This past weekend a friend asked me what are my 5 favorite places and I immediately thought oh that’s easy…South Africa, Paris, Zanzibar, Barbados and Ghana. But then he threw me a curve ball by saying it could not be countries or cities but actual places that I really enjoyed 🤔. Wait..now that was really hard because although I visit tourist destinations when I visit a country, I didn’t want to call any of them my favorite places. So I would have to give this question some serious thought; then BTM did a post on this very topic and it jogged my memory.

Because this question got me reminiscing about why Barbados is still one of my favorite countries even after having traveled so much, I decided to first come up with my 5 favorite places in Barbados. 🤩😎 #myhappyplace

Brownes beach

• my favorite beach on the south coast of Barbados because I am a #beachgyal. It’s the one I go to the most even when it’s not the closest beach because I just love it especially when it’s just locals having a sea bath. On the other side of the beach by the Radisson hotel there is a small hut that sells the best fish cutters, trust me.😋 The beach is always #myhappyplace to be.

St. Lawrence Gap

• a street lined with restaurants, small hotels, clubs and the beach. Yes it’s a touristy area but it has a party vibe and this gap used to be my spot back in the day when I was a serious party goer during Crop Over. Oh the memories 😉

Martins Bay in Bathsheba

• another place that I try to get to every year; on one side of the road is the rocky beach area of Bathsheba with its distinct rock formations and on the other side is the Bay Tavern restaurant with some of the best food available on the island. The lines are ridiculously long but it’s worth the drive and the wait because the scenery is beautiful. I can’t tell you how many times I have taken pictures on this same stretch of beach over the years.

The Boardwalk

• the stretch of beaches between the SoCo Hotel and Accra hotel where the government built a wooden walkway so people can access the beaches, walk, exercise and just hang out. It has rustic beauty to it and I have spent many days sitting on a bench reading a book, walking, eating at a restaurant or listening to music at Blakey’s Bar and restaurant with the sounds of the ocean in the background. It’s truly one of my favorite places to have a low key day and just be and I have seen some of the most beautiful sunsets here.

Oistins fish fry on a friday night during Crop Over

• a jam packed open market on the beach with lots of little stalls cooking food and soca music blasting and people dancing. This place is not for the faint of heart or people who don’t like crowds or who are impatient because it will take a while to get your food and if you don’t get there early you probably won’t find a place to sit. Yet, I just love the energy, the food and it is one of the places I visit every time.

Now back to the list of my favorite places that doesn’t include tourist destinations like the Pyramids in Cairo, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Colosseum in Rome or Victorias Falls in Zimbabwe although I really enjoyed these places. Instead I tried to think of places that I would return to if given the chance and so Brownes beach in Barbados is definitely on that list.

V&A Waterfront in Cape Town

The best way to describe this place is a mall on the water with an extensive outdoor space. Yes it’s a typical mall but it’s the outdoor area that I love because you can shop, eat at your choice of really nice restaurants, charter a boat or a helicopter ride, ride the huge ferris wheel, visit museums and an aquarium and learn some history. There are also statues of Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu and the port where you take the boat to Robben Island. You can see Table Mountain in the background, there’s a comedy club, an open air market with a wide variety of local products and fresh market that sells local delicacies. Basically you can have a variety of experiences here which is why I enjoy visiting this area.

The Melrose Arch district neighborhood in Johannesburg

I have stayed in this area twice at the Protea Hotel Fire and Ice when I visited Jozi. I love the way this hotel is decorated, the smoothie bar and the food at the restaurant. However most of all I love the fact that there are several restaurants and hotels in this small area so you don’t have to only eat at the hotel which means variety, and there’s a Hop on Hop off bus stop across the street. This is a win win for me as a solo traveler.

Any outdoor space during Crop Over

Because there is where the fetes happen during Crop Over and if Alison Hinds, Krosfyah, Lil Ric or Mikey is performing I was definitely in there back in the day. I’m a #socajunkie and it is still one of my favorite events to attend if I have someone to come along. I don’t do soca parties solo🤷🏾‍♀️💃🏾because somebody’s son will be trying to wuk up pon me all night🤣.

Beaches in Zanzibar and Maldives and Thailand

Because I love beaches and can spend the entire day between the water, lounging, reading and listening to the waves, I am always on the hunt for the best beaches. #myhappyplace Not to mention that I am a beach snob which means I compare all beaches to the ones in Barbados because we have some of the best beaches in the world. These three countries are some of the few places where I visited and didn’t think hmmm the beaches in Barbados are better than this. #isaidwhatisaid I don’t remember the names of the beaches but the pictures.

Hellshire Beach in Jamaica

I loved living in Jamaica…I loved the variety of fish(lion fish was my favorite), the soca parties, the live music, the dance performances. Hellshire like Oistins it is an open market where you can eat great food…bammy, fried dumpling, and fresh fish cooked however you want it…fried, steamed, roasted. All of this while walking along the beach and listening to music. What’s not to love and I had some really good times there😍.

So although this question was difficult to answer it helped me to reminisce on some of my favorite experiences in countries. Yes I know that my list has more than 5 places on it but once I got going there were so many places. So now you can reminisce on your favorite places too and come up with your own list. Maybe you will even visit some of these places when outside reopens.😏#BlackExpat #Edpat #Expatdivas #Blackandabroad #blacktravelmovement #mytraveljourney #wanderlust #myhappyplace #travelismytherapy #BTMfamily #blackwomenwhoblog #blackwomenwhotravel #theworldismybucketlist #Dopelife #livingmybestlife #solotraveler