Just arrived home from 12 days and 11 nights in Paradise. The weather this year was especially beautiful. Every day dawn bright and sunny. One afternoon featured a quick moving shower and then we were all back on Orient to enjoy the beach and warm ocean. This year, we rarely ventured out of Orient Beach Village except to Tastevin ( our first night favorite), Villa ( just okay this year) and Mario's Bistro. I spoke with Didier about the robbery reported earlier on this site. He said two young men walked into the restaurant on on very busy evening, one with an attack gun (taser, I think) and their other with a shotgun with a very rusty barrel. He gave them the cashier box and they grabbed one women's handbag and were gone. They were caught the next day. He now has a canine unit ( a guard and a very scary dog) stationed across the street. We felt perfectly comfortable being there. The food as always was wonderful. The menu has had some changes which were wonderful. We love Mario's and we love the time we spend talking with Didier. The rest of the dinners were in Orient Village: Little Italie, Tai Chi and Le Piment. It was a quick ride from our villa around the corner and we felt like we were really in a French Village. In addition, Petite Casino has opened and it is very nicely decorated and is getting in new stock daily. People are very friendly. We finally discover Good Morning in the village a few door before Petite Casino. Great French bread, croissants and pain au chocolate. Great for breakfast or lunch. We also had dinner at Ti Bouchon and enjoyed Momo's conversation as well as the wonderfully prepared food. Lunches were at Kakao, Aloha, Sun Beach, and Cheryl and Andy's. Food was great especially the Buffalo Margarita Shrimp and Mussels a la Andy. We got to reconnect with friends from previous visits which was a wonderful way to spend time on the beach and in the water. Great laughs and great memories. Guess that's it. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />