it's a little long --
Tuesday: I got up early (4:30am) since I was taking public transportation to Newark from Brooklyn. Everything went fine and was at Newark by 6:15 for my 8:20 Contiental flight. Already the flight is delayed to 9. I was through security by 7 and grabbed breakfast to kill time. When I get to the gate – new departure time of 9:30 – and the flight time was updated in 30 minute increments until noon. Then we find out we have a gate change and out new flight time is 2:15. it turns out that they were waiting on a part and when it didn’t arrive, Continental was trying to locate a plane for us and get us a new crew. Eventually we take off at 3:30 and arrive at 7. Immigration was a breeze. And AAA was waiting for me. Unfortunately, Sharon was already closed so I would have to come back to pick up my cell. I was on the road by 7:20 off to the French side.
I checked in to GCBC by 8pm and was at Calmos Café for a drink by 8:30. I met the new owner, Alex – very nice. I drank there until midnight and quickly realized that I hadn’t eaten since noon and was tipsy so I walked back to the hotel to crash. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />
Wednesday: I woke up early again – 6:30 – and I hurt. My poor head – thank god for drugs. My mornings were all the same – breakfast at GCBC since it was free. I love their bread basket – the baguettes are wonderful. After breakfast I headed down to Phillipsburg to DK Gems to pick up my earrings. It was a lovely drive through Orleans. Parking, as always, was a nightmare. I parked at the salt pond by Rima’s. I picked up my earrings and decided to order a matching ring (Orange Sapphires) – it should be here this week – yippee. After a quick stop at Rima’s – off to pick up my phone from Sharon. This part of the drive a nightmare – I was behind a large truck that barely moved. About 30 minutes later I got to the Palm and picked up my phone. I also ran into a nice couple picking up their phone that I had met in Newark (everyone on that flight had plenty of time to bond).
I went back to the hotel, put away my purchase, put on my bathing suit and walked down to Petit Plage for my first dip in the beautiful water. Ahhhh – home! I spent the afternoon there. After washing up – I walked into Grand Case for dinner at Spicy. I had heard so many good things that I was really looking forward to this restaurant. It did not disappoint!!! I was met at the door by Sofie and shown to my seat. At the same time another couple, from Long Island, came in – very lovely people. We sat near each other and they made quite a few food recommendations to me. I ordered the onion soup, a seafood medley and dessert – all of it was fantastic and Sofie truly treats you like an old family friend. I was completely stuffed after all that food – but it was so good. After dinner – I walked back to my hotel and went to bed.
Thursday: very cloudy with rain this morning. I had my usual breakfast and the rains came. I don’t mean regular rain – I mean torrential downpours with a monsoon like feel. But I held out hope that this was a typical Caribbean storm and would be over soon – wrong. I decided to drive around the island and see what had changed in the past year. Roads quickly flooded especially on the way to Oyster Pond and Cul de Sac. After lunch at Bikini Bar on Orient Bay I went home to take off my bathing suit – I had officially given up. Lunch was ok – nothing special. There were 3 cruise ships in town – so it seemed like all of them were at Orient. My table was next to 2 noisey tables with kids with no manners (they were running around the place and kept bumping my table and never apologized. I held my tongue though).
After lunch I read on my terrace while listening to the rain. For dinner I went to Spiga. I had a seafood medley of shrimp, scallops, and some other stuff – even something with eyes looking at me – poor guy – I ate him anyway! I also had a dessert – tiramisu. Last year Spiga was my favorite, but I think the meal was just ok this year. I was a little disappointed.
Friday: same breakfast routine. I was then off to ilet Pinel to catch the 1st ferry at 10am. I met another group of really nice people, from DE, on the boat. It is still $6 return for the ferry. Pulling up to Pinel is quite a different scene. There are now 60 available chairs – total! The yellow and orange were already filled (people must have chartered a boat), so I quickly ran to Blue. If you are going to Pinel these days – be on the first boat if you want chairs. Frankie, the beach guy, set me up – 1 umbrella/chair - $12 for the day. He also brought me drinks and later in the day, lunch. Pinel was heaven – the water was fabulous and it wasn’t too crowded. For lunch I had the Mahi which was wonderful. The day went quickly and I caught the 3pm ferry back to the mainland. I was meeting people at Calmos at 5pm. It was great to catch up with friends I met last summer and to meet new ones. We sat at tables on the beach and sort of watched the sunset (it was cloudy). After happy hour – I went to dinner at one of the lolos – Sky’s the Limit. Another fantastic meal.
Saturday: same breakfast then off to try a new beach for me – Gallion. The road to get there is horrendous – without a doubt the worst on the island. When I got the to the beach – it was deserted. I didn’t feel 100% comfortable being the only person there, so I decided to go to Friars Bay. It was $5 for the chair/umbrella at Kali’s. The water was perfect and quite calm. For lunch I went to Kali’s and had a fishburger (Mahi) and a BBC. It was ok, nothing fantastic and not worth $27USD – they also don’t offer the 1 euro: $1.
For dinner I headed to il Nettuno in Grand Case. Another wonderful meal at one of my favorite restaurants. I met the owner and we chatted for a while. I had the crab cake appetizer (which could have been a meal) – it was fabulous. I also had the spinach ravioli. Since I was quite full – I got dessert to go – tiramisu. They actually put 2 slices in the box for me. I went back to the hotel to watch the fireworks from the new promenade facing Grand Case village. It was a nice display and a perfect ending to the day.
Sunday: same breakfast then off to Orient to Baywatch for the day. I was meeting some people for lunch there and decided to make a day of it. It turns out that Baywatch was closed because it was too windy (so the guy next door told me). He was right – the water was too rough for my taste. So I ended up going back to ilet Pinel. Got my favorite beach chair and Frankie quickly got me a Carib! Warning: Sundays are extremely crowded here!!! I probably wouldn’t go back on a Sunday. I wasn’t overly hungry – so I didn’t eat. I took the 4pm ferry back. For dinner I headed into Grand Case again. I wanted to try something new. Sofie from Spicy recommended California (Note to self – next time listen to her). I ended up at L’Escapade. It wasn’t crowded and the view was great. In the beging the service was very good. I got soup and an appetizer since I wasn’t very hungry. The onion soup was just ok – the Caesar salad was very good – their dressing was unusual and tasty. Here’s where things went downhill in my opinion. It started getting busy, but I ordered dessert – it was good. After being served dessert – I was ignored. After 10 minutes I asked for my check – I waited another 10. Then I got it ($36) and had to wait 10 minutes for a pen – I had traveler cheques. It took forever to flag someone down to get me change. Common sense says – bring someone small bills so they can tip – but no. I got 1-$10 bill and 4-$1s. Well at this point I was pretty pissed since I was totally ignored and had to flag down staff for service so I left the $4. I’m not sure if they ignored me because I was solo or what – but I will never go there again – I hate poor service more than anything!
Monday: last full day – so sad. Same breakfast and then off to my favorite beach again. I arrived at Pinel on the same ferry and ran into a couple I met on Pinel last year. Plus I met another lovely couple from Chicago. I spent a great day on the beach and in the water. I took the 3pm ferry back since we had the Manager’s cocktail party at GCBC.
Afterward – one last meal at Spicy. I was really looking forward to this and it was fabulous. I think it was better than the first night. Again – Sofie was a wonderful hostess. I told her to take her time with my food so I could savor it all. I had the onion soup again. Then on to the salmon with spinach – wonderful and finally on to the homemade ice cream.
After dinner I walked home and here’s where things got interesting. Out of no where some dogs started barking & growling scaring me to death. I jumped (I am deathly afraid of dogs) and when I came down I landed in a pothole and fell forward. The palm of my hand is black/blue, my shoulder is seriously sore and I can’t walk on my foot at all. It is wrapped now so somewhat better. I hobble the rest of the way home and the power in Grand Case goes out. Ugh. This lasted for about an hour. It was late so I went to bed.
Tuesday: last day – same breakfast and then to Petit Plage at the hotel for one last swim. At 11 I checked out, returned my cell and car then went to the airport. I checked in quickly and then went to Rum Jumbie for a few beers. Overall, nothing exciting happened and I was home by 7:30pm.
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