Day 7/8 - Happy New Year!

Greetings and Happy New Year from Antigua! Sorry for the delay, we've really been enjoying doing nothing! We've had a very relaxing last few days. Yesterday we pulled a few chairs out to the beach and spent the early morning and early afternoon lounging in the sun and taking a dip in the ocean. I forgot how great the ocean water feels! After a few hours we ventured into Saint John's, which is the capital of Antigua and supposedly the most advanced city in the Caribbean. We found it to be just another typical Caribbean city, with dress and sandals shops, mostly catering to the cruisers. We spent some time walking through Heritage Quay and Redcliffe Quay, which is the main port of the city. Because it was New Year's Eve, the locals were out partying and enjoying the day. Some streets were even blocked off with large speakers and DJ's getting ready for the night! We were told that the Antiguans will party all night...that is AFTER they go to church at 10PM.  The island is mostly Anglican, based on their English history.  There was also a small cruise ship in port, The Crystal, so the town was full with some extra guests for the day!

Redcliffe Quay is one of the oldest parts of the city and was named in honor of the church of St Mary Redcliffe, situated in the English port city of Bristol. Today many of the old warehouses have been restored into present day boutiques, restaurants, and bars. The old boardwalk has also been restored. A lady at our hotel suggested that we check out a restaurant called the Bee Hive, so we did just that! They had THE BEST jerk stuffed burgers, which were handmade Angus patties stuffed with mango and pineapple! DELICIOUS!

After a few hours, we came back and got ready for dinner. We made reservations for 9PM at Ismay's, which is located on the resort property. It was so good - all NINE course, lol! We started with an amuse bouche of cucumber and zucchini salad over a piece of mahi mahi, then a cream of parsnip and scallop soup, followed by a wonderful truffle and parmesean rissotto. For the main course we both had the grilled lobster and shrimp au'gratin! We finished the night with a chocolate lava cake and baked Alaska....needless to say we were very full. It was also Jeff's first time having baked Alaska, so he got a kick out of how it was presented, flaming and all. The best part for him was that he immediately tasted the Sanbuca, which he loves, as well as the black licourice ice cream! The ambience was beautiful and it really was the perfect night to toast farewell to 2011 and to welcome 2012!

The most magical part of the night is that we literally watched the crescent moon desend over the Horizon. During dinner it was high in the sky and eventually, just after midnight, it dssappeared over the Caribbean sea. As we counted the clock down with the band, party hats and all, we were very thankful to all our family and friends who made 2011 such a wonderful year. We are looking forward to making 2012 even better - we even wrote out our resolutions!  Let's hope that next year at this time, we can look back and see that we stuck to a few of them! 

This will probably be our last journal entry for the trip. The next two days will be mostly the same: beach, sun, and relaxation. We head back to Chicago on January 3rd - landing around midnight. Real life starts again on the 4th! We've had a great trip.  It is exactly how we imagined it would be!  Antigua is a beautiful island, full of life.  If you're ever looking for a place just to get away and relax away from the hustle and bustle of life, this is the island to visit. 

Till Next Time!
XOXO
Jenn & Jeff