Sunday was a cloudy Earl day and made it easier to return home to our fuzzy children after 18 days

Already trying to decide where to stay for our add on days but depends on if our villa mates would like to return
If so going back to La Favorita would be definite

The first week we prefer the French side to cut down on the driving to dinner every night
and then our TS Royal Islander which is perfect since we enjoy both Cupecoy, Maho and Simpson Bay and beyond restaurants

It will be interesting when we review our future dinning choices
I thinking we may sneak in some more casual places since 18 days of gourmand is a bit too much
Despite all those meals, some didn't make it such as the thermador at Pineapple Pete's and Sublime which is walkable

Going home was a fiasco after sitting on the plane in SXM for 1.5 hours because the plane was overweight
Already thinking I'm going to be the first one kicked off along with our 3 big suitcases
My understanding was because of Earl's winds the plane needed to lose weight to be safe
about 10 people were escorted off the plane who were on standby along with a crew member we had meet while waiting at the airport

flight to Atlanta was uneventful until we landed and waited over 50 minutes for a gate leaving 1 hour to clear and get to next gate
luggage arrived immediately, customs asked one question about declaring stuff
a quick shuttle from international to D wing and arrived 10 minutes before boarding
couldn't purchase any food or drink since all places were closed but happy to make connections after arriving over 2 hours late
i kept it positive while many already assumed they would not make their connection

Arrived home after 1:30 AM to 2 furry cats who missed us.
No place like SXM
no place like home

Work will be "fun" as we have a busy week with a large wedding and several smaller events along with all the paperwork I need to catch up on


No sand gravity for us as we stayed by the pool
With some post Irma restaurants never returning,and along with vacation closings , we carefully made a restaurant plan including favorites and more than the usual new places to try
Thank you for all the recommendations along with our on island foodie who knows the culinary of the island
I don't think we were disappointed any night
Surprising next year we may drop some very favorites of ours based on the food although we do love them for service
I'm sure some of you may be able to guess where by the service being better than the food
I do see a positive change in the menus all over the island making decisions harder on where to dine

the island was the cleanest we ever seen it in over 10 years
the police check points on the French side has really made a difference especially in the amount of scooters

Only about 345 days to return

Glad you got back, even with the delays. Thanks for the reports.

Would you care to elaborate on your dining experience at "the thermador at Pineapple Pete's and Sublime "
Thanks
Jim

Sorry the trip home was such a cluster f*ck, but at least you made it home without having to overnight. That first week back after vacation is such a drag, been there, done that.

Thanks so much for taking us along!!

"Going home was a fiasco after sitting on the plane in SXM for 1.5 hours because the plane was overweight
Already thinking I'm going to be the first one kicked off along with our 3 big suitcases"
You sure it wasn't the added weight because of all the food you consumed over 18 days?

Scuba, you’re a nasty boy. 😂

Only gained 10 pounds which will drop off this week, I average about 9 miles a day at work
Thankfully we do only drink a dinner and did not eat that many pastries

When the Taste Factory was open In Simpson Bay and had "happy hour" , we would be there every other day for 2 for 1 morning pastries and desserts and maybe better than Suciere

Anyone ever notice that all the bakeries seem to have the same products,
makes me wonder if they just bake them off
My company purchases pastries (chocolate croissants) made in France, imported and baked off in our kitchen and tastes as good as SXM pastries

Glad you had a great time. I made notes on restaurants. Stay safe!

Jerry,

While we saw and made new friends, some old friends were missed as well.

Already looking forward to next year.!!!!

Thanks for taking us for the ride! We enjoyed your daily reports and your restaurant reviews!!! Very detailed, that we liked as we too are foodies. Wife (Fabila) has a instagram page for all things food !! We loved your food pictures! Sorry about the fiasco getting home!! That just compounds the fact that NO ONE likes going home. 18 days, that's real nice!! Until next year, we look forward to hearing from you!