Today was pretty much a perfect first day. In spite of our anxiety about making our connection in Atlanta - with just 47 minutes to spare - our flight from Toronto actually arrived early! So by the time we took the tram to the right terminal and found a washroom, we actually waited for about five minutes before we boarded the plane.
We easily met up with the other woman in our group, eventually found our driver, and embarked on an interesting journey from the airport to Antigua (about 45 minutes to an hour's drive -- but of course we forgot to check and see what time we left....LOL!). There were lots of interesting sights along the way. I really felt as though I have travelled very far from home. We did have a little preview from the air, but I still wasn't really very prepared. It's hard to get a true sense from the photos I was able to snap while we were driving, but now that I've remembered the sports setting, I will hopefully get some better ones on our way back to the airport at the end.....
Upon arriving at our hotel, Hotel Aurora, I felt as though we had entered a fairy tale. With a little buzz through the iron gates, we entered a beautiful courtyard with a fountain....
Our room opens right off of the main courtyard. Simply amazing and so very charming. After unpacking a little, we ventured out in search of a bank to exchange some ca$h, a much needed coffee, picking up our tour tickets for tomorrow, and starting to get our bearings. So far it seems very safe and pretty easy to find your way around. I took more pictures during our walks, but l will wait and share tomorrow, when I add more from our walking tour and also (hopefully) know a little more about the places.
So far, so wonderful. Lots of amazing textiles - and I know that we have only skimmed the surface. Our first coffee was delicious, and it will be interesting to tour the coffee plantation tomorrow afternoon.....and we had a nice dinner at a restaurant named Frida's (in honour of artist Frida Kahlo).
Night night....l
