A New Adventure, Trip Report 2/10-2/20

About our trip: 2/10-2/15 on French side, Orient Beach. 2/15-2/20 on Dutch side, Cupecoy Beach Club

About us: Myself and dh (Dear husband), mid 40s, and our Dd (Dear Daughter), 4, are on this trip. Ds, (Dear Son), 20, just got a new job (actually his first "real" job in HVAC after trade school) so he couldn't come with us. We have only been to St Maarten via cruise ship but knew we would love it the moment we got AWAY from the cruise port. Our home is Nashville, TN and has been for most of our lives though I had a marvelous childhood in rural Central Florida.

Day 1- 2/10, (The adventure begins)
Lots of delays with flights but arrived fine. We were flying through FLL. Blech! but we had credit with Jetblue so what can you do. Global Entry is worth everything we paid and a great deal more every time we use it. JetBlue was efficient and checked all our EHAS docs at check in at our home airport and then again at the FLL gate. Flight was completely uneventful thank goodness. Dd does okay with masks but she was ready to get it off by the time we landed. Immigration was a breeze. Maybe 15 mins tops. We got our rental car at Avis pretty fast and then stopped by Carrefour Market for basics. Thankfully we got to the condo at Orient Village about 7pm and got the caravan inside fast because the bottom proceeded to drop out for about 15 mins. Condo is 2br/2.5 bath in Costa Caraibes with an ocean view and a community pool but it had no reviews. It was a risk but other than some low water pressure in the upstairs showers, it was very good and being a 5 min walk from everything is a huge plus. I do miss a clothes dryer but clothes dry fast on the provided line out on the patio and truth be told, I am just spoiled. We waited out the rain and then walked over to the restaurant district. We wanted super casual after a travel day with a tired 4 year old in tow so we ate dinner at Yellow Sub. Cedric recommended the special, bone in veal steak with an amazing mushroom sauce (their chef is a trained saucier and it shows) and buttery mashed potatoes, so we both gave an enthusiastic "yes please!!". Steak was super tender with a light crust. Dd had steak hache and frits, perfectly done and she ate more than half of it which is a glowing endorsement on the part of her finnicky taste buds. Dh and I shared a lovely bottle of Côtes du Rhône, cheap by US standards. Dd had a scoop of vanilla and dh and I shared profiteroles for dessert with a nice rum for digestif. We were starving (and it was still more food than I could manage) so this all hit the spot. We passed through the Village and made ressies for Le Piment for the next evening. Back to the condo we walked sated and ready for a good night's sleep. Watched some Tom and Jerry on Boomerang and then zzzzz's.

Day 2 (Oh what a beautiful morning!)
Woke to some clouds which moved off later and the sea looked a bit rough. Kite surfers galore, I think we counted 24. Dh went to grab croissant etc at Good Morning and a couple items at the Casino grocery. Dd enjoyed some cartoons with her yogurt. Around 10:45 am we headed off to Bikini Beach. I had made reservations there a couple days ago and I was glad we did. We were greeted by Geoffrey who is a great guy and is very well travelled and interesting. He took the best care of us. Our ocean side chairs were ready. The cushions are super plush, just what we wanted. Ocean was a bit rough but dd wanted to make sand castles and splash in the shallows so no biggie. We got Tea Punch and a Bahama Mama for the grown ups to start. I brought a little cooler with cold water and apple juice for Dd and no one said a word. I saw others without kids do the same. We ordered tapas, some cod fritters and chicken spring rolls, with Carib beers for lunch. I love the unhurried nature here. I know that probably annoys some but it makes me feel so much more like a guest and not simply a walking wallet. Dd fell asleep in my lap after much play so we had a couple Kir Royale to round out a lovely beach day while she slept. My feet got a bit toasted while that happened but it's all good. We headed back to the condo about 4 pm for a shower before dinner at Le Piment. We ambled over to the Village and were greeted warmly. We started with Kir Royals. We then had Escargot for a shared entree. For plat dh had the beef filet smothered in Reblochon with the utterly divine potatoes. I had the duck confit Parmentier with a layer of melt like butter seared foie gras inside. We again shared a bottle of Côtes du Rhône. Just like in France, the wine prices are killing me! So cheap for such great wine. Dd had a very yummy seared buttery white fish filet with mashed potatoes and chocolate ice cream for dessert. We had banana chocolate crepes and a old rum for shared dessert. Excellent dinner. We lazily strolled back to the condo, tummies blissful, for some more presleep Tom and Jerry cartoons and then zzzz's.

Sounds like a good beginning!! Thanks for the pics! Boy those profiteroles look good!!!

Day 3 (Food glorious food!)
Started another day with dh delivered goodies from Good Morning. Dh also made the coffee this am so I am just thankful the enamel is still on my teeth, so strong but very good. Planned to head to Pinel today but moving slow as we always do on vacation proved to be fortunate. It started to rain and continued to be a ho hum day. My Spidey sense had thought it looked a bit iffy this morning. So we decided to just hang around home base this morning and do our grocery run for Super Bowl evening at Super U with a lunch break at L'Express. We loved it. It is very affordable for seriously tasty fresh food. The croque monsieur was so yummy and the Paris-Brest was to die for. We raided Super U and collected together a great assortment of nibbles and the fixings for Sunday dinner. The cheese section alone was heavenly. I so wish we could get REAL French cheese in the States. The wine... sigh. 2.5 euro Muscadet. 3 euro Loire white. 7 euro Côtes de Gascogne (my favorite). We got back to the condo in time to spiff up and head out to dinner at Le Petit Bistrot. We again started out with a Kir Royal each. Having lusted over my dinner the night before, Dh decided to try the duck confit Parmentier and I had the goat cheese and honey glazed smoked duck breast salad. We shared a bottle of Crozes-Hermitage, a northern Rhône Valley red. Delicious. Dd had the buttery roasted chicken with equally buttery mash. All was great. Dh and I shared a Nutella tiramisu and another old rum for dessert. Yum! Dd had a very yummy dark chocolate ice cream. Another lazy walk back to the condo for the end of The Great Escape with Steve McQueen and then some Tom and Jerry " Is you is or is you ain't my baby?"

Where is L'Express? Looks interesting! Was that ocean view from your condo? Very nice!!

Day 4 (I could stay here forever!)
Dh got up and made the coffee. I finally rambled downstairs before dh went for his beach walk and visit to Good Morning for goodies. Just love their almond croissant. Such a little luxury. Wish I could get anything half as good at home. Dd slept late today which was good. That means her little body has adjusted to island time. After having a great day just 2 days ago, we said why not Bikini Beach again today and during his walk dh saw Geoffrey already had our chairs and umbrella ready. We rolled in about 11am. The sea was a bit choppy today and again plenty of kite surfers. I would never be that brave but they are fun to watch especially the ones that flip and jump and do acrobatics. We had a wee sprinkle here and there and the wind was feeling it's oats. That said we had plenty of sun and sand to make sand castles. We again had our Carib beers and the lovely tapas (chicken spring rolls, cod fritters, and chicken gyoza) for lunch (the pic is after we had started to chow down, sorry). We let sand gravity really sink in today. I ended the day about 5 hours later with a Pina colada, my first of the trip actually, which always elicits at least one chorus of "Escape" from dh. Goofball! Geoffrey is a doll and gave us some comp passionfruit Ma Doudou shots and dd some passionfruit juice before we headed out. What a wonderful way to end the day. Dinner in tonight due to the ruckus of the Super Bowl which we don't give a rip about. I know, Southerners that don't watch football, we are weirdos. I made veal chops on cous cous with a Provencal sauce (sorry no pics) but yum! We accompanied this with a Loire red for dh and a white for me as the red is a touch gamey, a quality he enjoys and I do not. The obligatory Tom and Jerry and then sleep enveloped us.

Yes they were fantastic.

Over near the Super U at Hope Estate. I will have some pics of food later. I didn't think to get pics the first time we went as we dove in like starving hyenas. Yes, the view was from the upstairs balcony.

Thanks for the report but I have no idea what your abbreviations of "Dd" and "Dh" and "Ds" refer to. Sorry, I am not into this texting lingo, or whatever the abbreviations are meant to mean.

JD--I don't even text and "Dd' is dear daughter, "Dh" is dear husband and "Ds" is dear son...

Day 5 (Last day in Paradise)
Woke up to more pastries and dh strength coffee. I made some pork and veal chipolatas from the Super U and sauteed tomatoes for breakfast. Mmmm. Very fresh. We ambled once more down to Bikini for a glorious day of doing nothing and then resting afterwards. Geoffrey had the day off so Neal took care of us and did a great job. Sea was nice and we only had a little shower before the bright blue sky took over and everything calmed down completely. Caribs and tapas (chicken spring rolls, cod fritters, and chicken gyoza) again for lunch. The chicken spring rolls have a Vietnamese taste and are just perfectly moist and crunchy. After a simply exhausting day on the beach, we got cleaned up and went to L'Atelier for Valentine's. We had our usual apero, a couple kir royals, and then the seared foie gras to share for starter. A shared bottle of Saumur Champigny, a skirt steak with a divine shallot sauce for me, tenderloin with cheese sauce for dh. A shared hazelnut creme brulee and a creme de rum each for digestif. Dd had a really nice little steak hache and frites, her favorite. This was a simply wonderful Valentine's dinner, probably the best Valentines meal I have ever had. We very slowly ambled back to the condo to start packing up to move to the Dutch side for the rest of the trip. We met a few of the very friendly island cats while here and one was waiting at our door for scritches. Dd and I enjoyed a few moments of petting the sweet baby as we miss our own kitties whenever we are away from home. She always asks them their name. It is adorable. Our last Tom and Jerry of the trip, a night cap of banana vanilla Ma Doudou we had picked up at the Super U, listening to the waves and blissful sleep. (I got no pictures of the food tonight. Total brain fail. But I promise it was very pretty and more importantly, very tasty.)

Thanks. I will have to check out L'Express next time. Lovely view!

Somehow I missed that second section! Beautiful pictures!

Sorry, I don't follow stuff like that.

It is really a lot of WORK to sit on the beach all day, huh? And celebration meals on SXM are always so much greater!

Looking forward to the rest of the story!

Day 6 (Moving day!)

We nibbled on the remnants of the previous days pastries and took it easy on the coffee this am. We had to get the car packed up and the condo in order. I refuse to leave things in a mess so I had some cleaning and straightening to do. We were out and in our trusty conveyance by 11am and off to pretty Friars Bay and lunch at 978. We got the Chicken curry and a couple of beers. Dd had the lightly breaded white fish. All of it was very tasty and hit the spot. What a lovely calm little beach. Uncrowded too. The road in was little better than a cow path with car swallowing pot holes but it was worth it. Having time to kill before we could check in to the condo at CBC, we took the scenic route around the island. Some of the views are just breath taking. We finally rolled into CBC and check in was easy. Got in the condo which was perfect and quite lovely but the mosquitos thought so too. Someone had left a door and/or window open and the little blood suckers were holding a convention in our kitchen. Literally dozens inside and they were out for blood. There are lots of citronella candles inside the condo and 2 fly swatters. This doesn't bode well as I am a "cousin mosquito" magnet. But what can you do? Got the car unloaded and enjoyed some ice cold beers compliments of our host. Off to explore, get something to eat over at Jordon Village and go by the Carrefour. Lots of Jordon Village restaurants are cash only and the nearest ATM is in Porto Cupecoy from what we can see. We ended up at Spaghetti House. We both had the daily special lasagna and Dd had the gnocchi with marinara. All excellent. We had a couple of glasses of Pinot Grigio to round it out and that hit the spot. Such a nice little restaurant with super fresh well made pasta and the proprietor obviously takes pride in her food. We walked back to the condo, killed about 20 mosquitos, and also noticed the very loud frogs that sounds like a smoke detector whose battery is low (we dubbed them our frog alarm). We always take a white noise machine with us so no biggie but a light sleeper might have trouble. We had a decent night's sleep, the beds in the sea view bedroom are a little too hard. I think we will try the other bedroom as that bed looks to have a pillow top.

Day 7 (We just can't stay away.... from the French side)

Dh woke early and had a little walk down to the beach. He loves doing that. I eventually woke up to dh coffee and pastries from Jules. The chocolate twist is particularly good. We had a slow morning (killed another dozen mosquitos, I'm thinking this will be a daily ritual as they don't seem to be going away) and then ambled down with our chairs to Cupecoy Beach. Dd and dh made a sand castle. Dh and I had a Carib and enjoyed the sun and breeze. We then headed back in to get ready for a lunch trip to Grand Case and then off to the Super U for some supplies. We found the atm at Porto Cupecoy then off to Grand Case. Parking was easier than I anticipated. We ate at Cynthia's Talk of the Town. Dh and I had salt fish and Johnny cakes, and shared a whole lobster. Dd had the kids chicken and fries. All very good. That divine smoke stuck in my hair and made me hungry all day long! We were then off to the Super U again to restock. Dh wanted some more of those pork and veal chipolatas (they were excellent!!) plus we needed some more French wine and cheese. Supplies in hand we headed back to CBC. We got there in time for sunset and wine, a nice white Touraine. Mosquitoes again an issue inside and out but we just sprayed, and outside we can use a mosquito coil deterrent and the candles which help greatly. Spaghetti House again for dinner. Chicken Parm and Pinot Grigio x 2 for us and it was excellent. Dh got some blue cheese and walnut gnocchi to go for lunch/snack tomorrow. And back to the condo for a night cap, skeeter hunt, and listening to the ocean... and the frog alarm.

Friars Bay really is lovely! I do wish the road was better. Where is 978, versus Kali's and Friar's Bay Beach Club? The views from the condo look killer!

Day 8 (Sun day, fun day!)

Woke up with some new mosquito bites. I wish the bed had a mosquito net. Started the day with yet another hunt. Dh says we are up to 65 dead skeeters in the house now and the carnage is real. Yes, he is keeping count. It's like a big "little" game hunt every morning. You would think they would put out the word that we have placed a bounty on their tiny heads and steer clear but no. Coffee and Jules pastries again. I never get tired of fresh pastries in the morning, something we came to love in France. Apricot was a new one for this morning. We then lathering up and off to Mullet. 2 chairs and an umbrella (really missing those chair cushions over at Orient), some beer, and the ocean. It seemed like a busy day especially since I don't think there were any cruise ships in and it wasn't a weekend. They just kept adding and adding chairs. The sea was a bit rough today but dd just wanted to dip her toes in and then run away from the crashing waves or get water in her Paw Patrol bucket and make endless sand castles. We baked for a while then got lunch at Da Waterhole. I got ribs that were good (a bit too dry for me though, I'm used to wet style) and dh got creole shrimp (that sauce was excellent). Dd got the nuggets and fries which were pronounced yummy and she ate most of them. Their set up is nice with the clean restrooms and showers. We got a little bit more sun, a frozen drink a piece, and then we were headed back to CBC and the pool. I love the pool at CBC. Yes, it is not ocean front, who cares. It is big, clean, and well laid out and seems to be a nice gathering spot. The 2 new towers next door do rather invade it's privacy now though which is a shame. Dd had a blast. She is learning to swim so this will make for good memories. We went back to the condo for a shower, snack, and a rest. Yet another lovely sunset was scheduled tonight featuring a mystical view of Saba (I never get tired of that). It like our own personal Bali Ha'i. By dinner time I was not interested in getting gussied up to go meet other humans and Dd wanted another dip in the pool so she and I headed to the pool and dh was sent to grab pick up at Fat Tony's (beef brisket and sweet potato fries). Good and filling. After a dip, we crashed at the condo tonight. Dd declared she WANTED to go to bed at 8!! Beach and pool days make for good sleep when you are 4.

Really stunning view from the condo! Sorry about the skeeters! Being a mosquito magnet myself, I know how that goes!!

It looks to be in between Kali's and Friar's Bay Beach Cafe, which was where we were headed originally but it was closed that day. But our lunch was fantastic. Only thing I wish is that they had had the goat curry that day which is one of those island meals we love.

I haven't kept total track, but I think this was the first night you ate in?? I would have sent the husband out for carry out before now! I wasn't at all impressed with our visit to Da Watering Hole, but it is nice to have a real bathroom.

OK, thanks. I know that FBBC is closed a couple of days, like Monday and Tuesday, maybe?

Day 9 (A meal you will never forget)

Woke early to a rain shower (my Spidey sense again says today will be spotty) and another skeeter hunt. Up to 82. If we get to 100, will we get a prize? We need to have one of the bigger great grand pappy skeeters taxidermied to take home to mount on the wall. Dh made coffee this am and my teeth hurt in a good way. More yummy pastries (I never eat pastry at home). The croissant buerre were excellent today. Such a small delightful luxury. We also have a fridge full of French cheese to get through so cheese feast with our baguette for breakfast. Valencay, Loire Valley goat cheese, from Super U is amazing. We had it several times on our trip to France last Fall. It has the perfect balance of creamy and tangy. We are off to Marigot for lunch at Tropicana today. Tropicana was probably the first thing we fell in love with in St Martin. That first lunch back in 2010 was a magical meal that changed our lives. We had taxied over to the Marina from the cruise port just to have a lovely French lunch. We had no reservations but as we passed by Tropicana admiring their menu, the proprietor at the time came out and told us he would give us "a meal you will never forget." He did not lie and the rest is history. So off to Marigot and we got a parking spot right at the Marina. It is sad so many shops and restaurants have not been repaired and reopened. Probably not unlike so many thing especially on the French side, Irma's devastation is still apparent. But I love the people's resilience. Tropicana is still there and still as lovely as ever. The proprietor met us at the patio and welcomed us in, a nice table right up front, in fact the very table we sat at the first time we ate there. I started with a lovely chilled carrot ginger soup with jumbo shrimp. I love cold soups. I then had the divine sole meuniere with creamy potatoes. Dh started with a very tasty and pretty crab parfait and had a perfectly cooked banana crusted snapper with rice for his plat. A half bottle of Sancerre to share and an extra glass of White Bordeaux for me (I am not driving) to accompany lunch and a banana vanilla run for digestif. Dd had a great little bavette with yummy creamy potatoes and a scoop of chocolate ice cream for dessert. After lunch we walked around the Marina to get a look at the other restaurants and businesses. We stopped at a little local shop called Boutique Ananas and picked up a sweet water color print and some magnets feature the art of the owner's wife. Dd and I picked out the pictures with kitties of course as we have enjoyed the island cats. We stopped on the way home at the Monoprix and Carrefour looking for a particular French soap I love but no luck. So back to the condo for some pool time and then wine, cheese, fois gras, and pork rillette (Super U's brand is very good) on the patio for sunset. I cooked up the chipolatas tonight with a lovely cherry tomato, garlic, and shallot sauce all over cous cous. So good, dh had thirds. Some vanilla banana Ma Doudou for night cap and the death of 4 more skeeters rounded out the night but the invasion seems to have calmed down considerably. This is good as the real estate for new bites on my skin is running low and I am not interested in being sublet.

I cooked in 2 nights, and we got take out 1 night. It was pretty easy to cook in as the condos we were in were well stocked and the Super U was really nice and easy to navigate.

edit: I lie, we got take away that last day too.

Thanks for the pictures! I love Tropicana!! I think it was the wrong day for you this time, but next time, you should plan for the day when they have the Grand Marnier souffle'!

Day 10 (The last HOORAH!)

Woke early to have time sitting out listening to the ocean sipping my coffee and eating yet another croissant buerre. That is hard to beat and not something I am looking forwards to leaving behind for 30F degree temps, deary skies and endless drizzle at home. But alas all good things must come to an end. Today we are off (back) to one of our new favorite places on Earth, Orient Beach. The seas look good on the Cupecoy side of the island so hoping it will be calm over there as well, fingers crossed. We text Geoffrey at Bikini to ask him to reserve us 3 chairs and 2 umbrellas as we plan to make a real long day of it. One last "long" journey in our trusty steed, a pre-dinged up and now filthy Toyota Corolla from Avis. Dh has never minded driving elsewhere. He sees it as a personal challenge and this trip has been no different. He is also great at parallel parking, a skill I am never meant to master. But the car has been a trusty little conveyance, petite enough for island driving and just big enough for our junk. And the weaving in and out of traffic scooter/motorcycle daredevils here have made it an adventure. My at the time favorite was the guy taking a selfie with his 10 buddies all while driving their scooters down the middle of Rhine during "rush hour" far too fast. Later, we had a "hold my beer" moment when we literally saw a guy pop a wheelie going up that big hill from Marigot to Grand Case and take a selfie. We set out at 10:20am and passing by the airport we took some pics of the Pats plane that rolled in the other day. We arrived at lovely Orient Village a little before 11am. Geoffrey and Neal both greeted us with fist bumps and big smiles. We settled into our chairs and Dd immediately ran into the ocean. We lounged, roasted, enjoyed Pina coladas and Caribs, and yummy snacks. Lots of folks here today, most of the chairs are full and the restaurant was busy. The beach adventure folks seem to also be doing a brisk business with kite surfers, parasailers, etc. We hung out until almost 5pm. We then took our last look around Orient Village while Cedric and the guys at Yellow Sub made us some yummy Chicken Supremes with mushroom sauce and absolutely divine mashed potatoes and Dd a steak hache and fries for take away dinner tonight. The car smelled so good on the way back to CBC. Sunset was lovely once again. I hate leaving this. Before eating our wonderful dinner we took Dd for a last dip in the pool. Walking back to the condo the frog alarms had started up their chorus. Once back and showered and fed, we popped our bottle of Nicolas Feuillatte from the Super U and toasted another wonderful adventure and enjoyed the last of the mornings chocolatey pastries for dessert. Sweet dreams.

Definately.. this will seriously not be our last trip. This is just the beginning for us. We could have stayed the month out and been happy as clams. One day maybe.

Day 11 (I don't wanna go home!)

Alas, our last lazy morning of ocean breezes and the sound of crashing waves is here. I wake to strong coffee and a dh deluxe trip to Jules, complete with ham and cheese quiches. It's another lovely morning, light wind, puffy clouds, Saba very visible in the distance. Lots of birds twittering away and the sweet little brown doves are out cooing their loves songs this morning. I did most all our packing and all the laundry last night. I love going home with mostly all clean clothes. This condo's washer/dryer set are top notch and fast. Really other than the skeeters, this place has been dreamy. Parking at times is a challenge but we have always managed to find a spot. I have some last minute packing and then cleaning up to do as I am pretty fastidious about not leaving anywhere we stay in a mess. Hoping the airport and the flights are not too horrendous but I have a feeling all the finger crossing in the world will not help us there. We left out right at 11am check out and drove off toward the French side for lunch at L'Express again. It's a lovely drive that we have made many times this trip. Croque Monsieurs for dh and I and a breakfast sandwich for Dd. All good. The Croque Monsieurs don't look like much but they are warm and gooey and buttery. We got a pistache financier "muffin" for dessert which was really great and some macarons to go. After lunch we were off to drop off the car at Avis. Fairly painless but it took a while since they were slammed. We finally got dropped off, checked in, through the security gauntlet, and in the terminal with way too much time to waste. We are flying through FLL back home so the less said the better. I despise FLL and have for years. We got home on time with a very exhausted 4 year old. Ds picked us up and chauffeured us home. Hoping next time he can come with us but he is almost out of the nest and has his own life and career. Maybe one day.

What a wonderful, relaxing, and delicious adventure. And now the only cure for my SXM withdrawal is to start planning another trip.

Same here.

Sorry about the "text" speech. Thanks Carol for the explanation. It's something I picked up from the teeny boppers.

Thanks so much for such a wonderful bunch of pictures and descriptions!! I'm already looking forward to you going back, so I can read some more and look at those lovely food pics!!

Thanks Carol. It was a wonderful trip made even better by all the great info I gleaned here. This is a seriously good resource. And we have to go back because we still have so much more to explore!!

So nice of you to repay the favor!!

LOL!!!! I thought I was the only one! As I kept reading, I kind of figured it out. I know that some also use DH as abbreviation for Daily Herald.

FatCat04, this has to be one of the best trip reports that I have read. Beautiful photos as well. Thank you for bringing us along on your wonderful vacation. Hope your mosquito bites are healing!

Fabulous report and pics!!! Enjoyed it all and love your attitude and ease of going with the flow. Thx for sharing your delightful trip!! 😎

Thank you very much. I enjoy keeping notes on our adventures and it is fun to share them. And yes the skeeter bites have pretty much stopped itching. 🦟🦟

Thanks!! 👍
We have found that the unfortunate things that happen while travelling get forgotten pretty quick (or often get turned into an hilarious or exciting story) if you just stay positive and view every challenge as a new opportunity. Travelling with kids as we always have also lends itself to keeping expectations realistic and knowing quantity isn't better than quality.

Great report and excellent photos - it gives us ideas for our next trip.

Thank you. I have enjoyed your reports as well. We were there the same time.

Loved every word of your descriptive report. Thank you so much!!!

Loved your pictures and breezy attitude. Thanks for taking the time to write!

Thanks! It's nice to write it all down and then read it later. Love re-living it all especially when it is 35 degrees and raining, as it is this morning. Blech!

Thanks! It was fun to write but then SXM is such a lovely place it was easy to stay positive. I think we are spoiled for life!!

Thanks again for such a great report!

I have put the explanations for the abbreviations in the first report, for those not familiar with them.

Thank you for sharing.

We print our trip reports and put them in a binder I’m sequential order. We enjoy reading them to remember the trip in more detail than our memories could provide. As well as it gives us much needed remembrance of SXM when the next trip is far away.

Great report & very thorough. BTW (by the way) I did see in your first report that you stated what your abbreviations meant 😁. You mentioned that you spent several days at Bikini Beach in Orient. Do they charge for their chairs if you have lunch there?

gracie--I inserted the explanation of the abbreviations later, in the first report, after some people said they didn't know what they meant.

Thanks Carol

They do charge ($20 for 2 chairs and an umbrella with discounts for multiples and mix and match) but the cushions alone were worth it to me. Plush, soft, sink into cushions.

Excellent idea!!

No problem. Thanks again for such a great report!

When you started out at Yellow Sub, Le Piment & Good Morning I couldn't stop reading. Thanks for this wonderful TR. Note to self: take more photos.

Love the wine/meat/cheese selection at the stores in "France" seriously great pricing for stuff we cant get at home! Awesome photos.

Thank you so much for your wonderful reports. Your style of writing is both engaging and captivating!

It sounds like a perfect holiday and one that hopefully can be repeated again, but without the mosquitos next time.

What my wife (Fabila)forgot to tell you is that we "scrapbook" each vacation to go along with the daily journaling. This is a lay out of me and the guys going out on the Rhino riders!

Thanks for the trip report!! We are headed down at the end of April for 10 days and staying in Orient Village. You made us all even more excited with the report!!!

They were all great!!

I know. Husband and I joke that just going to a French grocery store is an adventure. I think we went to 5 on SXM. The locals must think we are nuts. :p

Thanks! Yes, we are counting down the days until we can return. So much more to do and see.

Oh nice!! I have always wanted to scrapbook. Such a lovely way to remember and then share a trip. I probably could considering we seem to hang on to all sorts of bits and bobs we get on our travels.

The La Place du Village is such a fantastic area. Really like so many French village squares we saw on our trip last Fall with the cafes/restaurant with outdoor seating all in the same safe walkable space. And the live music space is also pleasant. We really enjoyed it.

We are dying to go to L'Atelier and you made it sound great. We haven't been to the island in over 13 years. Gonna be a little different this time.

Thank you so much for taking the time to do a great detailed trip report. When we were there in Novmeber we had drinks at Yellow Sub several times. The food coming out of the kitchen looked tasty. I was wondering if you found it loud? The nights we were there the DJ and live music were both very loud. Not sure how you could carry on a conversation while enjoying your meal. We tried to take seats at the far end of the bar to be as far away as possible. We did enjoy the music just found it very loud. As we are staying in the village again we would like to have dinner there on occasion.

The steaks were absolutely perfectly done and the atmosphere was romantic and cozy. A definite favorite.

We were there on a "quiet" Thursday night (glad we went then because Saturday they had a shin dig planned and Sunday was the Super Bowl with tons of TVS all over the whole village and a huge party atmosphere from the way they were talking). There was a live DJ rocking some less frenetic electronic dance music, urban jazz, and some golden oldies. We like most music (except rap and some country) so we were okay though it was a touch loud but with a cranky, tired 4 year old, I was okay with that if for no other reason than she wouldn't annoy anyone.

We've been doing it (Scrapbooking) for over 15 years. It's a lot of fun. Sadly so many scrap stores have closed. Creative memories company I think is now on line. Great albums and embellishments too! "Michaels" has card stock and knickknacks too!!But hey, we pick up all kinds of Tchotchke a long the way. (Fabila) is a lil shy to share her pages, but if you DM her, she might share with you some idea's!! She's the brains behind the pages, I'm the color coordinator and pression cutter!! LOL!! Have fun, thanks for sharing your trip report!!!