We just got back this afternoon. Very relaxing trip had by all four of us. The only bad part was coming home......

Friday Dec 8- Our flight on AA to SXM via San Juan was problem free. Loved the new airport, it is gorgeous. The island looked very green and lush.
We were greeted by AAA car rental and had our car in no time.

We stayed at Flamingo for our first night and were happy with the room and little beach front restaurant where we had our first Carib!

Saturday morning we checked in at the Pelican and Veronica was swamped with special requests but that did not stop her from getting us two rooms together. B102&110, clean and close to our favorite little pool!
They were putting a new roof on the building in front of ours and also had just deposited a large container(full of new mattresses) in the parking lot that blocked our view. No real problem as we don't spend much time in the room during the day.
We picked up my mother and aunt at the airport arrive from Tampa and Charlotte. No problems with their flights. Took them straight to Buccaneer beach bar where we started a ritual of hot dogs and beer every afternoon. Sammy at the grill there make the best food. Minerva at the bar is a gem. I bought my husband a TTOL hat before we left and he got 2 for 1 beer at Buccaneer beach bar the whole time! We were very lucky to have stumbled upon that deal!

As for restaurants we didn't eat out much as my aunt is a fabulous Italian cook. Our eating out is as follows.....

The Flamingo beach bar and grill- we had great cheeseburgers.

The Bistro at the Pelican- had mouthwatering jerk chicken,conch fritters were ok and fish soup was excellent. Then had chocolate crepe very good. The only complaint we had about that meal is the mosquitos ate our legs while we ate our meal.

Zee Best- for breakfast a couple times and it was OK, the crepes were mediocre and the pastries tasted like they were from the day before, both times! Not what we expected after the great reviews. The coffee however was great .

Anad- in Philipsburg we had several different nan and were impressed with their tandoori chicken and lamb curry. Even though there was an Anand by our resort we tried the one in town because our Indian friends said it was better.

Buccaneer Beach Bar-everything we had there was perfect and their prices were much lower than Sunset Beach Bar. grilled hot dog +fries is $5 and they put nice lettuce tomato and red onion on it. At Sunset it was $8 with stale bun and cold soggy fries. We went to Sunset Beach Bar the day of our departure and after the plane watching were very disappointed with the actual bar service/prices and food. We wished we had gone to the Buccaneer!

Brunch at the Princess casino- They used to have a steel drum band and now they have one guy with a karaoke machine. For $25 it is unlimited champagne included with the buffet. The food was fresh but we enjoyed Captain Olivers buffet better last year. The food was more interesting at Captain Olivers.

Shopping-
We stayed mostly on the Dutch side this trip. My mother and aunt both got some great deals at Joe's Jewelry store in Philipsburg, we had a blast with one of the owners, Adesh and his sales men. Mother and aunt left with stunning diamond watches on their wrists and can't stop talking about what a deal they got. I think they both had a crush on Adesh as he is a charmer and very good looking.
We all bought perfume at Lipstick as they were the only ones who carried most of the Hermes line we like.

Traffic- Lots of construction everywhere on the island. Traffic was backed up at all times during the day.

Safety- Since we had our trip right after the recent rash of crime reports on this forum, I was extra careful, to the point I was annoying everyone else. I insisted on walking in front of my mother and aunt after their jewelry shopping and I made sure I didn't see anyone "watching" us shop or following us. I felt very safe at all times and because of the crime reports, I felt like I was as prepared as I could be.

Our return flight was interesting. They kept posting the wrong information and everytime we asked what was going on they said....."don't pay attention to the boards". There was a medical emergency on the plane coming to SXm from Dulles and they were 45 minutes late getting in. No problem for us, we visited the Jeff De Bruges chocolate shop and bought some treats to take back home. Great last minute gift shop.

When we finally got on the flight to Miami we had a slight chance of making our connection. Since the baggage took 50 minutes to arrive and customs lines were long.....we missed our connection and AA put us up at a hotel and got us out early this morning.

Had a great time and am already planning our next trip!

Jackie and Bob <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />