This trip was the earliest we have made to St. Martin. We specifically wanted to be on the island for the regatta.

Flew AA through Miami to St. Martin without any problems. Got through immigration quickly. Picked up our luggage and met Lesley to get our car. We are use to a rather seasoned car but this trip we were the first drivers. We needed a phone for business reasons and Sharon dropped one off at Lesley’s and it was in the car for us. We rented a second car from Lesley, later in the trip, because we had more visitors. He again, met us at the airport and made our rental experience easy. And for our second car, we got our white R 3 back…..

We usually rent a villa in the Orient area and this trip was no exception. We found a villa on Trip Advisor which seemed to fit our needs. The villa manager, Philippe, was great to deal with. He met us at the villa and showed us the layout. As we were unpacking, we could not find the safe. We called Philippe and it was installed the next day. Great service. We plan on renting thru him again.

Shop N Drop had our essentials for us when we arrived. Everything as ordered.

We had friends arrive from Seattle the next day. They were St Martin virgins. They will be back.

We spent Saturday with Team Tijon, on the Lambada, for the Regatta. Drinks flowed early and often. It was fun watching the race. Sunday we spent at Rainbow watching as all of the boats were racing off the beach there. We went to the closing ceremony and listened to Kool and the Gang. The show didn’t officially start until 11:00 and we were all impressed that we stayed up that late. We parked and ate at at Bavaria. The German food was actually pretty good and it was a quick walk.

Our beach days were spent at either Rainbow or Le String. The Rainbow beach and ocean was free of seaweed. It varied by day how much seaweed was in front of Le String. We walked down to Club O most days and did not see any seaweed there. Food was good at both. A little more expensive at Rainbow but you do not pay for the chairs. Portions are large and generally good for two. Can’t say enough good things about Jean Henri (John) at Rainbow and how he treats his customers.

We had meals at L’Escapade, Le Tastevin, Little Italy, Le Piment and Piazza Pascal. We carried out from 2 different Lolos, which were both great. We also ventured into the French Quarter and had dinner at Suki’s Chinese Restaurant. I am not a fan of Chinese food but it was pretty good and Lilly went out of her way to ensure we had a great experience.

After our friends left, our kids and grandkids joined us. It was our granddaughter’s 7th birthday. We had her birthday dinner at Piazza Pascal. Donna decorated with balloons and had a special dessert for her including a large sparkler as big as a road flare as a candle. The food was wonderful as always.

Later in the week we rented the ScoobiCat for her birthday party. We left out of Anse Marcel and visited several beaches on Anguilla. It was a great day. Captain Elliott also decorated the boat with balloons and had made some balloon animals for the girls. Really fun day!

The ladies spent an afternoon at Tijon, in Grand Case, creating their own perfumes and had a great time. John and Cyndi are fun hosts. If you have never done this excursion, I would highly recommend it.

The end had to come and we flew back through Charlotte. No problems with immigration and customs. We had to overnight in Charlotte. Our flight from Charlotte to St. Louis was uneventful except we encountered the funniest flight attendant ever (nice for a change!)

We can’t wait for our return to St. Martin.

Sounds like you had a great time. Nice to hear of the special b'day treatment at Piazza Pascale.

Thanks for the report! How was the villa? Or, it was so good you don't want other people to find out about it?? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> Where is Rainbow on Orient? Haven't heard of it before..

The villa was nice. Good view and well maintained. Walkable to Orient Philippe mentioned the owner wanted to sell, so not sure about its future. Philippe manages about 14 units in the orient area.

Rainbow is in Gran Case just before you return to the main road away from the airport. I think close to where California used to be.

OK, as far as Rainbow. I thought you meant somewhere on Orient.

Thanks for a nice report. Great that birthday was celebrated at several places. Tijon experience is a really unique and fun thing to do.
We'll have a have a drink someplace here in St L sometime and compare notes.