Paradise Island

Just north of Nassau is Paradise Island. You know, the one with the Atlantis...the hotel that has the bridge room that has a staggering nightly rate of $20,000!


From Nassau, you can take a little 'ferry' (term used loosely) ride for 20 minutes to Paradise Island. Note: The 'ferry' is supposed to leave on the half hour; however if the boat is not full...and I mean full, they will not leave. Once the 'ferry' is full, then they leave...and you get the pleasure of hearing a little schpiel about this celebrity lives here and this one there, blah, blah, blah. The expectation is a tip when they are done...and they push hard for a tip. The 'ferry' ride is $3 each way per person.


Paradise Island has a few nice sights, aside from Atlantis, which seems to be the main attraction. Near the One and Only resort are the Cloisters and Versailles garden. It's worth the 20 minute walk and chances are you'll have the whole place to yourself...even with no admission fees!

A few pictures of my favorite flowers at Versailles.

Day trip to Harbour Island, Bahamas

This was definitely the highlight of our trip to the Bahamas. While in the Executive Lounge at the Hilton, one of the fellow guests mentioned their day trip to Harbour Island, which included a 'fast ferry' to the Island, golf cart rental and meal/drink vouchers. Hmmm, that could be fun.

So, we signed up for the day trip...despite the $200 per person price tag. Although, that did entitle us to passage on the fast ferry in the First Class upper cabin, which we had all to ourselves on the return trip.

After the 2 hour ferry ride, which included some amazing views along the way, we made a quick stop at the Spanish Wells, then continued on another 30 minutes to Harbour Island. Once on the island, we had a quick 'tour' of some local restaurants in our golf carts and then were on our own for the next 4 hours.

Harbour Island is filled with golf carts and only a few vehicles. The beaches are filled with lovely pink sands and flecks of pink coral are suspended in the surf as it crashes against the beaches.

I'd return to Harbour Island in a heartbeat. Here are a few pictures.

Cruise ship central - Nassau, Bahamas

Several months ago I found amazing airfare prices to Nassau, Bahamas (under $200 a person round trip). I quickly booked the flights and Hilton hotel for a week in November.


Generally, any beach location receives top marks from me. I'll pack my pre-loaded nook, a few magazines, the camera and sunscreen and I'm happy as a clam. I must be getting picky and now require a certain level of privacy. The Hilton British Colonial in Nassau is located near the cruise ship dock. While it is nice to watch the large floating cities pull in, it gets old. And, after the third, fourth, and fifth ship in port....you almost begin to send vibes that the darn things will go back to sea.


Given the proximity to the dock, quite a few cruisers try to infiltrate the Hilton's beach and it quickly goes from peaceful reading time under a palapa to screaming kids and 20 somethings smoking who knows what upwind from my lovely location. Um, yes, I despise everything smoke-related!


Aside from the hotel's location, the staff were quite friendly, especially the 6th floor housekeeping staff. On the day that the hotel water main broke, then was restored (but not our room), Donna quickly found another room for us to duck in and take a shower until maintenance was able to fix our water pressure.


Would I go back to Nassau? No, but I might head to one of the other Bahamian islands like Harbour Island or Eleuthra.


A few pictures from Nassau.

Atlantis on Paradise Island

The view from our room...yes 5, count them, 5 ships!

Solo trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina

Chuck is officially one continent ahead of me. In October, he made not one, but two very long trips to Buenos Aires, Argentina for work. A little extra lead time could have yielded me a trip, too. But, 36 hours notice nets outrageously expensive airfare, so I passed.


Although, I did put on my biggest sales pitch that he would need a translator and therefore I should be on the next flight out. In the end, not so much...I stayed home.


Chuck's review of Buenos Aires...

It's a big city with all the typical 'woes' of a big city. Three days is plenty of time to explore. (Holly's editorial comment....why fly 14 hours each way for a mere 3 days?!?!?!) The Argentinian beef is spectacular and dinner at La Brigada lived up to the hype. And yes, he had the "beef so tender you can cut it with a spoon."


I won't bore you with pictures from the jobsite....so here are a few from around Buenos Aires.