We've been back a hair over a week and are still homesick! Writing this trip report was a labor of love and enabled us to continue our St. Martin dreamin'!<br><br>Flight: Living so close to the Canadian border, we make it a point to fly out of Toronto on Air Transat. For US citizens you can't beat the exchange rate, glad to contribute to the Canadian economy and gotta' love those non-stop flights! This years' flight was fairly smooth, with the exception of the 2 hour delay leaving Toronto, due to a T.V. monitor located above row 18 that resisted being retracted back into the overhead position. Evidently, for safety reasons, you can't take off or land with the monitor down. Two hours after going back to the terminal to wake up the maintenance engineers (AKA the Maytag repair man), the monitors were pulled out of the plane and we were on our way! Trust us, many, many passengers offered duct tape to fix the problem, but we wern't taken seriously!<br><br>Car Rental: Can not say enough about Marius and St. Louis Car Rental. Even upon our late arrival, he was waiting for us with our Jeep, anxious to welcome us home! What a guy!<br><br>Hotel: Spent our two weeks at the ever lovely L'Esplanade in Grand Case. I can not say enough about these accomodations . . . we just love it there. Kristin and Mark are the ultimate hosts and the grounds are picture post-card perfect. They have a new bartender, Fred, straight from France, who is a very charming man himself. Say what you will about the French (being 1/2 French myself, I'm partial), but you've got to love that accent! Mamma mia!! But, I digress . . . Fred is the new bartender and part-time sous chef. L'Esplanade serves a light luncheon menu from 12-6 each day by the pool. Can't ask for more beautiful surroundings.<br><br>Beaches: The majority of our vacation was spent in a semi-horizontal position a few inches above the glorious, white, warm sand. We spent our first beach day (Sunday) at Cupecoy where we ran into Jack & Sallie and Judy. Lots of sand, lots of people and the Dutch Coast Guard on manuevers, called from what we recall "Operation Spyglass". (I guess if you have to work on a Sunday, this really isn't such a tough job!). Although we love the beach and the people at Cupecoy, we spent the majority of our days at Orient. Hubby, being a non-swimmer is much more comfortable in the water at Orient. Plus, there is so much more entertainment at Orient, courtesy of the boat people. We are truly convinced that before you are allowed off the cruise ships, you have to take an oath that says you must walk the beaches fully clothed, carrying a camera or camcorder, loudly laughing to hide the fact that your jaw will probably drop to the sand when you see all those neked' bodies! Are we correct here?? We even saw one young lady attempting to walk the beach with four inch heels on! <br>We also spent a morning at Friars, had a wonderful lunch and then made the trek over the hill to Happy Bay. Beautiful beach, although only about a dozen people taking advantage of it, which doubled when the Rhino Riders came into town!<br>The only other beach we went to was Dawn, but didn't get to spend too much time on the beach, as the rains came, and came and came! It was the perfect excuse to seek refuge at Scavengers and partake in some liquid nourishment! Number one cardinal rule . . keep hydrated!!<br><br>Shopping: In addition to contributing to the Canadian economy, we also made similar contributions on SXM. We purchased some bobbles, beads, spices and rums in P'Burg and the Marigot Market. We love the spice man in the market and stocked up on Jerk seasoning that we had falled in love with last year. Also, stocked up on the local rum from the delightful Frenchman selling in the market. We actually prefer this rum over MaDoDo, and it's cheaper! Didn't do any "big" jewelry shopping in P'Burg this year in comparrison to last year. Just didn't seem to find the buys and the merchants didn't seem to be as agressive as last year. The "barkers" were still out in force though, although we did read one day that the Gendarmes were going to make an attempt to put a stop to them. We'll have to wait and see. We did meet Frenchy at her little kiosk in Grand Case one evening. Bought two prints from here and commissioned one of the view of Grand Case from L'Esplanade. Can't wait to see it!<br><br>Restaurants: Our evenings were filled with the gourmet treats available at the wonderful restaurants of Grand Case. It was so nice to be able to walk to dinner and not have to fight the crazy drivers on restaurant row!<br>Bistro Caribes: One of our favorite! The meal and wine was outstanding and the rum . . . well the rum was exceptional, from what we remember! We enjoyed it enough that we bought a bottle to bring home with us . . and it made it!!<br>Uncle Harry's: We decided to make the trek to the other side of the island one night to try this restaurant. I had read so many glowing reviews of it. Ted and I split a 4 lb. lobster. It was alright, but really needed some additional spices or something. It was nothing to write home about, but growing up in Maine, there's still nothing like the "REAL" thing! Side note, Harry does not take credit cards, so be prepared with cash or travelers checks. Also, be ready to be surrounded by puppy dogs! We had two of them under our feet throughout the entire dinner! I'm an animal lover, but don't really go for begging during dinner!<br>Mario's Bistro: What a find! I had read so many things about this restaurant, I knew we had to try it. Had made reservations about a month prior and we were treated to a water side table. What an incredible dinner from appetizer to wine to dessert. The service was impeccable . . . truly a must do next year! Many, many[img]/images/icons2/thumbsup.gif[/img]!<br>Spiga: This new restaurant got split reviews between us. Ted really enjoyed his entree, a spicy blend of shrimp and linguine. My raviolli was very bland, and little in the way of presentation. Dessert, on the other hand, was the highlight of the evening! Good thing I saved room! A double chocolate mousse that was presented so well, you hated to even dive into it! But we did! [img]/images/icons2/oink.gif[/img][img]/images/icons2/oink.gif[/img] The after dinner drink was a citrus blend served chilled. Service was good, prices were reasonable, but I would think twice about returning.<br>La Tastivan: One word - Excellent! Water side table, wonderful meal, very reasonable prices. Would recommend to anyone. <br>L'Alabama: I was really looking forward to revisiting one of our favorite on the island, but came away a bit disappointed. Ted's filet was superb, grilled to perfection and he raved about his french onion soup. I, on the other hand, had the duck breast, which I felt had way too much fat on it, and the 1/2 cooked tuna tartar was just so-so. Pascal seemed a bit distracted that evening and even a bit annoyed when we asked for a wine suggestion. Might have just been an off night for him. We'll probably give it another try next year, as everyone deserves a second chance.<br>Rainbow: Three words . . . "oohh-la-la"!! Incredible meal, by far the best of the two weeks, and it was our last night on the island, so it was a memorable one. The crab-crusted corvina (a fish that was new to me) was to die for! The escargot in garlic and puff pastry melted in your mouth. By far, our favorite, with Mario's running a very, very close second![img]/images/icons2/joy.gif[/img][img]/images/icons2/thumbsup.gif[/img][img]/images/icons2/thumbsup.gif[/img]<br>Mamma Mia's: Great pizza! Finally a pizza made with all the good stuff! Anchovies and black olives! Hey, it's an acquired taste, but it's worth it!<br><br>TTOL Party: We did make it to one of the TTOL parties at Mary's Boon on Feb. 25. Met Dicky, Frank and lots of TTOL members. Gotta love those coconut drinks that Dicky serves. They kind of sneak up on you, though!<br><br>Light Fare: Had a few lunches at Baywatch . . . Andy and Cheryl really are quite the pair! They are what island hospitality is all about! Ate lunch one day at Pedro's and had ribs and chicken at Talk of the Town twice. You can't beat the bargain, and soooo much food![img]/images/icons2/oink.gif[/img]<br><br>Mega Yachts: These are bordering on obnoxious! Limitless was still in port at the marina and we heard that it cost approx. $10,000 a day just to maintain! Three hundred and twenty-five feet of pure luxury! Makes me think twice the next time I buy anything from The Limited, Gap or Victoria's Secret!![img]/images/icons2/laugh.gif[/img]<br><br>Flight home was uneventful . . . no TV monitor problems this time! Check in was a breeze as we were in first class with Air Transat. No luggage checks to our knowledge, as our bags were locked, per suggestion from Air Transat. Our carry-ons went through some type of detector, but they wern't checked to thoroughly, as hubby mistakenly had a cork screw with an attached knife in the outer pocket of his bag. We did however see other airlines hand searching all luggage.<br><br>Overall Observations: Vegetation was green and plentiful, as the island has received much needed rain. Lots of construction, both residential and commercial. Road work being done everywhere, even fixing some of those dreaded potholes! Restaurants didn't seem to be as busy as last year, and jewelry stores much quiter, too. L'Esperance Airport was booming, with flights in and out from 7:15am straight through 6:30pm.<br><br>Funniest Sight: We got a picture of a mother chicken and her four baby chicks walking in front of KFC in Marigot! Now, talk about fresh chicken!![img]/images/icons2/laugh.gif[/img][img]/images/icons2/laugh.gif[/img]<br><br>Fondest Memories: All of it, but, the sunsets from our balcony at L'Esplande sipping a glass of wine has to be number one. The sights and sounds of the island, the warmth of the sun and the turquoise waters all combined to make a very memorable vacation that will be talked about for a long time to come. The hardest part of the vacation is that last step onto the plane, knowing that you are leaving a little place called, "Heaven On Earth".