Travel Diary: 2 Hours in Saint George’s, Grenada

Hey Guys!

As you may or may not know, 90% of my travels are work related. The only time I get to venture out is during down time or if we complete the agenda early enough. Luckily, this time around we finished 2 hours earlier than scheduled and I was also with other Caribbean individuals who wanted to see a bit of Grenada. Funny enough this is my third time in Grenada, so I guess third time’s the charm!

Grenada, commonly known as ‘The Spice Isle” is located in the southern Caribbean and has a mixture of French, African and British influences. It is 133 square miles with an estimated 110,000 inhabitants.

P.S Grenada is a tri-island state: Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.

On our quest to “discover Grenada” we decided to venture into their city area, more specifically Saint George’s which is their capital. It took us about 15-20 minutes from St. George’s University.

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One of my colleagues wanted to go to a particular store so that was our first mission.

Art Fabrik

Art Fabrik is a boutique located in the historic district of St. George’s, Grenada. They sell clothing and accessories for men and women in a wide variety of colours and styles using the batik process. There are also items that can be bought as gifts or souvenirs.

Batik is the name for both the creative process and the finished creation.

I first learnt about the Batik process in high school (not that I remember everything); where wax is used to paint on fabric then dyed in various colours. I took the time to walk around the store while my colleague was looking for a fabric she liked. Turns out everything is done right at the store, and they also have a gallery upstairs. The gentleman pictured below told us that he has been doing this for 22 years.

For more information check out their website: ArtFabrikGrenada

House of Chocolate

Did you know that all three types of cocoa in the world can be found in Grenada?

source

Upon arriving to Art Batik, we saw the infamous House of Chocolate across the street and knew we had to visit after. It’s a cafe, boutique and museum all in one. It had its educational features detailing the process of making chocolate, as well as a history lesson on its origin. The boutique showcased items made with cocoa, clothing, art and accessories for sale. Lastly, my favorite part – the cafe! Featured were samples of different chocolates as well as treats for sale. Treats included cakes, cookies, brownies, drinks and ice-cream which are all home-made.

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I did my best not to go overboard with the sweets but if you know me you know I LOVE chocolate. We all indulged in a chocolate rum shot which was pretty good. I decided to leave with a scoop of chocolate ice-cream given how hot outside was. It was the right texture and taste (not overly sweet).

P.S : There are five bean/tree-to-bar chocolate companies in Grenada. Additionally, there’s a Chocolate Festival held in May which lasts about nine days and showcases various ways in which cocoa is used in food, art, beauty and fashion.

Fort George

We didn’t exactly make it to Fort George but if you’re into history this Fort, along with the national museum, is located in the capital city. Fort George is the oldest fort on island and was renamed in 1762 in honour of King George III after the British seized control of the island. You will have to climb a few stairs to get to the Fort, but the views are worth it.

Continuing our walk, we stumbled upon this church- at least what’s left of it. From research it appears to be St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. The tower and the clock was built in 1833 and remains to this day. Unfortunately the rest of the church got damaged over the course of several hurricanes, most notably Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

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Walking around town, you can tell that Grenada is filled with untouched beauty, most notably their century old buildings. The people are also extremely friendly and welcoming. It’s always refreshing when I visit.

A little after 5pm, we returned to our hotel where we received a nice little history lesson from our friendly taxi driver. Full hotel review will be up shortly!