney was super tired and really needed to go back to the hotel. We said we would take her home in a cab and then come back out, but she would let us. After a lot of discussion, we put her in a cab, talked to the friendly cab driver (as honestly all the locals were so nice and friendly), took a photo with the cab driver, photo of his license plate and got his name. This was our precaution to make sure we had his info. So Whitney was home in bed, and the other four of us stayed out all night dancing and having fun. We even met two English Diplomats who were fun and we all partied the night away. We thought being a diplomat and traveling on an expense account would be a pretty great job.
– On Friday, November 6th, it was time to get out and explore a little more of the island so we rented a car. We were off to the Banks Brewery as we were drinking the beer all week it would be fun to do a brewery tour. As we got to the rental car, we realized none of us have every driven on the left side of the road, but Conni volunteered and was our studette driver. We also learned that island traffic can be bad as there are only two lane roads and when everyone is out driving, traffic is really bad. So I think it took us about 45 minutes to go 5 miles, but we were silly girls in the car so it was all fun. We drove past more KFC’s than I ever wanted to see, but one in particular was funny as there were five live chickens pecking for food right outside the KFC (and they soon could have been someone’s dinner). Once we arrived at the Brewery…it was too late and no more tours for the day. So we planned to have a beer at the tasting area, but they also only served beers after the tours and they wouldn’t sell us one. Not one of the more capitalistic businesses, but whatever. So further driving around the island brought us to some beautiful beaches, sunsets over the horizon and a great afternoon!
– I will say, the beaches in Barbados are some of the best anywhere in the world I have been to…I will really have to think if there were any nicer, softer and more relaxing beaches…so this is one of the top ones!
– The big event on Friday night was dinner out at “Oistens”. Oistens was the famous Friday night market which was recommended to us by many local people as the place the locals go for dinner, music and fun so we wanted to be there too. There were over a hundred different stands with different fish specialties. We got a couple recommendations for the best fry fish, and it was obvious as those lines were the longest. So we just got in line, grabbed a few beers and enjoyed the scene. I think we waited over an hour for our one dinner that the five of us shared. The piece of fish we got was so huge and very inexpensive. From there, we tasted a few other local treats, like fish cakes, island macaroni pie and it was all delicious. We even got some fun people watching at the event…there was a full fledged “Cougar Party”. It seriously was a group of about 20 women that were all dressed in black and then had cougar ears and tails attached. It was funny as they weren’t all older like the traditional cougar, and we were wondering why you would want to draw that kind of attention to themselves, but it must have been some sort of Cougar Convention or something. We just snickered as we saw them, and I went back to get a sneaky photo.
– At the end of the night, we decided it was time for a swim in the ocean…as why not? But when it came time to change…only Teresa, Jen and I were brave enough for the midnight swim. It was funny as the security guard at the hotel told us to be careful as “things have been coming up on the shore”. Did he mean great white sharks? Killer Fish? I think he just wanted to tell us to be careful so he didn’t have to come rescue us or something.
-Saturday was our last full day…and actually the day I was supposed to fly home. After some discussion with the girls, a phone call to the airline, I decided to miss my flight and hope to fly standby on Sunday afternoon. There were plenty of seats the night before when I called and it would just take a little work at the airport to get them to let me fly standby…so I figured I would take my chances. Worst case…I could officially fly back on Monday with a ticket change, so if I had to spend one more night on my own, so be it…I was having a fun time and would love another day and night with the girls.
– So Saturday the 7th was a new day to be lazy and enjoy the beach for one more day. We did have one big goal…to make it down to the happy hour on the beach at sunset and we literally made it right at 6pm…which was too late for the happy hour specials (by one minute), but we were able to ask the manager and she hooked us up so one happy hour cocktail on the beach at sunset. To bring an end to our trip, we wanted to have one big night out. So after the beach happy hour, the executive happy hour in the hotel, we were off to dinner at what we were told was the best restaurant on the island at Champers…and it was one of the best dinners ever. From the location right on the ocean, to amazing service to outstanding food, we loved every minute. We even made a new friend when the couple at the table next to us. The guy asked if we could take a picture with the girl, and we thought it was a little odd…but later learned they were on a first date and think they met online as she was from Mexico and he was from Philadelphia so we think she told her family she was going away with girlfriends (and we now became her girlfriends). Kinda funny, but they were nice so we didn’t mind.
– After dinner, we were going to walk to a bar and see what happened, and ended up doing a pub crawl in Barbados. We walked down the main highway and stopped at each bar we came to for a drink, so five bars later, we were down at “The Gap” which was the happening place for nightlife.
Pre- Crawl Stops:
A. Beachside Happy Hour – Strawberry Daiquiri/Pina colada
B. Executive Happy Hour – many very full wine glasses
C. Champers – three bottles of Chilean wine (Veramonte…which I went to outside of Santiago)
Pub Crawl Stops
1. Mojo – Music for the People – some bright blue and yellow shot
2. Lucky Horseshoe – Black Russian’s shots (and slot machines!)
3. Nelson’s Arms – some shot…can’t remember as local name to it
4. Absolute Watering Hole – With the funniest looking local owner, we just called Mama. And here you buy a bottle of rum and a mixer, so it was local rum and diet coke
5. McBrides – last stop of the night and no idea what we drank
– Of course, we had to get a late night snack and decided to do what all the locals did…eat at the street side stands. But in Barbados…there are families that bring out a BBQ and make burgers, Caribbean chicken and a few side dishes (like the famous island macaroni pie). So the five of us were enjoying a little snack sitting on the curb around 3am. I laugh at this as we ended up getting back to the hotel around 4:00am…and then Jen and I decided to try to figure out the hotel bill for everyone (and were actually pretty successful).
– I think I finally went to bed at 5am, knowing the other girls would be up at 5:30 to go catch their flight…but Teresa got the wakeup call and hung up in her sleep. Then another one came in another room and someone hung that one up too. So all of a sudden the girls were running out of the rooms as they were way late. Lucky there was no traffic and they all made the flight. I on the other hand had the morning to chill before going to the airport, and I ran into our dinner couple (on the date from Mexico and Philly) at the executive lounge breakfast…so it was funny to see them there at our hotel too.
– I headed to the airport Sunday afternoon, with enough time to deal with the airport staff as I figured I would have to talk my way onto the flight standby and didn’t want to wait to the last minute. After every bit of sweet talking and charm that I had, I lost the battle (and it was a battle with the airline supervisor). The lady was not going to help me, and said I couldn’t fly standby on my ticket. I really tried with supervisors, calling the airline’s platinum desk from a payphone and playing the pity card that I was all alone and had no where to stay. They didn’t care. So I finally found some wifi, pulled up hotels.com and looked for a cheaper hotel to stay at for a night as they could confirm me on the Monday flight. I laugh as the hotel I finally stayed at, originally told me it was $300 a night. After calling them back another time, explaining my situation and asking for a special rate, they did give me a room for $100 a night and it was a great hotel right on the beach. So I was happy and in a cab back to the hotel.
– Once I checked into the hotel, they told me to go to the pool bar for a welcome drink and I figured…why not? I figured I would catch a little afternoon sun and enjoy my welcome drink. When I was waiting at the bar, I met a couple girls that also just checked in. They were there for a work event, and were friendly and invited me to sit with them on the beach. So I had two new friends, who I later went to dinner with and met more work friends of theirs. So like many times on my trip, I met others and ended up having a fun dinner with them. I even met them the next day on the beach for my last morning. They were all in Barbados for a college recruiting event, as they recruit students to their colleges in Canada, the US and Europe. Great job for them as they travel all over to fun places (new career for me????)
– Sadly I had to leave at 1pm to get to the airport for my flight. I laugh as I was “stuck in Barbados” for another day, but it ended up being a nice relaxing day after a fun week with the other girls. So back to New York and I hope I don’t freeze getting off the plane as early November in New York…will be cold.
– So this flight was my last on my trip. I arrived back in New York at night and had to change into my fleece and jeans as it was super cold. Back to reality and the start of the next phase of my life…
– With this final country, Barbados now makes 51 countries in 19 months…and quite an amazing adventure that I will cherish the memories forever!
Logistics:
Hotels:
1. Hilton Hotel at Needles Point –
http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/BGIHIHH-Hilton-Barbados/index.do
2. Accra Beach Hotel and Spa – www.barbados.org/hotels/accra/accra.htm
Dinner at Champers – so great! www.champersbarbados.com