What a wonderful trip we had!!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/circle.gif" alt="" /> Thanks so much to everyone on this board who helped answer my questions. The information given here is just the best! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/thanks.gif" alt="" />
Arrival: We had a direct flight on USAir from Charlotte and it was very pleasant. Arrived around 3:30 PM and went quickly through immigration. Bags appeared soon and we were off! The hotel arranged our rental car through Sanaco. Someone from that company met us at the airport and took us to the car. Within a few minutes we had the car and were on our way to Grand Case!
Accomodations: We stayed all 10 days at the beautiful L'esplanade in Grand Case. This was our second visit and we can't wait to return! This hotel is just my favorite...small and quiet...the people who work here are all SO nice. The rooms are spacious, clean and very comfortable. The balconies overlook Grand Case Bay and the views are just perfect! (How I miss having my morning coffee on that balcony!!!) It's just a short walk down the hill to the beach and they have a agreement with L'amandier du Plage for chairs and umbrellas at no charge. We enjoyed this set up very much. We also enjoy being able to walk to dinner every night in Grand Case.
Beaches The first two days we went to Orient and while we enjoyed it, it was just too windy there. We stayed one day at Kakao and the next at Kon Tiki. Had lunch each day and both places had delicious food. The second day there were 5-6 cruise ships in port and the beach was just unbearably crowded.
We spent 3 days at L'Amandier du Plage in Grand Case. This place is so nice....pool, restrooms, restaurant, bar, etc. and since it wasn't as crowded as Orient, we felt we got more personal attention. Really felt spoiled. The wind was also just a gentle breeze which was much more comfortable. There is a masseuse and I treated my husband to an hour massage for Valentines Day. Really enjoyed the quiet...very peaceful and relaxing.
We spent another 2 days at Pinel and loved it! Have never been before and it was great. The first day we went, it rained on us going to the island, but shortly after we arrived the skies cleared and it was a gorgeous day! We did not eat, but drank plenty....fun, fun, fun. The wind was also much better than at Orient.
Shopping Spent 2 days shopping - half day at Marigot and 1 1/2 days at Phillipsburg. I enjoyed the market at Marigot on Wed. morning. If you wade through all the junk, you can find some neat things. I like to collect dolls and found a really unique and pretty one from one of the vendors. Phillipsburg can be a mess, but we enjoyed it this year. The new boardwalk is just incredible! Well laid out and beautiful. We were very impressed. Bought a "LuLu" doll along with t-shirts, hats, hot sauce, etc. We ate lunch at a small French cafe on Old Street..wish I could remember the name of the place because it was a welcome retreat from all the crowds. The couple who run it are very nice and our food was tasty. Our major purchase came at DK Gems and again, thank you to all on this board who recommended Deepti. What a super person she is! We spent at least 3 hours agonizing over our purchase and no one in the store seemed the least bit impatient with us. I cannot say enough nice things about Deepti.....I highly recommend that anyone wanting to buy jewelry go see her. We bought a very nice emerald and diamond ring and I am just thrilled with it! We definitely found the perfect piece and feel that DK Gems was very fair with us. My birthday was a few days later and Deepti remembered me. I really believe that she goes above and beyond what you would expect. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />
The only bad thing to happen to us on the entire trip occured the second day we were in Phillipsburg. We parked on Front Street in front of one of the stores (together with about 100 other cars) and when we returned after shopping, our car was missing. We were frantic, afraid that it had been stolen, but realized that it had been towed. Got a taxi to the police station and it was clear that the police hadn't been involved at all. They contacted the towing company and a truck picked us up and took us to a nasty looking part of town to get our car. We were furious because it was obvious we'd been singled out. Cost $50 all to the towing company....the police didn't charge a fine. We believe that the shop owner whose store we were parked in front of decided he/she didn't want our car there and had it towed. Be careful when you go not to park anywhere like this. We discovered that several other tourists had had their cars towed also. After all this happened, we drove back and found signs that indicate restricted parking on Front Street, so we can't fuss too much, but we don't understand why the car was towed before we got a ticket and we don't understand how a private towing company can just remove your car without police involvement. This just makes no sense to me....we'd spent a LOT of money in Phillipsburg and enjoyed our day so much until this happened. It was a terrible inconvenience and made us feel rotten to be singled out this way. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cloud.gif" alt="" />
Restaurants We ate every night in Grand Case and loved each and every meal! Our favorite was Le Pressoir...we ate there 4 times. We loved the food, the atmosphere, the people....miss it so much! Their cold pumpkin soup is wonderful, as are the roasted shrimp appetizer and the mahi-mahi. We also ate twice at Le Tastevin (try the mahi-mahi rolled in crushed hazelnuts and pistacios) and Le Cottage, once at L'alabama and Le California. The guys at Le Cottage make the night a lot of fun and their food is exceptional! (They also have a great champagne/red liquor cocktail!)
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Another thing not to miss is Tuesday Harmony Nights in Grand Case. Bands play, vendors are set up, no cars to run you down....just a fun evening. It really is a special thing and I loved it. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/band.gif" alt="" />
Departure Our direct flight to Charlotte was delayed a couple of hours, so we spent longer than we wanted to in the airport. Getting out is a pain...long lines to pay departure tax, to go through immigration and through security. Also witnessed some real rudeness, so be prepared. No one wants to go home and this did not go as smoothly as arrival did.
Well I now have my ring and my memories to keep me warm until my next trip. Don't know when that will be, but this trip was perfect (with the exception of the towing incident, of course). To everyone with an upcoming trip scheduled, have a safe trip and have fun!
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