Excel Plaza

Carnival attracts both visitors and locals alike. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find space on a flight into the island at that time, as it seems that every Grenadian living overseas, is trying to get home in time for the celebrations.

Christmas is usually spent with the family...and in Grenada, that can mean a VERY extended family. Of course, there is the usual rush to get the house painted, cobwebbing done, hang the new curtains (or give the old ones a severe cleaning), and make sure you have a ham and some sorrel and ginger beer handy for the Christmas.

The nights are cooler and wherever you go, you hear Parang playing on the radio. It's a part of Caribbean culture, as much so as Christmas carols.

For church goers, there is of course midnight mass and other services at chapels all over the island. There is a feeling of 'expectation' in the air and even the sunshine seems to change a little and its not as hot on the skin.

For instance...after Ivan (yes, more than 3 years ago, if you insist on keeping count), as we had lost all our furniture, we decided we would like to re-decorate the house in a warmer, more caribbean style. This means brighter colors and furniture which tended to be either rattan or bamboo.

This would be a long term project, not because we were not in a rush, but because we could not find everything we wanted in the local stores at a reasonable price (cheap).

To this end, we would buy individual pieces whenever we came across them, occasionally finding rugs, side tables etc. in the shops in town.