Ok, well so much for the day to day posts…it kind of got in the way of the vacation for a couple of days. So I will have to combine day 3, 4, and 5. The time is going way too fast!!
Day 3: It was back to Orient onTuesday. We were planning on getting there earlier, but you know how that is. It was worse because we ended up behind some road repair equipment in downtown Marigot. I think it took an hour to get over to Orient! Anyway, made it over, found some chairs and settled in. This was just a great day on the beach. We met so many great people…Sue and Rick, Rich and Joanne, Barb and Steve, Chuck, Jim, another Jim and Mike (aka the bead guys), Jay and Karen, etc. Just had a fantastic time talking to people, swimming, hanging at the perch, etc. It was great! Jim, the bead guy, talked me into trying a frozen blue lagoon at the perch happy hour. Willy mixed it up and yum! That is my new favorite. Does give you a bit of a blue tongue for a while.
After a great afternoon on the beach, we stopped by and picked up my suit from Luiz. I must say it was perfect and incredibly well made. Luiz said he had been sewing since 5am. I think he is fairly busy these days. What can you say, a well made product and word of mouth is your best advertising! I was really happy with all 4 pieces. Somebody was asking about the cost. It was $160 for the 4 pieces (thong, reg bottom, triangle top, wrap). I would definitely buy another one. I have gotten many compliments on it already.
Well we made our way back to the house and I don’t know, pool gravity, pina coladas, etc kicked in. We decided not to go out again. We had an egg, gouda and French sausage omelet with some herbs de province. Simple and tasty. We were in bed fairly early.
Day 4: We were trying to go on the Tiko Tiko, but we were uncertain if they would let us because we were number 12 and 13. We had asked the bartender the day before and he said “no problem”. Well we got there had some very yummy raisin croissants at Papagayos and went to check in. No luck. Apparently, it is 12 passengers, no exceptions. Has to do with insurance and safety equipment. We understood. We were a little disappointed, but it was not a big deal. One of the main reasons for going on the trip was to meet people and we had already accomplished that, so we just let sand gravity take effect and had another fantastic day on Orient. We swam, talked, laughed and consumed a few frozen blue lagoons. In the afternoon, we headed to the Pirate with Sue, Rick, Rich and Joanne. I had a HUGE plate of ribs, rice, salad and coleslaw for $8. Glenn (the owner of the Pirate I think) gave me a hard time for not eating all my rice. But it was enough food for 2 people! So after the ribs and a couple of tasty mango coladas, we all went to see Luiz and pick out a suit for Joanne. This was truly a bizarre experience. Where else can you go with 4 other people you just met and pick out a thong bathing suit. We were laughing so much, not at the suits or anything, but mostly at Rick’s peanut gallery comments. It was so funny. He kept saying things like “I think it needs to be smaller” and “It can never be too small”. But we accomplished the task and Joanne ordered herself and new suit.
We all head back to our respective “homes” to get ready for the TTOL party at BBC. It was great to meet everyone. Thanks to Kristin and Jeremy for organizing! After a few 2 for 1’s, we headed off to Pizza Pasta with Rich, Joanne, Lee and Kate. We had already been there, but we wanted something simple and none of us were that comfortable giving directions to any other place. Parking was a mess over by Maho. We had a guy try to ask us for money to park in front of the closed Pharmacy. Anyway, we finally made it and we had a nice meal. I had a great big bowl of mussels in tomato based broth. They were excellent!
Day 5: Well pool gravity kicked in for us in the morning. It was another beautiful day, the maid was off (holiday) and the gardener was gone. We just couldn’t seem to motivate beyond our pool deck. Eventually, we got hungry and headed off to Grand Case to the Sunset Café. We made the mistake of going down the main street into the heart of Grand Case and taking a right. We were stuck in grid lock in front of the Lolos. It was terrible. People honking and no one could move. We also made the mistake of parking in the lot just past the lolos. We didn’t realize it was such a hike up to GCBC and that they had parking up there. Then we couldn’t figure out how to get in. We rang the buzzer and no one answered. We saw the public beach access next door, so we went around by the beach and found the café. It was a nice breezy day and what a nice view over the water. We had some incredible salads. Hubby had a salad Nicoise that he said was fantastic and I had a grilled shrimp Caesar. We were in need of some veggies. Our diet had been a little heavy on the Cheese, Bread and alcohol groups!
We made our way to Orient and found Barb and Steve on the beach. The rest of the gang was out on the Tiko Tiko. We had a few Blue Lagoons and enjoyed that lovely blue water. We invited Barb and Steve to come check out the view and pool at the house we renteded. The 4 of us had a few Pina Coladas and enjoyed a little Bob Marley by the pool. The view at sunset is fabulous.
We all cleaned up and then jumped on the web to figure out where to go for dinner. We weren’t sure what was going to be open with the French side holiday. We decided on Bistro Nu in Marigot. If you have not been here yet, it is a little gem. It is a tiny place down an alley of the main road in Marigot. They have the most extensive menu I have seen. Everything from the normal French fare to sea snails and horse (don’t know about that). Anyway I opted for the mussels to start and then shrimp and scallops Provencal. The mussels were to die for! They came out on the half shell smothered in garlic and butter, topped with seasoned bread crumbs and broiled. YUM!! The shrimp and scallops were fantastic too. Hubby had the escargot and a bizarre looking stuffed Trunk fish. When he order the Trunk fish, the waiter said “just a minute” and went to get the fish to show him exactly what he had ordered. Don’t know if you have ever seen a trunk fish, but it is a bizarre little triangular fish. Hubby is very adventurous so he tried it. He said it was delicious. We had some desserts and wine and our portion of the bill was about $100 plus tip. We would definitely go back there. The waiter was SO nice and it was such a quaint little place.
Ok, well we are up to date. Off for another day in Paradise. This morning it is Philipsburg to Rimas for the gifts to bring home and then back to Orient.
To be continued….
Patty
Sorry about the typos, etc….too long…..not in the mood to proof read……
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