Celebrating 25 years of marriage to your best friend is an amazing event. Celebrating that event on St Martin is even more amazing. Everything about this trip, from travel to accommodations to dining was easy, relaxing and good.

We were a bit apprehensive of flying through Philly, but both our flights in and back were uneventful. It was actually quicker and easier than going through Charlotte, but perhaps it was just one of those “magic” things that seemed to happen for us. We arrived on the island about 20 minutes ahead of schedule and were quickly escorted to [color:"blue"]Unity[/color] to see Michael. On our last trip we somehow started a conversation about venison and promised to bring some with us, so we were excited to share it with him. Michael was, as always, friendly, kind and very good to do business with. [color:"blue"]Sharon[/color] had our phone delivered to Unity and Craig from [color:"blue"]Packlight[/color] met us there to deliver our chairs and umbrellas. I am always amazed at how uncomplicated and simple it is to rent from both of them. While we didn’t use the chairs everyday, they are nice to have for options.

After stopping at Grand Marche for some essentials, we drove to our bungalow in Baie Orient where the owner, Sonia, greeted us. She speaks very little English and I speak very little French, but we had no problems communicating. Sonia was very warm and a wonderful hostess. She had stocked the units with necessities, including coffee, water, soda, beer and juice. Since friends were going to be joining us later in the week so we rented both of her bungalows, [color:"blue"]Creole Delight[/color] and [color:"blue"]Creolina[/color], that are separate, but attached.

The bungalows turned out to be exactly what we needed. They are located on the main road going into Baie Orient and were more spacious than I had anticipated. They are older but had a very Caribbean feel to them with a brightly colored walls and accessories. Both units have their own private pool, one being quite a bit larger than the other. Our unit, Creole Delight, had a large kitchen that had all the essentials I needed for the meals we cooked at home. The bedrooms and baths in both units are about the same size and have plenty of closet space. The showers were large and our unit had more than enough hot water for long showers, something we haven’t always found in other places we have stayed. Creole Delight is about 1/3 mile from Orient Village and while we drove to the beach in the afternoon, our morning walks from the bungalow to the beach were a great way to start the day. Other little extras were the free wi-fi and secure parking. We chose these units because of the price ($130/night per couple) but wouldn’t hesitate to stay there again. They were quaint and romantic and provided all we needed.

Our first meal on the island was at [color:"blue"]Planet Orient[/color], a new place for us. Perhaps it’s just that first island meal, but this was our favorite dining experience this trip. The staff was extremely friendly, attentive and chatty. The restaurant has a Moroccan décor, draped completely in red. A large screen in the center of the restaurant plays a very eclectic range of videos, from beach scenes to runway models. When offered the choice, I asked our waitress to speak French so I could practice therefore I may have some of my facts a bit confused! It was my understanding that this was their first week under new management (or was that a new chef?) On Friday nights they offer a special Moroccan menu featuring several meats and seafood and couscous. There were a few things on the menu that were not available that evening. We opted to start our meal with a glass of champagne, a tradition that I continued the rest of our stay. For our entrees, Greg had the Grilled Mahi with coriander and sweet potatoes and I had the Tagliatelle Noir which is served with shrimp and scallops with a light lobster bisque sauce. Both of our meals were delicious and we decided that when our friends arrived, we had to let them experience this restaurant. Since my dessert of choice wasn’t available, I ended the meal with a cup of espresso and Greg had a glass of Frangelica. Meal and drinks: $108. First magic meal moments: priceless.

Wednesday was our official anniversary date and we spent the day lounging on a couple of chairs under a yellow umbrella. The sun was warm, the winds were brisk and the water a bit colder than usual, all in all, a perfect day. With so many recommendations for [color:"blue"]Sol é L[/color][color:"blue"]una[/color], we made reservations online prior to arriving on the island. While walking up the steps I realized why this was such a highly recommended place for a romantic dinner. When Greg announced to the hostess and those seated on the front porch, “In seven minutes I will be married to this beautiful woman for 25 years and I’d like a romantic table to celebrate with her”, I felt like a brushing bride. We were ushered to the side terrace and were seated at a candlelit table with white linen and surrounded by bamboo trees, bougainvilleas and ferns. We started with a glass of champagne followed by appetizers of lobster bisque with puff pastry and the crab cake. For our main course, we chose one of the daily specials; a seafood medley with lobster bisque, the shank of lamb, and a bottle of Chateauneuf de Pape. The presentations matched the ambiance, elegant and simple. The wine was very nice (although after a glass of champagne, we were unable to finish it) and Greg’s seafood was his favorite entrée of the trip. I, however was disappointed in the lamb. Perhaps my palate isn’t sophisticated enough to enjoy the nuances, but I found the meat to be bland and chewy, so much so that I couldn’t finish it. Even though I was underwhelmed with my food choice, we had a wonderful and memorable experience. I believe the cost was around $200 - reasonable considering all we ordered.

Thursday morning we walked to Orient and enjoyed a breakfast at [color:"blue"]Baywatch[/color], followed by another windy, but good day on the beach. We did encounter one of the brief afternoon downpours but even found a bit of magic while huddling under the umbrella and watching the shower pass. We needed to make a grocery run that evening, so decided to try to catch a sunset at [color:"blue"]Sunset Beach Bar[/color], where we shared a burger and fries before doing our shopping.

Friday afternoon meant driving to the airport to pick up our friends, so we spent only a couple of hours on the beach. The skies were the clearest and the water the bluest we had seen since we arrived and we tried to talk ourselves into calling a taxi to pick up our friends, but opted to keep our friendship and leave the beach. (After I had a ti punch, that was a tough decision!) Traffic was very heavy and we ended up being about 10 minutes late, however their plane was 20 minutes late, so we were fine. This was not only their first trip to St. Martin, but their first time out of the states, so we were very excited to share their first encounter with our favorite island. Unfortunately, they didn’t get off on the best foot since immigration was not going to let them in the country! They weren’t sure how to fill out their immigration form and on the line that asks where you will be staying, they simply put, “French side” (I obviously missed explaining that part when I gave the “Going To St Martin” class with them!) Even when they explained that they were renting a house and that we were picking them up, they made Jodie stay behind and let Eugene come out to find us to get an exact address. After an island cocktail, they were over their little mishap and everything went smoothly afterwards. It was late in the afternoon, but we spent an hour or so on the beach and then headed home where we enjoyed ribs and chicken (ribs from Food Express in Maho are incredible!)

Ok. This is way longer than I expected so I’ll finish with Part 2 later where I promise not to be so wordy (or at least I promise I’ll TRY not to be so wordy)