Day 9 (A meal you will never forget)

Woke early to a rain shower (my Spidey sense again says today will be spotty) and another skeeter hunt. Up to 82. If we get to 100, will we get a prize? We need to have one of the bigger great grand pappy skeeters taxidermied to take home to mount on the wall. Dh made coffee this am and my teeth hurt in a good way. More yummy pastries (I never eat pastry at home). The croissant buerre were excellent today. Such a small delightful luxury. We also have a fridge full of French cheese to get through so cheese feast with our baguette for breakfast. Valencay, Loire Valley goat cheese, from Super U is amazing. We had it several times on our trip to France last Fall. It has the perfect balance of creamy and tangy. We are off to Marigot for lunch at Tropicana today. Tropicana was probably the first thing we fell in love with in St Martin. That first lunch back in 2010 was a magical meal that changed our lives. We had taxied over to the Marina from the cruise port just to have a lovely French lunch. We had no reservations but as we passed by Tropicana admiring their menu, the proprietor at the time came out and told us he would give us "a meal you will never forget." He did not lie and the rest is history. So off to Marigot and we got a parking spot right at the Marina. It is sad so many shops and restaurants have not been repaired and reopened. Probably not unlike so many thing especially on the French side, Irma's devastation is still apparent. But I love the people's resilience. Tropicana is still there and still as lovely as ever. The proprietor met us at the patio and welcomed us in, a nice table right up front, in fact the very table we sat at the first time we ate there. I started with a lovely chilled carrot ginger soup with jumbo shrimp. I love cold soups. I then had the divine sole meuniere with creamy potatoes. Dh started with a very tasty and pretty crab parfait and had a perfectly cooked banana crusted snapper with rice for his plat. A half bottle of Sancerre to share and an extra glass of White Bordeaux for me (I am not driving) to accompany lunch and a banana vanilla run for digestif. Dd had a great little bavette with yummy creamy potatoes and a scoop of chocolate ice cream for dessert. After lunch we walked around the Marina to get a look at the other restaurants and businesses. We stopped at a little local shop called Boutique Ananas and picked up a sweet water color print and some magnets feature the art of the owner's wife. Dd and I picked out the pictures with kitties of course as we have enjoyed the island cats. We stopped on the way home at the Monoprix and Carrefour looking for a particular French soap I love but no luck. So back to the condo for some pool time and then wine, cheese, fois gras, and pork rillette (Super U's brand is very good) on the patio for sunset. I cooked up the chipolatas tonight with a lovely cherry tomato, garlic, and shallot sauce all over cous cous. So good, dh had thirds. Some vanilla banana Ma Doudou for night cap and the death of 4 more skeeters rounded out the night but the invasion seems to have calmed down considerably. This is good as the real estate for new bites on my skin is running low and I am not interested in being sublet.