The Accidental Bahamian Tourists

Introduction: Last-minute change -- welcome to Nassau


We had made plans months ago to take our honeymoon trip to Antigua (ant-ee-guh, is how the natives say it). With the Hoppe's generous wedding present of two buddy passes, we were able to purchase really inexpensive passage. A return to old mission-grounds for him and a first-time dip into the Caribbean for me, we saw ourselves snorkeling, eating conch, and exploring parts of the island with camera in tote. We planned accordingly.

Yet, somehow we ended up in the Bahamas. Still awesome, but we had no idea where we were going or where we would stay.

We made the best of it. If you're going to end up somewhere you've never been before, why not Nassau? The pictures in these posts will show some of our roamings, eatings, and adventures.*

Lane of high-end jewelry shops.

Part I: City Center and Parliament Street

A visit to Nassau city center brought us to Parliament street.

Parliament square as a whole, but especially this statue, reminded me of Shelley's "Ozymandias" and Kipling's "Recessional." The whole area was well kept-up, but it reminded me of nothing so much as a beautiful echo of something long passed away.


Translucent loveliness.

Part II: Café Matisse

Café Matisse. Probably one the two most expensive meals I've ever had, and one of the tastiest.

Ginger Lemonade . . . so tasty, so refreshing.

My shrimp curry.

His first experience eating veal . . . and mine, sampling it.

Part III: "A Short Life, but a Merry One"

One day, we stumbled upon the New Providence pirate museum. Pirates are close to my husband's heart, because he served his mission basically on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean. So we returned the next day and found out more than I ever thought there was to know about pirates. Truly, they lived "a short life, but a merry one" as several signs in the museum touted.

An authentic reproduction of the innards of a pirate ship.

This display with wax figures depicts the famous female pirates, Mary Read and Anne Bonny. They both managed to escape imprisonment claiming to be pregnant.

True or false -- Pirates of the Caribbean accurately shows the punishment of dishonored pirates--isolation with rum and gun with one shot.

True.

Part IV: A jaunt to Fort Montagu

One morning we decided to trek out to famous Fort Montagu.

This picture reminds me of a painting by Monet, Beach at Sainte-Adresse (1867).

Two of a kind.

The dumpster outside the fort.

Conclusion: Walking up the stairs back to our hotel room

A view looking down on the street below.

*I apologize now for not including a picture of a true white sand beach. Right across the street from our hotel was a lovely one where we spent many an hour. I wanted to swim and play- not worry about destroying my camera- thus, I did not take it with me. Alas.