David Cross Travel Blog

Since it was our last day, we took a hike to the nearby Pigeon Island.  You can see the Sandals resort with the red roofs below.

It looks like it is peninsula, but the British and French built up a causeway over time to maintain the fort.

It is a great hike as you can get in the national park for $7 (per person) and explore around.  There are nice placards to explain the history.  You can see the fort above.

They even have original guns from the 1800s still up at the top.  Caution: don’t try climbing in the rain, the walkway will be so slippery and dangerous because the rock paths are steep.

Now, if you are brave, you can truly hike (I mean climb) up to the nearby peak where the gun slope winches were used.  It was VERY challenging and steep, but a fun adventure if you are fit.  See the fort in the distance?

and when you get to the top, the views of the surrounding area and other islands is amazing.  If you speak French, you can see Martinique in the distance.

Of course, you can have a lot of fun in the sun and play pool volleyball all afternoon and enjoy your favorite frozen drink…

But you can also eat along the waterfront with some great local fare and wine…

and watch the sun go down next to the firepit…

and then take a great run around the marina.

so, you can then enjoy the local casino just down the street to play your lucky numbers on the roulette wheel to get enough money to pay for a taxi back to your resort.

The international airport is in the southern part of the island, and there is a single road that makes a circle of the entire island.  We chose to stay at Sandals Grande St. Lucian at the northwest tip of the island since we are from the Pacific Northwest.

It is best to hire a private car to drive you around.

Much faster and convenient. I don’t think I need a 6 door Mercedes AMG for my next car though…

You also get to drive through the high tech center near the city of Castries.

Sandals always makes you feel welcome…

It was a tough choice whether to eat the light French macaroons or jump in the pool outside our room’s door 🙂

Have to love sitting by the fire pit at night with local drinks…it is like the pacific northwest with 85 degree nights in August, but you are right next to the Caribbean Ocean!

Everyone has been wondering about the new Centurion Studio lounge in the Seatac airport so I thought I would sneak in and check it out.

It is quaint (small), but a nice quiet escape from the terminal with a great interior design, light snacks and a light complimentary bar. It has free WiFi of course with numerous power stations.

Verdict: A great place to sneak into and relax before or between flights if you are stuck in the Seatac airport.

Posted from WordPress for Windows Phone 8!

15 years ago we left with this friend for a tour of Amsterdam, Paris and London.

Who knows what might be next?

Stay tuned to this channel!

🙂

Posted from WordPress for Windows Phone 8!

Today was our last day in Spain – tomorrow, we fly out.  We drove north from Granada to get back to Madrid through the countryside full of olive trees and grape (wine) vines.

We stopped for lunch and some wine tasting in Puerto Lapice. The wine barrels/fermentation tanks are a little different in Spain.

It was our last chance to have some local garlic soup. I hope these tanks I found was not used to make wine we had with lunch…

There was also a small museum if some very old copies of the Don Quixote books which is a very popular history topic in this area for tourists (see below, hint: windmills).

We also took a break and drove up the mountain to see the old castle and historic Spanish windmills near Consuegra that are all slowly being restored.

It is a nice spot to visit and hike around a little to work off the wine tasting 🙂

Driving into Madrid, here is their fancy bull fighting stadium…and no, we did not go to a bull fighting exhibition.  Long controversial discussion…

OK – end of this trip, we have travelled 5,000+ kilometers and learned a lot.  Headed back to home after being kicked out of Spain!

Today, we departed Torremolinos and headed north for a few exploratory stops in Mijas and later spend the night in Granada.

The weather was gorgeous for the upcoming holiday season in Spain.

Mijas was a very nice (white) village on the side of the mountain in the Costa Del Sol area. Great views looking down to the coast. You might be able to see the unusual rectangle bull fight stadium in the distance.

A great place to do a little hiking.

Or walking around the steep stairs and walkways around the village. Just make sure you pack water, as it is quite warm and dry.

If you are really adventurous, you can go to the top of the mountain and visit the hidden church at the top.

We then drove to Granada to visit the Alhambra Palace.  It has some amazing views of the valley and city of Granada. I have to admit that Granada is a very nice city to relax and take in some different culture. It felt like San Francisco for some reason.

This was an area that I, honestly, have never heard about before. It is an amazing site and gardens with lots of history.

The one interesting historical tidbit, (outside of the Moorish, Sultans and Spanish Royalty history), is this is the place that Christopher Columbus met with the Queen to get his funding and approval to sail to west and discover North America.  It might have been on this very spot on the floor in the palace…

The sculptures, architecture, gardens and style were quite amazing throughout the castle/palace.  Everything follows the Islamic rules of seven, etc. in the layout and in places like the lions for the harem section of the palace.

One more tidbit, Granada and the palace is where Washington Irving (the author) lived for part of his life. He wrote a lot of historical stories and one classic which many may remember: “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”