mommytothreeboys
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2007
When I left off, I was drifting off to sleep dreaming of and praying for sunshine. I remember waking up around 7 and daring to take a peek out the window…..what did I see??
SUNSHINE!!!
It looked like a beautiful day with plenty of sun and blue skies! Finally! After 2 soggy, cloudy days we were ready for some Bahamas sun!
I dozed in and out for a bit before I decided it was just too nice to lay around in bed and we ALL needed to get up! Today was our Nassau day and I was excited to get started! We were all showered, dressed, and ready for breakfast by 8:45am. On to breakfast!
This is our view from our breakfast table in the dining room.
This is what I get when I try to take pictures of my boys at breakfast!
After we enjoyed our breakfast, we decided to head up to the top deck to take a peek at Nassau from the ship. Oh….and I believe we also got some ice cream!
We could not have asked for a more picture perfect day. Look at that water!
And of my two handsome boys!
It was time to get our day going, so we made our way off the ship, being sure we all had our ID and our sign and sail cards with us. Our plan for the day was to take the same self-guided walking tour of the city that Jeff and I had taken in 2010. This is the tour I used….in case you are ever in Nassau!
Nassau Walking Tour
It’s a nice tour and hits the main historic sites in the city. Dan is a big history buff and was looking forward to this tour. We also planned on eating lunch in the city. We wanted to get some conch salad and let the boys try traditional conch fritters! Other than that, we were going to do a little shopping, maybe a little beach walking, and then get back on the ship in the late afternoon to enjoy the pool.
Before anyone asks, NO we did not plan to go to Atlantis. I’m sure it is a gorgeous place with a lot to offer, don’t get me wrong. Jeff and I really wanted the boys to get a feel for another place and a different culture. There are plenty of opportunities for us to visit a big fancy resort, but few for us to experience a culture different from our own. Although I understand that Nassau is full of “tourist” attractions, our goal was to try to see the real Nassau as best we could . For that reason, we did not visit Atlantis.
For those of you who are new to my Trip Reports, I need to give you a little background information here. My husband Jeff suffers from an anxiety disorder. Large crowds and chaotic places are very difficult for him to handle. He also has panic attacks that are sometimes, but not always, caused by stress or stressful situations. He takes a daily medication to help and the anxiety and the panic attacks are fairly well controlled. But, now and then, it rears its ugly head. Keep that in mind! (Dunh, dunh, dunh….foreboding music!
)
We made our way off of the ship and followed the sidewalk into Festival Place. For those new to Nassau and cruising, it is a building on the pier that all cruise passengers must pass through to get to the city. This is a picture I took off of the internet…for some reason I did not take one!
In the building are booths with tourist information, telephones, souvenir shops, etc. It is also filled with people begging for you r attention…taxi drivers, people selling boat tours….and a TON of people who are making their way off ships and into the city. It is a crazy place.
The craziness continues until you exit the building and make your way across the street. Outside are hair braiders, scooter rentals, more taxi drivers and ferry captains….you get it. Because Jeff and I had been here before, we knew exactly what to expect and we told the boys to stay together, move quickly, and don’t make eye contact! I thought we had moved through pretty well as we came out to the street! That is, until I took one look at my husband.
He looked at me and said, “Missy, I’m having a panic attack.” I will admit, I did roll my eyes.
Of course….on our big vacation, on our first day at port….UGH! If you are not familiar with a panic attack, it makes the person suffering from it feel like they are having a heart attack. All the physical symptoms are there, chest pain, shortness of breath, pounding heart. This was not our first rodeo, folks! I took a deep breath and asked Jeff what he needed from me. From experience, these attacks don’t pass on their own or quickly. We needed to figure this out, and FAST! He said he just wanted to get to a place where we could sit and breathe for a minute. We knew there was a little ice cream shop just across the street that had some tables and chairs, so we made our way there. I bought the boys some Goombay punch…something we had been looking forward to…and Jeff sat down in the cool, air conditioning.
The boys enjoying their first taste of the Bahamas!
To Jeff’s credit, he was able to get through this panic attack with no medical intervention. He does have a fast acting medication that he takes in these situations, but of course, he did not bring it! But, with some deep breathing and some time, he was able to bring himself back. I must say that is an incredible feat. We landed in the hospital for his last panic attack (which was over a year ago). I was very proud of him!
With that crisis passed, we were really ready to begin our day in Nassau. I handed the map over to Dan who had agreed to be our navigator and tour guide and we headed out of the air conditioning into the hot Nassau sun! (None too soon I believe, since I had spilled my entire can of Coke while we were there and the ladies didn’t seem real pleased. YIKES!)
Our first stop was Rawson square. This square in the center of Nassau is a statue of the first governor of the Bahamas. PHOTO OP!
A quick look down a typical street as we head across the square.
Next was Parliament Square and the seat of Bahamian government. Both the House of Assembly and the Senate meet in the buildings in this square.
There is also a large statue of a very young Queen Victoria.
And two handsome young men taking a rest at the base of the statue!
Our next point of interest was the Nassau Public Library. It is a very cool building that is shaped like an octagon. And, like many buildings in the city, is painted pink! The building was built in 1797 and used to house the jail. It became the public library in 1873. The last time Jeff and I visited, the building was closed, but this time it was open so we made our way in. There is no air conditioning and the building is TINY on the inside. I was not allowed to take pictures so I’ll just have to describe it for you. The books are kept in what used to be the cells of the jail. The 8 rooms surround the center, octagon shaped, room. The books are on metal shelves and on the top of each shelf there are stacks of old, yellowing newspapers almost to the ceiling. They are bound together with twine and stacked by date. I think every issue of every newspaper ever printed in Nassau is there! Some of them looked so brittle I doubt you could even read them because the paper would crumble in your hands! There are 3 floors that are all very similar…8 rooms around the edges housing library materials. In one room there was a “museum “ of sorts that gave the history of the building. The top floor had an open area that you could go outside…it was almost like a porch or a deck that wrapped around the building. You can see it in this picture that I took before we entered.
It was so cool to be able to see the inside of this building. We were sure to sign the guest book as we made our way back out on the street to continue our tour!
We followed our trusty tour guide Dan and he pointed us in the direction of our next destination. Funny, it was really a non-destination as the Queen Victoria Hotel closed in 1971 and was later destroyed by fire. The site is now a parking lot! But apparently, the city is very proud of the parking lot and there are no plans to rebuild the hotel to its former glory.
This is what’s left!
I’m going to stop here for now. Up next we’ll finish our walking tour of the city. Does Dan get us lost? How many stairs do I have to climb? And a sweet treat that really hits the spot on a hot day!
SUNSHINE!!!
It looked like a beautiful day with plenty of sun and blue skies! Finally! After 2 soggy, cloudy days we were ready for some Bahamas sun! I dozed in and out for a bit before I decided it was just too nice to lay around in bed and we ALL needed to get up! Today was our Nassau day and I was excited to get started! We were all showered, dressed, and ready for breakfast by 8:45am. On to breakfast!
This is our view from our breakfast table in the dining room.
This is what I get when I try to take pictures of my boys at breakfast!
After we enjoyed our breakfast, we decided to head up to the top deck to take a peek at Nassau from the ship. Oh….and I believe we also got some ice cream!
We could not have asked for a more picture perfect day. Look at that water!
And of my two handsome boys!
It was time to get our day going, so we made our way off the ship, being sure we all had our ID and our sign and sail cards with us. Our plan for the day was to take the same self-guided walking tour of the city that Jeff and I had taken in 2010. This is the tour I used….in case you are ever in Nassau!
Nassau Walking Tour
It’s a nice tour and hits the main historic sites in the city. Dan is a big history buff and was looking forward to this tour. We also planned on eating lunch in the city. We wanted to get some conch salad and let the boys try traditional conch fritters! Other than that, we were going to do a little shopping, maybe a little beach walking, and then get back on the ship in the late afternoon to enjoy the pool.
Before anyone asks, NO we did not plan to go to Atlantis. I’m sure it is a gorgeous place with a lot to offer, don’t get me wrong. Jeff and I really wanted the boys to get a feel for another place and a different culture. There are plenty of opportunities for us to visit a big fancy resort, but few for us to experience a culture different from our own. Although I understand that Nassau is full of “tourist” attractions, our goal was to try to see the real Nassau as best we could . For that reason, we did not visit Atlantis.
For those of you who are new to my Trip Reports, I need to give you a little background information here. My husband Jeff suffers from an anxiety disorder. Large crowds and chaotic places are very difficult for him to handle. He also has panic attacks that are sometimes, but not always, caused by stress or stressful situations. He takes a daily medication to help and the anxiety and the panic attacks are fairly well controlled. But, now and then, it rears its ugly head. Keep that in mind! (Dunh, dunh, dunh….foreboding music!
)We made our way off of the ship and followed the sidewalk into Festival Place. For those new to Nassau and cruising, it is a building on the pier that all cruise passengers must pass through to get to the city. This is a picture I took off of the internet…for some reason I did not take one!
In the building are booths with tourist information, telephones, souvenir shops, etc. It is also filled with people begging for you r attention…taxi drivers, people selling boat tours….and a TON of people who are making their way off ships and into the city. It is a crazy place.
The craziness continues until you exit the building and make your way across the street. Outside are hair braiders, scooter rentals, more taxi drivers and ferry captains….you get it. Because Jeff and I had been here before, we knew exactly what to expect and we told the boys to stay together, move quickly, and don’t make eye contact! I thought we had moved through pretty well as we came out to the street! That is, until I took one look at my husband. He looked at me and said, “Missy, I’m having a panic attack.” I will admit, I did roll my eyes.
Of course….on our big vacation, on our first day at port….UGH! If you are not familiar with a panic attack, it makes the person suffering from it feel like they are having a heart attack. All the physical symptoms are there, chest pain, shortness of breath, pounding heart. This was not our first rodeo, folks! I took a deep breath and asked Jeff what he needed from me. From experience, these attacks don’t pass on their own or quickly. We needed to figure this out, and FAST! He said he just wanted to get to a place where we could sit and breathe for a minute. We knew there was a little ice cream shop just across the street that had some tables and chairs, so we made our way there. I bought the boys some Goombay punch…something we had been looking forward to…and Jeff sat down in the cool, air conditioning. The boys enjoying their first taste of the Bahamas!
To Jeff’s credit, he was able to get through this panic attack with no medical intervention. He does have a fast acting medication that he takes in these situations, but of course, he did not bring it! But, with some deep breathing and some time, he was able to bring himself back. I must say that is an incredible feat. We landed in the hospital for his last panic attack (which was over a year ago). I was very proud of him!
With that crisis passed, we were really ready to begin our day in Nassau. I handed the map over to Dan who had agreed to be our navigator and tour guide and we headed out of the air conditioning into the hot Nassau sun! (None too soon I believe, since I had spilled my entire can of Coke while we were there and the ladies didn’t seem real pleased. YIKES!)
Our first stop was Rawson square. This square in the center of Nassau is a statue of the first governor of the Bahamas. PHOTO OP!
A quick look down a typical street as we head across the square.
Next was Parliament Square and the seat of Bahamian government. Both the House of Assembly and the Senate meet in the buildings in this square.
There is also a large statue of a very young Queen Victoria.
And two handsome young men taking a rest at the base of the statue!
Our next point of interest was the Nassau Public Library. It is a very cool building that is shaped like an octagon. And, like many buildings in the city, is painted pink! The building was built in 1797 and used to house the jail. It became the public library in 1873. The last time Jeff and I visited, the building was closed, but this time it was open so we made our way in. There is no air conditioning and the building is TINY on the inside. I was not allowed to take pictures so I’ll just have to describe it for you. The books are kept in what used to be the cells of the jail. The 8 rooms surround the center, octagon shaped, room. The books are on metal shelves and on the top of each shelf there are stacks of old, yellowing newspapers almost to the ceiling. They are bound together with twine and stacked by date. I think every issue of every newspaper ever printed in Nassau is there! Some of them looked so brittle I doubt you could even read them because the paper would crumble in your hands! There are 3 floors that are all very similar…8 rooms around the edges housing library materials. In one room there was a “museum “ of sorts that gave the history of the building. The top floor had an open area that you could go outside…it was almost like a porch or a deck that wrapped around the building. You can see it in this picture that I took before we entered.
It was so cool to be able to see the inside of this building. We were sure to sign the guest book as we made our way back out on the street to continue our tour!
We followed our trusty tour guide Dan and he pointed us in the direction of our next destination. Funny, it was really a non-destination as the Queen Victoria Hotel closed in 1971 and was later destroyed by fire. The site is now a parking lot! But apparently, the city is very proud of the parking lot and there are no plans to rebuild the hotel to its former glory.
This is what’s left!
I’m going to stop here for now. Up next we’ll finish our walking tour of the city. Does Dan get us lost? How many stairs do I have to climb? And a sweet treat that really hits the spot on a hot day!
. 
Well, at least you're all rested and hydrated. And, getting plenty of excercise, too! Hooray for a guilt-free lunch!
