Bermuda beach #1: Warwick Long Bay Beach

Oh dear, blogging neglected big time!

Work has been so crazy lately (and still is!) that I'm lucky to have a few hours in a weekend. Thanks for the hubby prevailing over me last week and just dragged me to the beach. We visited the most relaxing public beach in Bermuda - Warwick Long Bay. Our favorite spot for a quiet beach and bbq time. Not my favorite for swimming though - Warwick Long Bay is I think for more competent swimmers. Water in other beaches are calmer and more kid-friendly although the area surrounding the coral reefs is relatively calm. I guess having less kids is part of the attraction of Warwick Long Bay especially for tired expats who just want to spend a relaxing time. It's my and hubby's most visited beach in the island.

Ok, nerdy time: Warwick Long Bay is the longest beach in Bermuda - stretching over half mile. It's the first of the string of public beaches in South Shore at the east side of the island (ends with Horseshoe Bay beach, the main stop for Good Friday kite flying). It's also known for steep cliffs which are accessible for walking and are great for taking panoramic photos of the sea (my blog title photo was taken from the cliff).

As what Bermuda is known for, the beach sand has a pinkish streak. And what I always find amazing is the sand never turns hot no matter the summer temperature is. I can walk barefoot anytime. Bermuda waters also IMO are one of the bluest I've seen. If one's lucky, it's also good for snorkeling, although there are far better beaches in Bermuda for that (to blog about those beaches in the future).

This was our first proper beach stop this year. We haven't really been taking advantage of the beaches in Bermuda the past years. I guess it's human nature to neglect the things that are easily within reach and are free. Hopefully this year will be different and we are really keen in enjoying the beaches this summer. Bermuda is really breathtaking - - I guess hubby and I just really need to take a look at the island from a tourist's perspective. The island then will look totally different than from the eyes of worn out and drained expats (ehem). And who knows, this might be our last summer in Bermuda -- might as yet make the most of it.


Oh well, until my next post.

Framed: "fugly"

My hubby thinks I am PMSssssing.

I say yes and I feel "fugly". Bugger off.

Bermuda Shorts #4: B.O.T.

Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory.

Pop quiz: Does that mean a British citizen can just pack up his bags and reside in the island?

Errrm... the answer is "NO" (booos in the background).

Ok, geeky trivia time - but please don't be too rude... or at least cover your yawn, haha. Bermuda as a B.O.T. has much autonomy in running its own government, which means, Bermuda has its own immigration control generally working under the concept of "status". If you have Bermuda status, then you are not under the immigration control. And the opposite goes otherwise. Bermuda status is generally held by individuals born in Bermuda to at least one parent who has Bermudian status. Ok, boring stuff over - - snoozing's up!

Oops, not that easy to escape the wet and gloomy UK for the Bermuda sun afterall.

Framed: "errr, wrong timing"

At this time, this does not look like an ad promo which will work. Really.


.. and anyways, ad promo or otherwise, there's no sign of slowing down in drinking Sol, Dos Equis or Corona in this island. Still winners.

An attempt at an English home-cooked weekend dinner

Wow, the past week has just been busy at work that I just had did not have time for anything else. I have never been so glad last Friday. And I promised myself, not to come in to work this weekend regardless if it means breaking my back for another volume of work next week (Ugh, that's already tomorrow!).

So, weekend was spent with what?? With having a very English meal plan!! - - at least for Saturday and Sunday's dinner. The hubby has always whined about being sooo deprived of English dishes here in Bermuda considering that this is a British overseas territory and the island has a quite a number of Brit expats. Bermuda is leaning towards more American or Caribbean dishes -- I guess due to the proximity of both locations where supplies are easier to import, and American and Caribbean influences reach the island faster than the brits. Oh well, back to this weekend plan. Hubby and I went through the English heritage cooking book I bought months earlier and decided to go for English fish and chips for Saturday and roasted pork loin with apple sauce for Sunday.

Not once in every restaurant we went to did the hubby like the fish and chips. He always complains that fish and chips here pale in comparison to the UK's local fish and chips shops. I, on the other hand, is never a fan of battered fried fish. We Filipinos like our fish either fried whole or grilled with just some seasoning, and rely more on our dipping sauce for flavor (often a blend of vinegar, soy sauce, local lemon, and chilies). But as hubby and I would often have compromises in our meals, this weekend ended up with the English meal winning.

Bermuda markets are not abundant with fresh fishes - surprise, surprise! So surveying the limited varieties of fishes at the supermarket, we ended with cod fish for the Saturday night experiment. As for the batter, ours was a bit of contradiction as we ended experimenting with Guinness Irish beer. Why? Because I remembered Jamie Oliver using this beer for his fish and chips in one of the Iron Chef America episodes. The result, the fish turned out a little bit darker than expected haha. In the end though, I think it turned out decent enough given our very first attempt. Hubby finished his portion in 5 min - - he said he liked it. Either that, or he was just too hungry haha. ;)

Today was for the roasted pork with apple sauce one. This was actually a first for me eating roast pork with gravy and apple sauce. Often times in the Philippines, we use the same dipping sauce as described above - - and with rice! :) I love this one, and there's even enough leftovers for tomorrow (not that i would love that!) - - which means less chores on a Monday night and just concentrate on chilling out and watching 24, yey! :)

Una margarita para el Cinco de Mayo

"one margarita for cinco de mayo"

I've been giving in to my margarita cravings lately. It could have been a perfect opportunity for me to just drown on margaritas tonight - - it's cinco de mayo! Too bad with the onset of this "swine flu", seems this Mexican special holiday is cancelled this year. Even in Bermuda! I remember last year's was louder - - but I did not have these cravings back then, argh. Today it's just library-ish silence. Pfft.

Going back 5-6 years ago tequila was like soda to me. But now I would be lucky to survive 2 shots (or servings of margarita) - - age, blech! :)

Movie night at Liberty Theatre

Survived watching "Wolverine" in the only cinema showing it in Bermuda - with an analog sound and a green vertical line continuously popping on the screen... the whole thing reminded me of playing with an atari when I was a kid.. LOL

Bermuda can really do with a sophisticated digital THX / dolby cinema.... but then again, beggars can't be choosers, right? :)

Anyhoo, I never intend to be a movie reviewer but I did enjoy the film for its entertainment value. And I've been an X-men fan even before the movie adaptations with Wolverine as my favorite mutant.

The hubby just patiently watched with me although I caught him with a drool at one point. He seldom likes Hollywood-y films and is never a fan of "comics characters" - - he finds them very American (or not very Brit) and refers to comics as cartoons. While I, who grew up to watching and reading US-based comics characters, refer to them as graphic novels. Oh well, the same goes with the hubby - - beggars can't be choosers.. hee :)

Knockout! p.2

Ugh.. Hatton knocked out in less than 2 rounds..

Hubby, to the couch you go! :)

images from yahoo sports

Framed: "the ring"

Before this day is over, let me greet the hubby a happy "month-sary". mwah! :)

Knockout!

It's an interesting night tonight for me and the hubby. It's the BIG fight between the Philippines' Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao and England's Ricky "the Hitman" Hatton. Odds are with Manny to win it via knockout but hubby's really bent on Hatton winning. Of course, we gotta love our own!

We've been having a friendly banter all day - - we'll see who's sleeping on the couch tonight haha :)

A limited edition of Pacman's bobblehead doll distributed in the US - - I want one!!!!

Stuck in the Rock

I am suffering from rock fever. I need to get out. Problem is, I am still waiting for my travel documents to be able to get out of the island. I thought I was being very diligent renewing my UK visa 3 months ahead of scheduled holiday. And historically, I receive my visa 3-5 days after. But what do I get? I am still without my passport for a month now! After weeks of sleepless nights thinking about what has happened to my passport, I finally received this efffing message from the embassy:

Dear Applicant,
Your application has arrived safely at the New York office. However, you may or may not be aware that we are experiencing IT problems in Bermuda meaning that biometric information cannot be sent to London. Biometrics is a mandatory part of the application procedure and so regrettably your application cannot be processed at this time.
We are working hard to resolve this issue as quickly as possible and apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Regards,
New York Visa Team

WTF - all the while that I was cursing the UK embassy in NY, turned out the tech problem was with Bermuda.. what is effing new??!! And there's no info as to when they are gonna fix the problem. Everything takes forever and a day to get fixed here. My hubby's laptop is still being fixed by a "reputed" company here for almost 2 months now. Beat that.

This means foregoing my weekend getaway to NY this month and a work-related training. Argh. And if I don't get it on time for my visa application for Paris and Luxemburg - - there really goes my summer holiday.

In the meantime, I am so stuck in the rock. Boo. Big big BOOOOO.