This was our ump-teenth trip to SXM in the past 25 years. Left on June 21st (a Monday) and returned on June 29th (a Tuesday) to avoid the weekend crush. We flew down out of Newark, non-stop on Continental – used FF miles. No problems: fast and easy. Plane was half full. Met at the airport by Leslie from Kenny’s and was out of there in less than 5 minutes. Great guy and great service. Our rice burner actually had power windows!! From there it was off to pick-up our cell phone from Sharon Harris. Sharon was off island, but Michael was there and had the phone ready to go. Great little phone – good reception on the Dutch side, but not so good on the French side. From there, it was off to Port de Plaisance. Checked in, unpacked, then off to Ram’s to stock up on the essentials (water, wine, snacks, wine, munchies, wine).

Dinner the first night was at our traditional “first night” place: Tropicana. After a warm welcome back from Christolphe, we enjoyed a great meal and just soaked up the ambience of the Marina. Then back to Port de Plaisance and the end of our first day.

We like to chill out. For us, rising early (sunrise), making coffee and enjoying sitting on the balcony – just watching the boats in Simpson Bay, the planes taking off from the airport, watching the cloud formations breeze by, and reading mindless novels – this is what it’s all about. Lunch at Le Belle Epoch (sp) for a shrimp and garlic pizza - you can’t go wrong there! Dinner at Temptation: can’t go wrong there either!

Thursday was our Phillipsburg day. Paid a visit to Little Europe, which in our opinion is the best jewelry store on the Island. If anyone is looking for high end pieces from designers like IoSi or Calgaro, this is the place. This family owned store on Front Street always gives us warm, personal service with pricing in line with the quality of the jewelry. Picked up a nice bracelet, ring, earings, and necklace – then off to Antoine’s for lunch. We have never seen Phillipsburg so quiet – only 1 ship in town.

Thursday evening: dinner at Le Cottage. Year after year, we always have a memorable, fantastic meal/experience at Le Cottage and this visit lived up to our expectations. Bruno told us about their new venture (that may have been reported previously). They are now also operating La Veranda, located at Anse Marcel by Le Meridien. Actually part of La Domaine (which is closed for renovations), we visited La Veranda the following day (Friday) for lunch. This is one beautiful place. Use of the pool and beach are complimentary with lunch and we found this to be a real discovery. Like Le Cottage, La Veranda has a friendly staff, great food, and beautiful atmosphere. We liked it there so much that we went back again for lunch two days later. For dinner Friday night, we stopped off at Talk of the Town for our chicken & ribs fix.

Saturday: Breakfast at Zee Best in Simpson Bay. Danny is as terrific as ever and the omlets were tasty. Good Cuban coffee, too. For dinner: St. Severin (sp) in Marigot. This was a new place for us – recommended by friends. We’ve driven past this place a hundred times and never stopped in. Well, this was our loss. Very friendly service, good food, easy parking, and prices somewhat below Grand Case levels. We’ll be back.

Sunday found us chilling again at La Veranda. Bruno had mentioned that Sunday is their busiest day, with lots of local families showing up for a day at the pool, beach, and restaurant. Sure enough, even though the weather was iffy, they had a nice crowd. Even got to meet Bruno’s lovely wife and children. A very nice day. On Sunday evening, we were invited to dinner at Temptation by a local business man and his sons. We had a very nice evening. It seemed that our friend knew half the people in the restaurant. Chef/Owner Dino sat down with us to chat about his planned next venture: a steak and lobster house (Maine lobsters – not local), to be located where the Indian restaurant was next door to Temptation. He wants it to have a more casual atmosphere than Temptation and seeing how he made Temptation what it is, we think he will. Our friend was also quite excited about the new beautification project for Front St. in Phillipsburg. When completed in November, cars will be prohibited, but there will be jitneys to transport people up and down the street.

Our last full day was Monday and this was our “Best of” day. Lunch back at Tropicana and a final wistful gaze at the Marina; dinner back at Le Cottage for another mouth-watering experience.

Tuesday: Packed up; returned the phone to Sharon Harris; drove to the airport, where Leslie was there to pick-up the car; checked in; and boarded a non-stop to Newark with only 50 people on board. Un-eventful flight back and arrival in Newark.

A great trip. We got the R and R that we need so badly, and now look forward to our next visit. Trust me – it will be sooner rather than later!

Marty and Sandie