DAY3: It’s allll Good. Thursday
[To Recap: We booked an Expedia trip with the following components: Flights on American Airlines from Chicago to San Juan, Puerto Rico, connecting to American Eagle flight to St. Martin. Eight nights accommodation (including continental breakfast) in a two-bedroom duplex at the Grand Case Beach Club on the French side. Our family consists of a Dad, Mom (that’s me!), FemaleAge15 (FA15) and Female Age13 (FA13), otherwise known as our daughters.]
I wake up early, why, because I’m on vacation! None of that ten-pound weight on my shoulders… I’ve got nothing to do and plenty of time to do it. I’m so happy I brush my teeth and go out on the balcony to read that Harry Potter book glued to my left hand. No one’s up that I can see, and I read a page then gaze out at the ocean. Oh, a little bird is building a nest in the sheltered part of the balcony. At first it stays away, but as it senses I am no more a threat than the bit of twig in its mouth, it goes about its business and I, mine. Eventually we are all up and go down to the aforementioned, continental breakfast. While there, we see folks coming up and asking for a “pour aller” or “to go.” They take their liquids and breads back with them and enjoy their bounty on their terraces. We all look at each other knowingly. Things are going great, and they’re only getting better (to quote Status Quo). Tomorrow, we conquer “pour aller.”
After breakfast we suit up for some beach time. There is an outdoor, water sports counter at the resort. The staff there also sets up your complimentary lounges and umbrellas, kayaks, floats and offers free snorkeling equipment. They could not be nicer. Damian and Sebastian also offer tubing, waterskiing, snorkeling trips and other adventures for a price. Today, we decide to get the free kayaks and snorkel over to Creole Rock, which we’ve heard offers really nice views of the fishies. Well, turns out that’s a protected marine park, and must be visited with a guide, so instead we kayak over around the rocks on the north side of the resort shore near the marine park. We see a goodly amount of fishies, spiny sea urchins and even a barracuda, which I don’t tell the girls about right away. This is pretty cool, I think – happy little fish with happy little vacationers. We spend an hour or two there and then oar back into strong headwinds. Yeow, it’s good to get exercise. We decide to eat lunch at the Sunset Café, as they are moving us today to our new unit. Lunch was very good -- sandwiches, but all fresh and well prepared – the prices are New York pricy if that makes sense to you. It was nice to just come in off the beach, throw on a wrap and eat on the ocean.
After lunch we lounged on the beach. There were a few topless women everyday, which didn’t bother us or the girls – very low key. The clientele seems to be American, French Canadian, French, and then while we were there we also encountered Dutch, Indian, Spanish and (I think) Norwegian. Works for us – most folks said hello to each other when passing.
Tonight we tried Brasserie Des Iles, next to Le Pub. It was pretty decent. We had three pizzas, a goat cheese salad, a wonderful green veggie soup, three glasses of wine and two sodas, plus after dinner rum shots thrown in for free. The pizzas were tasty and huge. We easily could have done with two – but then again, here was tomorrow’s lunch. The rum shots were banana. Yum. I would never have tried them if they weren’t brought out. The bill was $88 before tip. After dinner we walk around bit a find a few souvenirs in the shops. Folks are generally friendly. Tonight we play cards for two minutes before we fall aslee…p
DAY 4: Marigot-round & Plantation. Friday
Today I got up super (Soo-PEHR!) early and went to get breakfast for the family. I was promptly sent back to the unit for a tray with which to carry my bounty.
Me: “Bonjour, Monsieur. May I have breakfast to go?”
Waiter: “But what will you carry your breakfast with, Madam?”
Me: “I have two hands…”
Waiter: “More important, you ‘ave two legs, use them to go get your tray.”
I liked the waiters… not one of them said, “Hi! My name is Chip! I’ll be your waiter tonight! Can I start you off with some Fried Crud Pieces?” Breakfast at the unit works much better as we can all eat at our leisure.
Today we are going to the Lotterie Farm where the Fly-Zone (otherwise known as a zip line course) awaits. I know there is a cruise ship in town but agents FA13/15 are intent upon zipping. When we were in the countryside of France there was a zip-line course called Chateau Branche. It was constructed in a stand of trees on the grounds of a lovely chateau whose the owners could no longer make a living simply giving tours of the buildings. We loved it. So here we are driving up a long, thin road to a clearly marked sign for the park. We turn into a thinner, rutted road, which turns into a pitted, pocked, kiddie-pool sized potholed dirt road to the parking area. It is advisable to drive –5 miles an hour on the road lest your car gives birth to your transmission on the road and then you’d have to name it and send out announcements… “Please join us in welcoming Teresa-the-transmission into the World” – altogether too much trouble. So, of course we get there and, yes, if we want to Zip today, we will wait and go with the cruise ship crowd. Nope. Nope. Nope. Merci, see you demain.
So we head into Marigot and walk around. There is a very uncongested road into Marigot at the first traffic circle coming from Grand Case. Hang your second right towards the Marina. It’s not scenic, but there’s no construction.We found plenty of parking near the waterfront. The new mall is nice, air-conditioned, and over-priced, but ahhh, the gust of cool air greets us. We strolled to the market to bargain for a few trinkets and dresses. The marina looks cool, but alas, we will not make it back for a meal. It starts as a low rumble and I think uh-oh, thunder, but then clearly my three companions are mouthing, “Beach, beach, beach…” and our trip to Marigot ends, but I spy the rest of the waterfront road for later use. Off we are back to GCBC. During the trip back I show them Orient Beach and I honestly thought agents FA13/15 would prefer this wide beach w/activities, but no. They’ve seen big beaches like this before and will again. They want the nice little beaches and snorkeling right outside their rooms at GCBC. Score one for Mom! No lugging stuff to another beach each day for four. No paying for lounges and umbrellas and whatnot! We almost chose to stay at the Alamanda resort on Orient Beach and I imagine we would have had a great time if we stayed there, too, with free use of umbrellas and lounges, and gotten to know Orient Beach. But we are perfectly happy to let the sand gravity at GCBC pull us back.
After some beach time we head to The Plantation, between Grand Case and Orient on the main road. We almost thought the place was closed because there was only one other car in the lot. It was about $70 for four all, which I thought, was expensive. The entrance fee came with talking wands that you pointed at signs. The wands would then read aloud almost exactly was what on the sign. I didn’t get it. It also seemed like more things should have been open. One funny thing. At the coffee building one could sample brewed coffee and flavored rum. The lady there seemed so uninterested I thought perhaps she was a mannequin. August is a slowww time. When it came time to sample the rum, there was almost none left and we soon found out why: as soon as she finished pouring our one sample three guys came in from the side door to take back the bottle. They looked less than happy that some had been taken. Sign me up for THAT job. The high point was we learned a lot about the history of St. Martin and products or attempted products thereof. But, you could also learn this from a book. Perhaps if more buildings had been open, I would have a better impression. Oh well, all I have to look forward to is happy hour and a great dinner in Grand Case. Poor me.
That night was agent FA13’s birthday. We decided on Spicy based on the reviews here. It was pretty wonderful and Sophie was a warm, friendly hostess. We had the prix fixe menu for $35, one-to-one. It included an appetizer, main course and dessert. We had three prix fixe and one children’s dinner. (FA13 still wanted the kid’s menu!). Everything was excellent and well prepared: my main course of shrimp, scallops and mushroom risotto was fabulous. The décor in the dining room was soothing -- muted warm lights on white walls with splashes of dark red accents, if I remember right. We also ordered a wonderful chardonnay for $24. I think it was a Bouchard Pere et Fils. The total came to $155 before tip. Spicy was practically empty and another family arrived as we were finishing. I would recommend this restaurant for a nice meal.
I hesitate to say, but after dinner we had a little unpleasant encounter in a shop. FA13 wanted to show me a tank top she was thinking of getting. We had been in this store before and bought a few things with the friendly employee. Tonight it was different as there was a different employee at the store. FA13 asked the Madam how much the shirt was and Madam gave her a price that was 5 euros more than it was yesterday. FA13 went to show me the shirt and Madam said, “Don’t touch that!” in a voice reserved for those who have strawberry jam on their hands. Then Madam saw me, and said “I will show it to you, if you want.” I am a calm woman most of the time. We know to say Bonjour, Madam/Mademoiselle when entering a store and know to be polite and my girls know not to make a mess and touch everything. I said, “It’s okay, Dear, I don’t think she wants your business.” And we left. Oops, bad Mom! More than the words, it was the attitude with which she dealt with us.
So, we bought the rest of our things elsewhere, and honestly, I think we were welcomed most everywhere else. She could have been having a bad night, or didn’t like Americans, or a perhaps a combination of the two. Our dollar is weak and some shops feel the sting of offering one-to-one, because, I guess, less profit is better than no profit at all. I really don’t know, but we have a choice where we spend our vacation funds. Okay, now I must say something good to make up for the bad. There is a lovely little store named, Graffiti, about halfway down the main road with a kind Monsieur. He has unusual objects and art pieces at good prices and was very kind to us. His cat is named DouDou.
So, we strolled back to GCBC and played the card game where you stick a card to your forehead, held in place by the natural oils of your skin, and then bet (or not) that you have the highest card. Tomorrow, another day in paradise.
Karen (again, sorry for the length, if you’ve read this far)
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