Tuesday, January 31, 2012

The City, St. Johns - Antigua

We woke up on our first day in Antigua filled with adventure! After a breakfast of fruit, coffee and more waffles, butter and syrup for me we dressed for a day out on the town. We hired a taxi and met Benjie, our soon to be regular cabbie for the rest of the week.

The ride into St. Johns from our resort is a long bumpy one. The roads are not maintained very well and the vans are not the most luxurious for cruising. We needed a cold one to ease our achy bodies and snap us back into happy tourist mode!

Ahhh... look here, I have found a happy tourist!

Just a light snack to give us some oomph is what the Stuffed Crab back provided. Basically crab, tomato blend and Caribbean seasoning made up this little trinket. It did the job just fine.

The Antiguan History Museum was located downtown and we did pay our respects to learn more about the country. Did you know that they gained their independence from the British just in 1981? Wow. 

St. Johns is a cruise ship drop off site so there are street vendors up the ying yang.  

 The same little knick knacks, tank tops and shot glasses were the same at every little stand. We wanted to leave and go back to our side of the island. And so we called Benjie and he came and picked us up a couple hours before we had originally scheduled.

I just adored this little church that was built in the 18th Century. It is still in worship today, these are the little things I like to see on vacation! Not Bob Marley beanies with sewn on dreadlocks that can be purchased for 10 East Caribbean Dollars.

Home sweet home. The St. James Club really is gorgeous, this is the view from the road as you drive in. Not a bad place to be slumming it for a week.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Settling at St. James Club - Antigua

Scott and I took a taxi cab from the airport and it took about 30 minutes to reach the St. James Club. We couldn't wait to check out our room, balcony, beach and everything we could before the sun set that evening. This is the view we had from our room, pretty spiffy right?

The room was one of the Royal Suites and it was perfectly comfortable. Fans and air conditioning were nice when we wanted to close the patio doors and enjoy a nap. There was cable and most importantly, Bravo and the Food Network! Yes. We had a kitchenette complete with fridge and coffee maker, pretty much the basics. It had everything we needed.

Our private beach that we enjoyed evening swims and sunset watching. It really was lovely.

Dinner time at the Docksider was your basic International Buffet. We were just so happy to be there!

.My mix of pork, fish, beef and vegetables. Nothing too outstanding but we simply did not care. We were on vacation! Rum flowing through our veins made us very happy campers! 

Until tomorrow...

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Miami International Airport - Road to Antigua!

Hello my friends! I know I have been gone for so long but I was (and still am!) on vacation and blogging was not my first priority. Can you believe that? Ha! I have some time still in the gorgeous lobby of the St. James Club Resort so I decided to start you off on Day #1 of my trip, I plan on getting you caught up! One day at a time...
Scott and I took the red-eye from LAX to Miami on Monday, Jan. 23 - I slept all night until we landed. A sleeping pill aided that so I was feeling pretty groggy until we stepPed into Ku-Va in Terminal 4. Coffee please!

Scott settled on a Spanish Omelet and Hashbrowns. I am not sure if he was starving from our flight or it was that delicious but he seemed to happily enjoy each bite.

I went for the easiest thing to house butter and syrup, that being the waffle. It was a tad soggy but I didn't seem to complain as I opened more butter packets. Mehhh....

I have never flown International before so I finally got to discover the wonders of Duty Free Shopping! I  loved this pillow but decided to go with the Guerlain Bronzer instead to compliment my Caribbean wardrobe.

Once loaded up in Miami I could hardly contain my excitment for Antigua. And, looky looky... we made it! More to come my friends, more to come...

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

We made it! Antigua = Heaven.

Omg. We love Antigua! Scott couldn't wait to jump in, see him in the water? A long night and day of travel but well worth it. St. James Club is gorgeous and I cannot wait to explore the island. More posts to follow, I promise!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Antigua or Bust!

We are leaving on jet plane for a tropical, sunny vacation. I hope you all enjoy the rain! I hope to continue to blog throughout my trip but who knows, I might just relax and forget about modern technology! Keep eating and I will too!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Paso Robles Inn - Paso Robles, CA

Scott showing "This Is A Stray Cat" Owned by Ron & Sara Malone. Ron was the Reserve Champion in the Non-Pro 5/6 on his maiden run! Go Cowboy Ron. 

Scott was third in the Open Derby and winner of over $2000 on "This Cats Dazzlin" owned by Melissa Good Taste! 

There is nothing more special than when your group of friends does well at a horse show, all on the same day! Cowboy Ron, Scott and I were winners so a celebratory dinner was in order. I had heard the Paso Robles Inn used to be the place to go for a good steak. The guys were excited so we went ahead and gave it a try!

Scott started with some greens and it just so happened to be a clever Steakhouse twist on a Cesear. Grilled Romain hearts, roasted pepitas and reduced balsamic. An interesting take n the classic.

Seafood Chowder for me. The only seafood I could detect was clams though, it was too big of a serving for me. I just wanted a couple of bites.

Yummy, yum, yum! I saw Morro Bay Halibut on the menu and knew that was exactly what my body was craving. Bathed in a champagne beurre blanc sauce and a mashed potato pillow I enjoyed the hearty piece of fish bite by bite.

 Cowboys eat rib-eyes and so they did. Scott and Ron made their way through the steaks and then moved onto the roasted fingerling potatoes.

Dessert time! Mama loves her creme brulee but this version could not hold a candle to the Artisan version. It was a nice ending to the meal though.

Today was a special day, good horses and even better friends! 

Friday, January 20, 2012

Goodbye Chunk...












Saying goodbye to an awesome horse is the most painful thing ever. Cheers to you Chunk!

Waiting on the Rain...

Acting silly at the Adelaide Inn.

Artisan - Paso Robles, CA

While we are in Paso Robles we like to go to our favorite restaurants and Artisan is always high n the list. Cowboy Ron had a great day at the show and tonight was a good night to celebrate that. He first chose a Pinot Nior, and then we made our way to this Brochelle Zinfandel. Wow! It was great!

Scott ordered one of these plates of Jalapeno Cornbread plates and shared them with the table. They were so good we ordered another! 

I ordered this Cauliflower Cheddar soup, it had a melted cheese crust on top and was hard to break into. Once I did it was warm and comforting. It lacked a little flavor and I was worried a cold had trapped my taste buds!

Scott and Kat both ordered the Pork Chop with the twice baked sweet potato. It was on special and they just adored it, it was a winner!

Cowboy Ron and I ordered the Slow Braised Lamb Shank served with roasted snow peas, onions, pan juices and mashed potatoes. Oh jeez, this was as close to heaven as one can get! Savory, tender and something I would never normally order! 

My favorite part of the meal: the custards! The top pot was Chocolate de Creme, left: Butterscotch Budino, bottom: Creme Brulee served with a shortbread cookie. Omg. I would like to order the Butterscotch by the drum. Very special meal. Stay tuned to where we go tonight!!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Odyssey World Cafe - Paso Robles, CA

Hello 2012 horse show season! We are back in Paso Robles and I love exploring new restaurants. We were dressed in our casual wear so I decided Odyssey World Cafe would be perfect. You order at the counter and then find a seat, just what we needed after putting up the horses at the fairgrounds.

It was cold out and I needed some soup to warm up! Tomato Basil was just perfect, it was creamy and very rich. I didn't want to finish it because I wanted to save space for the beautiful meal to come.

Hello deliciousness. This was my meal of Salmon, Spinach and Wild Rice. Healthy and tasty make Melissa good Taste one happy girl. This really hit the spot.

I have a couple different meals here and the dinner serves was very impressive. If you do only have time for lunch while cruising up or down the 101, please stop in and try the French Dip. It was amazing the last time I had it. Tell them Melissa Good Taste sent you.