TravelTalkOnline Forums Trip Reports (Read Only) SXM Trip Reports and Photos Day 31 - The French Quarter

2/3/11 Wednesday
I decided to show Kim some of the more well known areas on the French side, Orient Beach and Grand Case. We started out with breakfast at The Barefoot Restaurant on the boardwalk a couple doors down from the hotel. I had saltfish and ham & egg, both on fried johnny cakes; Kim had bacon, egg and cheese on a baked one because she asked for it as a bake, the term used in the southern Caribbean. All were very good the Johnny cakes tastes freshly made, with tea, coffee and 15% service charge the bill was $15. After packing for the beach we grabbed a bus to Marigot and transferred to a French Quarter bus; I didn’t know until today you can get a French Quarter bus in Philipsburg, it think would be much quicker. The bus drops you off at the entrance and it is about a 15 minute walk past the villas to the beach. I started coming for one day a trip last year and I wanted to have my “annual” legal chunky dunk. We were hoping to find a small place to put a towel, but the chair vendors had just about every square inch covered, even though a good half of them were empty. I know there are a lot of OB fans out there, and if you like to go CO it’s the best place for that; but I’m sorry to me it’s ridiculous to see prime beach area taken up by empty chairs, on all the beaches I’ve visited in the Caribbean I have never seen anything like it and can’t imagine it being tolerated anywhere else.

There must be a beach under there somewhere
We ended up just south of CoCo’s past the rocks. Kim lay in the sun; I swam a bit then took a walk to the CO section. Around 1:00 we packed up and caught a bus to Grand Case. We started at Lolo No. 6, on the water; they were the only ones that had boudin. We both had chicken Kim had spaghetti and some very nicely cooked plantains, I had what must Kraft macaroni and cheese; the boudin was very nicely seasoned, with drinks and before tip it was $13. After there we went to my usual one,Talk of the Town. We had a delicious plate of ribs $4 and a beer $2. It started to sprinkle so we went to La Bodega for a drink; I had the special of the day and Kim a juice. We walked south along the beach and came to a nice little area with a stone wall behind it where we sat for a while and enjoyed the views, this is more our kind of place; different strokes for different folks makes the world go round.

Kim on Grand Case
By 4:30 we walked down to the intersection and got a bus to Marigot where we were going to have afternoon tea. The bus was full with a few adults and a local football team; but the driver was not passing up a fare so he rearranged everyone to fit us in. One woman who was getting off shortly stood bent over in the aisle with her hind end almost out the side window. The kids reminded me of my sons and their friends when they were in elementary school and played American football. The driver, Felix, growled like a cat when they yelled “Felix the cat” and when he would growl louder they would yell “Felix the tiger!!” As I listened to them negotiate with him to be their team driver and watched them sort out their $.50 fares at the athletic field I felt like I was back down in the windwards. We got off at the waterfront in Marigot and walked to La Sucriere for tea, coffee and dessert, I had an apple tart, Kim a chocolat mousse cake, $15. By the time we arrived back in PB, they were “rolling up the streets” since most of the day travelers had left.

On the boardwalk
We grabbed a drink at Sint Rose and sat on the beach watching the sun go down. It’s going to be an early day tomorrow, we want to get down to the bridge for the opening, so we stayed home and lounged around.

A ship leaves Great Bay as the sun sets