<br><br>May 9th to the 18th 2003 --This was our 9th trip to St. Martin, and the 7th one when we went this approximate same week- as always we had a wonderful time and met wonderful new and old friends- People that we especially had a good time with (forgive me if a leave anyone out or misspell any names) Bill and Linda, Larry and Cherie, John and Toddy, Carmen and Jim, Ann and Peter, Chris and Boyd, and Beth and Ron and Chuck and Cherlyann(sp??) <br><br>Transportation- We flew with FF miles with Continental- The flight to and from was uneventful- We rented a car from Michael at Unity- again the service was seamless, and we both recommend him and will use him again.<br><br>Hotels- We decided to stay at Club O for our first two night and spend the remaining 7 nights at L’Esplanade- They were very different experiences but enjoyed them both. <br><br>Club Orient- This is the first time we have stayed at the resort- I was not sure if I would like it, but we had a great time- What makes Club O so special are the people you meet- we always meet the nicest people there- We stayed in a studio which was steps to the beach (great location). The rooms are basic, and we were concerned about the lack of TV, but for two days we managed. They do sell newspapers at L’Orientique. We had a wonderful time. I loved the outside shower. We had no problems with bugs. The store that is on their grounds is great. Pricing is fairly reasonable and they generally have most things you need- (I would bring your own coffee filters, if you think about it- )- We did not eat at Papagayos but certainly took advantage of happy hour there- Saturday nights there are fun with karaoke and a band-We went to the wine and cheese party on Wednesday as well- <br><br>L’Esplanade- We generally stay at L’Petit Hotel, but timing did not work out and we decided to try L’Esplanade- both hotels are under the same ownership and the quality of the rooms and service are equally superb- L’Esplanade is on a hill overlooking Grand Case and L’Petit is on the water- L’Petit has 12 rooms and L’Esplanade has approximately 24- it has a pool and pool bar (the pool bar was still open in May). Both hotels are very intimate and private- and the rooms have everything you could ask for plus a staff that will bend over backwards for you- We were sorry to hear that Mariann, the manager of L’Petit, is moving at the beginning of June- her replacement is British and we have been assured very nice-but nonetheless we will miss Mariann and wish her well- <br>If anyone would like more info about the hotels please “private message” me and I will supply more details.<br><br><br>Meals: As always we had great food- we generally have breakfast in the room. We like having our coffee before we meet the world and we are not big breakfast eaters. <br><br>Lunch: <br><br>Le Tastevin—a great place to have lunch- the views are better than at dinner and it is fairly empty for lunch in May- the service and food was wonderful- I get the same thing every time-- I go for the lobster, shrimp and avocado salad- Frank got grilled fish and salad and we split a very nice bottle of French Rose.<br><br>Le Petite Auberge des Iles- It is our Marigot favorite-I had a great omelet and Frank had pizza- very good. <br> <br>Baywatch (multiple times)—Always wonderful, great mussels, fish and chips, grouper burger, ribs and of course Caribs- Andy and Cheryl do such a good job of making everyone feel so welcomed.<br><br>Lee’s Roadside Grill- Our last meal before we got on the plane. Grilled ribs, chicken and fish- Very good.<br><br>Friars Bay Beach Cafe- We always come here at least once- We love the food and the atmosphere- It is fairly quiet and very French(in a good way)- If you eat lunch, there is no charge for the chairs-Just a note –if you go on a weekend or a French holiday (i.e. no school) it can get very crowded with French children, if you are looking for quiet his may not be it- but at all other times very quiet.<br><br><br>Dinner<br><br>The first few years we went to St. martin we were running around and trying all the big name restaurants- It was unchartered territory- The more we go back the lower key we go for dining- We will hit a few favorites- and try something new but we get overwhelmed with too many heavy meals. <br><br>L’Alabama --We went with our new friends Ann and Peter, it was their last supper- All entrees were very good- I was not crazy about the cucumber gazpacho I ordered to start-but everything else including dessert was great- Probably the most upscale place we went. <br> <br>Le Piccolo- this is the first time we have tried this place since they changed their menu to all appetizer portions- Everything we ordered was excellent- I really loved the Greek salad. <br> <br>Johnny B Under the Tree—We went on our way back from the Hot Tomatoes party We took home carryout- Frank liked the ribs more than I did - they were good, but not the best. (in my humble opinion).<br><br>Mary’s Boon (Wednesday night, Veal night) Everyone should go there at least once- This is our second time- They serve family style with one entrée per night- Family style means that you get to eat as much as you want and they come around with platters to serves seconds or thirds- not that you are paired up with other people for dinner- When you make reservations you know in advance what you will be having- Our meal was very good- the views excellent. The veal was very good but I still prefer the duck, which I believe is Thursday night- <br><br>Le Repaire du Pirate—We went with Bill and Linda, John and Toddy, Carmen and Jim, and Beth and Ron. Our most memorable night- the food was very good, reasonably priced and a good time was had by all especially Frank-- <br><br>Bounty Chicken and dinner in the room- the Bounty is a small gourmet deli/grocery store on the main road as you are leaving Grand Case if you need a mellow night with not another heavy meal- their rotisserie chicken is great- and they sell great sides- <br><br>La California- This was our only disappointment- I had the mussels, which were promptly taken off the special board after I placed my order, and Frank had the pizza- the pizza was ok but the mussel were not that good- small mussels - sauce uninspired and gritty- We had high hopes for this restaurant because so many people love it- They advertised 1 dollar = 1 euro, but we paid with credit card and they rang it up in euros which means that we will get charged the bank’s exchange rate which is not 1 dollar = 1 euro- We were too tired to talk to anybody about it and just went home- We may of hit an off night- <br><br>Beaches- I always am very ambitious and want to try new beaches, but alas we did not, we went to Orient Beach, Friars Bay and did the Tiko Tiko. <br><br>Orient Beach- The area around Kon Tiki was the worse I ever saw it- You had to walk up on a board walk around- Absolutely no space- The area around Club O is about the same as it was last December- Frank thinks there was a little more sand around Papagayos this time- Everyone says the “sand comes and the sand goes” Orient beach needs a little more coming and a little less going- That being said I love Orient Beach and it is still one of my favorite places to be in the world. We noticed the Club Orient security to be a little more active with policing people that bring cameras onto Club O, and we did have one lewd incident where a couple of cruise boat guys decided to have some afternoon delight on the Club Orient raft- The security actually went out there on a boat when they would not respond to the bullhorn---Since this is the first time I had seen that type of behavior at Club O I found it slightly amusing- We had no problem securing chairs at Club Orient- The benefits of going off season--!!<br><br>Friars Bay- there seemed to be less rocks walking in the water- very calm and very nice- We thought about walking over to Happy Bay, but kept seeing people hiking over their and decided it would probably not be that private after all. <br><br>Tiko Tiko- This was probably our 8th or 9th trip on the Tiko Tiko- The price has gone up to $95. The dollar needs to get stronger!!!- We had a great time- Our boat was full- 12 people and everyone was very nice- We knew one couple, Chris and Boyd, and made some new friends- Lunch was wonderful as well as the hospitality- We enjoyed ourselves much more than we did on our December 2002 Tiko Tiko trip when Philippe (the owner) was on vacation and had left the boat to his assistants to run. The meal was not as good; hospitality not as gracious and they did not do the mud- <br> <br>General Comments- <br><br>We were told the island received a lot of rain in April and the island was very green.<br><br>Weather- Was wonderful except for our last full day which was overcast and rainy-<br>The winds were not too much. <br><br>Grand Case Lolos- They were closed by the health department before we got there- and they were busy fixing them up- I was just surprised that they had a health department- who knew?? Anyway hopefully it will not affect the local color, the taste of the food or the prices.<br><br>Marigot/Shopping <br><br>Marigot The new marina area seems to be growing and the restaurants in that area especially O’ Plongeoir seem to be thriving-We did very little shopping this time- We went to Frank’s favorite wine store “Le Gout du Vin” and wandered through the market area—We shopped for our provisions at the Match, which has a good selection and fairly good pricing- <br><br>We visited Chapon Antoine a French artist- and bought 2 small watercolors- His studio/home is in French Cul de Sac and is open to visitors- He sells both his originals and reproductions from this location- Both he and his wife are very charming and this is the third and fourth originals we have purchased.- We joked that we were going to set up our own gallery- He told us that in September there will be a show at the National Gallery in Washington with an artist who spent half of his time on St. Martin, I forgot the name but if you live in the Washington, DC area it may be something to keep your eyes open for- <br><br>Ma Dou Dou Factory- and walked out with 4 large bottles and 3 small. <br><br>The Perfect Ti Pot- Cecile, a potter, has a studio/gallery where she sells her work on the grounds of L’Esplanade- I purchased a small darling pitcher. She will do custom work for you if you ask- so if you have a thought that you might want to get something there I would go at the beginning of your trip- <br><br> Hot Tomatoes Party- the night we went, May 14th, was a non event- The restaurant bar seems very nice- We met the owner, Mark, who was very gracious, and Deepti “the diamond princess.” Dicky was there with his trusty canine companion Frank- I understand that quite a few people were planning to go the following week-It would have been a very nice event if we had more people show. <br><br>Bugs- I have never had a real problem with bug bites until this trip- still it was an annoyance not a huge issue. If bugs love you, bring some spray. <br><br>If anyone wants any more information on anything I mentioned feel free to personal message me.<br><br>We came back to a very rainy week in Washington and are already thinking about our December trip. <br><br>Anna <br><br>