Another absolutely lovely trip was had by both of us. Our days happily blurred from breakfast on our porch to beach at Orient, many lovely dinners out and ending with casino games at Atlantis. After 21 years, we tend to think of ourselves as "locals," and simply vedge on island time once a couple of days have passed. The “ah moment” comes at our first look at the beautiful water at Orient and Willie places a Carib in our hands. We have arrived. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />

Cuisine complements go to Piazza Pascal. We greatly enjoy their food (love their caprese salad) and the upstairs tables offer a comfortable view. The owners, Donna and Pascal, are delightful people. One to one is offered.

Fusion was new for us, and is definitely on the return list. Beautifully prepared, great service. I had shrimp and scallops—Yummy! Bill had shrimp. Also great. The waitress asked if Bill was on his best behavior, and when I said yes, she said to bring him back when he wasn’t. Got to love a sense of humor!

Highlights of our favorites this trip were Fig, (super duck), Boca Marina, (great grilled lobster), La Main a La Pate, (Pork with mustard sauce for Bill and calamari steak for me-excellent) and Chesterfields. The fresh fish at Chesterfields is wonderful and the abiance and service is hard to beat. I had fried red snapper and Bill had blackened mahi mahi. I can’t praise the chef enough for these dishes. Other stars go to Moulin Fou-we had memorable profiteroles there. Pizza Pasta for a super pizza and caprese salad. Cheryl and Andy’s for mussels a la Andy was a 2 time repeat. They are just super!!!!! We also enjoyed Chez Leandra for the garlic conch stew and probable the best fish sandwich I have ever had.

On a side note: Leandra has opened a breakfast spot in the French Quarter called Mom’s. We went there one day for breakfast and it was very good. There are signs to lead to it. Our very favorite breakfast spot is La Croissanterie. Both of us greatly enjoy it. The croissant French toast is superb.

On a rather sad note: the Marina in Marigot does not have much foot traffic. We used to love to watch the French couples enter around 9ish. Not so this year. Our friends, who live in Marigot, said that the people were moving to Orient and Dutch side- getting out of Marigot. Crime was the reason he gave. We were told that the airfares from France have gone up and the number of French tourists is down.

We learned that Marigot was going to build a cruise ship dock for smaller ships in the Marigot harbor. You can see the work is already beginning. Also, Club Med is looking at St. Martin to build. They have 3 islands they are contemplating for the project. Stay tuned for further events.

Our timeshare is at the Ocean Club, and I must say that it gets better every year. The units around the pool have been upgraded, the pool is lovely, and the Green Monkey (restaurant) is a great addition. While we did not attend, the Wednesday night Ribs, it still get accolades from its participants.

Medical: this year I needed to go the the doctor in Maho. He is located right behind the Maho pharmacy. He had a Dutch name, but I seem to have misplaced it. Good service and he "fixed" the problem. $75.00 for the visit. (cash) no traveler checks. Perscription was $15.00. No appointment was needed. He had an emergency at the airport, so there was a minimal wait.

Car: As usual, we rented our car from Claude of Sommerset Car rental. We look forward to seeing his smiling face! He gets an A+ in our book.

Thanks for “listening to my ramblings.” We look forward to "coming home" again next year. A bientot. Barbara