What a month it has been. So much to be grateful for.
First the wedding. Then the honeymoon. There will be much more on the wedding later.
Let's cut straight to the honeymoon.
We just returned from a blissful week in Turks and Caicos (aka The British West Indies) on the island ofProvidenciales. We stayed at The Grace Bay Club on Grace Bay Beach and it was absolute heaven. The weather was perfection and the sand was as fine and soft as AP flour - so fine, in fact, that it doesn't hold heat from the sun, so you can literally walk barefoot all day on the beach - a foreign concept to a girl that spent her younger years in Southern California sprinting across the scalding sand of Santa Monica beaches, pausing every couple of yards to stand on a towel, barely able to stand the heat.
We drank the local rum (Bambarra) and enjoyed fresh conch and spiny lobster in every way, shape, and form. I made some friends in the kitchen at local favorite, Da Conch Shack, where they showed me how they harvested and prepared the fresh conch - pulling it from the ocean ("nature's refrigeratahh") and tenderizing the meat on an over sized butchers block outside the back door of the kitchen about 5 yards from the ocean tide. Our favorite preparation was Cracked Conch - where they dust it ever so slightly and fry it up like calamari.
We spent one day riding rented red vespas across the island - checking out the local Conch Farm, exploring Blue Hills, and taking in the views at Chalk Sound National Park.
Other days were spent at the beach, taking in the sunshine, sipping rose, and finally catching up on some reading. The ocean there is the most stunning turquoise hue - tropical fish swim around your ankles just a few feet off shore. The third largest barrier reef in the world surrounds the island which breaks the surf leaving the water near shore as calm and inviting as ever.
Another favorite spot was newly opened restaurant, Sora Japanese Brasserie, a short 5 minute walk from our hotel and everything we ate was so delicious - sort of tapas-style Japanese food and they had a nice little sake list too.
We finished the trip with ultra nourishing spa treatments at the hotel - Coconut Rub and Milk Ritual Wraps to exfoliate and rehydrate our sun-drenched skin. The perfect ending to a week in paradise.
Here is our most favorite Rum Punch recipe from the trip:
Proper Rum Punch
1 oz Bambarra Gold Rum (hard to find in the states, sub accordingly)
1 oz Myers Rum (to float on top)
6 oz Fresh Pineapple Juice
2 oz Fresh OJ
Half Lime, Juiced
Dash of Pomegranate Juice
Method
Combine the fruit juice and gold rum. Pour over ice.
Slowly pour dash of pom juice in glass for proper layering of color.
