ST. THOMAS AND SHOPPING!

Caribbean Princess
St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.
January 30, 2023
80F, sunny, intermittent sprinkles

St. Thomas bay

 

By 10 a.m. we were off to downtown St. Thomas. The area where one secures a taxi/open air mini bus has changed, but no worries, we found it.  I headed straight to Alpha Jewelers (https://alpha-jewelers.com/) because I wanted them to work on a new ring using my own diamonds. They thoroughly cleaned my current rings and all of them were purchased here, some using my own diamonds.  I have bought jewelry here for at least the last six years. Sonny, the proprietor, his wife Nikita, and the rest of the staff are very experienced and very fair.  I will pick up my new ring in two weeks when we return to St. Thomas with Donna and Lawrence on the Carnival Celebration.

Sonny waves good bye from his shop, Alpha Jewelers

Aside to Donna: There is still some jewelry in the store for you!
Aside to Julie: You will like my new ring!

St. Thomas has changed over the last thirty years. Fewer shops are open, for one thing. There used to be so many camera shops and they are gone.  Diamonds International and Little Switzerland shops are downsized.  There are more souvenir and shops, and stores selling art. Three ships were in port today, but the streets were not as packed as before. 

Even the Green House, a favorite restaurant, did not seem busy.   TK had conch fritters and I had a cheeseburger there today, with a window seat overlooking St. Thomas’ bay.

Palm Passage

TK at the Greenhouse Restaurant

 https://www.thegreenhouserestaurant.com/index.html

TK decided to catch the Sky Ride where he can take spectacular photos.  

After dinner and a movie-----

TK did take some excellent photos of St. Thomas ---he was gone about an hour.

Sky Ride/St. Thomas

Another view of St. Thomas bay

Panoramic of St. Thomas bay

After dinner (highlight: lemon meringue cheesecake), TK wanted to go to Movies Under The Stars (MUTS) to see Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. He forgot to tell me this was the 3^rd movie in a series and that he had seen the other ones. He also forgot to tell me I would not understand what on earth was going on. While the movie played, I googled Wikipedia’s plot and that helped a little.  I did like the little animals. 

 

MUTS is fun, blankets are provided, as well as popcorn. I could see some stars in the St. Thomas sky.  It was better than going to see the ventriloquist. 

 

TK’s Takes:  He remembers the year that I awoke on our ship very early and we were in downtown St. Thomas before shops even opened. He wanted me to post these Before and After photos...

TK, probably 2018

TK today