Barry and I just got back on Saturday from our 11th trip to the island and once again we had a great vacation.

Flew down on Skyservice (Canadian Charter) on a 757 they had on lease from Air2000 (UK Charter). Uneventful flight with no room for your knees and the latest in in-flight meals – by calling it a Bistro service I think your supposed to be impressed with a cold ham on croissant breakfast sandwich and the worlds tiniest serving of yogurt!!! Flight home was on a slightly more comfortable A320 with a very brief stop in St Kitts. Another cold sandwich this time with the worlds smallest serving of salad. We arrived early and made it through customs at super high speed but had to wait almost an hour for our luggage - and ours was one of the first from our flight.

Got to SXM and being near the front of the aircraft and near the doors of the bus to the terminal we’re one of the first thru customs. Waited a while for the luggage to come and went out to be met by Mickey of Tropical-Tropicana. Got our car and where on our way with a brief stop at the office to complete the paperwork.

After a quick stop for some supplies at Le Grand Marché, we were off to our studio at Les Balcons d’Oyster Pond. Our first time staying there but will not be our last. Nice little place overlooking the harbour near Bobbies Marina. It’s just a 10-minute drive to the Club O visitors lot at Orient Beach. The studio has a double bed and has a small kitchen with a full European size fridge, microwave, toaster, coffee maker and a gas BBQ. The place comes with the basics, like towels, bedding and kitchen stuff but you have to supply your own beach towels, soap, shampoo and paper products.

The weather was good for all but one day of each week and we drove to Club O every morning for a day of sunning. Never had a problem with getting a chair although we tend to arrive around 8:30am. Most days lunch was a baguette and cheese/cold cuts and fruit we picked up – Les Balcons can arrange to have bread and pastries delivered by 7:30am if you order the night before. We did have a salad at the Tex Mex place on the beach one day and a great lobster wrap from Chez Leandra’s (next to Baywatch) another day.

Dinners ranged from cheap to expensive but were all good. We ate at some of our favourites and always recommend them to anyone going down.

We ate at Bistrot Caraibes in Grand Case twice, once each week including the first Tuesday we were there – Harmony nights is a great idea and worth at least one visit. The meals at Bistrot Caraibes were amazing as usual and you will never meet two more charming hosts then Amaury and Thibault.

Also worth two visits, Le Taitu, on the road to Mt Vernon. A great little restaurant that we have eaten at every year (except the year they where closed after Louis hit). Fabulous food and not quite as expensive as some of the other French restaurants.

We also ate at Sol e Luna on the same road to Mt Vernon and we were not disappointed. Another great meal, although on the more expensive side. Haven’t had a bad meal there yet and we have been going every year since it opened 5 years ago.

Went back to Le Piccolo Café in Cul de Sac once again and had another great meal – if you have never been, they serve appetizer size servings instead of a full serving so you have the opportunity to try a few different things if you like.

Other meals included two visits to Talk of the Town in Grand Case, La Belle Epoque in the Marina Royale, Ric’s Place and the Boathouse. We tried two restaurants for the first time this trip: Pizza Pasta in Maho (behind Chery’s) we were quite impressed – nice little place with very reasonable prices. The other first time for us was Poulet d’Orleans, can’t believe we waited so long to try it, great food at great prices.

We have a bit of a tradition that we always eat our last meal at Bistrot Nu in Marigot. Jean always serves up great food with a wide variety on the menu. The menu varies but will also include things like tripe and sweetbreads, kangaroo meat, rabbit to some of the more standard fare like beef bourguignon and fresh seafood. The rabbit was great as was Barry’s Seabass.

Many nights we finished off with a trip to one of the Casinos, the only one that was “good” to us was Casino Royale were we managed to win a bit on the slots. Watched the Let it Ride table for a while and a man betting $50 per space ($150 total) managed to get a full house at 11 to 1 and two hands later a flush at 8 to 1. Why doesn’t that happen to me when I play that game!

Driving this year seemed a little crazier then the past but nothing too serious, just avoid the goats, cows, horses, donkeys, cats, dogs, chickens, grousse, pigs, and of course the "stop and talkers" and other crazy drivers. That's all part of the charm of the island!!!

My only complaint: It would be nice to see the restauranteurs and merchants at the Marina Royale in Marigot get together and clean up a bit, especially the drunks who want money for parking - read "not damaging your car" in the lot. They could take some lessons from the Grand Case folks.

As I mentioned earlier we had a great trip and will be back again next year!!!

Frank & Barry