It’s not even 10 am and already they are handing out the rum punch! We’re on a catamaran courtesy of Carnival Sailing that will take us from the north part of the island where we are staying at The Landings resort to the town of Soufriere (which translates to “sulfur in the air,” we’re told). Along the way we have spectacular views pf St Lucia’s claim to fame — Petit Piton and Gros Piton.
Tangerines, star fruit, breadfruit, wild watercress. We’re not perusing a menu in St Lucia. We’re touring a local farm owned by The Richards family for more than 40 years. Isaac Alphonse, the purchasing manager for The Landings, the 120-plus unit new resort where we are staying
There’s something to be said for direct flights to out of the way places. We are taking Jet Blue’s new nonstop service from JFK to St. Lucia, a small island near Martinique and Barbados. But instead of taking all day with connections in Miami or San Juan, we arrive in a little more than four hours. Nice!
I’m perched in a wooden treehouse lazing on a cushy double mattress atop a white sand beach along Mexico’s Riviera Maya. Overlooking the turquoise Caribbean Sea, I’m about as far away from holiday hoopla and craziness as I can get when the beach butler comes by to see if I need anything.
Check out the lights! Four million–really–blue and green and clear ones on trees and buildings. Welcome to Dollywood. Of course it is named for star Dolly Parton who grew up in a two room cabin not far from here, pigeon forge, TN—you can even see a replica of the cabin where she grew up with 11 brothers and sisters and it seems one bed.
I haven’t stopped eating—corn fritters made from corn meal milled at the historic Old Mill that is on the National Register of Historic Places–continuously operating for 170 years. I started the day at The Log Cabin with country ham and fresh biscuits.
Trivia question: What is the most visited National Park? (Hint: It isn’t Yellowstone, Yosemite or the Grand Canyon) It’s Great Smoky National Park—more than 550,000 acres that straddle Tennessee and North Carolina that attracts more than 9 MILLION visitors a year.
The Living room is beautifully decked out for the holidays with greenery, wreaths and a tree in all its glory. On the mantel in my bedroom, Santa shares space with golden elk and garland festooned with bright red holiday balls and ribbon. Even the lamp is tied with a big red and gold holiday bow and there’s a poinsettia (albeit a silk one) in the bathroom.
We learn it is the only place—and the place—for a traditional English Tea. In the 1840s, Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, wanted a snack for tea and thinly sliced bread and butter.
Not sunny, but not raining. Just 66,000 people live on this pristine island—actually a series of about 360 small coral island, which is part of the British Commonwealth. Yes, we see businessmen wearing Bermuda shorts, knee-high socks, and shirts and ties to work. Hedges are manicured and lawns mowed. Houses are painted a rainbow of colors—bright orange, green and blue, pastel pinks and yellows.
TakingTheKids