Warning….A LONG LONG LONG report follows. Forgive any typos - I did do spell check at least. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/typing.gif" alt="" />
This trip was much like the last…starts out ambitious enough, but then I end up going to the same places over and over again. What can I say? I’m a creature of habit. Thanks to all who gave me advice on drinking haunts. Let’s get the boring stuff out of the way.
Accomodations: A beautiful 5 bedroom villa with excellent facilities and a great kitchen staff nestled in the lush valley of Colombier. Teehee. I stayed with my parents. And my mom and dad are great cooks, but even I managed to make breakfast one day. I love staying there because it’s beautiful, quiet and the breezes are to die for. An old friend visited us (they were staying at Sapphire which was a nightmare for them) and they said it felt like they were in a different country up there. Well, technically, they were…
Flights: I am NEVER, EVER taking a connecting flight again. As long as United flies out of Dulles direct, I will swallow the extra ticket costs and longer trip to the airport for the wonderfulness that was a direct flight. Flight down was fine. I already posted about my crazy flight back…but at least I managed to upgrade to first class for that. I’ve got to find a way to be rich…
My French: It got pretty good by the end of two weeks. Apparently, I did not forget everything I learned in school.
Car Rental: As always, UNITY. Great car, great service. What more do I need.
Crime: Never a victim off, thank god, and never noticed anything odd nor did I ever feel uncomfortable. My aunt however almost was a victim the day before we got there. She was a victim of the ole “I’ll slash your tires, follow you, offer help while my partner rips you off.” She was at the bank, and I guess they were casing the place to see who was leaving. Luckily, she pulled over at a popular place, screamed bloody murder and the perp dropped the money and ran.
The other thing I saw was while we were at dinner in Sandy Ground. These kids were lighting flares off the drawbridge…harmless enough. Until they decided to light one and throw it into a dingy boat as it passed. I screamed “holy #*$%” and we all ran to the ledge. One guy jumped out of the boat while the other managed to knock the thing out before it set the whole thing on fire. How scary to watch and I could imaging how those guys felt. We asked them if they were ok and needed anything but they said they were ok and continued on. Apparently, every New Years, these kids do this. If that’s the case, then why don’t the garndarmes set up a patrol there are night to keep them away?
Weather: GLORIOUS. It rained every night, which is fine by me. And with the exception of one day where it rained on and off in the morning and then cleared, the weather was PERFECT. Maybe a 5 minutes shower 1 or 2 other days.
Anyhoo, I’ll try to do this in chronological order and spare you the boring things I did with family unless it adds to my overall trip experience.
Thursday, Dec 21. Our first full day here. We had to go pick up my sis from the airport so we decided to hit Baie Rouge for the morning/early afternoon. I LOVE that beach. It had become my favorite beach since the Westin destroyed Dawn. So imagine my sadness when we get to the beach and see these big-[censored] boulders all over the place. Our chairguy said the sand had been washed away only a few weeks ago. We wouldn’t be back there because of that, but it was a nice way to kick off the vaca and we had a good luck at Raymond’s. Later that night, DH, my sis and I head to SSBB for some drinkage. Granted, it was 10pm, but still, I expected more people to show up. It was pretty empty. We stayed for quite a while and headed home.
Friday, Dec 22. Le Galion! We spent the WHOLE day there. Had the wonderful chicken sandwiches, too many frozen beverages, and a great time. It was pretty crowded, but it is high season.
Saturday, Dec 23. Went to Marigot, walked around, checked my emails and had lunch at La Vie en Rose. It was good and the drinks were excellent. I sense a pattern….I’m averaging about 5-6 drinks a day. Hmmm. After a long visit with my Aunt, DH and I go to Lady C’s. Very slow when we got there, packed by time we left. I didn’t want to go, but I had to wake up at 6:15 for church (yup, 7am church services in Colombier). There are some very incriminating pictures of my hubby and I from that night. I would like to thank the waitress for not shaming me into doing jager but giving me a more girly kamikaze shot. Church was fun.
Sunday, Dec 24. OY. After church and breakfast, the hubby sis and I head to Guana. Now, I’ve never been over there before, and the hill, while it seems intimidating, isn’t so bad after all. This place is terrible. No one should ever go there. EVER. Seriously. (ok, tongue is planted firmly in cheek). I would hate for this place to become very crowded…it’s a perfect slice of heaven. And hopefully it won’t be destroyed…I mean, it is on the dutch side, so I fully expect there to be a full development project in about 5 years.
Monday, Dec 25. Christmas. YAY! Santa was very good to me. And for the first Christmas in 42 years, my mom did NOT cook. Our cousins invited us over to their place for a buffet style dinner. If anyone was driving to or from Marigot towards Grand Case, and you noticed some folks chilling underneath some tents NEXT to the Christmas House, that was me. FYI, that area is called Cripple Gate. Me thinks there was a gate on that road into friars at some point, hence the name. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense!
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Tuesday, Dec 26. My brother is arriving for 4 days, so before we go pick him up, DH, me and my pops head to Friars. Now, I haven’t remembered Friars looking SO good. Not rocky, calm, and smelling absolutely pleasant. We had a great afternoon, awesome lunch and WAY too many drinks. Our chairguy/waiter gave us lots of free rhum before we left too which was very nice. Now, my dad. The man is 79 and looks like he’s about 45. He also is the friendliest man I know and managed to make friends with two sets of families and as we’re leaving Kali says “I know your face. You related to so and so?” Turns out, he was good friends with my uncle, and that started up another long convo. It took us 1 hour to leave. Go pick up my brother, come home to a houseful of people. Turns out my mom DID cook Christmas dinner…she just cooked it the next day.
Wednesday, Dec 27. Hubby and my Bro head back to Friars while my sis and parents head to Cole Bay to handle business. This is 1 of 2 ventures to the Dutch side (outside of my trips to the airport) during the day. Traffic stunk, and honestly, going to bank in St. Martin makes me rethink my whole “I’m gonna move down here as soon as possible” thought. That night, we go to Loterie Farm for dinner. I have been there for the climb and had drinks at the bar, but never ate there. OMG. SOOOOOOOOOO good. It was PACKED (helpful tip: MAKE RESERVATIONS. My cousin was like “you don’t need them.” Yeah, we almost didn’t get a table). I had the duck and it was phenomenal. I can’t recommend this place enough. I drove there but made my brother drive out. That road gave me the hebbie jebbies. Us kiddies then went to Casino Royale for some gambling. My brother lost big, my sister won using MY roulette chips, and me and hubby were killing the blackjack table but we had to leave because we all had to wake up super early the next day. This was the first time in a while that I actually came out ahead at a Casino!!
Thursday, Dec. 28. Anguilla. Catch the 9:00 Link Cat…our trusty boat people informed us that President Bill Clinton was on island, golfing. My brother and sister mused that it would be funny to see their old boss, but alas, not bubba sightings. I won’t bore you with the crap we did in the morning, but early afternoon, we headed to the golf course, which I had not seen yet. Wow. Amazing. My brother, who is an avid golfer, almost swooned. Took some pictures and headed to Gwen’s Reggae Grill for lunch. Had never been here but so many people recommended it. I see why. Lovely beach, great food and drink…this place was perfect. That night, back in SXM, DH and I went on our “romantic” dinner…meaning, just the two of us! We went to L’Auberge Gourmand where we had pretty much the exact same meal as two years ago. I the lobster, he the duck. And they were nice enough to let us polish off about ½ bottle of orange rhum for free. My brother (who was off with my sis at L’Escapade) had to drive home <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" /> They were also nice enough to say my French was very good and inquire where I learned. Ahhh, flattery will get you a nice tip! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />
Friday, Dec. 29 Dad, DH, bro and I went to Colebay then to Philipsburg. OY. The Traffic was REDICULOUS getting into Philipsburg. Once we got there and managed to find a parking spot, we walked around, picked up a few things, and made it to the Guavaberry shop where they all recognize me now. I guess I buy a lot of stuff from them! It’s funny, I really can do without going to dutch side much during the day. At night the traffic is fine. Friday night, the family went to Yvette’s where once again, I had the BEST RED SNAPPER EVER. I don’t know what seasonings they use, but it’s outstanding. And the salt fish cake apps are good too. I also ran into an old co-worker of mine from NYC. I haven’t seen her in 7 years, and of all the random places to run into her, it’s French Quarter in SXM. Small freakin world.
Saturday, Dec. 30. DH and sis go to Marigot while me and my rents take my brother back to the airport. Sad. We eat in Plantation restaurant…um, who the hell picked that name? Anyway, the food there is adequate, the drinks are perfect. But it stinks that there is no view of planes coming in from anywhere before security. That night, DH, sis and I go on our quest to find some fun. HA. This was hilarious. We go to booboo jams. Who knew….Saturday night not happening. At ALL. There were about 9 people in there. Come back tomorrow, he says. Off we go to Lady C’s. Umm, kinda dead there too. We were going to go to BBB, but I read that they closed at 11 and it’a about 10, so we go to Bliss. Seemed to not be happening yet, so we end up again at SSBB. This time, it was more crowded and happening. Caught some really cool nighttime plane landings and watched my beloved Giants beat the deadskins.
Sunday, Dec 31. Back to Guana where I met the famous SXM blogger Jess! I swear, the internet…when we met it was like we were old friends – chatting away forever. I really love this beach and we spent a good 6 hours there. After Guana, we drove into French Cul de Sac to check it outand see if I could find the Ma Dou Dou factory. No such luck, but we did drive to Anse Marcel. That hill is REDICULOUS. If I stayed there, I would never leave...especially in the rain! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" /> New Years Eve night, we head back to boo boo jams. It’s happening tonight! We park at the bar and watch the dancing and enjoy ridiculously strong drinks at $3 each. At midnight, we go outside and watch BBJ’s fireworks and then proceed to watch about 30 minutes of fireworks all along Orient and in the distance some others (I’m guessing Philipsburg). We hung out a bit more and headed home where we walked into a full house yet again. My parents love to entertain. Any excuse for my dad to show off his homemade guavaberry rhum.
Monday, Jan 1. Happy New Year! DH and I go to Friars one last time. Then we meet up with some old family friends and we go to the Bridge restaurant…at least I think that’s what it’s called. It’s on the drawbridge in Sandy Ground. Great food, nice place right on the water. Here is where that incident described above takes place. Other than that, the night was perfect. I had conch fritters to start and the gilled lobster which was ALMOST too much food…but I managed.
Tuesday, Jan 2. In the morning, DH and I head to French Cul de Sac to find the Ma Dou Dou factory. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Madoudou.gif" alt="" /> After asking directions, we get there just as she opens. Too early for tastings, but we sure got a lot of stuff to bring back. I recommend the Chocolate Coconut Rhum. Just had some last night! We then went back to Le Gailion for one last time with DH and sis. It was WAAAAYY crowded. Too much for my liking, and we had the misfortune of sitting next to this large American family who apparently didn’t like the fact that there were some locals there frolicking in the water. If I had had one more drink in me I might have said something to the effect of “If you don’t want to deal with the locals here then keep your butt in the US and go to Outer Banks or something.” But, thankfully, I didn’t. People like that disgust me. If you don’t want to be around people different than you, then seriously, stay home. No one wants to deal with you or your stank, elitist attitude. Despite all that, it was still a great way to end the trip. We were almost the last people left on the beach, and that was awesome.
Wednesday, Jan 3. Time to go home. Visited with some friends who were staying at Sapphire. We couldn’t reach them for 3 days because Sapphire’s phones were not working. Nice. These guys have been staying with them for years, and they did not have anything nice to say. Walked around the house, saying goodbye to my shower, my bed and my parent’s cats (Tiger and Mikki). Went to the airport, had a quick lunch with my sis and parents, unsuccessfully fought back tears as I said goodbye to my rents. Flight drama posted earlier. One funny note: My mom gave me 4, that’s right FOUR, homemade coconut pies to bring home. My dad thought I’d have trouble clearing customs with it. Ha! Not at all. When asked what food we had, I put on my best baby voice and said “My mommy’s homemade coconut pie.” Piece of cake…or pie.
Well, I said this would be long. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/typing.gif" alt="" /> I don’t know if this will be helpful to anyone, but it was cathartic for me. Time to start planning the 2007 trip.
Cheers
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