Since it's been so long....I believe a little recap of the day so far is in order. Our Nassau day began when we met our friends J & K and shared a cab to Ardastra Gardens where we saw marching flamingos, got attacked by prickly plants, got up close and personal with lemurs and learned never to taunt a flamingo with an appetite for fingers. We had just finished up our tour of the garden/zoo and called for a cab to return us to the city to begin the rest of what we had planned for the day.
After a short wait, our cab arrived and we piled in for our sure-to-be-exciting ride back to the city of Nassau. Our cab driver was extremely entertaining and played a How much do you know about the Bahamas trivia game as we made our way through the crowded, narrow, and sometimes treacherous streets of the capital city of the Bahamas. He had a
ton of information and we learned a great deal about the city and the island nation.
Around 11:45 we arrived safely (whew!) back at Prince George's Wharf where we parted company with J & K. They were going to return to the ship for lunch and take a horse drawn carriage ride while Jeff and I had different plans. First, we were dying of thirst and needed some refreshment, so we hit a local ice cream stand and got some drinks. I stuck with the very safe and familiar Diet Coke while Jeff decided to step out and try a local favorite called Goombay Punch. It is basically a pineapple flavored soda and became a fast favorite! Can you tell?
(Now remember...I had long since decided that my hair was going to look like I'd been out in a windstorm no matter what I tried! Pardon the crazy hair!)
With our thirst quenched, we were very excited to begin what I believed was going to be the best part of our day. We had decided not to book any Nassau excursions through the cruise line and planned to just explore the city on our own. I had found a self-guided walking tour on a travel website and printed that out so we had some direction. It made sure we hit the most interesting points in the city and also gave us some history of each site we would visit. Armed with the tour, a map, a camera, and a sense of adventure, we hit the streets of Nassau! Here are a few random shots as we leave the tourist area of the city.
A view of the very popular Atlantis resort on neighboring Paradise Island.
The tourist area was about a two block section of town that was clearly earmarked for cruise passengers. Lots of high end stores, chain bars and restaurants (Hard Rock Cafe), etc. This was NOT the Nassau Jeff and I wanted to see so we got out of there pretty quickly!
The first stop on our tour was Parliament Square. This is where all of the Bahamian government office buildings are located. Senate was actually in session the day we were there so we just stayed outside and admired the architecture and beautiful colors.
The Bahamian Flag
A view of Parliament Square from across the street.
A statue of a young Queen Victoria
Look out...I'm armed and dangerous!
Cool crest on the front of the Senate building.
Continuing our walk, we came across the Nassau Public Library and Museum. It was a very cool round-shaped building.
For most of you who do not know me personally, I need to give a little background here. I am directionally challenged! I
DO know my left from my right if I'm given enough time to process and think about it, but if you just say to me, turn right, I may hesitate and struggle. Jeff knows to watch my hands when I give directions rather than listen to my words! When my oldest son was in Kindergarten, the one thing he struggled with was left and right. I realized that this was because I never referred to anything in those terms. I didn't say, let me tie your right shoe, instead I'd point to the foot I wanted! That being said, I'm not the best map reader! Can you see where this is going? I don't know why Jeff let me have the map...actually, now that I think about it I probably just
TOOK it and didn't really give him a choice. Needless to say, we got a TAD turned around and chose to sit in the pretty little courtyard of the Public Library to sort it all out.
The pretty little courtyard of the Public Library also happened to be the courtyard of the Supreme Court. As we sat on a bench and tried not to look like lost tourists, we saw this scene.
Look closely. The man in white is a policeman or government officer. The three boys in front of him are all handcuffed together and being led through the streets! Now THAT is not something you see everyday! They literally passed right in front of us. You should have seen Jeff trying to be discreet when taking the picture! Too funny and something neither of us will ever forget!
Something else you won't see everyday in the States.... LOL!
'Nuff said.
After these little sidenotes of unexpected entertainment, we continued on our walking tour. We soon passed the site of what was once the Royal Victoria Hotel. All that is left is this sign...
The hotel closed in 1971, but in its heyday was host to spies, royalty, journalists, dignitaries, and heads of state. After being destroyed by fire, it was demolished and replaced with a large parking lot. How sad.
After a quick stop in the Nassau General Post Office to purchase stamps as souvenirs for the boys, we began to look for the Queen's Staircase. This stairway, built in 1793, consists of 66 steps. One step for each year of Queen Victoria's reign. As we approached the staircase, we were met by a local named Tony. I had been warned about self-appointed tour guides who would take you through the city and share history, etc then charge you a fee at the end of their spiel. So, I was wary, but Tony seemed harmless enough so we listened. He explained to us the history of the Queen's Staircase, the history of the nation of the Bahamas, and answered any questions we had. He really knew his stuff and we thoroughly enjoyed his presentation. Once he finished, he said that he does this on a volunteer basis and all he asked was that if we enjoyed his presentation, we tip him. To be expected, but he was not at all pushy. Jeff tipped him about $3-$4 and he was gracious. I'm glad we didn't avoid him or try to walk by without acknowledging him. Although I know there are those out to scam tourists, this local man was polite, knowledgeable and a pleasure to meet.
I almost forgot the best part of this story! As Tony was talking, Jeff saw a hot dog vendor and decided to brave it! He got a traditional Bahamian hot dog with all the local fixings......he asked me if I thought it was okay and I said go for it. You only live once, right? This was a vendor that local business men were eating from so I figured it was pretty safe. Plus...we were on an adventure and had promised ourselves that we would experience the culture and try new things. Good news.....he lived to tell the story! (And he said the hot dog was delicious! The only odd topping was mayonnaise...but he said it worked!)
Anyway....back to the Queen's Staircase. After learning some history from Tony, like the fact that the stairs were cut into the solid limestone by slaves using hand tools, we took a deep breath and began our climb to the top.
Continued in Next Post.....
We leave for our camping trip the following week! Can't wait! Although I think I'm most excited for the s'mores....yum!
I agree, definitely a better choice than Hard Rock.
