TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Tuesday - 4/20

Be prepared - this is gonna be a long one and really not saying too much of anything important.......

The day began with a very early wake-up but we had decided no coffee and/or breakfast in - we were heading to the Yacht Club for breakfast and then, on to P’berg to pick up a few things and say hello to a few merchants we’ve become friendly with over many years.

We pulled out of BSV’s security gate and immediately changed our minds and decided to have breakfast at El Zafiro instead of the yacht club in the hopes Erika might be able to rustle up that French toast John so enjoys. Sorry, John, not to be today but that was okay and breakfast was still good and as always, the dining area there is very pleasant. The seaweed seems to have backed off some and they have pretty much cleared the beach of it. There was a gentle breeze blowing and I could have spent my day right there. The sounds from the waves crashing just added to the joy of being there.

Just an aside - we had the pleasure of meeting Blackmercedes of TTOL while we were there and had we chatted a half hour longer we might have run into other friends there as well. But we were on a mission.

Headed into town and by now it’s late and the traffic was heavy through Simpson Bay and over the hill so we took Link One to avoid at least some of the traffic. It helped but by the time we hit Front Street it was all backed up too, and about half way down Front Street things came to a dead stop. When the car in front of us started backing up and turned into a side street, a man jumped in front of our car and put up a barricade, essentially closing the road, but with no warning and no explanation either, and forcing us to turn to plan B. We did finally get turned around and back to where we wanted to be and spent some time visiting with our friends at Caribbean Gems and picking out a goodie, too. We did ultimately learn there was an underground pipe that burst and the road closure was to allow them to make the repair. A little heads-up maybe?!

So we finished our chin-wagging with the CG staff and said our good-byes heading on to Old Street in the hopes of finding The French Touch open and Jean Pierre able to visit a bit. We ended up having a very light lunch there - J had an incredible chicken salad plate and I had a fresh fruit plate. Both were yummy and were excellent choices. Sadly for us but very good for him, Jean Pierre seems to be doing a very good business in that location and has picked up a lot of local trade as well as island visitors who, like us, knew him for years from Antoine’s Restaurant. Even with a pandemic in place, people need to eat and the locals know a good thing when they see it.

It’s hard to believe we’ve known the Budhrani family for almost forty years..and we’ve known Jean Pierre just as long. When we first met him he was the busboy at Antoine’s and hoping to someday make the giant leap to the prestigious position of Head Waiter there. I guess he’s come a long way, baby.

Anyhow, we headed out of town and back to Simpson Bay and BSV. OMGosh - the traffic was brutal and we were tired and hot. A nap on the porch and then met friends at Lee’s for dinner and a couple hours of sharing good memories of past times along with lots of laughter and happy moments.

Ah, life is truly good.

And as an afterthought, Re Lee’s, there is considerably more parking than we had realized but if you park at the top of the driveway completely behind the restaurant, BEWARE, it’s a steep stairway down to the restaurant level and an even harder climb back to your car after dinner and a glass or two of your drink of choice. There is a smaller parking area just up the driveway on the restaurant level, too, if you get there at a convenient time to score one of those spots and believe it or not, there were no lobsters. Our waiter suggested we come back on the weekend if we wanted lobster and we may well do just that! 😊😊

I would imagine it's hard to keep lobsters in decent shape without a good source of sea water for a live tank.

I know Pat you live your Lees lobster. I now see why. I had one a couple weeks ago and it was delicious. David did park in the top lot and I slowly walked down holding his arm.

I hope you return for your lobster.

Scuba,

I never thought about the water thing so you might have a point there.

Louise,

Trust me on this - we will definitely go back for our lobsters.
Those stairs to the rear parking lot are killers. John brought the car down for me as I had enough trouble using my cane coming down - no way would I ever have gotten back up again.

Pat-- I doubt we will go to Lee's regardless, but if we do, sounds like I definitely will have Eric drop me off and come pick me back up..

FYI - there is a restaurant level parking area along with the upper area but neither is huge. The lower level right off the dining room could handle probably 5 to 6 cars and is very easy access but I think you need to get there early to get one of those spaces.

Agree...that trip downhill is steep, both by steps, or by car!! BUT.....the couple of times we went to Lee's a few weeks ago, it was worth the trip!! Still GREAT ribs, great sides, and really good service. I do miss the ''live entertainment'', but LOVED the food both times we went. My wife loved the fish she ordered too. Still has that great ''island vibe'', and a fun time.

Glad you made it to French Touch and CG. Hope all continues to go well.

Thanks. It’s been a very good trip but a different one, for sure.

Always enjoy your "ramlings" Pat. Erica at el Zafiro is wonderful.

Agree that Erica is the best! We will be there tomorrow- can’t wait to get out of the recent cold weather.