JET BLUE: Flew Jet Blue out of JFK. Great Flight, Pleasant staff. Sat in the “more leg room” seats which were wonderful. What a big difference flying JB vs AA. This will be my airline of choice when flying to SXM.
PANORAMIC/ACE car rental: Mohamed’s staff was waiting at the airport with their signs. They took us in a van to Mohamed’s new office. The van was new and comfortable. We were at his office in less than 2 minutes. It was good to see Mohamed’s smiling face. We rented a RAV4, which was clean and in great shape. Mohamed will also have your cell phone for you if you rent from Sharon. She will drop it off there for you for $5. What a bargain!! Make sure you make your cell phone rental in advance with Sharon for this service as she needs all of your information for the rental. Both of these TTOL sponsors are fantastic!!
RESTAURANTS: SPIGA…All I can say is OMG!! This was my first time here thanks to Sharon’s suggestions. Lara and her husband Ciro are the owners of this fabulous restaurant. Lara was warm and welcoming and Ciro very pleasant to talk to. I had Lara’s Pumpkin ravioli appetizer. These were tender raviolis filled with a tasty pumpkin puree. These were drizzled with a butter sauce and pignoli nuts sprinkled over them. The Parmigiano Reggiano that the server came around with was melt in your mouth, smooth and delicious cheese. You can taste the difference when you eat top quality cheese. There is parmigiano cheese and there is parmigiano reggiano. My meal was Tagliatelle with braised pork and Italian sausage. The pasta was fresh and cooked to perfection. The sauce on it was amazing. I could have eaten a loaf of bread mopping up the sauce. Dessert was Raspberry Panna Cotta with a light caramel sauce and a vanilla Crème Brule loaded with real vanilla beans. This dessert was nice because you get two different flavors to experience. Way to go Ciro!! They also have a lemon cheesecake with I hear is out of this world. Spiga is not to be missed. Now I only have to make up for the year I missed eating at Spiga. Thanks again Lara!!!
French Touch: We loved the atmosphere and food at this new restaurant at the Caravanserai resort. There are tables right on the water and would be the perfect spot for a romantic dinner.It was nice to walk in to see smiling faces. Silvana brought us to our table and she was attentive and friendly. I had chicken stuffed with mascarpone and Gorgonzola. There were roasted potatoes on the plate and different veggies. Delicious and plentiful. The onion soup was also very delicious. Dessert was Crème Brule. I have to say this was the best Crème Brule I ever had. Thanks Silvana!!
SKIPJACKS: The crab dip appetizer here is always delicious. I had the stuffed shrimp dinner which I found to be better than the stuffed shrimp I usually get at Pineapple Pete’s.The only negatives for this place were that they were understaffed. Our friend asked the waiter if they can put their tab on a separate bill. He said he couldn’t because there were only two of them. Ridiculous… He ordered the seafood plate which was supposed to have fried shrimp and scallops, a piece of fish and crab back. When the waiter brought the meal it was minus the crab back. When he was questioned he said “oh, there isn’t any more crab back, I should have told you. That is why they gave you extra shrimp” OK, start laughing now. There were THREE fried shrimp on his plate. If he was given extra, how many do they normally give you? ONE??? Not sure I will go back here again….
LE BEC FIN: Waitress that acted like she didn’t speak English very well. I was getting tired of seeing the “deer in headlights” look. Food was good, but not worth the price. This place is always very warm inside. Turn on the A/C !!!!
LEE’S: Most of us had Ribs here. Served dry. Seasoned with a dry rub. They were tasty.
LA VERANDA: We had dinner here the first night. The food was better than I expected. A rib dinner was $6.50! I had the grilled red snapper which was very tasty. A nice informal, inexpensive dinner.
AU PAN DE SUCRIERE(sp?) : This is a new little bistro which opened in the small house just past the Peli Deli. They serve omelets for breakfast, crepes and pastries/croissants. The croissants were fabulous as were the pastries. They also serve sandwiches, ham and cheese croissants and warm quiches. It is nice to have a place like this on the Flamingo/Pelican property.
Upstairs from this establishment is a place called CAFETERIA. They serve local food and breakfasts at great prices. Everyday they offer different lunch specials. Definitely worth checking out….
SHARONS CELL PHONE RENTALS: You have heard me rave about Sharon. This year is no different. A must have for emergencies such as car breakdowns or to keep in touch with home or others on the island. FIVE bars of signal in my unit at Flamingo. LOVE YOU SHARON!!!!
CRIME: I didn’t see any while on the island, but the Herald had a story about a guy who was stabbed on the island. I didn’t read the story. I just saw the headline. Another headline was “Man drowns at Le Galion” We didn’t venture out much this trip, so I cant say how I would have felt if we had been out and about. We spent one day at Friar’s Bay. As usual, Jaba take great care of our needs there. Our friends had lunch at Kali’s. With the conversion rate….EIGHTY DOLLARS!!!!!
GASOLINE: On the dutch side, gasoline was 2.2 per litre. Cost us $28 for half a tank in the RAV4. Not bad….
MOSQUITOS: Not one bite!! I am usually a mosquito magnet. I didnt use any products with DEET. I used three different natural repellants. One was called REPEL which I bought at the grocery store
http://www.repel.com/ProductCategories/Insectrepellents/LemonEucalyptus/ I also used something called BUG MACE
http://www.bugmace.com/ and another called NEEM protect
http://www.outletnutrition.com/632634110048.html The Neem says for Pets, but can also be used on humans.
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