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Monday
#187787
03/19/2019 05:27 AM
03/19/2019 05:27 AM
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 4,390 Rhode Island
RonDon
OP
Traveler
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OP
Traveler
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 4,390
Rhode Island
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A totally different type of day for us. My niece who lives in TX asked us to meet friends of hers staying at Holland House and show them around. So we played tour guides.
Started down Front Street , ringed around the coast by Cpt Oliver’s crepes at BZH, on to observation deck overlooking baby beach and the islands, on to Bikini. After some sun moved on to Mt. Enron, Pinel Ferry area, over and down the hill to Anse Marcel on to Grand Case. Lunched at Sunset cafe at GCBC.
Through Sandy Ground. They did not want anymore beach stops so just drove through the lowlands, Maho, stop for typical tourist plane photo before heading through Simpson Bay. Stop at Greenhouse. The “guests” were not impressed. Then back to Holland House. Goodbyes and stated hopes we could meet up again. They want to go to Rainbow. Tried to politely suggest a car rental for a couple of days now that they have an idea of the island.
Returned to our neglected paradise only to fall asleep immediately.
Only comment I have is disappointment at Sunset Cafe new look. Not as quaint as before, cement floor, plexi sides, much wider that before, sterile. They will close in June to complete kitchen. At the moment food being served from a food truck. Still tasty though. Lodi is gone...man with the braided beard but same woman (forgot her name)that also was at Cafe Paris at Marina Royal.
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Re: Monday
[Re: RonDon]
#187837
03/19/2019 03:32 PM
03/19/2019 03:32 PM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,761 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,761
Central Florida!
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Sammy--OK, I just think it would be incredibly inconvenient and expensive to have to get a taxi everywhere, as if you want to go to Simpson Bay or Orient or wherever, those taxi rides would add up to a lot of money. I can't imagine being stuck in P'burg for the whole vacation, except when you pay for a cab. Simpson Bay or Maho, maybe, but not P'burg. There are a ton of places one can walk to in Simpson Bay or Maho, even at night.
Carol Hill
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Re: Monday
[Re: RonDon]
#187842
03/19/2019 04:25 PM
03/19/2019 04:25 PM
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Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 727
bran
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 727
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" Philipsburg can't be beat however, if you're into high end shopping!"
Maybe its me and I need to really give this yet another go but apart from the usual jewellery stores, a couple of " bespoke names" that you see everywhere, I just don't get what you mean by high end shopping. First there is only one decent woman's store now left on front st and one small men's high end store. What am I missing? I suppose like food, define high end? Where are these stores that are unusual? Perhaps I am comparing it to St. Thomas and to a certain extent St Barths and expecting more. I agree that visiting in Dec of 2017 and twice again last year, so many were still shut and recovering but even many years before Irma, all I see are the usual cheap souvenir stores set up for the cruise crowd. Nothing different along the boardwalk either. Same stuff. I remember that off Front Street there was a side street(always had a colorful car outside) that had a few stores that were not the usual tat, but that was it. Actually find Marigot for clothing in particular, more chic, upmarket(yet still reasonably priced) and a huge selection in many stores.
So for those more familiar than I am with Philipsburg, educate me please, would love to give it another chance to see, high end, unique, unusual and select stores if they do indeed exist.
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Re: Monday
[Re: SammyM]
#187844
03/19/2019 04:31 PM
03/19/2019 04:31 PM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,761 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,761
Central Florida!
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Sammy--yes, very few places to eat after dark in P'burg, or at least, not nearly the selection as in Simpson Bay.
Carol Hill
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Re: Monday
[Re: Carol_Hill]
#187848
03/19/2019 04:48 PM
03/19/2019 04:48 PM
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 4,390 Rhode Island
RonDon
OP
Traveler
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OP
Traveler
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 4,390
Rhode Island
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Sammy--yes, very few places to eat after dark in P'burg, or at least, not nearly the selection as in Simpson Bay. This is what surprised this couple. Only greenhouse, Antoine’s and their hotel. There maybe other places but not sure. A few years back we dined at Pasangraahan and was surprised to find street dead when we left. When we showed them Simpson Bay they voiced that there is where they would like to stay if they visited again. They also like the look of Divi but again they would need a car. They either did a TS exchange or used a friends Ts, not sure.
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Re: Monday
[Re: RonDon]
#187859
03/19/2019 05:54 PM
03/19/2019 05:54 PM
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Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 933
SammyM
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 933
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Well Bran ... by 'high end' I mean jewelry, perfumes, cosmetics, electronics, etc. and not necessarily men or women's fashions. You won't find a Sax Fifth Avenue here. But, if you are shopping for a really nice watch, expensive perfumes, various unusual liquors, and so forth then Main Street in Philipsburg is packed with these places and nearly all of them are up-and-running now. Don't confuse this with a Galaria-style shopping mall, but if you like to shop for nice things and don't mind salespeople that will stick to you like human crazy glue, then you might want to give this a shot if you're in this area. Many of the same places that are in St. Thomas, etc. you will find here as well. There are also more moderate places to shop for tee shirts, hats, souvenirs, and even cuban cigars for those who are cost conscious. The difference between here and Marigot is that in Philipsburg the prices are in U.S. dollars. By no means am I advocating coming to Philipsburg to just shop, but there's plenty of it here for those that are interested.
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Re: Monday
[Re: RonDon]
#187963
03/20/2019 12:34 PM
03/20/2019 12:34 PM
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,646 Brookfield, CT.
pat
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,646
Brookfield, CT.
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bran,
I have no idea of your age bracket but like you, we used to think there wasn’t much of a drug problem in SXM.
That was until about 25 years ago when our kids were approached in Marigot by a young stranger who was trying to tell (sell?) them something. We couldn’t make out what he was saying but the ‘kids’ - in their late teens or early twenties at the time - knew exactly what the stranger was offering.
They chuckled at our naïvety and told us they get offered stuff all the time. I guess we just didn’t fall into the right age bracket for the offer. Just sayin........
Respectfully,
pat
"Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them."
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Re: Monday
[Re: RonDon]
#187987
03/20/2019 03:39 PM
03/20/2019 03:39 PM
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 13,143 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
islandgem
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 13,143
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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There are many selling drugs in SXM, but I have never been approached. If you don't look the type, they think they are wasting their time. We actually saw some exchanges on the French side in past trips and on the Mullet Bay beach on the Dutch side.
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Re: Monday
[Re: RonDon]
#188003
03/20/2019 06:14 PM
03/20/2019 06:14 PM
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Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 658 Maine
SXMbeacher
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 658
Maine
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My nephew was approached on Orient Beach seven years ago, while on a cruise. A Jamaican looking guy asked him if he would like to buy his music he recorded on a cd. The trick is, they put drugs of some sort in the cd case. I guess that supposed to look less suspicious?
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