Oh, the pressure of staring at a blank piece of paper, even if it is an electronic piece of paper, and knowing that you are expected to put words on it – scintillating words, informative words, humorous words, argumentative words (has anyone picked up the Broadway Musical those four word pairs brought to mind?). And knowing that it is the first blog of a brand new, 29 day long month – brought to you by Pope Gregory XIII. Pressure!
We woke this morning to another junk yard dock yard. Well, maybe that is unkind, but it is a dock yard surrounded not by ships, but by shipping containers. The good thing is we are downtown, close to the Church of the Immaculate Conception that we wanted to see in December and was closed. Fifteen minutes, and we were there. It was an hour from the Anthem of the Seas and it was closed.
An incredibly beautiful building. The vaulted ceiling is covered in wood panels, painted in Bible scenes. They are faded now – the church was built in 1899 – but restoration is underway. Even as they are, they speak beauty of a House of Worship.
When St. Lucia suffered a devastating fire in 1948, which consumed 80% of the structures downtown, left 800 families homeless, and did $90 million dollars damage (2016 dollars) the fire stopped, miraculously, just before it consumed the church.
We strolled slowly back to the ship, shopping in and out of four pharmacies and two grocery stores. It was almost like being in 1993 Russia. Mountain Dew over here. Room deodorizer over there. Yes, room deodorizer. One of our closets has developed a smell from unwashed clothes – or so She Who Must Be Obeyed tells me. I didn’t notice it, but I helped search for a deodorizer. Keep her happy!
My talk this afternoon was scheduled and announced to begin at 4 p.m. It started at 4:30 because Chef Dino Jactiani, who was scheduled to start at 3 p.m. and was supposed to be over before 4 p.m., didn’t and wasn’t. But I smiled and carried on. As a possible award, we may be given complimentary “Authentic Eats Tours” on St. Maarten, regular cost $140 per person. The chef, who owns a restaurant on St. Maarten, will meet high paying guests in the French capital (St. Maarten is shared by the Dutch and the French, each with their own capitals) to go shopping in the market, where he will pick out fresh items, carry them, and us, back to his restaurant where he will make a gourmet lunch. Then a visit to a museum and a famous artist, followed by steel drum lessons. Hopefully, Katie can work it out. I’ll let you know.
We decided to go to the PG rated comedy show tonight, but by the time we got there the house was full. I’m not going back and check, but the times I’ve gone into the lounge to get ice and there has been an F-rated show on, there have been many empty seats. Maybe they’d fill the house more with comedians who could be funny without being dirty. I’m just saying.
Tomorrow a trip to the St. Kitts Museum. Until then.
TTFN
Oh. The Broadway Musical was “My Fair Lady.” Eliza singing to Freddy Eynsford Hill, “Words! Words! Words! I’m so sick of words! I get words all day through, first from him, now from you! Is that all you blighters can do?”
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