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St Maarten/St Martin |
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ISLAND
NEWS
Weather and
Beaches: Our last week on the island was a whirlwind of activity.
Unfortunately, almost none of it related to beaches. We made it to Cupecoy
once and it appears that the swells have come from the southeast, taking sand
away from Cliffhanger and the little cove and depositing it at the far
northwestern end, making Danny and the beach boys a lot happier. Cliffhanger
still has some sand but the little cove was unusable when we want by on 8 May.
As it turns out, the week was fairly cloudy and rainy, so we didn't really miss
too much beach time. Things only got worse after we left on 10 May. Ed and
Sandra from TTOL called the weather "atrocious" and my ex-wife who returned on
14 May didn't have many good things to say either.
Photo feature: There are some photos of
the week's activities at a secret location not posted here. Subscribe to the newsletter to get the location.
There are some flora shots taken at the Horny Toad Guesthouse and one
of the flamboyant in front of The Summit.
CONTEST
The Temptation Restaurant $100 gift certificate
was won by Debbie Schenkel.
Vacation Suites at Oyster Pond is sponsoring
the current contest, which will run until 30 June. Just click
their name to go to their website, find the link
to sign up for the SXM-Info newsletter, click it, sign up, and you are
entered. Obviously everybody that is getting this email is already signed
up for the newsletter, but you are not automatically signed up for the contest.
You do have to go to their website and click the email link to show you visited
their site. Just tell me you are already on our mailing list, and I'll leave you
signed up for the newsletter and just add your name to the contest list.
The prize: 1 free week over the summer! So if
you win, be prepared to take a vacation before 15 November.
Here is the list of future sponsors.
We urge you all to sign up ONCE for each contest. Our clients want you to see
what they have to offer. Go to their websites at the appropriate time, click the
link, and you could be a winner. Look for future gift certificates
from:
L'Auberge Gourmande - 1 July to 15 August - $100 off a meal for two
Sunset Café - 16 August to 30 September - $100 off a meal for two
Montmartre Restaurant - 1 October to 15 November - $100 off a meal for two
Sealine Charters - 16 November to 15 December
Chez Pat/Tropical Wave - 16 December to 6 January - $100 off a day at the beach: food, drinks, chairs, windsurf lessons, etc
L'Auberge Gourmande - 1 July to 15 August - $100 off a meal for two
Sunset Café - 16 August to 30 September - $100 off a meal for two
Montmartre Restaurant - 1 October to 15 November - $100 off a meal for two
Sealine Charters - 16 November to 15 December
Chez Pat/Tropical Wave - 16 December to 6 January - $100 off a day at the beach: food, drinks, chairs, windsurf lessons, etc
Marci's Mega Gym - 7 January to 27
January 2005 - a week of gym usage for two
California Restaurant - 28 January to 17 February 2005
Escargot
Restaurant - 18 February to 4 March 2005
Hot Tomatoes - 5 March to 26 March 2005
Hot Tomatoes - 5 March to 26 March 2005
The Horny Toad Guesthouse - 27 March to 24 April 2005 - seven low season days for
the price of five
Celine Pub
Crawl - 25 April to 5 June 2005 - two tickets
on the Lagoon Pub Crawl
Another contest:
Hot Tomatoes has a contest
on their website to kick off their combination lagoon cruise/dinner
package. You can now take sunset lagoon cruise on White
Octopus and follow it up with a dinner at
Hot
Tomatoes. They are giving away a two pizza dinner
with a bottle of red, but you have to go to the website, click the comments link, and
send in some comments. Somebody's going to get two pizzas with a
bottle of red just for saying something that tickles our fancy. I talked to Brad
last night and we're looking for 25 entries. As soon as we get 25, we'll post
them, and pick a winner. While you are there, look over Brad's site, check out
the coupon, and take a look at the White
Octopus. We have almost
enough entries, but there is room for three
more.
RESTAURANTS
On 17 April the
euro was at 1.188 and today it's at 1.188. Nothing
going on there, but it's better than most of high season. French side
restaurants with many costs in dollars and many American (or Canadian) clients
have been offering more favorable exchange rates. Some restaurants offer
a 1 to 1 exchange. To the list that includes
California, Escapade, Balaou, Santal, Enoch's Place, Au Beaujolais,
Rainbow, Oizeau Rare, Pirate on Orient (not Repaire du Pirate in
Grand Case), Restaurant du Soliel, Pedro's (priced in dollars - no conversion
ever), Saint Germain, Le Cottage (for cash), and Paradise View, we add Le
Mambo in Grand Case. Many restaurants will offer you a better rate than you can
get on your credit card, so you can allow them to convert and charge in dollars.
Note that California only offers 1 to 1 on cash purchases. Some restaurants have
lowered their prices. As always, know what the euro is worth, what
the restaurateur is offering for an exchange, and what the costs are on the
menu. Finally, you are here to have fun and fine food, not complex financial
calculations, so don't worry about it too much.
We had a final
dinner at Auberge Gourmande on Tuesday, sitting on the
porch, watching Grand Case pass by us one last time. The Harmony Nights street
festivals have ended for the season, so it was fairly quiet. Christophe sent
over a welcome cocktail on our last evening and we ordered the Corton-Perrières
Grand Cru 1999 Maurice Chapuis again. We had this in January and thought
that it was a bit young, but on this second tasting it seemed considerably
better, especially after it warmed up a bit. L'Auberge makes their own quite
tasty bread, usually a round wheat and bran bread rolled in more bran. I ordered
the chicken liver appetizer. The presentation has changed a bit over the season.
Originally, it was chicken livers and salad in a vinaigrette, good, but rather
plain. Now the chicken livers are in a puff pastry with a mustard sauce. Martha
had the nem, duck liver and vegetables in a crispy egg roll with a soy
vinaigrette. Her dinner was another appetizer, the foie gras with roasted
pears. I had the pork tenderloin stuffed with apricots and walnuts, a very
interesting combination of flavors and textures. Despite being one of the less
expensive items on the menu, I find it to be one of the best. BY the end of the
meal, the wine was opening up wonderfully and complemented all the wonderful
flavors that came from the kitchen. Coffees and armagnac finished up an
enjoyable evening of good food and good service.
Wednesday lunch was at Ô
Plongoir on the waterfront in Marigot. We had just finished discussions with
Martyne at Mario's Bistro and
headed out for a light lunch. Martyne had a Caesar salad with chicken, Martha
had a salad with baked goat cheese and eggplant, and I had a skate wing with
capers and black olives. Prices were good, the view is nice, and the food was
tasty. We sat outside on the patio, but there are tables inside for rainy
weather.
The next night we went
to Nettuno for a
last waterfront dinner in Grand Case. Raymon has a double wide dining room
running alongside the water, so every table gets a good view and about a third
of them are on the water. At this time of year, one can usually get a waterfront
table without a reservation. Nettuno presents each table with a plate of
bruschetta: tiny toasts topped with fresh chopped tomatoes and onions dripping
with olive oil and garlic. I ordered the 2000 Tomassi Amarone and found it
delightful. It may have been a bit much for the very good mussels in white wine
and parsley, but was wonderful with our two veal dinners. One was a thin slice
of veal with capers and proscuitto accompanied by fresh pasta prepared al
dente and the other was a veal reale (royal) with mushrooms and red and
green peppers (white mushrooms, red and green peppers, the Italian flag)
accompanied by ratatouille in a pastry crown and mashed potatoes. It was a fine
meal with lovely views across the bay.
Thursday night we had a very nice
dinner at Oizeau Rare on the Marigot Waterfront. They have been
advertising a 31euro three course dinner and stating that they will let it go for
$31. Vianney, the maitre'd, explained that we could choose any ap, main course,
or dessert off the menu or the special board to make up our $31 dinner. he
did explain that the portions would be a bit smaller than the regular menu. That
seems fine with me as I am a bit larger than regular. We ordered a 99
Chorey-Les-Beaune (36euro) and started with an ap of calamari in a soy and
ginger sauce. Martha eschewed the three course meal and had a Marmite de
Pecheur, essentially a fisherman's stew with scallops, shrimp, snapper, and
salmon with the usual rouille, gruyere, and toast. My main course was the French
version of Osso Buco featuring a brown sauce based on mushrooms with fresh
spaghetti. Both were wonderful. Our dessert was the chocolate fondant, a
chocolate cake with a liquid chocolate center. we added coffees and Vianney
added some licorice rum. The total bill was less than $100 and we left behind
some of the fish. The interior of the restaurant is very nice, but the exterior
is even better. The dining room is open on three sides with one side facing the
waterfront and the other two side facing a nicely tended gardens that feature
waterfalls.
We had a few more dinners before we
left the island on Monday, 10 May, but I'll save them for the next newsletter.
Our flights were uneventful, except for the one that was so uneventful that it
didn't happen. We got to spend a bonus evening in Chicago when the plane
that was to take us to Albany never arrived from Springfield, MO because of the
thunderstorms and tornadoes that were sweeping the Midwest. Over the summer, the
newsletter will be published less frequently, coinciding with the contest
schedule above. We will read the Daily Herald, peruse the bulletin boards,
monitor the euro, and get news from our many clients on the island.
BARGAINS
Our one bedroom condo will be
available for rent until we return in mid-December. Last year we replaced the
microwave with a new GE Advantium model and this year we replaced the
refrigerator and dishwasher. The unit was painted. New drapes were put in front
and back. All the upholstery was recovered and a new cover was put on the
king size bed. We rent it for $1000 per week and throw in a $50 voucher on a
dinner for two at Hot Tomatoes and a $50 coupon
to Ama Bella
Jewelers with any reservation. We include a special invitation to Vinissimo where you will get at
least 10% off and a few samples. Finally, Pascal, owner of Auberge Gourmande, Sunset Café, and Montmartre Restaurant, is offering a welcome
champagne cocktail and an afterdinner drink at one of his restaurants to any of
our renters. That's a net of about $850 for a sixth floor one bedroom unit. The
rest of May is lovely and our on-island friends tell us that June is calm and
quiet. July is largely taken already and August is when the French arrive for
their month's holiday, so the restaurants are all open. September is probably
the hottest and wettest month, so many restaurateurs close and take their
vacations. We have been here in October and November and loved it. By then the
restaurateurs are back and trying out new ideas. Go over to our website, check out the unit and its
fabulous views, check the calendar for availability, and send us an email if you
are interested.
Look on the SXM-Restaurants
website for a list of all restaurants that have coupons for some freebie. There
are several coupons there to make your vacation a bit cheaper.
L'Esperance
Hotel (www.LesperanceHotel.com) in Philipsburg is bargain at $65 per night for a
1BR suite with a kitchen. It's not on the water, but they have a
pool.
Delfina
(www.SXM-Hotels.com/delfina) now charges $95 per night for a double and includes two breakfasts
and evening cocktails. They are in the Cupecoy area, not on the beach, but close
enough to walk and they have a pool. You also get a $50 coupon to Ama Jewelers with any
reservation.
The Banana Cabana
(www.SXM-hotels.com/index.html#bc), a
one bedroom studio on the lagoon in Cupecoy, is only $695 for the week all taxes
and service included.
California
(www.SXM-hotels.com/california has two
apartments for rent that are right on the water in Grand Case. The one
bedroom, sleeps four, is $550 and the two bedroom, sleeps six, maybe more,
is $900 for the week.