The Best Bar in Jamaica

Lisa: Nose to the grindstone at the Pelican Bar

OK, I’m not one to grumble and moan, even when someone is having a much better time of it than I am. Oh no. But, there are limits.

I am sat wearing my wifes dressing gown (no! It was just the nearest thing and I was in a hurry…er..) and typing to a friend on Skype  who we are meeting later today for lunch, prior to watching Liverpool FC and Manchester City FC kick the snot out of each other in the premier league when “Ping!” I get a tap from Lisa, the lady who runs a world famous villa rentals company, you may have heard of it (unless you live in a cave) Jamaican Treasures, I may have mentioned this once or twice on this Blog.

Hard at it, another poor soul scratching a living.

Anyway, Lisa is in Jamaica just now and having a hell of a time, working apparently, or so she tells me. Lisa sent me some photographs of a truly amazing bar, I’ve seen nothing like it and I have seen some bars in my time (Ghana, Senegal, Belize, Germany, Cyprus, Barrow-in-Furness to mention a few places) it’s made out of sticks and palm leaves? Like the type of place one of the little Piggies would have built to keep the Wolf away.

I have decided that words alone could not describe this amazing stilt pub. It is Robinson Crusoe meets James Bond and from what Lisa tells me, the food is fantastic.

Take a look at this great Blog

http://www.jamaicantreasures.com
Email lisa@jamaicantreasures.com
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KIndle - Wheres my Kindle

Help track Mrs Blogspots KIndle

I have never been one to complain and I think, on the whole, I am a pretty patient sort of bloke. I live in Andalucia, Spain, in the mountains not far from Granada and the Sierra Nevada ski slopes. Things are pretty laid back here and you have to expect delays.

I ordered a Kindle from Amazon for a Xmas present for Mrs. BlogSpot, an avid reader, and I thought this Kindle thing would be just the thing to keep herself off my back through the long winter nights. So I ordered Mrs. BlogSpot a Kindle.

Estimated day of arrival was 24th of November, the parcel had left Madrid on the 23rd of November, today is the 25th of November, and so, where is Mrs. B’s Kindle?

Good question. I checked on the UPS parcel tracking service and I find that the Kindle is more like Marco Polo, it’s been all over the world. Why? Because I live in the middle of nowhere, I have no road, no street, no house number so they are playing “Pass the Parcel” with Mrs. B’s Kindle. Don’t believe me! Check out the UPS delivery status:

Malaga, Spain   11/23/2011         9:04 P.M.             

The receiver's address is incomplete. UPS is attempting to obtain the entire address and complete the delivery. / UPS will contact the sender and/or receiver regarding the status or disposition of this package.

11/23/2011         5:17 P.M.            The apartment number is missing or is incorrect. UPS is attempting to obtain this information.

11/23/2011         2:24 P.M.            Destination Scan

11/23/2011         2:23 P.M.            Arrival Scan

Madrid, Spain   11/23/2011         7:56 A.M.            Departure Scan

11/23/2011         7:21 A.M.            Arrival Scan

11/23/2011         7:11 A.M.            Departure Scan

11/23/2011         5:54 A.M.            Arrival Scan

Koeln, Germany   11/23/2011         3:27 A.M.            Departure Scan

Madrid, Spain   11/23/2011         1:59 A.M.  Registered with Clearing Agency  11/23/2011        

1:38 A.M.            Registered with Clearing Agency / Shipment submitted to Clearing Agency

11/23/2011         1:38 A.M.            Power of attorney documentation is missing and is required for clearance.

Koeln, Germany              11/22/2011         10:17 P.M.          Arrival Scan

Philadelphia, PA, United States                11/22/2011         9:07 A.M.            Departure Scan

11/22/2011         1:42 A.M.            Export Scan

11/22/2011         12:07 A.M.          Arrival Scan

West Columbia, SC, United States          11/21/2011         10:52 P.M.          Departure Scan

11/21/2011         9:54 P.M.            Arrival Scan

11/21/2011         9:35 P.M.            Departure Scan

Madrid, Spain   11/22/2011         3:29 A.M.            Power of attorney documentation is missing and is required for clearance.

West Columbia, SC, United States          11/21/2011         7:38 P.M.            Origin Scan

United States    11/21/2011         6:11 P.M.            Order Processed: Ready for UPS

http://www.jamaicantreasures.com
Email lisa@jamaicantreasures.com
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Jamaica Villas – Blogging from Windows Live Photo Gallery

 

In my last Blog entry I wrote that I was testing this Windows Live Publish to Blog function and I am happy to say that it is very easy to use and quicker than logging into your account from whatever Blog site you use. This programme is free to download and will bring you hours of fun, it is, you will be happy to know, idiot proof (as my postings will prove) Great stuff!

Wish you were here? Hello! from Andalucia, Spain.

 

I was digging out photos from one of my old laptops when I came across this wonderful shot of my mucker, Russell Fawlks, a singer /songwriter / musician who resides on the Costa del Sol, which you all know is in sunny Spain. Here you can see Russell or “Rusty” trying to pluck a few of my hairs to cover his bald pate.

This shot was taken at my home in the Andalucian hills sometime last year, at a BBQ in honour of Saturday..any Saturday.

Rusell has been very kind and allowed me to use some of his music on the videos I made for Jamaican Treasures villas on Youtube. If anyone has used Youtube, you will know that the copyright situation is a bit stiff and you can sometimes end up having your video removed, or, worse still, your music replaced by something awful. So, having your own songwriter helps.

I’m trying out this new Windows Live Photo and Video editing freebie, you just download it, it’s cool for making videos, better than Microsoft Moviemaker and it has a “publish to Blog” option which is what I am using to write this with. If it’s any good, it will make Blog writing even quicker. Here’s hoping.

KINDLE - My Christmas wish list

"Watcha wan fe Chrissmus mon?"

I was ordering a Christmas present for Mrs Blogspot the other day, one of those Kindle reader things. In case you are not au fait with a Kindle, it is a hand held reading device that stores thousands of books for you to read, anywhere, anytime, anyplace, in the dark, in bright sunlight, in the bath, it’s your call.

I went onto Amazon to order one and after some cursing and swearing, I got it ordered and it will be here in Spain within my lifetime, maybe. While I was going through the process of ordering this Kindle, the Amazon site asked me for items for my wish list.

What is a wish list? Well, the Amazon wish list lets you write down all the things you want for Xmas, your friends and family can do the same and then you can click on each other’s wish list and see what they really want for Christmas.

Living Doll or Living Hell?

Needless to say, no one has soap-on-a-rope, socks, underpants, cheapo aftershave, K-Tel Hits of the 60’s, NOW 109 (Now That’s What I Call Music, compilation of 30 years of crap pop songs, first started off as “Now That’s What I Call Music” some fools bought it and this started the rot, NTWICM 2 followed by 3 and so on) or Cliff Richard sings holy songs album.

Now then...Did you ever get any of this?

No! these wish lists contain stuff like 60” 3D Plasma HD TV, XBOX with Need for Speed XXI, Nike Trainers with matching tracksuit and Bling accessories, Sony Vaio laptop, cars, skateboards and more. I remember when Xmas meant waking up to a Xmas tree with parcels underneath from Santa, watching Mary Poppins, Scrooge, waiting for Brenda to give the Xmas speech to the nation and then Xmas lunch. Boxing day was Bubble-and-squeek and that was that.

Of course, I completely lost the plot with this wish list, I didn’t want to be seen as greedy or shallow, or uncaring and so for my wish list I have put “peace on earth and goodwill to all men” No doubt I will have no need to purchase underpants, soap-on-a-rope, Armanipit aftershave or music by Sir Cliff.

Never mind. Why not put “Jamaica holiday” on your wish list and point your friends to the Jamaican Treasures website and pick up a great winter holiday deal. You can even take your Sir Cliff records with you as all of the villas have DVD players. Jamaican Treasures Luxury Villas for your wishlist link.

Have you ever had any of the naff presents listed above? or have you had worse? lets see who gets what this Christmas!

http://www.jamaicantreasures.com
Email lisa@jamaicantreasures.com
Have you been to Jamaica or do you live on Jamaica? Add a comment about your favourite place

The Sopranos - Who discovered America

Tony Soprano, on of Christopher Columbus' ancestors

I don’t know if you ever watch the TV series on one of the SKY channels called “The Sopranos” but my wife and I watch it every week, we love it. We are so taken with this story about a dysfunctional family of Mafia Godfather Tony Soprano, his real family that is, as well as his Mafia “family” that we now start every Wednesday in “Mafia mode”

“Wha dis mafia mode yer tak abowt?” I hear you ask. Well, our Wednesday starts off with the normal greeting “Good morning darling, you mother*******” to which the charming reply is often “Yeah! You too you slimeball!” and we then have coffee and watch the news.

Soprano day, Wednesday, every Wednesday, we have Italian food for our evening meal, last night, for example, we had Sicilian grilled chicken in pesto sauce with Ciabatta bread, unfortunately, we can’t get Italian wine in the Andalucía mountains so we make do with Rioja.

As usual, one of us cooks the meal while the other chirps that line from the Mafia film Goodfellows “don’t put in too many f****** onions!” to which the reply is always “I never use too many f******* onions!”

If this seems sad to you, that two sane (?) adults should behave in this way, you are most likely right, so, why am I telling something you could hold against me, should I ever achieve prominence in the political world? I’ll tell you. Christopher Columbus.

Hello? Christopher Columbus, the great explorer? What would he have to do with a modern day mafia family and a couple of marginally sane people who live in Spain? The answer is America. Who discovered America? Who discovered Jamaica as well, while we are at it?

Last night’s episode saw Tony Sopranos cohorts getting upset because Columbus Day had been hijacked by some radical Native Americans who blamed Columbus for all the woes that have befallen the Native Americans, since he discovered America.

Hello? Christopher Columbus discovered America? I don’t think so! Were there no people living on that continent at the time? Aztecs for instance, the plains Indians (not called Indians at the time but called so later because soft-lad Columbus thought he had landed in India), the Taíno peoples of the Caribbean and South America, Eskimos and a host of other peoples who lived in all parts of the American continent, so how does Christopher Columbus get the credit for discovering the place? Did the first Jamaica to land in the UK write home and tell everyone that he has discovered a strange land full of very pale people who like rain? No!

Take Captain Cook, credited with “discovering” Australia and a load of other places, the fact he was killed by natives should give us a hint that he was not the first to put foot down on Australian soil.

Explorers have taken credit for work that was not theirs and I want to point this out. If you are going to discover somewhere, then make sure there is no one there when you do (Virgin Islands, for example) otherwise, people like me and some ancestors will write about you on their blogs!

What happened to the Sopranos and the Native Americans in last night’s episode? They beat the snot out of each other and all got arrested. That’s culture for you..

http://www.jamaicantreasures.com
Email lisa@jamaicantreasures.com
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Highland House - Highland House, Montego Bay, Jamaica

Highland House, Montego Bay

 

You know when something has attracted a lot of attention, someone writes about it in the New York Times. Now, you may ask, why is a Jamaica villa being written about in such an august publication as the New York Times?  This is after is the largest local metropolitan newspaper in the United States. Highland House also featured in Island Home magazine.

If you look at villa Highland House which sits proudly in Montego Bay which is of course in the north of Jamaica. Highland House has a bit of history of attracting attention, because, according to the New York Times, Oscar Hammerstein, that genius (?) who gave us the delightful, if somewhat irritating  “Sound of Music” could very easy have written that “The hills are alive with the sound of Music” about Highland house and it’s delightful location.

To be honest with you, I wish he had of done, could you imagine Julie Andrews wearing  Rasta plats, Nike trainers, cut down Livi’s and a “Yeah Mon” Jamaica T-shirt with holes in it singing “Do, a Deer, a female Deer….” In Reaggae form. I would have gone to watch that.

It was at Highland house that Oscar Hammerstein wrote that music whilst his wife Dorothy entertained such luminaries as Noël Coward and Richard Burton, to name just a few.

Nowadays, Highland House has a new owner, Brenda Isaacs and Brenda has taken the time and effort to restore this beautiful house, retaining something of Oscar and Dorothy Hammerstein period furniture and touches whilst giving the place a new age touch, right down to the great Saphire coloured Bhudda that dominates the terrace and the luxury Zen bedroom to name but a few things.

 Video presentation of Highland House

Highland House, Montego Bay has 6 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms, all the amenties and facilities you would expect from a luxury villa of this calibre, including a dedicated staff that includes a cook, housekeeper, laundress and gardener. Just looking at Highland House makes you wish that you were there, the pool is an absolute delight and the views are to die for.

The other benefits of staying at Highland House are the close proximity to the Montego Bay airport and of course, Montego Bay itself, with all of the nightlife, tourist and historical attractions as well as sporting and cultural activities. The beach is a mere 5 minutes away and the airport 8 minutes.

There is so much to say about this culturally (as far as modern music is concerned) important villa that a visit to the main website at Jamaican Treasures will give you all the details and photographs you will need to show you just what an absolute delight Highland house is.

Please follow this link Highland House, Montego Bay, Jamaica.

http://www.jamaicantreasures.com/
Email lisa@jamaicantreasures.com
Have you been to Jamaica or do you live on Jamaica? Add a comment about your favourite place

Villa Calabash, Tryall Club, Montego Bay, Jamaica

Villa Calabash, Tryall Villas, Montego Bay, Jamaica

Here is a great villa for those who love sun, sea and sand (As well as grass, sky, sky, grass!) an absolute waterfront villa at Tryall in Montego bay. This great 3 bedroom luxury villas sits on Country Club Drive, the road the snuggles up to the ocean frontage at Tryall.

Villa Calabash is a beautiful 3 bedroom luxury villa that comes with a staff of four, cook, housekeeper, gardiner and laundress and is filled and fitted with all the amenities and home comforts we come to rely on, such as TV, DVD, Internet, BBQ, sun loungers, a community swimming pool and lots more.

Villa Calabash is ideal for the golfer, perfect for a wedding or honeymoon and great for a well earned vacation. Take a look at the Villa Calabash page on Tryall Villas Jamaica website and see for yourself what you will get for your money.

You also get one thing for free and that's the great quality of service  the clients of Jamaican Treasures always get. Villa Calabash Link

http://www.jamaicantreasures.com/
Email lisa@jamaicantreasures.com
Have you been to Jamaica or do you live on Jamaica? Add a comment about your favourite place

Tryall Club Jamaica

 

Map of Jamaica

I keep getting asked questions by people who would like to go to Jamaica but are too lazy to Google the questions for themselves. One question is "What and where is Tryall?"

Tryall, is a beautiful luxury gated villa resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Tryall villas are slap bang in the middle of the Tryall Golf course, which also has it´s own private beach.

The Tryall gated community is about 12 miles to the west of Montego Bay, which it'self is in the north west of the Island, between Lucea and Clark's Town. Tryall has the Flint river running through it, this in turn is fed from the mountain springs.

Can I rent a villa in Tryall, Montego Bay?

Yes, you can indeed rent a villa at the Tryall community. Tryall Villas Jamaica a sister website to My Luxury Villas and Jamaican Treasures has plenty of luxury villas for rent in Tryall, Montego Bay and here is the link

What facilities and amenities are available at Tryall

The following amenities and facilities are available to people who rent Tryall villas, Montego Bay.

Facilities & Amenities Tryall Club, a unique Caribbean retreat set on 2,200-acres of beautiful Jamaican landscape.
• 18-hole championship golf course
• 9-court tennis centre                        
• Beauty salon and spa centre                    
• Children’s programme                    
• 2 Restaurants and 4 Bars                    
• Afternoon tea at the Great House                
• Great House and pool                        
• Walking and jogging trails                    
• Horseback riding and polo                    
• Island Tours
• Croquet lawn
• Aquasize
• Beach and water sports centre
• Snorkeling and scuba diving
• Sailing, Deep sea fishing, water-skiing and tubing
For more information you can visit the main Tryallvillasjamaica.com site or contact the beautiful Stephanie and she will be as happy as a Parrot to help you. Stephanie@tryallvillasjamaica.com 


http://www.jamaicantreasures.com
Email lisa@jamaicantreasures.com
Have you been to Jamaica or do you live on Jamaica? Add a comment about your favourite place

Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Gloucester Avenue Montego bay, Jamaica





Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville

"Now then!" as the late Sir Jimmy Savile would have said, my attenstion has been brought to another fantastic place for entertainment on the exotic island that is Jamaica. According to a site Go Visit The Caribbean, Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville is by far the trendiest place in the Caribbean.

This webmaster (Jimmy's webmaster, not me) is another one that reckons that they are the baddest place to be and that is in Montego Bay’s “Hip Strip,” Gloucester Avenue. Himself tells you that this place is cool for kids and adults and points out that there is a 120ft waterslide! How you keep your G&T from becoming a bit diluted whilst getting dumped at the end of a 120ft shute is a mystery to me.

The guy really is full of himself and drops names like like Bart Simpson drops his pants. P Diddy (How does a cool guy end up with the name of one of Ked Dodd's Puppets? ) other names dropped are Nelly, Run DMC, Tiger Woods, Dennis Hopper..clang! clang! clang!

He really is at it "At night, Club Ville comes alive as the Hottest Nightclub in Western Jamaica" I hope he can live up to "Margaritaville is the most fun this side of Paradise!"

If you have ever been to Margaritaville, send us a note and even some happy snaps, it will be nice to see if this guy was telling the truth or not. In true Blogspot tradition, heres the Link

http://www.jamaicantreasures.com/
Email lisa@jamaicantreasures.com
Have you been to Jamaica or do you live on Jamaica? Add a comment about your favourite place