Our visitors came about a week apart so as soon as we got cleaned up and organized from the first visitor, the next ones were in Grenada! Ashkon's parents, Carol and Farzad came on Tuesday night. They came to say hi that night and see our place and also drop off the first load of many of the things that they brought for us (mostly food haha).
Wednesday: They headed over to campus and went with Ash to one of his classes. They really enjoyed it! Then, I took them on the fun adventure to the store! They were quite amazed with the prices and availability of some things. They had fun grabbing tons of Grenadian spices and other Grenadian things to take home! When we got back to our place, she thought it would be fun to make Ash some of her coffee cake. While she did that, I made my whole wheat tortillas! They loved them!! I wouldn't be surprised if they go out and buy a tortilla press soon! haha
Then, I had to start dinner! It is a lot different making dinner for 4 people instead of 2. So, I recruited Farzard to wash and cut the potatoes into wedges to go with our burgers! After we ate, I had to run to Bible Study. When I got back we played some Rummikub and then they headed back to their room.
Thursday: Thursday was Grenada's Independence Day which meant Ash didn't have school!! But that also meant everything in Grenada was closed. We decided to have a chill day and go to the pool at True Blue Bay Resort where Carol and Farzad were staying. It even had a slide which everyone had fun with!
After the pool, we headed to campus to for SGU Family Weekend Registration. It was really nice because we were able to sign up for a bunch of tours and activities that SGU had planned for the visiting families! Next, we headed back to our place and I made my Tortilla Stack (Ashkon's request!). While dinner was being made, we ran out to see the sunset and have some fun with our cameras! We went right on time to see a cruise ship passing by on the horizon!
Since Ash had taken the whole day off, his parents didn't stay late after dinner so that he could prepare for his next day of classes and we all had early mornings the next day.
Friday: When Ash left for class, I met up with Carol and Farzad to go on the Rum and Chocolate Tour! We drove all over the East side of the island, stopped at two rum distilleries and my favorite, the Belmont Chocolate Factory! I had never been to the first rum distillery we went to. It was much more high tech than the other one we went to next. It was all machine powered. It, also was under some construction so we all had to wear construction hats on our tour haha. After the tour, everyone was given the chance to try all different kinds of rum and make some purchases. After some time, we hopped back in the busses and went to the next distillery. This distillery is all water powered and still uses the original water wheel to break down the sugar cane. They also still use a big ladle to move the rum from one area to the next. Even though I don't like rum, it is still interesting to see how it is made and how Grenada can still use things like a water wheel to get a product made!
After that, we headed to Belmont. Before our tour, we got to eat at the Belmont Restaurant. It was quite the lunch. First, we got to choose between 2 juices- Orange or Guava--I chose the Orange and it was pretty good. Next choice was Christophine soup or Split Pea soup--I chose the Christophine soup, it was ok. Then we got to go up to the buffet and get salad, mixture of baked vegetables like plantain, yam, and a few other things. They had sweet and sour chicken, fried fish, and another kind of beef. They had rice and their version of cornbread. Even though Grenadian food is not my favorite, many of the things I tried were pretty good. Lastly, we got dessert. We had the choice of chocolate cake or mint ice cream- I chose the ice cream and it wasn't bad for being Grenadian ice cream.
Then, we headed down to our tour! Learning about how they make their chocolate is pretty cool!!
 |
| Different kinds of Fruits and Veggies |
 |
| BELMONT ESTATE |
 |
| Nutmeg |
 |
| Cocoa beans |
 |
| How they look when they start out... |
 |
| Our tour guide, Kelly |
 |
| Cocoa pods |
 |
| Beans are fermenting |
 |
| They put banana leaves on top of them while they ferment |
 |
Beans drying in the sun
|
After buying some chocolate bars, we headed back to campus! It was definitely a long, fun filled and packed day! We met up with Ash before I had to run to my other Bible Study. It was our first one starting back up for the term and I was asked to lead one of the smaller small groups after the big study so I felt like I really needed to be there! Since I had been gone all day, we decided to try out a new place for dinner- Shwarma King. It wasn't bad and it was fun to take Ash's parents to a restaurant that we had been wanting to try!
Saturday: Saturday morning, Ash had to teach a study group. I took the morning to relax, clean up and catch up on some reading because Carol and Farzad were going to a brunch on campus with the SGU faculty. I met up with them after to go to the Rum and Chocolate Demo that was put on by two famous chefs! One of them, Michael Carroll, works here in Grenada at the University Club which is where professors and other people affiliated with SGU will stay when they come to Grenada for shorter periods of time. The other, Jorg Amsler, has been on the food network plenty of times and came for a visit to show off his talents for the SGU families.
 |
Michael Carroll
|
I came in half way through Michael Carroll's demonstration so I don't remember what he was making. But, I did later get to try his chocolate truffles and those were pretty good!
 |
His final product!
Next was Jorg's demonstration! As soon as he started to show us what he was making, I knew exactly what he was doing! And I felt pretty proud that a world-renowned chef took my idea from Bethany's bachelorette party!! For that, I made (or actually my mom made because I was still in Grenada) thong and undies cookies!! So, Jorg make bikini cookies!! :D
He started out with the more modest bikinis from Boston where he is from since it was cold for winter. Then, he continued moving down south until he got to Grenada, in which the bikini was quite a bit more skimpy with the warm heat that we constantly get here at our home! Take a look... |
 |
After he was done with the demonstration, I got to take the Grenada bikini home for Ash to eat haha :D
Next, he gave us an air brush demonstration!! It was pretty awesome!! |
 |
| This bottle of rum was his inspiration! |
 |
| Started with the background...This part was made of a piece of wood and fondant (not to eat)... |
 |
Next, he started to air brush the bottle (made out of chocolate cake and fondant!)
He had this little pen that he continued to change colors to replicate the bottle of rum |
 |
| Almost done... |
 |
| Putting on the label |
 |
And DONE! This cake was going to be the dessert for the last event of Family Weekend!
Later that afternoon, we all went on the sightseeing Excursion! I was so glad that Ash was able to take the afternoon off to go on the tour with us! It was actually the first tour that we had been on together! Our first stop was Fort George! |
 |
| That's my man! |
 |
| Welcome |
Fort George was built from 1706 - 1710, on an early battery erected by the French in the 1600s, and originally named Fort Royal, it was renamed Fort George in 1763, in honour of King George III when the British took possession of the island, Consequently, 2006 - 2010 would be its 300th anniversary.
It is basically a small bastion tracer fort, which means that each level can give covering fire for the other level, and has been in constant use in one form or another since it has been built. It was once the heart of the town, but as the town has grown and times have changed, it has been relegated to being used as a simple extensive building.
Currently, it houses the Royal Grenada Police force, but has sections which are open to the public.
(Taken from GrenadaExplorer.com)
 |
| Doin' a little workout... |
 |
| <3 |
Next, we headed to Grand Etang to see the monkeys! We had come prepared with our bananas to try to get them to come out! However, we discovered that quite a few tourists had been out there earlier in the day and the monkeys most likely would not come out. Luckily for us, the "monkey man" was there and was very confident that he would be able to get a monkey or two to come out for us!
He worked his magic and we got to see the monkeys!
 |
| Trying to be the monkey man... |
After we fed the monkeys, we headed down to the lake.
Our next stop was Annondale Falls!
The last stop on our tour was Spice Basket. This is a Grenadian cultural spot where they have steel drummers and dancers for an exotic, culture show. They also have food, gift shops, and the National Cricket Museum.
 |
| Limbo |
 |
| Guests could come up and try too! |
Some of the dancers were really good!
After the show, we headed to the museum!
 |
| Old sewing machines |
 |
| The history of Grenada |
 |
| A scooter |
 |
| A Mongoose Trap |
 |
| Famous Cricket Photo |
 |
| Cricket Centres of the West Indies |
 |
| One of the most famous Grenadian cricket players |
After the tour, we headed home after a very fun and informative day.
Sunday: On Sunday morning, we woke up early to go to breakfast at Carol and Farzad's resort. Then, we all headed back to campus for CSA. We still hadn't been to the beach so that was our agenda for the day! We took them to Grand Anse beach where we enjoyed the water and Carol and Ash had fun with our snorkel gear and of course enjoyed the beautiful sun! After spending some time at the beach, we headed home to shower up and get ready for dinner. Since it was there last night in Grenada and Farzad's birthday was the following Wednesday, they wanted to take us somewhere nice for dinner. We looked at a few options and then decided on Victory Bar and Grill, which is in Port St. Louis. We made sure they were up for an adventure because we had to take a Reggae bus there! It was pretty easy to get there and once we did, we knew we had made the right decision. The service was great (which is rare in Grenada) and the area and ambience were so nice! We quickly made our decisions- I got the veggie pizza and Ash got "The Godfather" pizza which meant MEAT! haha Farzad got a different kind of pizza and Carol got the callaloo chicken. Our food came out really fast and it was DELICIOUS!! We decided that Victory is one of our favorite restaurants here in Grenada. We also got our waitress to bring out a birthday surprise for Farzad. It was really fun! Since it was their last night, once we got back to our place, we played a few rounds of Rummikub before they had to head back to their room and finish packing up.
The next morning they headed over to campus for a quick goodbye before heading to the airport. And just like that, our visitors for the term were gone. But, maybe someone else will decide they need a little vaca to Grenada??!??? :D:D:D:D
