TRAVEL: U.S. Airways. Every single flight we were on was late – which didn’t matter until we missed our connection in Charlotte (thankfully on the way back to the U.S.) and had to spend the night. Which maybe was a blessing in disguise because we were able to drive the hour from the airport on Sunday morning instead of at midnight on Saturday.<br><br>ACCOMMODATIONS: We had booked at Grand Case Beach Club for part of our stay but stayed first with a friend who has a gorgeous villa in the Lowlands. The accommodation was so nice (and our friend was so mortified that we were considering leaving) we ended up canceling our GCBC reservation and just staying at our friends home. It made for a different kind of trip for us this time – but one that was just as good as last year.<br><br>WEATHER: The weather was warm (is it ever any other way?) but much cloudier this year than last. The clouds come with the hurricane season, which has started however, the clouds don’t hang out for long. We were told by locals that the wind was unusual for June, but of course it helps with mosquitoes and it’s WARM. It rained pretty good one night and in fact, started while we were eating at Le Ti Coin Creole. Carl Philips (the owner) accused us of bringing the Connecticut rain with us, because last year when we at there, it rained. As most of you know though, the rain never lasts for very long, and again it’s WARM. We had one day that was cloudy all day, which actually was nice because it gave us a break from the beach. <br><br>BEACHES: We went to four beaches this year: Cupecuoy, Dawn, Orient, Le Petit Plage. Of all the beaches, we probably won’t go to Cupecuoy again. I loved Dawn Beach, Bobby loved Orient, and we both love Le Petit Plage because it’s so different from Dawn and Orient – more like swimming in a pool.<br><br>FOOD: We did several snacky type meals at the house – cheese, crackers, etc. – especially when we had already eaten out somewhere else. We ate at a couple of new places and went back to some old favorites. BREAKFASTS were new for us this year (last year it was included with our room). We ate twice at ZEE BEST – once just eating the huge basket of pastries and once ordering off the menu. I think my husband would have gone back there every single day if I hadn’t insisted we try some other things. We also had the “American-style” breakfast at LE BAR DE LA MER. It was 7 euros for coffee, juice, eggs, toast and bacon. They also put lettuce with some type of dressing on the plate, which we thought was hysterical since no American we know eats lettuce for breakfast! We ate it anyway and it was good. L’SUCRIERE is a bakery that is on the waterfront in Marigot. It’s a real French bakery and we had quiche from there a couple of times – better than the quiche at Zee Best. Other breakfasts consisted of French bread and fruit at our friend’s house. LUNCHES: Tried several new lunches this year. We ate the Rib Plate as MS. B’s on Dawn Beach. My husband, who just loves the lolos in Grand Case, said the food was better than the lolos. He’s already talking about going back next year and getting food to go (in addition to eating while we’re there!). The plate consists of a rack of smoky barbecued ribs, rice & peas, salad, garlic bread and a bag of chips. You just can’t beat this meal for $17.00. On a recommendation from our friend we also ate at LE SAINT SEVERIN which is located on Saint Jean Street in Bellevue (really a part of Marigot). Bobby had quiche, fries and salad and I had Croque Monsieur, fries and salad. Bobby said the quiche was the best quiche he’s eaten in his whole life. That made me take a bite and I have to agree it was delicious. LE TI COIN CREOLE is now also doing a barbecue lunch. Carl is serving chicken or ribs with a choice of fries or rice and plantains. He’s charging 7 euros per plate (and he’s giving 1 euro for 1 dollar!). Bobby also ordered a Coconut patty for dessert. It’s a local dessert that you’ll love if you love coconut. We also ordered 2 slices of Banana Cake to go (more on this later). We ate at PASAGRAHAN HOUSE in Phillipsburg on the day we went shopping. It doesn’t look like much from the front but the ambiance was really nice. We were drawn in by their blackboard specials. I had Tuna Macaroni salad on a bed of greens and Bobby had the Chicken Caesar. It was nice to just have a salad and a break from the richer meatier foods. Again lunch was under $20. DINNERS: First dinner out we went back to LE TI COIN CREOLE, owned and operated by Carl Philips. Carl actually remembered us and sat and talked with us for a couple of minutes, even though he was very busy. Bobby loved his grilled Mahi Mahi last year and was hoping it was still on the menu. It was and Bobby said it might have been even better this year. All I cared about was getting to dessert and hoping and praying Carl had made his Banana Cake. He had and I was in heaven. Don’t miss this dessert – either save room for it or take to go – it’s a combination of banana and chocolate that equals heaven. I tried and tried to get the recipe but Carl’s not giving it up. He said, “If I give it to you, you won’t have anything to look forward to on your next trip.” He’s right, I’m sure. We also ate at L’ESCAPADE for the first time. We got a table right on the water and enjoyed the view of Anguilla all lit up. I started with French Onion Soup which was good but a little sweet for my taste. I had a beef special consisting of a beef tenderloin served with “fried potatoes” which turned out to be shredded potatoes formed into a cake then fried (a little thicker than a potato pancake). The amazing thing is that I asked for the beef to be done medium well – a little pink but not bloody – and it was cooked perfectly. The first time I have ever experienced getting medium well just right. The beef was so tender I was able to cut through it with a butter knife. Bobby and I shared Profiteroles for dessert – unique in that each one had a different ice cream in it: coconut, pineapple, vanilla. The food was really good over all and cost us $120 including wine. We had the unique experience of attending a local party and eating curried goat one night. Probably not my favorite thing but the experience itself was fun. It was served with either rice or fungee that is a local cornmeal mixture that is the consistency of playdough. I could have eaten the fungee with the curry sauce all night long! We saved our favorite restaurant (from last year) for our last night: LE COTTAGE. There is just not one bad thing to say about this place. Everything is impeccable: the food, the service, and the ambiance. We had reserved one of the tables on the terrace, which is an experience in itself. The Sommelier, Stephan, did a wonderful job of giving us wine that went with our meals perfectly. We had wine by the glass because I had white and Bobby had red. Our waiter, Olivier, was amazing in providing information regarding menu items. He actually went over each and every dessert item before we ordered. We also had a chance to chat with him a little and hear about his life on St. Martin. Bruno provided some additional fussing and convinced me to order the Scallops in Filo that I’d had last year. He said it’s the only dish that has stayed on the menu for all six years the restaurant has been open. Our entire meal with wine, appetizers, main courses, and desserts was $128. Which actually made it less than L’Escapade because we had twice as much wine and each had a dessert. We used our credit card to pay and they actually asked us if we wanted it charged in Euros or Dollars. Just another example of the complete service provided at Le Cottage. Wonderful! This continues to be our favorite.<br><br>MISCELLANEOUS: We did some grocery and wine shopping at Supermarche Match in Marigot and found everything we wanted, including some overpriced Oreos for Bobby. Once again, we found Diet Pepsi at Rish Shanty Grocery in Grand Case. In fact, I went back and bought a case of it for the people we stayed with because they didn’t know it was there and they prefer Pepsi to Coke. My camera battery went dead and the extra I had bought was the wrong size. We found a little shop in Marigot on the same street as Zee Best (before Zee Best on the same side) that sold me one for LESS than I would have paid here in the U.S. I can’t remember the name of the shop (I’m thinking Kasey’s) but it has a big red awning and has all kinds of electronics and appliances in the window. We also noticed several shops that were selling the same bags as the Marigot Market for less than half of what the market women were asking! All you have to do is walk over a couple of streets. Our friend took us to Anguilla on his boat While we were there Bobby and I were walking the beach and this little band at this beach bar starting play “Girl from Impanema” which is sort of our song so we stopped and danced in the sand… romantic even if all the people there were looking at us like we were crazy! I think Anguilla is an experience that everyone should try at least once. Our waiter at Le Ti Coin Creole, Titon, told us about a new gas station on the way to Orient Beach from Grand Case that was even exchanging the Euro and Dollar. They intend to keep it that way as long as they feasibly can. The FINAL word on tipping: We asked our friend, who was born and raised in St. Martin and runs a business there what to do about it and he said unless they specifically say IN WRITING that the gratuity is not included, it IS included. French law requires this and even if your wait staff tells you that it is not included, just ignore them unless you find it in writing on the menu or on the bill. He also said it is customary to give the “extra” change or a couple of dollars for exemplary service, but not 15-20% like we would here in the States (unless it’s not included and so noted in writing). That’s all for this year since this is long enough and I only skimmed much of it!<br>Helen <br>