Departed out of JFK on AA on the 11:45 AM flight. It was pretty much a bumpy ride the whole way. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />
Arrived in SXM a few minutes late. We had to circle due to 747's on the runway, according to the pilot. I thought only one 747 was at the airport each day. Hopefully, the new airport will alleviate these issues.
We checked into our room at the Royal Palm and picked up my phone from Sharon Harris. The phone worked great ALL over the island. Even though my phone worked last time at Friars Bay, this time, I had FULL signal strength. The phone was compact and a new model. You can buy refill cards for more time in a machine at the Shell Station and other places such as Lido Express Supermarket. Sharon is such a great lady and a wealth of information. Her husband Mike is a wondeful man and so pleasant to talk with. Getting a phone another way would surely be a hassle if Sharon didnt offer this service.
Dinner was at The Hideaway at LaVista. The food was very good here and reasonably priced. We had a few burger lunches here throughout the week as our friends were staying there. Service at lunchtime was VERY slow.
Sunday, we hung around the pool at LaVista beach. They will apparantly be breaking ground for the Eleganzia Condos right next to the LaVista Beach building very shortly. Since it wont have its own pool, those guests will be using LaVista Beach Pool. Dinner was at Jimbo's. I had Crab cake stuffed Grouper. It was tasty. Service was much better there this year than on our previous visits there. Jimbo got a beer shower on his back when the waitress leaned over to place a drink down and didnt realize the bottle had tipped over and was flowing on Jimbo. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Blush.gif" alt="" />
Monday, we headed over to Rainbow Beach Club for our appt with the builder.Breakfast first at Zee Best in Simpson Bay. I had a mushroom omelet and of course some pastry. You can taste the butter in them and they are amazingly fresh. Too bad they dont have a better location/view. They are making great progress since our May visit. The apartments are breathtaking and the furniture quality is outstanding. We are very happy with how the Erato family is handling the construction. The Cliff next door is MASSIVE. It towers over that whole area.
The Eratos are planning a new development on Gibbs Bay called Aquarius. They will be building villas, condos and a hotel/casino. It is all Greek themed and definitely will be a classy project. Most of the units are 1700 sq ft and have an awesome floor plan. If they are even half as beautiful as the units at Rainbow Beach, they will be THE hottest units to stay in in that part of the island.
Dinner was at Mary's Boon. It was Chicken Cordon Bleu/Lobster Creole night. I had the lobster which was great as usual. They start you with a large salad served with two homemade croutons that have melted Bleu cheese on top..YUM <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/chef.gif" alt="" /> Lobster is served with white rice, fried plantains and Crisophene in some sort of butter sauce. Dessert was homemade apple pie and Vanilla ice cream... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />
Tuesday, I woke up with stomach cramps. Nobody else in our party got sick. There were 9 of us, so I doubt it was from the food. I have a feeling I reacted to the lobster somehow. Needless to say, I was room bound that day and couldnt look at food. My food for the day was a banana, yogurt and white rice. My parents and partner had take out food from the restaurant at ROyal Palm. They said the food was excellent. It was Grilled Red Snapper with scalloped potatoes and veggies. The potatoes did catch my eye but I didnt dare eat any! They even offer creme brulee on their menu. Breakfast is also served there and prices are VERY reasonable.
Wednesday was shopping day! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" /> We headed to Philipsburg and stopped at Rimas along the way. They have such amazing prices there for costume jewelry and other items. The same hat the "beach salesman" was selling for $10, was THREE for $10 at Rima's. Necklaces he sold for $15 were two for FIVE dollars at Rima's! The boardwalk in Philipsburg was very enjoyable. We had lunch at Taloula Mango's. Service was also much better this year. They do charge you the 3% tax which supposedly isnt allowed by the government. I spoke with the owner about it and got some BS story, as ususal. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/impatient.gif" alt="" /> Dinner was at Pineapple Pete's. I had stuffed shrimp which were very tasty. A few of my friends had the famous Lobster Thermador and raved about it. Since I had my one episode after having lobster, I stayed away. Dessert was capuccino and Rum Creme Brulee. The rum taste was nonexistent, which I actually preferred. Great Creme brulee however. The waiters are very friendly and make dinner a very enjoyable experience.
Thursday we headed to Friars Bay. Lunch at Kali's. Awesome Chicken Kebabs. I dont know how they season the meat, but it is always so flavorful and moist. They also must have known I missed out on Scalloped potatoes previously as that was a side dish! Very good. It was good to see Jabba, the beach chair guy, there again. He is such an upbeat and friendly guy. He didnt have his pet lizard with him this time. He said he was tired of taking pictures and he was giving him some time off <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" /> Dinner was at my all time favorite place, Temptation. It was good to see Asha again. She is so warm and pleasant. I had the Eggplant Napoloen.Others had the Red Snapper, Chicken and Shrimp pad Thai and beef tenderloin. Everyone enjoyed it. Dessert for me was the Creme Brulee sampler (can you guess what my favorite dessert is yet?) Others had the non traditional apple pie. Slices of apple deep fried in tempura batter, caramel drizzled on top and served with vanilla ice cream. This will be what I have next time we visit. They served my Mom her dessert with a sparkler in it, as it was her birthday. Asha also came over to wish her a Happy Birthday. Such a sweet lady. She gave goodbye hugs to all of us and we will look forward to seeing her again in May. After dinner we headed to the Red Piano. Was a fun place, but if you dont like cigarette smoke, forget it. We only stayed about an hour as my nose began to run and I could feel the smoke kicking up my asthma.
Friday morning we checked out of Royal Palm, checked our bags at the airport and spent the day at LaVista with our friends. On the way back to the airport we stopped at Royal Palm to return the cell phone. Sharon and Mike wished us a safe flight and off we went. They are really fun to hang out with. I also made a donation to Sharon. She will be paying for Spaying/Neutering on the anniversary of her friends death. I also try to offer some help with the animals when I am on the island and this is a great cause and very nice of her to do this. There is a young cat at Royal Palm that I would have loved to take home with me. Maybe next time......We topped off the gas tank in the car. Gasoline is $4.50 gallon. We paid close to $28 to fill half of a tank on a Nissan Sentra. Dropped the car off at Hertz and off we went to the airport. Our flight was much better than on the way down. Nice and smooth...It was sad to leave our friends on SXM, but we know we will be back again soon!
PS.. We arent big gamblers. Spent a little time at Atlantis casino and of course made a donation to them. I wasnt too thrilled with the dealers attitudes and the archaic slot machines...Anyway, gambling isnt why I go to SXM!
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