Birthday Staycation Fun

So my birthday has come and gone and so has my second annual birthday staycation.Yep - for the second year running, I have spent my birthday close to home, where I could get much needed rest but without the stress of airports, trying to pack my life into my pink suitcase and without a massive post-vacation bill.

Well, maybe that's a bit ambitious. I did manage to have my 15 minute flight to Tobago delayed by about an hour or so, the pink suitcase was still pretty heavy because packing light is not one of my many talents, and I still have a bit of post-vacation financial angst. But it was great.

With a birthday staycation buddy, from Trinidad to Tobago and back, we had such a great time. Whether we explored beaches, bars, nature parks or cultural haunts, we enjoyed the break from reality. Going back to work this week was a bit of a buzzkill after a much needed break. Happy birthday to me!

The view from the balcony of our holiday apartment near Stonehaven Tobago.
We had breakfast and dinner here every day.
Interested? Check out Hibiscus Heights.

Made local goodies for the overseas travel buddy, and that balcony...that balcony

A day out at Englishman's Bay, Tobago

Some of the brightly coloured wrap skirts on sale at Englishman's Bay

The interior of the restaurant at Englishman's Bay. We just had beers.

Flip flops and toes at Turtle Beach, Tobago

Beers for him and her at Blue Waters Inn, Speyside, Tobago

The amazing Batteaux Shrimp Salad from Blue Waters Inn - the blue cheese, pecans,
strawberries, mandarins and the shrimp gave the salad a great kick. It was amazing.

Back in Trinidad, we explored La Vega Estate by foot. It was hot, but it was worth it.

He spread the plumes but would not pose for a photo until the end when the plumes were gone again!

Ended the last day with a sunset. Sunset over the Temple in the Sea, Waterloo, Trinidad

Read more »

Staycation Success at the Magdalena Grand Beach Resort, Tobago

Relaxation. 
- the state of being free from tension and anxiety; recreation or rest, especially after a period of work.

The crush of work and the crush of life can often become so overwhelming that you cease to function as a normal human being. Time away from the daily routine is essential as far as I am concerned, and while I am good at taking vacations, I hardly ever take a vacation where I do nothing. But I wanted this and aimed to do it. I am happy to report that I passed the test, with a short tropical getaway to Tobago for my birthday, where I did nothing but relax relax relax. The stuff on my list, for the most part - done.

The relaxation spot of choice - Magdalena Grand Beach Resort.
The tools of choice - Kindle, mp3 player, sunscreen, wine/cocktails, sunglasses, camera.

In a resort where all the rooms face the ocean, you are guaranteed to wake up to sights like this at least one morning, depending on the weather. Believe me, you thank God for your life when this is the first thing you see when you open your eyes.

Awesome view from the room's balcony

I got what I now believe is typical birthday weather for me, with grey skies, cold breeze and rain for a good part of the trip, but when the sun came out, boy, was it stunning. Yes. I love my life.

The view from my pool chair at the Magdalena Grand Beach Resort in Tobago

My little corner in paradise for the duration of my staycation

The swim up bar at the Magdalena Grand Beach Resort - just behind my chair.

Of course, after a morning workout, or even the afternoon sweat, one needed to eat as well, and there was always a full spread at both breakfast and dinner, which came with the special package deal which the hotel was offering. There was a lot to choose from, and for big breakfast eaters, you have so much choice. But in the end, once there are pancakes, a chef doing an omelette, coffee and watermelon, I will probably be right there. No need for lunch after this. Unless it's a liquid lunch - liquid pressed from a few million grapes.

Some people tried every single thing on offer - two pancakes and an omelette - just right.

Dinner time again, offered a variety of food, including a live pasta station on one evening, and of course, where there is pasta, there I am. One had a choice on this evening of roast beef, chicken or seafood for either a cream or marinara based creation.

Fresh veggies in a bit of EVOO

Scallops, mahi mahi, shrimp in the mix. She had me at scallops.

Simmering nicely, in a bit of marinara sauce

Presto!! Pasta!!

During the day I met some really nice people, who joined in my birthday celebrations and made it special in their own way  - mostly through free drinks - but also with laughter from sharing of experiences, and running from the rain. lol. It made for a really fun and memorable trip.

Of course when it comes to service, I am the original service Nazi and I also love to shout out the stars - those who just bring something warm and genuine to your total experience. So, to Nyron, Andrew - my great bellmen, and Nikisha, my pasta queen - thanks for being awesome. The girls at the spa were lovely as well.

This was a good sign that I can do this more often without losing my mind. However, all good things must come to an end, and regular life beckons. Thanks Magdalena, thanks Tobago. It's been awesome.

Magdalena Grand Beach Resort - night time

Read more »

My Birthday Staycation

So I am on a very, very short vacation - something I do every year for my birthday - since the mere thought of waking up at 3am and slaving over a hot laptop on my special day is just ghastly. With my birthday being in December, my list of travel spots becomes very limited as I am averse to that white stuff called snow. It would take a real act of God to get me to travel to a temperate country for my birthday!

I am also not a great fan of island vacations and not even my Honolulu birthday trip could redeem itself from the island vacation curse. Wow. Honolulu - the stories! But, I do have a plan, with Tobago, despite it being an island, being selected as the destination of choice this year. It's home after all. So this is really more of a staycation than a vacation isn't it? I also have...

...a confession. It's shameful. I shudder just thinking of your reaction to this burden being lifted off my heart. But...

I had not been to Tobago in over 2 years!! Yep. The last time I was on the island was in May 2011 when I came home for vacation.  I know. Shameful. It's funny. I go all over the place, fighting up with surly Europeans for a visa, being interrogated by surly Americans as I try to enter the country, biting my tongue when the rude Pakistani immigration dude at London Gatwick asks me which man is paying for my trip (true story, and my tongue took a good, hard biting, cause I fraid jail and deportation). Yep - all this drama to get off the rock and Tobago was just sitting there - stress free, beautiful and welcoming.

Sadly, Tobago only became a birthday option after unforeseen and exceptionally critical December expenses put my Plan A out of the running. The truth is, I really get bored with the sun, sea and sand type vacations, and when single, these can be angst-ridden, especially if it is one of those spots that are sold to the lovebirds as the place to be. One day is fine. I will frolic in the sun and sea without complaint. Daysss stretching before me - agony. I am not good at lazy vacations, minus the frantic schedule of activities. But I did plan on a vacation of nothing, and  did say I needed to completely disconnect from my everyday life for a week or so, so let's see who survives this. It's just me, the sea and my flip flops.

I have a full schedule of 'nothing' events, including

• Morning workouts - been slacking on the fitness front so yes, I am packing my running shoes
• Leisurely breakfasts - no hurried breakfasts over company emails and before morning meetings
• French lessons by the pool - my MP3 player and my French books have been dusted off
• Reading - reading fun stuff, and not work stuff. My Kindle is fully charged
• Massage and facial love - get some pampering while I am at it
• Blogging - maybe...maybe
• Sunbathing - Dear God, please stop the rain for the rest of the week
• Wine drinking - kinda defeats the purpose of the morning workout but one needs wine when one celebrates getting older - to numb the pain
• Sleeping - have to fit this in into my busy "nothing" schedule
• Evening workout - yes, you read that right. lol
• Dinner with some more wine - screams in the face of that evening workout doesn't it?
• Chilling and counting my blessings - Amen

And so it begins. When all else fails, it is pretty easy to get an earlier flight back to Trinidad!

Read more »

Day Tripping to Rye and Hastings

A warm gingerbread man cookie
in Rye to warm the blood

I am not sure what is going on with English weather but when I opened my eyes yesterday at 5.35am, it felt like the jaws of winter were hovering over my warm Caribbean body. Despite putting on a couple layers last night, I was freezing. It was no surprise that when I got home last night, the heater was on. This after a day out, where despite the ball of light in the blue sky, surrounded by fluffy white clouds, it was cold and terribly windy. Between the biting cold winds eating into my brown chocolatey warmth and whipping my hair into a mad "hot mess" frenzy, it was not fun being outdoors.

Except in some sick, twisted way, it was fun. I took a bit of a day trip out of London, as part of my "Get out of London" tour on a budget, and headed to a town called Rye in East Sussex, followed by a quick stop in Hastings.

Rye was pretty cool. Very English. Loved the cobblestoned streets and the buildings which were steeped in history. Loved the intimacy of the town and the storybook perfection. Very white bread. At first I thought I surely was one of the few young people in the town. Then upon closer inspection, I realised I was the only black person in the place. After an entire morning, and part of the afternoon, and despite my eyes being peeled for blackness, I was still the only visible black person in good ole Rye. lol. Still, Rye had its moments.

Lovely old bar and lodge in Rye, East Sussex

Ypres Tower from its grounds

The most memorable Rye moment was lunch. So we stopped in at a local pub where the menu seemed above average for pub fare and from the outside the place looked decent. I am not a fan of pub food, but I had already made travel buddy switch eating places a couple times - picky and fussy eater I am - so when we opened the door and I saw the interior of this place, I was loathe to ask to move a third time for fear of being labelled picky and fussy. But the first thing that greeted me was the cute, albeit four legged creature, outstretched on a couch in the pub. Now while I love dogs, I don't want them in the place where I am about to eat food. The mere presence of Lassie or whatever her name was, was enough to send me in a panic. lol. But I rallied. The place was pretty run down and that did not endear me to stay either but again...PICKY...FUSSY...flashing through my mind.

The food got there and it looked like mess - the accompanying sauce for my meat bathed everything else on the plate and it was a virtual swimming pool on a plate. But the crowning moment of it all was after my third bite of the drowned pork, I noticed a long, straight strand of hair sitting very impolitely on my meat. Fork down, knife down, appetite lost.

The management were nice enough to refund us our money for my meal after I decided I did not need to venture into trying a replacement dish. I saw the dog trot off behind the waiter, probably about to sink her teeth into some hairy pork loin. Good for her.

Hastings was fun - also cold and windy though. We made a trip up the hill via a funicular railway which gave us fantastic views of the seaside town.

The view of the hill from the base of the funicular railway in Hastings

The view of the seaside town of Hastings from the top of the hill

It was here I had a lovely Italian lunch, minus dogs and minus human hair, and a lovely chocolate gelato sundae for dessert. It was great to escape London and fingers crossed, I can get some work done today on my dissertation which is a nightmare on so many levels.

Have you "liked" me yet on Facebook? No. Like me here. Yaay.

Read more »

Staycation

This devil is on the ceiling in the passageway
heading to the men's rec room in Cardiff Castle -
aimed at keeping the fair ladies out

R - Rest, relaxation. I just got back from Wales and it was a lovely time. I have not much time to blog about it cause today is my cousin's birthday and we are prepping for the party. But I had a really lovely time on my first trip outside of London. My first trip ever. I myself find that really hard to believe especially since I have been here so often and so long. But first time for everything. The funniest part which I did not catch on video was when we passed the motion detector that set off the audio that scared us SHITLESS. lol.

Great fun! I had a lovely time in Cardiff and sightseeing around the city, including Cardiff Castle. We also spent the day in Bath, with which I have fallen in love. Such a beautiful city - so clean, so green, so lovely. I will share a few photos when I have more time but til then, you can look at my "scary" video. Hope everyone is well. The weather has been brilliant and thankfully so, because my staycation would have been a whole lot different if it had rained. It is sposed to stay the same for the weekend so let the fun begin.

Read more »