Our trip to Bermuda!
Please use this map and this page to help you explore a world full of . . .

Chickens!

Kitties!

Packaging!

Tiny Cars!

St. George's Parish

The Town of St. George , in St. George's Parish, is a World Heritage Site due to its freakish oldness.
St. George is where we stayed from the 27th to the 2nd. It was, by far, my favorite place in Bermuda. Very historical, very clean and very compact.
We stayed at the Taylor House , a famous 17th Century home with an addition put on in the late 18th (the part we stayed in). This house has been painted countless times and is featured prominently in my architectural heritage book about St. George. It is also next door to the Perfumery at Stewart Hall and the Pilot House. We were also a few doors down from the This Old House project on the same street (Aunt Peggy's Lane).

The Taylor House
(the apartment where we stayed most of the trip)

The tininess of Aunt Peggy's Lane/Taylor's Alley has been known to fool cab drivers from time to time.

Somers' Garden

St. Peter's Church

Clearly, I liked taking pictures of St. Peter's. The Taylor House was mere steps away and it seems like we stopped at the church to look around every day. There's a rubber chicken in a cage on the roof of the tower. They had some incredible, old world roses that had the unmistakable scent of a rose, only more pleasant and quite strong. They must benefit from all of the dead people buried beneath them.

Tobacco Bay

The Unfinished Church

Churchgoers can be really wacky.
Would you believe they built this cathedral style church, and then decided to renovate their other church and just abandon the near completed new church?
This used to have a roof and floors and everything, but due to nature and people, those are all gone now. . .only since the 1950's.

The Royal Naval Dockyard (1809)

Calcareous Walls and Such

The Commissioner's Palace & The Fort

We went to the Dockyard twice. The first time, everything was basically closed, so we walked up the hill where those tanks are as well as a jail. The fun was saved for another day. The next time we went, we ran out of time while exploring the Commissioner's House and the rest of the Maritime Museum (aka, Ungulate Poopland), so we got chased out. And, I just happened to be in the large room full of 16th and 17th century maps and charts. The woman who chased us out can be seen on the balcony, in the right hand Commissioner's House photo, making sure we were leaving the grounds and not smuggling out her poop.

City of Hamilton,
Pembroke Parish & Paget Parish

The first two days we were in Bermuda, we stayed near the City of Hamilton at the Little Pomander (not the Pampadour, Pomadore or Pomade), home of "Little Miss Sunshine", our cleaning lady who really didn't clean, but sure was happy that her God provided her with such a magnificent day. . .to not clean. The room was do-able and in a convenient location and we also met a really nice and interesting family from Baltimore. We got to talk about social justice and stuff.
We arrived on December 26th, Boxing Day. This is a national holiday in most of the British Realm, and thus, most stuff was closed. In our search to find food (constricted by my poor choice of diet), our noses led us to the ueber fancy Hamilton Pricess Resort. We arrived at high tea and found the restaurant's menu unsuitable. Of course, we then proceeded to trespass all over the place. Checking out their comfy wingback chairs in front of the 25 foot tall hallway lounge windows felt like the right thing to do. We then had to inspect the outdoor area and put our non-paying butts in their outdoor furniture with the flawless waterfront view of the city and our little B&B on the other side of the Harbor. If we were willing to blow $500 a night the first two nights, maybe it would have been nice. Oh right! Back to the food. Well, since only one grocery store was open, and not knowing the nature of the stores in the area, I decided to get as much as we could carry. In retrospect, this was my bad decision that continues to haunt me, as I bought a couple cans of this weird vegetarian "food" stuff. Weeks later, I'm still eating this. . .uh. . . crap. If I had only waited one more day when the bigger stores were open. . .

Fort Hamilton

Smith's Parish

This location is the first stop after the small pen of cows. That's when you hit the "stop" button. Actually, the public transportation was very nice in Bermuda. They had very quick ferry service and those crazy, clean busses. I still have a bruise on my shin from a close encounter between a moped rider and our bus. We spent a lot of time on the busses.

Spittal Pond Nature Reserve

I almost peed on a mouse here. It was the only wild mammal I saw. I'm sure after we were done here, we probably went to the grocery store and got some really great scones. I really like grocery shopping and baked goods.

Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo

I liked the Zoo/Aquarium/Natural History Museum. They were a little short on animals, but the aquatic part was outstanding and the museum was most excellent. What few terrestrial animals they had were fairly cheeky. A lion tamarin didn't want to talk to me anymore, so it took its little hand and shut the door of its little box in my face. Is that what they taught it at primate school? We were able to get really close to the sea turtles, because, just like everything else in Bermuda, there were no handrails. It's like there are no lawyers on the island. And, let me just thank the british now for conquering India. I mean, what other country is going to have a chain of pizza parlors/sub shops that are owned by East Indians AND sell indian food. In Flatts, Rebecca had a calzone and I had a creamy, hot curry and lots of rice. Strangely enough, that was the only indian food I had the whole time. In Hamilton, on our last night, we ate at Cafe' Cairo. . .very expensive, but totally worthwhile (I have a new dessert recipe from it too). Since we were staying with places with kitchens, I cooked most of the time and tried to adjust Rebecca to the 2-meal-a-day Ben schedule. We had mixed results.

Southampton Parish

Gibb's Hill Lighthouse

Rebecca was a bit disappointed that I wouldn't come out on the unenclosed, rusty balcony at the top of the lighthouse where the antsy, hyper kid was holding court. But it was nice there anyway. Again, just like everything else in Bermuda, there were virtually no extra safety precautions and no supervisement up in the lense housing/observation area. It is kind of refreshing not to have "The Man" breathing down your neck.

Everybody look at my honey!
I brought back more than a liter of honey (the other stuff is just there for scale). It is like a mouthful of flowery marshmellows. I wish I had one of those cranberry scones from the Crow Lane Bakery, some melted irish butter and a little honey now. That counted for a lot of my breakfasts.