Diamonds in St Thomas

As the cruise ship pulled into St. Thomas around 7:30AM I sat on my balcony and gazed out at the beauty of the island in the warm morning sun. The country immediately displayed all of the natural charm of the Caribbean with the wealth of the US. I'm not talking about middle class wealth, oh no. St. Thomas is wrapped in the kind of of money that 95% of Americans wish they had. As we pulled into the port I found myself saying "man, that's a lot of yachts" out loud as I gazed at the many power and sale yachts that were anchored in the harbor.




It was immediately clear that those with means either lived in/near St. Thomas or traveled here frequently. I came to understand that many of the yachts in the harbor were for charter, but I was also told that many belonged to wealthy Americans who kept their yachts in St. Thomas and flew down to meet them before heading on their Caribbean journey. Maybe someday...

Apart from the yachts St. Thomas had a genuine island charm. The island was very peaceful with beautiful beaches and the typical laid back residents. The most popular of the beaches on St. Thomas is Magen's Bay, where president Barrack Obama stayed when he visited the island. Located on the North (Atlantic) side of the island, Magen's Bay features a well-protected white sand beach stretching for nearly a mile. It is one of the most popular tourist beach destinations on the island. With its clear water, soft sand, and palm trees, it is commonly considered to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the Virgin Islands. Magen's Bay was previously owned by Arthur Fairchild, who gave most of it as a gift to the Municipality of St. Thomas and St. John in 1943 for use as a public park. The far Western portion was donated by Fairchild's nephew's widow, Christine Wheaton, in 2002. The Bay is currently administered by the semi-autonomous Magen's Bay Authority.

From the port I took a minivan into the city center to investigate what was unique about St. Thomas. I soon discovered that St. Thomas is known for its diamonds as much as it's known for it's beaches. The city center is filled with hundreds, I was told 366, jewelry stores that sell mostly diamond products. Prior to the 2008 financial crisis and world economic meltdown there were almost twice as many stores. You'll also find high-end jewelry stores like Cartier in town as well. I tried to find out the history of the diamond stores in St. Thomas and couldn't get a definitive answer. It seems that the stores came as a result of the cruise ships and that St. Thomas is tax free. So once more and more cruise ships started arriving and word got out that St. Thomas was the place to buy tax free diamonds many tourists would come with the intention of purchasing something from one of the local stores. With that came more stores and more competition which led to lower prices.

Today St. Thomas is a haven for those looking to purchase a few small pieces and great discounts and no taxes. I actually purchased something myself and was very pleased with it. Needless to say that I had it checked as soon as I returned to the states and it was appraised as described in St. Thomas, always the pessimist.

I couldn't have prayed for a more beautiful day for my visit. The sky was a deep rich blue with a few clouds for character. The sea was calm and warm and the wind blew a periodic cool breeze which helped to keep things cool. For lunch we ate at Glady's Cafe where, surprisingly, I had the best oxtail that I've ever had in my life. Glady's had the recipe down to perfection. We almost didn't eat there as it seemed like a whole in the wall. However, once we got in we realized that it was a great place with perfect food and good service. If you're in St. Thomas and you're hungry for local or American food, then stop at Glady's Cafe... and they didn't even pay me for that promotion.

As always, here are a few more pics to end the post.

READ MORE >

Christmas Without The Snow

It's Christmas season again and those of us who currently live, or previously lived, in the Northeast know exactly what that means. You can expect lots of snow, ice, shoveling, and frigid cold to go along with your holiday cheer. For the past few years I've either toughed it out in the frozen tundra of NYC or high-tailed it back to the Caribbean to get some sunshine. This year I plan on doing something a little different. Instead of heading back home for my entire vacation I've decided to share myself equally among a few of the islands so none of them gets too jealous. (The map to the left doesn't include St. Vincent and I am trying not to be offended, while also being too lazy to find another one.)

Over the next 9 days I'll be hopping from Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Maarten/St Martin, Antigua, St. Lucia, Grenada, St. Vincent, and Barbados. There is nothing better than the Caribbean, but experiencing multiple islands in one vacation sure comes close. Most of these islands are known for incredible beaches and snorkeling, two things I love doing, and I plan on getting as much as I can.

Some of the most famous beaches in the world can be found in the Caribbean. They include Magen's Bay in St. Thomas, any of the 365 beaches on Antigua, Orient Bay in St Martin, and Grand Anse beach in Grenada. I've also heard that Snorkeling in Grenada is not to be missed and I certainly don't plan on missing it.

I wish everyone an great holiday season and the best for the new year. Let's all enjoy it.

READ MORE >

Monet and Jazz

What could be better than impressionism and cool Jazz, well maybe many things. Nonetheless, this evening I got to put those two great works of art together for an entertaining night on the town in Tokyo. First up was an exhibition of some of Claude Monet's artwork at Bunkamura in Shibuya, Tokyo. The exhibition has just opened and the crowds haven't caught wind of it yet so the viewing was quite enjoyable. Admittedly most of Monet's more famous works were missing from the exhibition but that's to be expected. Along with Monet there were pieces from John Breck, Theodore Butler and other impressionists and paintings of Giverny. Some were certainly more interesting than others, but all were worth a look.

After leaving the art exhibition I headed to Body & Soul in Aoyama to end the night with some live jazz and ox cheek, more on the ox later. Body & Soul is a cozy little jazz bar and restaurant located in Aoyama just a few minutes walk from Omotesando station. The cover is a bit steep for the performance, but that's how it goes for live performance in this town it seems. For dinner I went with the ox cheek, I am more of a ox tail man but tonight I made the exception. Plus there was no ox tail on the menu. The cheeks were pretty good and I'll definitely order it again if I ever encounter it on a menu. To end the post in the right mood, here is a clip from the opening number at the bar, enjoy.

READ MORE >

Sitting On Top Of Tokyo

One of the great things about winter in Japan is that the skies clear up and you can see into the horizon without obstruction. This is true for daytime, but it's especially true at night. On any given winter night if you can get high enough you'll be able to see the splendor that is Tokyo, and tonight was no exception. I ventured to the top of Roppongi Hills, the same building that houses the Google offices, to the 52nd floor observatory and spent the evening relaxing to an unexpected musical performance and starring into the night's sky

The building sits on top of Roppongi in Tokyo, a hill famous for its nightlife. Even though the building is nowhere as tall as the Tokyo tower, from its position on top of the hill it certainly feels that way. As you can see from the photo above I was looking down at the Tokyo tower which is amazingly lit as always.

The area directly below is also extremely well decorated with the street-level tree line wrapped in festive winter lights. Time seems to fly by when you're at the top of Roppongi Hills without a care in the world and it was a very enjoyable night. But what really made the night special was the unexpected and very welcomed performance of an up-and-coming Japanese R&B singer, Meajyu. I've included some video clips below for your enjoyment. The video could have been better, but I didn't have my HD recorder with me. Enjoy.

READ MORE >

J-League (Japan Soccer League)

It was Saturday December 4th. The weather was fair, the sky was clear, and even though it was a little chilly it was a great day in December. This was certainly a day to take in some Japanese sporting action, and what better sport to watch than soccer? With my HD video recorder and dSLR in hand I traveled south out of Tokyo to Yokohama to watch the three time J-League champions Yokohama F. Marinos take on the not so successful Omiya Ardija at the Nissan International Stadium in Yokohama.

The fans were as energetic as I've seen at any international soccer game. The stadium atmosphere was top notch, and to top it off I managed to nab some great seats at midfield on the fifth row. Watching a soccer game doesn't get better than that, unless of course you're on the field itself. One thing I found interesting was that the fans, who were 99% Japanese, chanted in English for the entire game. They chanted theme songs of Premier League teams like Man U and Chelsea. This was both very funny and entertaining.

As for the game itself, well let's just say it wasn't exactly premier cup or Series A, but those guys played their hearts out and gave a good show. Below are some clips from the game itself.

READ MORE >