Some quick Geography

1. The 50 federal states of the USA

2. The state of Louisiana which is parted in five regions

I'm going to live in the Cajun Country

3. Each region is separated in parishes

I'm going to the Parish of St Martin

4. To make it a little bit clearer,

I'll be in number 11, as you can see there are 22 parishes in Cajun Country

I hope that you're not bored :))

Life in Louisiana

As I told you yesterday, I made it to Baton Rouge...
I'm supposed to stay in Louisiana for three years, so I'll try to make this blog as attractive as possible, I'll try to tell you about the culture, the place, the music, the history and so on...
Do not hesitate to post comment, ask questions, share experiences

Let's make it interactive!

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Atlanta - BTR

I flew today from Guadeloupe to Louisiana...
I had a connection in Atlanta, I had never seen so many planes landing in a minute... it was just crazy, traffic, traffic everywhere...
I had to run to catch the connection to Baton Rouge...

I saved the best part for last: they left my three suitcases in Atlanta, I wasn't the only one, but still... :-(
So, when I get them tomorrow, I will tell you some more about my first feelings...

Leisure

It has been a week since I last wrote something...Simply because I'm still having a lot of fun in Guadeloupe, still going to the beach, still eating good food and taking pictures... It has been raining off and on, but it doesn't really matter, the grass gets green, animals are happy to eat. Just make sure you enjoy every single thing...that's what I'm doing... On saturday, I'm supposed to go to Louisiana, so I'd better start resting...

Anyway, when you go to Morne-a-L'eau, you can see this beautiful cemetery. On All Saints Day, people light candles and it's stunning...

Tomorrow I'll try to post some pictures, but I'm getting so lazy ;)

Having fun!

Sorry, I should have written but I'm having fun ;)

I spent a lot of time on the beach, I eat coconut ice cream, delicious.:))

I went to Saint-François, there's a place called "La Pointe des Chateaux", absolutely beautiful.....

Guadeloupe

I made it to the airport, so here am I.......

I'm in Guadeloupe...

I'm so tired I do need some serious rest.

Yesterday I went to the beach and that was it, just didn't feel like doing anything else, today I went for some shopping, it wore me out.....

I forgot my camera and there were so many beautiful things to photograph ( yellow flamboy, cemetery of Morne-a-l'eau,...)

... well, well too bad for me, next time I'll try to be a little bit less scatterbrain...

Whatever...

Let me tell you about Guadeloupe

First, the island is shaped like a butterfly, actually you have two parts : Grande-terre and Basse-Terre, they are separated by a narrow sea channel called La Riviere-Salee.

Second, Guadeloupe comprises five islands: Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre with the adjacent islands of La desirade, les saintes and Marie-Galante. Basse-Terre has a rough volcanic relief whilst Grande-Terre features rolling hills and flat plains.

Further to the north, St Barthelemy and the French part of St Martin come under the jurisdiction of Guadeloupe. In 2003, both of these areas voted to become an overseas territorial collectivity.

Guadeloupe

The archipelago is 1106,04 sq miles (1780 square km)

Basse-Terre 526,92 sq miles (848 square km)

Grande-Terre 365,99 sq miles (589 square km)
The population is approximately 440 000
The official language is French, but creole is widely spoken

Last day in Martinique

I had a great time in Martinique... I enjoyed every second there...

I was supposed to fly at noon to Guadeloupe, but one of my friends called to let me know that a friend of ours was helding a party in a gorgeous place called "Domaine de Saint Aubin" in Sainte-Marie....

When you go to Martinique, check it out!!!

http://ledomainesaintaubin.com/

I called the airport to figure out if I could catch the last flight which was at 9.30pm. It was possible so we made it to the party...

Jean-Philippe Marthely (one of the lead singers of Kassav' band) made everybody jump, dance, scream, sing...

My friends and I had a couple of drinks and I wasn't too sure to be able to make it to the airport, but I made it....

Bye Martinique,

Hello Guadeloupe!!!

Places to see

Here are some shots from Le Diamant... I really like this town, it's beach,
When you go to Martinique, make sure you visit this place...


Do not miss the cathedral in Fort-de-France;))
St Pierre and its ruins...
Ste Marie and its church...
There are so many places to enjoy, so you guys know what you need to do :-))

Martinique

Hello everybody!!
I was supposed to tell you about Martinique yesterday, but I have been rushing all day.

Martinique

The island is 425 sq miles (1102 square km)

It's 49,71 miles (80km) long and 24,23 miles (39 km) wide

The population is approximately 426 000

The official language is French, but creole is widely spoken

I am staying with a friend of mine who lives in Schoelcher, close to Fort-de-France (the capital).

He is one of the finest cooks I know... and also one of the sweetest person I know. I'm so fortunate to have a friend like him!!!

From his apartment you've got a very nice view...

Good Bye Barbados

I flew this morning to Martinique.

I could have missed the flight ;))

I was supposed to leave the house at 5.30 am to be at the airport at 6.00 am, and believe it or not when I woke up, it was 5.45...

Needless to say that we had to rush, but we made it on time, and because the flight was full I just had to wait nicely in line behind the people who were there on time....

Bye Bye Barbados, I had a wonderful time over there, I just love this little rock...

Good morning Martinique...

We had a stop in St Lucia, and I took some pictures from the plane...

A pilote checking his plane

When you reach the airport of St Lucia, you can see some lovely colors. Something is going to happen, people are going to have fun!!

Don't miss St Lucia's Carnival!!!

Tomorrow, I will tell you about Martinique ;)

Ocean Park

Look at this sting ray!!!

This is the first time I see it from the bottom.

It's beautiful, it looks like it's smiling

Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary

This is a wonderfl and quiet place where you can see beautiful birds.

Hike in St Andrew

On Sunday, I went with a group of people for a hike in Turner's Hall in St Andrew.
We started hiking around 6.00 am, we had a nice weather, it was warm... It's was a three hour hike with many hills , and of course we had to go down on some slippery paths too.

From the hills, we had a great view of some parts of Barbados. You'd better not be afraid of height.

One of the hikers was wearing this tee shirt, so even if you felt like stopping, you just kept on walking...





Our body guard ( just kidding) was checking on us...

Anyway, we had to walk through bushes, watch out for trees and leaves that have stings, we really had fun...


Nature was just so beautiful...

One of the hikers found a branch, which actually brought out the child in her.. isn't that great?

Bus

Today, I decided to go to a bookstore, because I had finished the book I was reading.
I bought Afterburn written by Zane (a very special writer, I won't tell you more ;)

On my way to the store, I saw many buses going to Speightown or to Bridgetown, so here are some pictures, so that you can have an idea of what buses in Barbados look like.

Enjoy

Windowshopper

Today, I met a young man called Shearvon, he is from St Lucia.
I had not laughed like this for so long, let me tell you why...

According to some people, when you don't have money, you'd better not enter boutiques, because obviously you are not going to buy.
So, Shearvon was putting it that way: you'd better be a windowshopper ;)
but do not envy the ones who are able to buy.
One of his favorite songs seems to be windowshopper from Fifty cents, don't ask me why...

Flying Fish, Barbados style

8 flying fish filets
1 small onion
1 small green pepper chopped
1 blade chives chopped
thyme and persley
salt and pepper
few drops of lime juice
1 egg beaten
breadcrumbs
oil for frying
2 limes wedged

Method
Mix the seasoning, ingredients and spread over the meaty side of the fish.
Leave for about an hour.
Dip the fish into the beatten egg and then into the breadcrumbs.
Fry gently in a little oil for about ten minutes.
Serve with wedged of lime.
Serves 4-6.

Enjoy

Second day in Barbados

I spent the day with my friend, a very outgoing and lovely person.
She owns a boutique "Bohemia Collections", which is located in the Hilton Hotel in St Michael (outside of town).

Make a stop there, she simply brights up the saddest person's day, no kidding...)))

By the way, this is a great hotel, you have a wonderful view of Bridgetown, the capital city.

Population of Barbados

Approx 270,000

Food
Flying fish and fish cakes are famous meals in Barbados , I just love this food.
If you feel like cooking go to Recipes

Let me know how good it was, lol

First day in Barbados

Yesterday, I made it to Barbados.

I was really excited, could not wait to get there, needless to say that I woke up very early.




Second picture from the plane, I'm already dreaming of the wonderful day that I'm going to spend.

And big surprise, when I got to Barbados, it was raining cats and dogs.

Anyway, it did not matter I was still determined to have a nice day ;)

For my friends who are reading me, I assume you can guess what I did during the day, so I'm not going to tell you, but at 6pm, I was exhausted and I had to go to bed :)))



Some quick geography

The island is 21 miles (34 km) long and 14 miles (22 km) wide and the area is 166 square miles ( 425 square km). It is divided into eleven parishes.

Crop Over

If you've been to Barbados or would like to go, please feel free to come and share some comments.

My favourite moment is Crop Over ...

Crop Over, a five-week summer festival, is Barbados' most popular and colourful festival. It's origins can be traced back to the 1780's, a time when Barbados was the world's largest producer of sugar. At the end of the sugar season, there was always a huge celebration to mark the culmination of another successful sugar cane harvest - the Crop Over celebration. As the sugar industry in Barbados declined, so too did the Crop Over festival and in the 1940's the festival was terminated completely. However, the festival was revived in 1974 and other elements of Barbadian culture were infused to make the extravaganza that exists today ..... an event that attracts thousands of people from across the globe.

http://www.barbados.org/cropover.htm

BARBADOS

I'm flying to Barbados on tuesday.

It's a very beautiful island located in the West Indies.

Go and check this island on the web, it's really worth it...

Soon

In a few days, you'll get a chance to discover this new blog