….   xx Jane

At its core, this sweet little place is a concrete shoebox-shaped apartment with a drop-dead gorgeous view.  Now that it’s dressed-up I hope guests will experience as a cozy getaway.  Of course, the main attraction is still the sea right outside.  ($200US a night during low season ($300US nightly during high) … taxes and view included!)

Tomorrow I’ll post a few before-and-after shots.

How difficult do you think it is to find lamp shades in Barbados? I went to four places and finally found these at - get this - Woolworth's. The good news is they were only $5US each.

This bar is from Dwellings; it stores wine glasses and much else down below. The mirror and photos are from Walkers World. I love seeing the reflection of the sea in the mirror. That mirror, btw, covers up an ill-placed fuse box.

The patio is dreamy, with a gentle breeze off the sea. It never receives direct sun (it faces southeast), so guests can lounge here any time of day or night. I bought these pretty dishes and silverware from Walkers World.

I love hearing children playing in the surf. You can swim out really far and still only be waist-deep. The jetty is the perfect place to watch the sun set. Last night, I counted 8 of us admiring the golden-orange-red sunset as it appeared to sink into the sea.

Bedroom detail. I'm a traveler who judges a place, in part, by the quality of its linens (can't believe I just admitted that), so how could I use anything but the best in my own rental properties?

Okay, now we get to what it's all about. I hope our guests feel the peace of the sea, the warmth, the breeze, and the beauty. Living here brings me serenity; I hope it does our guests, too.

]]> http://planetbarbadosblog.com/?feed=rss2&p=793 6 http://planetbarbadosblog.com/?p=480 http://planetbarbadosblog.com/?p=480#comments Sat, 14 Mar 2009 10:44:48 +0000 Jane Shattuck Hoyos http://onelovebarbados.com/?p=480 Many of the vendors on St Lawrence Gap have made street-selling their career.  Some have been selling their goods for a good decade or more.  I occasionally find an original and charmingly rough-hewn bauble I just can’t resist.

Like Seth’s.  Seth is not only a street vendor. He’s also a musician, a political rabble-rouser, and all-around character in St Lawrence Gap (and I suspect everywhere he goes).  I bought his CD, provocatively titled “Murder One,” a five-minute tune.  Okay, not tune, exactly — more of a political commentary with a beat.

The fanciful art of Seth, St Lawrence Gap, Barbados

I love Seth’s art.  He bends metal wire into fanciful characters depicting life in Barbados.  One figure is playing a bass, another is wielding a cricket bat.  The one that struck my fancy was a guy lounging in a hammock strung up between two palm trees.  Yes, that was the one I wanted.

While we were chatting about his art, Seth made me a little wire character on the spot.  I tried bending the wire myself and couldn’t even bend it into an “L” shape, while he was curving it and shaping it as though it were made of clay.

While he was deftly looping the wire between his fingers into a face and then a body and then a body animated, I asked Seth the source of his art and commented how satisfying it must be to create.  (Why oh why do I say these things?  I mean, “source of his art”?  “how satisfying?”  I’m so northern Californian I even make myself groan.)  But then, hey, Seth’s an artist, a man with a soul … So yes, I guess I did think I’d get a deeply contemplative — even philosophical — answer.

He looked me in the eye and responded deadpan, “I like to eat.”

I felt like an idiot.

Then again, when you’re hungry, that answer is deep.  Damn deep.

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