Waterfront Property in the Bahamas & Real Estate Expertise

Make those cookies and create turkeys from fruit. Share the joys of YOUR childhood with your loved ones!

If you cannot afford to spend much for Christmas this challenging year, consider offering service to your friends or relatives: ie a home cooked meal; help with the garden, sweeping the garage or painting the fence; cookies or plant cuttings, or recipes.

One of my favorite Christmas gifts is a collection of recipes from family and friends that my daughter put together, along with their stories!

Junknoo artists in Nassou: Take the kids there for the FREE festivals in your area!

Shop at home for objects you love but no longer need and pass them on NOW to the younger generation.

Take the kids, yours or the neighbourhoods, to the local festivals, like "Junkanoo in the Bahamas, usually on the 26^th and new Years' Day.

For decorations, consider a return to the simpler life: Recycle old Christmas cards for decorations on the tree and table; Make wreaths of local materials you find in your garden or neighborhood, sea shells to pine cones!

Bahamas National Trust Jollification coming up this weekend in Nassau. What's in your hometown? Take the kids!

Deck the halls with photos of Christmas Past and inspire Christmas Future.

Go back to your childhood and take your children... and theirs ... along: play games; bake real cookies from scratch; sing Christmas carols and read holiday stories to each other.

You get the idea. In life, like real estate, hard times offer BIG opportunities! A little thought really can make this the BEST Christmas ever.

Make Christmas more simple and have more fun!

Posted by:  Sara Parker

Credit: Chris Lowe

 After 45 years the streets of Nassau will once again roar to life with the sounds of high powered racing engines and spectators experiencing the distinctive smell of the exhaust of those exotic automobiles.It is the Bahamas Speed Week Revival which begins on November 30, 2011 through December 4, 2011.

Credit: David Castelhano Collection

Some 50 Classic cars from the 50’s and 60’s era, Ferraris, Maserati's, Lotus’ and Shelby Cobras will be joined by such modern Super cars like the Ford GT40 to participate in two events, a hill climb up to historic Fort Charlotte overlooking Nassau Harbour and a series of time trials through the streets of Nassau and along the scenic coast in front of the famous “Fish Fry” restaurants.

Credit: bahamasfilm.com

The Patron of the event is Sir Stirling Moss, who during the halcyon days of Speed Week was one of the top world champion drivers that included such names as Phil Hill, Dan Gurney, Pedro & Ricardo Rodriguez, Roger Penske ,Mark Donahue, Lance Revington, Bruce McClaren and so many other notables.

I was fortunate enough to participate in the local events during those days in my little Lotus Super 7 and had a blast.

Credit: holiday-rentals.co.uk

We look forward to attending the social events leading up to race days, including a parade of cars down the main streets of Nassau.

Vroom, Vroom.

Posted by:  David Lunn

I am presently on one of Spain's very efficient high speed trains traveling from Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast, back to Madrid, a distance of 300 km's (186 miles). My wife and I were invited to visit Jose Ribes of Ritmongo, our good friend and colleague member of Leading Real Estate Companies of The World (LeadingRE). Jose lives and runs together with his brother, Antonio, a high-end real estate company in Valencia. He had invited us to sample the worlds’ best paella and to meet with one of his very good clients in respect to a potential development project in The Bahamas. We departed Madrid this morning at 9:40 am and arrived in Valencia at 11:20 am sharp. The whole experience on Spain's Ave rail is similar to the TGV in France... clean, quiet, very fast (300 km's/hr), and made the more comfortable by smiling, attractive and friendly attendants. For the past seven days we have had a most enjoyable visit to Spain. For the first 3 days I was attending The LeadingRE International Symposium in Madrid where I had the opportunity to network with members from a dozen countries in Europe, North American and Asia.

Here's the irony. We are in a country that, along with Greece, Ireland, Italy and Portugal, is in danger of defaulting on its sovereign debt and yet in all parts of the city, everywhere we have been, hotels, restaurants, bars, restrooms, taxi's, buses, museums, galleries... are all spotless. Additionally, everywhere we have been the streets are bustling with shoppers, sightseers and busy locals. The shops and restaurants are full with customers. There is no sign of close to 20% unemployment and a country close to bankruptcy. In terms of public expenditure on the upkeep of public buildings, museums and other city services Spain certainly appears to have its priorities right. I wish that I could say the same for the maintenance of the public areas in The Bahamas or, for that matter, comparable cities in the United States. We will be flying to New York City tomorrow so I will not have to wait very long for a comparison.

Back to the train. For reasons that I still have not been able to understand the great USA has chosen to ignore high speed rail technology. I must assume that the automobile, airline and bus lobby in Washington has cajoled the righteous and not so public minded politicians into favoring these far more inefficient and polluting modes of transportation. Why is there not a high speed rail between, say: Boston & New York; New York & Washington, D.C.; Chicago to New York; San Francisco to Los Angeles or Miami to Orlando???? This is such a relaxing, very fast, clean and hassle free mode of transportation. Without question the public would much prefer traveling on one of these efficient rail systems rather than waiting for hours in stressful crowded airports, susceptible to weather, dealing with delayed flights and lost luggage. These trains are so punctual you can set your watch from their departure and arrival times.

In a few days time I will be back in the Bahamas. I don't expect much will have changed, except, hopefully it will be a few degrees cooler. I know that the depressing news of the world has not changed because I have stolen a few glimpses in newspapers and on television along the way. However, what has now become clear to me is that the human spirit and resolve is stronger than any bureaucratic government. The people of Egypt and Libya have shown us this. Will Syria be next? What will the demonstrations that we are presently seeing on Wall Street lead to?

The Spanish people have shown me that in spite of their balance of payments issues they are getting on with life and no doubt will make their feelings known in their next national election. As will we.

Posted by:  Larry Roberts