Arrived in SXM early with only a 3:17 minute flight! Gotta love it!
Picked up our car from Mohamed at Panoramic Car Rental. What a great deal and nice car. We rented a Hyundai Tucson this visit and really loved it. We will definitely use him from now on.
Weather was on the cloudy side for the week. I still managed to get a sunburn though. We bought some Biafine at "The Druggist" and another large tube at the Simpson Bay Pharmacy near Saratoga Restaurant. They both sell a sunscreen made by Vichy that contains Meroxyl. This ingredient hasnt made its way to the US and is supposed to be an excellent sunscreen. I purchased a few different SPF's and was very happy. I needed the Biafine for the day I used NO sunscreen since it was cloudy. I never learn my lesson on cloudy days.
Mosquitos were not bad at all. They only managed to bite me two times! This was amazing as I am usually a mosquito magnet. I didnt use any mosquito repellents.
Traffic wasn't bad at all either. We only had a problem one day coming back from Friar's Bay.I did notice more police cars driving around this visit. I also saw on K9 unit. The officers were sitting inside the van. However, they were parked at the gas station in Simpson Bay.
Construction was going full steam ahead. Our unit at Rainbow is coming along nicely. They are pretty much ripping out the side of the mountain to build the new Pelican Building. The construction has also begun at Eleganzia next to LaVista Beach. The tap-tap-tap all day long was rather annoying.
Friar's Bay is beautiful and relaxing as usual. Jabba was joking around as usual and very helpful. Food at Kali's was good as usual. The road leading into Friar's is still full of potholes.
Lido Lolo. This was our first time trying Lido after all these years. We were missing out on really good and inexpensive food. FIVE dollars for a chicken meal which included a healthy portion of BBQ chicken, rice and beans, scalloped potatoes and macaroni pie. Rib meals were $8, Combos $11. We had food from there 2 times!
Carlo @ Bella Napoli (Atlantis Casino) Although we really like the food here, we probably wont eat there again. They are always playing game with the bill. Last year we had an issue with the 15% service charge. The waiter said he gets none of it. Carlo says they get 12% and he gets 3%. This year our friends ate there once before we arrived and they added 15% again and labeled it TAX. When they questioned Carlo, he said it wasnt tax and crossed out the word tax. LOL.. When we ate there, they once again added 15%. The waiter said, it isnt a tip.He said the 15% was "for the food"..LMAO.. They cant get their lies straight.
Skip Jacks- We really enjoyed this place. Our waiter, Daniel, was a pleasure. The place has a nice atmosphere and the food isnt overpriced. We will visit here again.
Pineapple Pete's As usual the waiters are very attentive and friendly. We ate here twice. I wouldnt say the location or views are the best, but it is great for a nice meal that doesnt take 3 hours to be served.
Temptation This is our usual splurge dinner. It is always nice to see Asha's friendly, smiling face. We requested Paul as our waiter. He is a very pleasant guy and a great waiter. My only criticism is that they should add some specials to the menu or change the entrees every so often. The desserts, even though awesome should be varied. I love the "apple pie" dessert here.
La Sucriere This new bakery, next to Fedex is awesome. They have great mini quiches, sandwiches and pastries. They have tables on the water so you can have breakfast and lunch here. I believe they are open to 7 PM. Great
almond croissants and jelly donuts. I had one jelly donut bursting with jelly and then on another day it wasnt filled very much. Great Baguettes.
Gelateria This place next to Top Carrot sells pastries, hero sandwiches and Ciao Bella Gelato made in NJ!! The staff is friendly and the owner a very pleasant man. Great place to grab a sandwich before you head to the airport. Try a "Where's Ivan" Pastry...YUM
Anand II This is the Indian Restaurant across from The Atrium resort. We always get takeout from this place. The food is very good. Samosa appetizers are very good.
La Rosa Too Very nice italian restaurant. Great pasta fagioli. You cant go wrong here.
Moulin Fou We heard lots of good things about this restaurant. This will be on our list for our next visit. Right behind Cheri's cafe in Maho.
La Veranda We ate lunch here a year or two ago and the waitress wasnt very friendly. This year, since they say they offer free WiFi, I visited here. You HAVE to order to get the free WiFi. After ordering and trying to connect, we found we couldnt connect. According to the waitress, "server must be down". Dont bother going here. They arent nice.
Atlantis Casino There is a small outdoor cafe in the front of Atlantis Casino. I cant remember the name of the place, but they have good, inexpensive breakfast, lunch and dinner. Say hi to Crystal the waitress.
I really hope the dealers at this casino learn to smile. They are not pleasant at all.
St Maarten Zoo This was our first visit here. It is a lot larger than I expected. Lots of beautiful parrots and birds. Cute monkeys. They can sure use the money to help take care of the animals here. Spend an hour or two and help them out. The souveniers here are very inexpensive. Quality T-shirts for $9.
Food Center The old food center in Cole Bay has reopened and I believe is owned by the people who own the Lido grocery stores. It was very nice inside and they sold a lot of organic foods.
Cost U Less We finally made it to Cost U less in Philipsburg. Just like Costco in the US. Good prices on bottled water here. They also sell wines. Next time we will shop here first.
Cell Phone Rental As always, I rent a phone from Sharon Harris ( a TTOL sponsor). You cant beat her deal. It was nice to call our friends staying at other resorts and make dinner reservations. Beats the 75 cent, 1 minute local call charge at Flamingo Beach. Our pet sitter was also able to reach us since one of our rabbits was in stasis. Thank goodness she works for a rabbit vet and is also a vet student. She was able to medicate him and he pulled out of it. Since she was able to contact us no matter where we were on island, we were able to give her permission to do what we felt was appropriate. Sharon is full of suggestions regarding restaurants, etc. She is really an honest businesswoman. She also has Doris helping her out. Doris is also a pleasure to deal with.
I was very happy to read in The Daily Herald that the losers who beat the men up near SSBB turned themselves in. They went to the Gendarmes on the French side and were told to turn themselves in on the Dutch side. I guess their parents pushed them to turn themselves in. Hope they stay behind bars for a long time.
As usual, I am not happy that my time on the island is over for now. It will take me a few weeks to get back into the daily grind. Now I will begin to count down the days until our next visit.
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