TravelTalkOnline Forums Trip Reports (Read Only) SXM Trip Reports and Photos Trip report "for Carol"

Left MKE on Jan 31, in a blinding snowstorm. Made our connection in PHL and was on the island 30 min. later than we were suppose to. Michael from Unity met us with a new SILVER corolla, and upgraded us as returning customers with a sunroof. Went to SSBB for our own little 'welcome to the island' drink. Key word here is drink. Watched Air Fence leave and began conversing with Tori from MI, met her husband Mike, and the rest of the evening is a blur. Did get to see a KLM 747 land. The kids saw us on the web cam, so they knew we were 'safely' on the island. After many a drink and meeting the new owner Jay, we finally checked into L'Hoste around 8:45pm. Had a message from Contessa to meet her and the gang for dinner at 8:00 at Bistro Caribes - oops. Wound up at Madra for an excellent pizza, and then to bed.<br><br>Friday-Breakfast at Zee Best, and then to the Match for shopping essentials-limes, Capt. Morgan, coke and NO PEPSI, and water. Finally hit the TTOL compound at Club O and gave our humble apologies (ok, whinned) to Contessa and finally met the GREAT SWORD!! What a guy! Met so many other great new friends and hello to old friends too. Went to Peg Leg later that evening to the PAHTY Contessa arranged and met other TTOLers along with Carol and Eric, fresh off the plane. Dinner at Bananas was wonderful. out big time!! Back to Peg Leg with some of the more heartier partiers for after dinner revelry. Have some Kodak moments to remember this by. Thanks to Neil for all the goodies he indulged us with.<br><br>Saturday-Breakfast at Madras, beach time at the TTOL compound. Great foot reflexed from "Dr. Dick". Dinner with Contessa, Sword, Lee, Tom, Andy, Susan, Carol and Eric at Calmos Cafe. Cute, beachside, sandy floored restaurant in Grand Case. Beef sate' was very tasty, swordfish was cold. Drinks, star gazing, satellite watching , and helicopter searching the shores all compliments of Eric and Carol's villa. See Carol's trip report for the antics of driving to the villa. Never a dull moment on SXM. Cheap entertainment. Said our goodbyes to Andy and Susan.<br> <br>Sunday-Breakfast at Zee Best, and finding out all about weddings on Anguilla. A couple from Boston told us all about their wedding 6 years ago on Anguilla etc. Actually was quite interesting. Beach time at the TTOL compound. Executive decision made as to where to watch Super Bowl that night, thanks to Eric and Carol having lunch at Kakaos. Contessa made the reservations and the rest is history. See Contessa's report the the evenings activities. Eric & Dave were in converstion mode that night, so who knows how much of the game they saw. We Packer fans were in mourning (okay, just me) as Carol gently reminded me that the Pack wasn't playing that day - I was wearing my GB shirt in memory of what was SUPPOSED to be. Couldn't find any black tape to place over the "G". All of us (except Carol) were rooting for the Pats. Said our goodbyes after the game to Contessa and Sword as they left the next morning.<br><br>Monday-Breakfast at Madras, stayed on the beach at La Playa. Finally ran into friends from Toronto. Walked to beach to Club O, and said Hi and Goodbye to Lee and Tom. Made lunch date with Dick & Pat for Wed. Dinner at Bistro Caribes. Great at usual!<br><br>Tuesday-Breakfast at Madras, drove around towards Phillipsburg to see all the cruise ships at the dock, and tried to find Pepsi. Did find ONE can at the little deli around the corner from L'Hoste, thanks to Surfergirl, but that was the one and only can all week there. Did the beach walk to the TTOL compound and back to La Playa for a lunch of the club sandwiches. They call them classic club, and are they good[img]/images/icons/oink.gif[/img]. It's always nice to be served at your chair on the beach. Dinner at L'Auberge Gourmand. Yummy duck breast.<br>Wednesday-Very lite breakfast at Madras and then to Marigot for a bit of market place shopping. Checked out the new mall "Le West Indies". Only a few stores open, but will be quite nice once finished. Hit the beach and the TTOL compound. Lunch with Dick and Pat at Baywatch. Mussels, egg plant parmisagne and chicken fingers. All were very tasty (so I'm told. I ate only the chicken). Met Andy and Cheryl. Great "oldies" music in the backround, better than the euro-techno that blares at La Playa[img]/images/icons/thumbsdown.gif[/img]. I guess we like either Buffet or calyspo playing rather than techno while succumbing to sand gravity. Made a trip into the pharmacy for supplies as laryngitis is setting in, no thanks to the cooler than normal temps and I'm sure the hacking of fellow passengers on the plane down. Dinner at L'Alabama. Not as good as previous years, but still enjoyable. Service a bit down too.<br><br>Thursday-Helped the economy in Phillipsburg. Made some nice purchases, along with our friends from Toronto, Pete and Lesley. Finally hit the beach around 12:45 as it a dark and dreary a.m. Did the usual walk to TTOL compound and back to La Playa. Lunch of the club sandwich. Dinner at Rainbow with Pete and Lesley in Grand Case. Food and service were wonderful, but pricey. Had after dinner drinks on the upstairs deck. Wound be a wonderful place for a party, with the lights from Anguilla twinkling in the backround. Made plans for another lunch at Baywatch on Fri.<br><br>Friday-Last full day on the beach, so wanted to make the most of it. Lite breakfast at Madras, walked over to the deli for Carib to go home, and on the beach around 9:30. Squall came thru,like most days, ended and took the walk to Baywatch for lunch with Pete and Les. They all had the egg plant parm., I did the caesar salad. Said our goodbyes to the gang left at the compound, and found out where the Pepsi was on the island. Oh well, next time. Dinner at Le'Piccolo. Unfortunately, was not fully able to enjoy the evening as it was very windy, and cooler than expected. The restaurant is on the porch, which we didn't expect. Also, unfortunately, Dave was starting to become ill from what he didn't know at the time. So, will have to reserve comment on Le'Piccolo for another time. What appetizers we did have were tasty, and the soup was very good-and warming! As the evening wore on, Dave got sicker,as did Pete and Les, we found out in the morning. Turned out it was the egg plant they'd had at lunch.<br>Saturday-Dave spoke with Andy and Cheryl before we left for the airport to let them know just incase more problems would arise. They too had eaten the egg plant, but without the sauce. So who knows what. Anyway, thank God for Imodium. Flight home was okay.<br><br>Overall the trip was great. Airline was US Air. They did serve what you could call a lunch both ways, but on the way down the one choice was chicken, but I hesitate to call it that. Pasta would have been the better pick. Island is nice and green, clean. Rained every day, but never lasted long except for the deluge on the last Friday. Noticeable lack of tourists on the beach and everywhere except for Tuesday when 4 ships were in. Great to go shopping when no ship was in port. Had a fantastic time as always, and hope to be back next year. <br><br>There you go Carol. [img]/images/icons/devil.gif[/img][img]/images/icons/rofl.gif[/img]<br><br>