Nassau, Bahamas

 Our first port stop was to Nassau.  How exciting was it to go to sleep only to wake up docking in a foreign country!   I particularly enjoyed checking out the other cruise ships docked there with us.  All the rest were from Royal Caribbean.  One in particular was reminiscent of the cruise ship we went on when I was in college.  While sitting on our deck mid-ship we faced the end of that cruise ship.  Here is when I realized how massive of a ship we were on.

 Welcome to Nassau!

 We decided to take a Disney adventure while in Nassau electing to visit the Graycliff Chocolatier Factory, a subset of Graycliff Hotel & Cigar company.  Once a colonial mansion, Graycliff's history spans 300 years.  Impressive is its wine cellar... having an inventory of over 250,000 bottles from 20 countries.  One of their oldest bottles dates back to 1727!  I also do believe it is one of the most expensive as well at $200,000.

 Our adventure started with tasting the three different chocolates... milk, dark and white.  The adults favored the dark chocolate while the younger crew enjoyed the milk chocolate better.

 We were each given a Graycliff mold and fixings to add if desired.  The strawberries were for dipping.  Most didn't make it past that as they were gobbled up while making the chocolate bars.  Fixing choices included strawberry crisps, pecans and coconut.  I put all three in my bar while others stuck to a solid chocolate creation.

 Any extra chocolate you could "draw" on the paper which they would then cool for you to take home with your chocolate bar.  Many different versions of Mickey Mouse were made.  The girls liked that I could write our names with the chocolate.  Only after the fact did I notice my dyslexic writing of Victoria's name.  None of these goodies lasted very long.  All the paper drawings were ate on the cruise ship.  The chocolate bars made it home but quickly were eaten.  Very tasty treats and experience.

 Afterwards we headed to the Straw Market on our way to lunch.  Here we were greeted by many sales pitches.  When offered to have their hair braided, the girls were more than pleased that I agreed.  I think nearly every girl who goes to the Caribbean gets their hair styled this way at least once.  They kept those braids in for an entire week after our return delighting in showing their friends. 

My favorite sales person was Henrietta.  She latched on to Micah and Victoria as she too was a twin.  After doing some negotiations with other venders knowing full well we probably paid too much, Henrietta gave the girls each a beaded bracelet and Micah a wooden shark.