Slept in a bit today, then headed into Marigot to do some shopping. We were both a bit burned from yesterday (I was even under an umbrella all day!) and needed to give the beach a rest. After two days of being lazy in a chair I needed to do something. We couldn’t believe all the huge tour buses that had clearly brought cruise ship passengers to Marigot for the day. We had a difficult time finding a parking spot, and when we did the car was angled funny so SQ was nervous all day that the rear view mirror would get knocked off. The West Indies Mall was our first stop. This is a marble behemoth (at least for the Caribbean), but the shops selection wasn’t that incredible. We walked by the water and almost stopped at La Vie En Rose for food, but the staff was fairly rude so we opted out. With all the obnoxious Americans taking over I’m not sure I can blame them. We walked to Marina Royal, which was much quieter, and checked out Tropicana. The menu looked great but they didn’t open until 12noon. I was starving, that granola bar earlier in the morning just didn’t do much for me. So we walked over to Bistro de la Gare to kill some time by drinking a Leffe Blond.
The staff working at Tropicana are so nice and welcoming. Cristophe was our server and he made some fantastic recommendations. SQ had the veal special, I had the lobster bisque soup, and we split a half bottle of Rose wine. Once again, the food was amazing. We decided to splurge on a dessert, so we got the special for the day - a chocolate mousse cake (more mousse, light crunchy bottom, very light) with mango coulis and a scoop of coffee ice cream. After ALL that Cristophe brought us two shot glasses and a whole bottle of banana-infused rum. On the house, all you care to drink. I had two shots and then attempted to shop. My legs felt like lead, and it was so hot outside. We decided to go back to the condo for a nap, and we almost overslept through the cocktail party at Bliss for the bride and groom - they were the whole reason we were in St. Martin!
Bliss is an uber-chic nightclub right outside Maho, and the bride’s parents had rented it out exclusively for the wedding party and guests for a couple of hours. As we walked up and saw the velvet ropes and bouncers I knew this was not the place for me - a bit too Miami/South Beach. But they had tons of hors d’oeuvres and an open bar. The whole club is completely open-air, beautiful heated swimming pool, and there are large plantation beds and couches kind of scattered everywhere. Probably the best thing about Bliss is the sunset view and watching the airplanes come in to land at the airport close by.
There were some grumblings for dinner around 7:30 or 8pm and a group of us started to walk over to Sunset Beach Bar. When one of the wives found out there was no reggae tonight, but rather a ‘muscle man show,’ I talked them into going back over to Grand Case for food. We all met up at Blue Martini, which is on the non-beach side of the main road, but has beautiful gardens. We grabbed two large tables, and seemed to be the only patrons. Were we early, or late?? Hard to tell at this point, but I hoped the food would be good since I snookered everyone into coming here. Someone in the group ordered the ‘Land and Sea’ salad for the table to share. It was absolutely huge and had quite a bit of shrimp, scallops and duck breast in it - delicious! I ordered a ‘Funghi’ (mushroom) pizza, which turned out to be enough food for four people it was so large. But it was so yummy! SQ ordered the Pork Mignon, and he wasn’t crazy about his dinner, but everyone else seemed to love theirs. Good, I’m off the hook… The atmosphere is nice, it’s quiet but not sure what it’s like in high season. The hookah pipes on several of the tables were pretty funny. And more dogs running around, no shock, they seem to be everywhere. I also got another couple of rounds of Leffe Blond - yum!
Post a Comment