Our first full day on the island, and it truly has been a good one.
It started out with a somewhat hazy sky this morning and no great sunrise worth talking about but it's St. Maarten, we're here and well rested so let the vacation begin.
Breakfast in - pastries from ShopnDrop with fresh coffee but just as we were ready to head out to the porch to eat we could see the rain clouds moving in. Hmmmmm. Plan B - breakfast in while the rains came down, but by the time we were done so was the rain.
Now comes the hard part - decision time. What to do and where to do it? After much deliberation we decided to head over to El Zafiro. Great choice! We got there about ten-thirty and opted for chairs in the front row. The beach was immaculate and the staff couldn't have been more personable. The waves were relatively calm, too, so it was a good choice.
Around noontime my DH's built in alarm click went off so we ambled up to the restaurant. When we were here in December they were still working on the bar and lunch consisted of 4-5 offerings on a chalk board so it was a pleasant surprise when we were offered a full menu with lots of offerings. And when all the options were poured over, two of us ended up with delicious Caesar Salads with grilled shrimp and one of us had the pulled pork sandwich plate. All were delicious and nicely presented and served with several glasses of Chardonnay and fruit punches.
No room for dessert so back to the beach for a few more hours and a few more glasses of wine. About 3:30 we called it a day and when DH went to settle the bill we were surprised it was as reasonable as it was. When all was said and done, lunch with drinks and gratuities was a hundred dollars for three of us with chairs and umbrellas included.
Back to the Towers - showers and then cocktail hour. If I say so myself, I make a mean piņa colada- and then it was nappy time. The breezes were blowing through the unit when we opened the doors so we shut off the airco and we're cooling on natures best efforts.
We thought about going in to P'berg for dinner this evening and to reintroduce our Granddaughter to the owners of Antoine's. The last time they saw her she was nine years old and she has certainly changed since then. I called to make reservations and the staff informed us Front Street was all torn up in their area and we'd have to park on Back Street and walk in.
Okay - so plan B was FIG at Maho Village and a very pleasant choice it was. A tip for those going there - there are plenty of parking options but if you park in the underground garage at La Terrasse, you can take the elevator straight up to the second floor and you're right there at the entrance to FIG.
We were all about introducing Sarah to some new options so this was a dinner of firsts for her - her first time eating 'SCarGo' and Nems with mint leaves served with a soy based dipping sauce. Dinner was excellent right up to the rains which caused a little scurrying but it was all good. We finished the evening off with a cheese flan for John and Sarah and Frangelica on the rocks for Sarah and me. It was all yummy and then of course, the obligatory house concoction- none of us knew what it was - chocolate 'something' - and it was delicious. When all was said and done dinner ran about $150.00 for three with apps, entrees, desserts, drinks and gratuity. It was all in all a very pleasant evening and by the time we were done with dinner the rains had ended.
So here we are, home at last, after a leisurely spent and well enjoyed day and ready to call it a night. We've given some thought to tomorrow's activities but plans require so much effort so I guess we'll rise and shine and figure it all out then.
