Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Beautiful St. Lucia

We spent a fabulous and relaxing day in beautiful St.Lucia. The weather could not have been better for our day on this lovely island~~

Some early morning harbor views. St. Lucia is one of my favorite ports to visit. The beautiful harbor is truly so picturesque.


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The Gardener and I, along with our friend Jan, hired a private boat driver to take us to a resort where we spent the most fabulous day. Jan's husband, Bob went on a diving expedition that day.




The Gardener clowns around with one of our boat drivers.



The boat that brought us to this wonderful resort~~

look at that gorgeous blue water!



Jan's new best friend!



We spent a quiet, peaceful, relaxing day here on this beautiful beach.

2000 people on our cruise ship~

we were the only ones from our ship here on this beach.


this is how crowded it was the entire day!



The resort sits up on top of the cliffs.

You can see the bungalows up on top along the edge of the cliffs.


the beach bar restaurant.

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we ate our lunch at this table

what a view- huh?

~~ one of the "locals" selling shells on the beach.

He went right out in the water and brought these in to polish and sell.

the Gardener wants to show you his new underwater camera!

His favorite thing?

the "orange life preserver" that I got him for the camera!!


the water was wonderful and warm

ahhh!

another view of the resort on top of the cliffs~

I took this photo while standing out in the water

There are 110 steps that lead from the beach up to the top of the cliffs where the resort is located.

(OK - if you are going to be whiny about it - you can call for the shuttle)

I have a thing for stairs - seriously - I love to climb stairs - so off I went - had to see what was at the top~~

Here is a view looking down at the beach from the first landing~


and from a little further up~~ I am at tree top level here~~

the view from the top of the stairs!

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love this shady deck that overlooks the beach below


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the bar for the resort~ what a beautiful view!

the open air restaurant at the top of the stairs~

beautiful!

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a cute little pool area

I took this photo while standing just outside the restaurant

the sitting area that adjoins the restaurant

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So - you got to see what was at the top of 110 steps and you never even had to climb!

Did you like the tour? I wanted to stay there longer than our time allowed!

Sadly, our day had to come to an end. Here is a view of the resort as we are leaving - headed back to our ship.

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almost back home to our ship~
We sailed out of the beautiful port of St. Lucia just as the evening sun was beginning to set. The good thing about a cruise is that you get to visit so many wonderful places. The bad thing is that you never get to stay as long as you want. I could have stayed on that beautiful beach until the sun was set below the horizon~~

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Up next - some photos of our wonderful day spent in Barbados. I will treat you to some of the Gardener's underwater photography - (we went swimming with sea turtles!)


Vicki

Friday, March 25, 2011

High Tea on the High Seas

High Tea on our cruise ship was a wonderful and special event. A chance to get all dressed up and play "tea party". I always pack my "pearls" just for this occasion~~

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Jan and I always enjoy this beautiful event.
High Tea has become a tradition
for us when we cruise.


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Mango citrus green tea
"delightful!"


(just one of the reasons why I am now on a DIET!!)


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Continuing on with the rest of the photos from beautiful Antigua~~
Our taxi tour took us to the Shirley Heights area where we were able to photograph some dramatic views of the island~


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Truly breathtaking~



Our great travel buddies
Bob and Jan
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(love ya Bobby!)

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How's this for a picnic view?
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love these cactus!
After leaving the Shirley Heights area we drove past this old cemetery. Our taxi driver was not intending to stop - but I had other plans~~

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(some people just look good behind bars!

the view from the cemetery was amazing~


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The rocks along the wall are the remains of old graves that date back to the early 1600's~

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In the distance - the remains of an old fort~~

A rocky outcropping along the coast known as
"Devil's Bridge"
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the local beer
(I don't drink beer - but I love the bottle!)


Our last stop before returning to the ship was the remains of the old "Betty's Hope" sugar plantation. The sugar plantation dates back to the early 1600's and has a very interesting history.
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wild goats roam freely all over the island


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the guys were fascinated by the windmill
(it's a guy thing~~)


the Gardener and our taxi driver


Antigua was truly lovely and we so enjoyed our day spent on that wonderful island. But you know how it is with cruises - you have to move on and the next day you are someplace else beautiful~~
Coming up next - photos of our magnificent day spent in St Lucia! Just wait till you see the beautiful place where we spent our day here~~
Vicki