TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Trip Report, June 22-24, 2021 (Part 4)

Tuesday, June 22

Needing a day with no appointments, I started at the Infinity Pool, where I was joined for a time by RM5 LI. It was lovely meeting another TTOL member. After she left, I read for awhile, keeping my eye on the dark clouds circling above. At some point, I felt rain was imminent and headed back to my room. While the rain did not materialize, I took the opportunity of free time to do a load of laundry. The rest of the afternoon was spent being lazy on my deck.

One of the newer restaurants on my list was Astra, next door to Skipjacks. I arrived early enough to get a table on the lagoon.



I am partial to sweet white wines, which many places on the island don’t have so I asked for a Kiwi Martini, which was pretty tasty.



After a garden salad, I was looking forward to roast duck with hoisin sauce. It looked better than it tasted and was somewhat tough.



Astra is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I would like to go back for breakfast to see what that’s like.

Wednesday, June 23

A first for me: a day at Loterie Farm by the pool. The only question is, why haven’t I done this sooner? It was a wonderfully relaxing day with good service and friendly servers.





All three of us had different tuna entrees for lunch; mine was the tuna poke bowl.



For dinner I joined friends at Bar Code where I had yet more tuna, this time their tuna tartare. I was pleasantly surprised to see the three horn players from Sunday afternoon performing with Bar Code’s owner, Ivan, on guitar. More jazz.



Thursday, June 24

After breakfast at Chesterfield’s, I drove to Parotte Ville. George remembered that I had been there before (he is the one who took the picture that became my avatar). A couple of the birds were pretty aggressive about pecking at shiny objects, and at one point I saw my Omega chain and slider falling to the ground. I just plopped it into my purse and continued with taking pictures.













Back in the car, I attempted to put my necklace back on, only to discover that the pesky parrot had chewed off a portion of the clasp, making it inoperable. Made an unscheduled stop at DKGems, where they will replace the clasp for me.

For dinner, I met a local friend at Balls and Wine; it’s in the Paradise Mall above IZI. What a fun experience! This is a tapas restaurant, and sharing is encouraged; you can find their menu on their web site. We shared several items, and all were delicious. This is a place I hope to return to before leaving.



Time goes so quickly when on the island. I have one full day left at Divi before moving to Horny Toad for ten days.

Sounds lovely. Well, with the exception of your necklace but thankfully, it wasn’t lost and can be easily repaired by friends in the right places. Will certain,y have to try Astra for breakfast next trip.
As always, TY for the lovely photos.

Thanks for another lovely report! I wish we had made time to go to Parrottville this time. Your pictures are lovely, as always. Glad you at least noticed when your necklace came loose and that it is fixable..

Nice pictures. To bad your duck was tough.. I know how much you like duck as I do too.

Lucky you another 10 days on the island. Continued enjoyment and we also have Balls and Wine on our list to visit on your next trip.

Fabulous report. We will have to try some of the places that you’ve been next time we’re on the island. Enjoy the rest of your vacation. Unfortunately, we leave tomorrow. .

Lovely report Linda. I remember our fun day at Parotte Ville. Some of the birds get quite excited with shiney objects. They were always trying to get my earrings. Enjoy your remaining 10 days.

Thanks for taking us on your culinary experiences around the island. To bad about the duck, I was hoping for better review, martini looked GOOD !! We have Astra on the list along with Balls and Wine!! AHHHHH TEN more days!!! Can't wait to read your trip report on the places on Simpson bay beach!!

Very nice report and pictures. Enjoy The Horny Toad and give my regards to Doug and Debbie.

Fun to hear about your continued island adventures. Loterie Farm looked lovely.

Beautiful parrot photos... Thank You!

Sounds amazing, thanks for the beautiful pictures..enjoy the rest of your trip! I arrive in two weeks

Thanks again for the info and wonderful pics. Time seems to go soooo slow while waiting to visit SXM,...and soooo fast once you get there.