the 4th day::dolphins, dreamland, Bermuda nighlife...

[Yes, I am super behind on this blog, and I do want to complete what I started so....here goes, backtracking 3 weeks]

Dad woke me up early again so we can catch the morning ferry. This time it was pouring rain, thundering, and lightening. My cough is sort of going away, but I still feel like my lungs are tight and don't have sufficient amount of air. My nose is still runny, and I feel like going back to sleep. However...we do make it for the 10am ferry to Royal Naval Dockyard, which is at the northwest tip of the island. 

 sweeping clouds, making way for blue sky

The ferry was actually quite comfortable. Not too choppy, which is great because I get seasick very easily. It started to pour again while we were on the ferry. And when we arrived at the Dockyard it was raining. We had to go buy some snazzy touristy rain ponchos. We're starving for lunch, but all the restaurants in walking distance are not open yet. We hop on a bus and ask the driver where to eat. He was so enthusiastic and friendly. Ah, I love the bus drivers here. They are always smiling and are so considerate. Nothing like those in Taipei, where they don't look at you when you ask a question, or sometimes don't even want to help a foreigner out. The driver drops us off in front of the Clocktower Mall, and recommends a restaurant called "Beethoven's." 

 souvenirs for tourists

The mall is dim inside. Old-fashioned looking. There are no chain stores. Most of the stores sell touristy stuff...maxi dresses, beachy sandals, colorful t-shirts that have 'BERMUDA' printed on them... We spot an Italian restaurant called Cafe Amici, but it is awfully expensive ($16+ for a personal 6" pizza!?). So, we head to the other end to look for Beethoven's. We go outside--no sight of Beethoven's. We see a little restaurant called Freeport's Seafood & Sushi. The prices are decent, but it isn't open yet. We still go on a hunt for Beethoven's, because afterall it was recommended by a local and thus, most likely not targeted for tourists and cheaper. We ask a waiter on his break where Beethoven's is, he points behind him. Cafe Amici...the Italian cafe. It used to be called Beethoven's. Great. So, we end up eating at Freeport's.

 my healthy lunch: baked potato, steamed veggies, some kind of healthy grain, and a little bit of my mom's crab wahoo fish cake

here goes the rest of the day in pictures....

beautiful handmade glass ornaments

handmade plates - they were all so vibrantly painted.

rocks along the shore at Snorkel Park (no, we didn't go snorkeling here)

magnificent...

part of the Maritime Museum. This was built in the early 1800s with limestone.

There were 3-4 dolphins in this pool. One of them was a baby--sooo cute and tiny! 

So this dolphin program costs $60 to spend a mere 5 minutes with a dolphin...and $320 per person for one hour! Dolphins are amazing animals, though. Sometimes I wish I chose to study animal behavior so I can work with animals instead of corporate. Sighh.

The sky is stormy and ominous, but the water remains a gorgeous turquoise!

...dreamland...

....fast forward. We meet up with Jeffrey and head to dinner. We eat a family-style Indian + Chinese dinner at a restaurant in Flatt's Village called Indigo. It looks pretty fancy--romantic and dim. 

 far left->clockwise: Shanghai beef with noodles, beef + chicken fried rice, Indian dish that came with basmati rice and a sauce (yogurt, paneer, carrots, etc)--my favorite dish

It starts pouring again. Dad and I wait at the bus stop in our ponchos. So classy. The bus takes awhile to come. 

So, the nightlife in Bermuda is pretty different from Taiwan. The first club we (=my brother, his two friends, and I) go to is called Docksider's. It is full of European tourists and local boys. My brother orders a huge pitcher of Foster's. Ick. I hate beer. After one sip I didn't want to drink it anymore...until A dumps his 'water bottle' aka rum in the pitcher. Ah, much tastier :p The club is playing reggae-house. Interesting, though not danceable at all (to me at least). After a few minutes they finally play house remixes. I get a vodka lime, but it tastes like sprite and has no lime. The place is soon empty and I am bored. We head out to another club a few doors down. Moon Club (I kept calling it Moonlight Club for some reason...). It's crowded. Memories from Taiwan come to mind. Trance house. Extremely good looking people. Fun stage. Free melon orange shot. Yup, this is where we should have gone first........