Another Guest Blog - Nora Says Farewell

Hi all,


Stephen requested I do one last blog post before I leave. I’d say I’m flattered, but I think he’s just happy not to have to worry about doing it himself. In any case, here’s a summary of the last 2 days:

There’s not much to say about yesterday. Remember in the last post when Stephen said we “stayed in the apartment in order to conserve energy for going out later tonight”? Well, that going out part didn’t actually happen. I take full responsibility—we were going to check out a party at UWI, which would have been within walking distance and therefore an excellent evening activity, but then I fell asleep at an inexcusably early hour. Oh, well. I’m on vacation and I’m allowed one full day of absolutely nothing if I want it.

Today we were a little more active. We actually made it out of the apartment and all the way to Bridgetown, the island’s capital and largest city. It was an interesting excursion because there were very few tourists around Bridgetown. The city (or at least what we saw) was mostly a series of duty-free shopping malls and aggressive taxi dispatchers, with a few charming historical monuments scattered around. The highlight of our time there was definitely the Parliament Buildings, where one wing now houses the Barbados National Heroes Gallery and the Barbados Museum of Parliament. We learned a lot about Barbados’s political history and about their most treasured historical figures (including a cricket player whose stats all sounded very impressive, although we obviously had no idea what any of them meant).

Tonight we went to dinner at Daphne’s, a great restaurant on the beach not far from the apartment. The meal was excellent (lamb cutlets, lyonnaise potatoes, and asparagus for me; blackened mahi mahi with battered vegetables for Stephen, followed by some delicious tiramisu and crème brulee, respectively. Oh, and salads.) and the ambiance was pretty unbeatable. A lovely way to end my week in Barbados.

I’ve had a wonderful time here, despite the shaky start, and I hope to return before too long. But for now, it’s time for me to pack my bags and fly home. I have to be honest—I hope it’s really cold there.

--Nora