Trip Report – July 28th-Aug. 4th
OK, here goes… this was my 2nd trip back this year. First one, with hubby in May (I was very well-behaved), Second one with my 20 year old niece (well, let’s just say I wasn’t AS well-behaved). <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />
Trip from Newark on Continental – we were # 100 taking off (really, more like 20 or so), but delayed our departure by an hour-plus.Arrived a little over an hour late. Picked up our bags and headed over to Unity for our car.
There was another lady with us also heading to Unity, and Dwayne (I believe) thought we were altogether and loaded our bags into this other lady’s car. My niece noticed it and fortunately we were able to get our bags before she drove off.
Ironically, when I went to pick up the cell phone at RP from Sharon Harris; the same lady was there checking in! I told her we were not stalking her…
Got our phone and headed over to Port de Plaisance. We had a studio this time. The cold water faucet didn’t work and neither did the safe. Both were fixed fairly quickly.
We had dinner at La Guinguette – very good food. I had the lobster bisque and sole muniere and Kristen had tuna tartare. Both were very good.

[color:"blue"]Saturday[/color] – Kristen wanted to get all her shopping for her family out of the way. We went to Marigot and had breakfast at La Croissanterie. Best croissants on the island (in my opinion). We had omelets also. We went to the Murano glass store and the owner made up a bracelet for my sister (niece’s mom) and a necklace for her sister (my other niece). We then went to Vinissimo and got a couple of bottles of red wine for my brother-in-law. We stopped in at Longchamps, but I couldn’t find a handbag I really loved – except for the 4,000+ (euro) one!! We went back to PDP, got changed and headed for Friar’s. 2 chairs and a palapa (more shade than an umbrella) were $10 plus a free fruit punch. The water was great but the smell from the pond was a bit pervasive. We stayed until around 4:30 and then headed back to get ready for dinner.
That night we had dinner at Le Chalet in Nettle Bay. We first went to Thai Garden, but they didn’t start serving until 7 pm and we had about a 40 minute wait. I had a glass of wine out on their porch and we were willing to wait, but then decided to go to Le Chalet. One of the books had a map in it and it showed Le Chalet closer to the bridge than in the opposite direction, so we drove up and down quite a few times before I called and actually found them!
We had a cheese fondue and a beef /champaigne fondue. Both were really good and very filling. I would definitely go back again.
I had used a $100 travellers’ check and filled in the name of the restaurant when the server said they could not accept it as that was not the name that they did business under, so I had to bring the check back to my bank to cash it. Just a word of caution – check with the server/manager what name they want written in the “pay to” line.
We headed over to Maho to see what was happening there. That is some scary parking lot – very narrow and dark! We headed over to Cheri’s and the show had already started. We sat down at tables, but they said if we were just drinking, we had to sit at the bar. Well, you can’t really see the show from the bar, so we left. We then went over to see when Q opened, but it was going to be another half hour and I was a little tired. Went into the casino – put in .25 and won back $10. My niece wasn’t into gambling so on our way back to PDP; we stopped at BBB and had a couple drinks. I had a nice conversation with a guy who was working over at the airport. He apparently does something with HVAC. I think he was getting a little tired of the island, since he’s been there for several months. Go figure…

[color:"blue"]Sunday[/color] – We had breakfast out on the deck at Le Sucriere, some croissants, coffee and juice. Very nice little dining area and good croissants. We then headed over to Mullet Bay. It was packed (which I figured it would be on a Sunday). We got 2 chairs and an umbrella for $10. There was quite a large drop getting from the beach to the water. Not a problem getting down, but going up, was tough. We had some lunch at Rosie’s and a couple of drinks. Food was ok. Stayed until about 4:30 or so and then back to the hotel to clean up.
Appetizers at Shrimpy’s – Unbelievable fried shrimp and a drink – We decided to go to dinner at Halsey’s, but when we got there we weren’t really that hungry. They were very short staffed so service was slow, but we weren’t in a hurry. I ordered 2 appetizers – a shrimp cocktail with vodka, and a chicken satay dish, which was really spicy, but good. Kristen had her usual tuna tartare, which she said was very good.
We went to the casino for a bit – played some slots and won a little bit.

[color:"blue"]Monday –[/color]
We decided to try Anse Marcel and drove over to Le Habitation, stopping at Bounty to pick up some juice and croissants- It didn’t appear that much construction was going on over there. The beach was great and really deserted. We used the chairs that were there, although I didn’t see anyone there to pay for them. Stayed our usual amount of time and then headed back to change. Decided to drive into P’burg and parked by Bobby’s Marina – that is really convenient and better than driving around and around to get a parking space along the Salt Pond - My niece picked up her last gift in town and we had a drink at one of the bars on the Boardwalk. I wasn’t quite sure where to go for dinner and figured we weren’t that far from Tabba Khaadi (sp), so that’s where we decided to go. It is really a very relaxing atmosphere. We were the only ones there, of course, we got there around 6:30! I had a lamb entrée, which was excellent and Kristen, actually ate “gasp” <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" /> MEAT!! Which also was very good. Desserts were wonderful and so nicely presented! We left there quite full and pleased…

[color:"blue"]Tuesday[/color] – Got up and packed for our stay on Anguilla. I had booked a one nite stay at La Sirena on Mead’s Bay. We took a taxi to the ferry dock and got signed in, etc. It’s a little bit confusing because you have to sign in and get your passport # written down, etc. and then you go back to the other window and pay your departure tax, and then go to another room where you get on the boat. They could use some better signage/directions.
We arrived in Anguilla around 10:30 a.m. and got a taxi to La Sirena. When we arrived, we were handed a sheet of paper that told us about the approaching TS Chris. Our room was on the 2nd floor and they had already started boarding up the windows just after we checked in. We got changed and walked down to their beach, which is on Mead’s Bay and right next to the Dolphinarium. It was beautiful. They had quite a few chairs and lots of shade. It was a great day and the weather seemed fine. When we returned to the desk, to ask about our dinner reservations at Straw Hat, they said that the restaurant might be closed that evening because it is located right on the water. We got changed and came down for the Manager’s cocktail hour that is held on Tuesdays. We had some drinks and snacks and found out that the restaurant was indeed closed. We met some very lovely people that seem to return there year after year, from UK, Denmark, Switzerland and U.S. The owners are Swiss and very nice people. The cost was $100 per nite plus $20 for service/charge, which was well worth it. I would definitely stay here again. We ended up having dinner there, which was good. That night they gave us an emergency box with flashlights, matches/candles a couple sandwiches and a bottle of water. Thanks God, we didn’t need to use it as the storm passed north of the island.
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Wednesday –[/color]The next day we woke up to drizzly dreary weather. The ferries weren’t running and the airports were closed. We kept checking to see if the ferries would run and finally around 11:00, they told us to check back again after 2.
There was nothing to do, so I decided to hire a taxi to take us on a tour of the island. We used Toppy’s Taxi – great guy! He took us all over the island -, to the Pyrat rum factory, and finally stopped back at the ferry dock to see if any ferries were going out. They said if we can get our passports and bags, they would hold the ferry for us as there was a private shuttle going over to SXM. Well, Toppy drove like a maniac to get us back to the hotel, fortunately, we had packed our bags and they were just waiting there for us, I grabbed our bags, my niece checked us out and off we were on another wild ride back to the ferry dock. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" /> There was another taxi in front of us about a block or so before the dock and Toppy passed them, saying if they didn’t have enough seats available, he didn’t want us to miss it. We got the seats and the couple behind us also got the last 2 seats. It was $40 a piece. They asked us for our green immigration forms, which we had never gotten when we came in the day before. She told us to just get on, and we paid the $3 departure fee. The cost this time was $40 each vs $12 coming over!
We were able to get on and it was definitely a trip! The water was pouring in over and down the hatch and we were absolutely drenched, along with all our bags. I felt like I was escaping from Alcatraz or something. I thought the girl across from me was getting seasick, but she said she was just terrified. We met a guy on the boat who works for the British government, as a Disaster Management Expert. He was heading over the PJA to get a flight out to BVI because that was where the storm was expected to hit next. We came in by Simpson Bay, right by the airport – walked across the road and got a taxi back to our hotel. What a Trip!! Oh, and this is Kristen’s birthday today too!
[color:"red"]Wednesday Nite:[/color] – Pub Crawl – I had booked this trip on-line, but after the escape from the Rock; I wasn’t sure if I was up to getting on another boat so soon. I called and spoke with Neil and he said it would be fine as the Lagoon is very calm. We went out to get something light to eat and found that the car was full of ants (literally all over the car)! Kristen wouldn’t get in it, so I went to the store to pick up some Bug Spray. I think I got them all – not a good feeling as you’re driving along and ants are crawling up your legs and down your arms. YECH!!
Ok, the [color:"green"]Pub Crawl[/color] – let me see if I can remember what happened after I got onto the Celine that night. . . I remember driving there and meeting Neil and fellow TTOL-er MECS and her hubby. I also met Dave and Karl (with a C) and of course Neil’s crew mate, Gayda (forgive my spelling…). We started off with some pictures, but Neil’s camera was not working. Not to worry, I used my 20 year old camera, which takes great pictures (the old-fashioned way). I took a lot of flak for that, but the pictures came out great! My niece made up her own name tag – Sexy B%tch, and of course, I was Sexy B%tch’s aunt… I wore a regular name tag with my “real” name on it, as well. Started at Skip Jack’s and then on to Peg Leg Pub, great apps (filet mignon and swordfish) and nice entertainment. Of course, they had to tone it down a bit as there was a 9 year old boy dining with his family. From there, on to La Guinguette for some fries, shrimp kabobs and chicken kabobs. I love that place!! Then back to Skip Jacks for some fish kabobs, very good too! We decided to head over to Bamboo Bernies and meet up with the group. Mudslides and Margueritas were free to the ladies. We must have gotten there before they started charging a cover charge, because we just walked right in. I was on diet cokes by this time… we danced and overall had a blast. I was on chaperone duty pretty much the whole night, as we ended up getting moved out to Kuta Beach – I think their machine or something broke at the bar (??? – don’t recall all the details)and the place was PACKED. We left there around 1:15 or so. Hey, MECS if you’re reading this… please sell me those pictures!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Devil.gif" alt="" />

[color:"blue"]Thursday –[/color] Feeling great today! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" /> Slept in a bit and then headed over to Friar’s again. Had some lunch there as it started raining. It didn’t look like it was going to stop, so we headed back to PDP. La Guinguette for dinner – good, as usual.

[color:"blue"]Friday[/color] – Got up and finished packing for our flight back. We left around 11 and headed over to drop off the cell phone. We then went to Zee Best and had some breakfast/lunch before heading off to Unity to drop off the car. We got to the airport, checked in and went up to Princess Juliana Café for a last drink – both on the island and at the café. I am going to miss that place. While we were at the bar, a gentleman came over and said he remembered us from the Pub Crawl night – and said he remembered Kristen almost falling into the water. Neither she nor I remembered that happening, but… They said they had seen us at different places over the island and that they were not stalking us!! This was their first trip to SXM and they had come to play golf and gamble.

When we were sitting in the departure area, Karl (with a C) came over and said “Hi, Sexy B%tch”. The lady sitting next to Kristen looked aghast, and he said it’s okay, I know these people!! Somehow, it wasn’t as funny as when you’re sober.

Arrived back in Newark all in one piece. Missed a really hot week in NJ… Booked FF tickets for next May – when I’ll once again be on my best behavior.