hope i do this right...tried to cut it down...here goes...

flight - flew us air direct from phila., pa., no problems except not being able to play the in-flight movie on the way home, big deal...now we hear there are no more direct flights from phila...very sad... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" />
car rental - rented from united right at airport, wanted a toyota corolla, they didn't have one and gave us a deal on a brand new hyundai tucson...great car, no complaints
weather - i would say our 3 weeks were evenly split between "perfect" hot and sunny days and cloudy,windy, spritzy, iffy days, no big deal, forced us to go out and investigate more of the island and shop more! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />
hotel - stayed at orient beach at the palm court, we upgraded to a 3rd floor suite so we could have a king-sized bed, loved the room and antoine and cecile are very friendly and couldn't have been more pleasant...however, we booked a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 floor townhouse through cap caraibes realty for next year for a month so any of our friends or family who can afford airfare can "c'mon down!" <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Groovin.gif" alt="" />
places we ate-
tap five pizza - where we always ended up for dinner when we were too tired to drive anywhere, great food, always entertaining momo's personality makes you want to come back...he created a special pizza for jeff with mozzarella, goat cheese, pepperoni and ham, i loved the salmon, the lasagna...the crostini salad...and he has that great sxm ice cream, coconut and passion fruit sorbet among my favs...
baywatch-andy and cheryl aim to please and they do it superbly, and in a timely fashion...loved their breakfasts, especially corned beef hash and taylor pork roll, andy's mussels and garlic bread and also the ribs were the best i ever had...the bloody marys at breakfast were good too!
their warmth and friendliness are on par with their excellence in taste and service!
papagayos- didn't really like the food last year, but hit it twice for lunch, the cheeseburger my husband had was the best of all the burgers he had on the island, so i vow to get that on the second visit, but do i? no stupid me gets the shrimp caesar salad which has those insipid little canned shrimp...yuk...anyhow, burgers are great, also have sxm yummy ice cream... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />
la plantation - don't know why, but it was my favorite meal of all the places we went;appetizer, i had ceviche of tuna over spring greens,my entree was a duet of foie gras and lobster with raspberry sauce over a vegetable terrine...exquisite! jeff had french onion soup and filet mignon, with his limited taste buds, a combo he repeated quite frequently <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" />
turtle pier - 2nd best breakfast to baywatch, bacon was crisp, coffee was excellent, homefries unique...want to go back next year for lobster night on wed.
kali's beach bar - friar's bay - lobster caesar salad was delicious but the nutella crepe for dessert was even better...ended up here for lunch the day of the full moon party, wanted to go back for that, but hubby wasn't feeling well...next year, for sure! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Groovin.gif" alt="" />
il nettuno- grand case- superb - i had the salad with blue cheese and walnuts followed by veal scallopini with gnocchi...incredible! jeff had fried mozzarella and then chicken parm...best part was we were serenaded by a guy on guitar who played "o sole mio" which segued into elvis' version of "it's now or never" ...we had a lot of fun! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />
l'alabama - grand case - most elegant and sophisticated decor, i had an escargot dish as an appetizer, then the grouper special...jeff had french onion soup and filet mignon (yes, again)...service was superb, karin and pascal are very sweet and friendly...the restaurant was not packed the night we were there, which we liked...
mark's place - on way to phillipsburg - ate here our last night on advice of friends who visited sxm 4 yrs. ago - it was good, at this point we were kinda jaded on "gourmet" food - i had the steak sandwich and jeff had chicken parm, for dessert jeff had apple pie with ice cream and i had the chocolate mousse cake...both were excellent, we'll be back <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Cool.gif" alt="" />
le village - port royale marina, marigot - i ordered a lobster dish from the creole menu which was delicious, can't remember what jeff ate, maybe filet? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Doh.gif" alt="" />he did have the warm chocolate cake for dessert which was the best of all we tried on the island...
arahwak - harbor, marigot - ate here twice after loving it last year, were kind of disappointed, still the grilled lobster and water prawns were good, portions just seemed very small
hot tomatoes - great ribs and frozen margaritas
bella napoli - atlantis casino, mullet bay - i had mussels and clams over linguini, jeff had, guess what? pizza! was very good, we loved being serenaded by guitar player singing what we think were italian songs...it was tres romantic! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/circle.gif" alt="" />
oualichi - on the beach front in phillipsburg up from taloulah mango's - great chicken tenders, great small pizza/salad combo, we ate lunch here twice....
la california - grand case - had dinner here on valentine's day, great martini, broccoli/tomato veloute with shrimp as appetizer, mahi-mahi forestiere for main course, crepes suzette for dessert...i never had crepes suzette before, la california is superb in the dessert crepe and ice cream concoction department! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />guess what jeff had? yep, french onion soup and filet mignon... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />
la brasserie de la gare - port royale marina - ate here twice, liked it last year, still great this year - best mojitos, 4 cheese pizza to die for...garlic shrimp was tasty...
peg leg pub - hands down best place for steaks on the island, ate here twice, got crazy t-shirts for souvenirs, had a lot of fun...everything is good! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />
le galion - port royale marina, marigot - best french onion soup in jeff's humble opinion and believe me, he ate enough of it to have an opinion <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" />
le tastevin - grand case - beautiful and elegant, cream of aspargus soup and grilled lobster with pistachio creme brulee for dessert - magnifique!!! didn't write down what jeff had but i bet it was french onion soup and filet! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />
things we loved -
sunset cafe at grand case beach club - went here 2 nights to have a drink and watch the sunset...doesn't get much more romantic...only regret was we didn't go back to have dinner...another must do for next year
happy hour at perch bar, orient club beach - love those mango coladas and standing in line!!!most fun of whole trip
beach at club orient - happiness is no tan lines <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Banana.gif" alt="" />
snorkeling at club orient beach - magnificent!
caribbean cinema - new multiplex theater (7 different flicks)-with the abundance of iffy weather, ended up seeing a movie 2 nights, the life aquatic and hitch...most fun was having the ticket seller ask my husband if he wanted the senior discount ( he just turned 50 the day before we left for vacation, ouch!)
then, after she apologizes and we go back about a week later, she remembers my husband and asks him all over again... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Blush.gif" alt="" />
digestif (ma doudou, etc) presented at end of meal - jeff doesn't like rum so i always get two! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/drinking.gif" alt="" />
everything we do (even when we're doing nothing) and everyone we meet on sxm!!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/usflag.gif" alt="" />
new experiences -
had a custom fit bikini (thong, triangle top and modest bottom for home) made by luiz...jeff got a big kick out of my fitting! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" />
rented a 19' century and viewed sxm from the water for 3 hrs....jeff was in his glory as we have a 110'whale watch boat in cape may...me, i tolerated it...it was different <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/titanic.gif" alt="" />
day trip to st. barth's - took commuter from grand case, rented a car, saw the entire island and had the most expensive lunch of my life at the lafayette beach club! gustavia harbor is beautiful as are all the shops....many beautiful beaches but have no need to go back
day trip to anguilla - ferry from marigot, took a taxi to see some of the island and then ended up at shoal bay beach...nice, but no comparison to sxm...also, no topless or c/o ..don't need to go back
overnight trip to tortola - went to look at boat for our business, stayed at nanny cay marina, nice marina, lousy room, good restaurant...got taxi driver to take us on tour of island before flying back...it is beautiful, but again, not sxm... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/thumbsdown.gif" alt="" />don't need to go back

so that's it, hope i didn't bore you, we were in sxm last year for 11 days for our first time after one day from a cruise over christmas...we have fallen in love with it and personally can't see any reason to go anywhere else...just our opinion...so now begins the countdown to next year...we'll be there feb.9 - march 10...hope we get to meet you! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/dance.gif" alt="" /> oh yes, as you can see by our "food oriented" trip report, i'll be in the gym every day from now til next year's trip! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Banana.gif" alt="" />
mary and jeff
cape may, n.j.