We’re home now, but there are so many more stories to share! Last Sunday we had brunch at the Westin in Dawn Beach. Little did we know, it was Mother’s Day on the island and apparently the Westin is the best spot on the island for brunch. So needless to say, we were not alone. And because we didn’t make a reservation, they stuck us at the only table left, which was in the scorching sun–and right in front of the ocean with the best view imaginable! The brunch was hands-down the best either of us have ever had.
[flickr]5802952824/[/flickr]
Speaking of good food, there’s an interesting thing we’ve noticed about the French restaurants here. They are completely addicted to beautiful china and making food look like art. Several spots even have their own handmade china (although nothing beats Le Tastevin, which serves their food on Villeroy and Boch). We ate at L’auberge Gourmande one night and their china was gorgeous, second only to the beautiful food they served on it.
[flickr]5802400827/[/flickr]
[flickr]5802403065/[/flickr]
On Tuesday we visited La Ferme des Papillons (the butterfly farm), which is a big enclosed mesh space where they have hundreds of rare butterflies flying around. We walked around a bit on our own and then Willy gave us a tour and explained why he raises them, where they are all from, what makes them interesting, etc. I have hundreds of photos of these beauties, but here are some of the ones I liked the best:
[flickr]5802417569/[/flickr]
[flickr]5802419625/[/flickr]
[flickr]5802981388/[/flickr]
[flickr]5802982320/[/flickr]
[flickr]5802990794/[/flickr]
[flickr]5802436551/[/flickr]
We spent the rest of the afternoon driving around and exploring the island. One thing that surprised us both about St. Maarten are the goats–they are EVERYWHERE. You can’t drive around without having to stop for some random goats.
[flickr]5802440455/[/flickr]
[flickr]5803006162/[/flickr]
That night we very randomly decided to visit Le Tijon, the island’s only French-style parfumerie. We signed up for a beginner’s class and ended up being the only ones there. We smelled several different fragrances and picked our favorites, then we put on our lab coats and headed to the laboratory, where we each designed several different perfumes, choosing from among the hundreds of different scented oils. It was a BLAST and now we have our very own personalized perfumes!
[flickr]5802410657/[/flickr]
[flickr]5802410243/[/flickr]
[flickr]5802413123/[/flickr]
After having a lovely time at Le Tijon, we headed to Bistrot Caraibes for dinner. We picked out our dinner and decided to try him “thermidor.” It was the best thing we ate on our entire trip–INCREDIBLE!
[flickr]5802413623/[/flickr]
[flickr]5802970928/[/flickr]
On Wednesday we did a day trip to St. Barths. A quick 45 minute ferry ride away (on the aptly-named “vomit comet”), St. Barths is lovely and extremely expensive. We got off the ferry and found out that our choices were shopping, shopping, or more shopping–at Louis Vuitton, Cartier, etc. I drooled over a nice purse at LV for 850 Euro (about $1,200 US), and Jason drooled over a watch that was 17,000 Euro (about $24,000 US). We grabbed a taxi and headed to Hotel Le Toiny for lunch. There are no hotel rooms at Le Toiny, only 15 villas, each of which has its own private pool. Villas start at 1,250 euro a night. We had lunch at their restaurant (alone–no one else was there), which was good, but made great by the most stunning view. The picture doesn’t even do it justice:
[flickr]5802479205/[/flickr]
Our taxi driver drove us around the island and dropped us off at a bar, where we relaxed and watched the super rich play on the beach. Jason got up at some point to use the restroom and came back laughing hysterically. Apparently when he asked where the bathroom was located, they told him there was a problem with the restroom. An iguana (or “iguane” as they called it) had gotten lost and ended up in front of the bathroom door. “Iguanes” are protected on St Barths, so they couldn’t do anything about it. Jason offered to herd him away from the restroom, but they were concerned about him pooing on their merchandise.
[flickr]5803040398/[/flickr]
Here’s a picture of us pretending to be rich and famous in St Barths:
[flickr]5802485113/[/flickr]
On Thursday, our last real day in St Maarten, we decided to hit up Ocean Beach again because we enjoyed it so much before. We claimed a couple of chairs and an umbrella, bought a couple of Presidentes, and did some serious people watching. Quite possibly our favorite story of the entire trip occurred there. While we were sitting and sipping, a French woman, approximately in her later 60’s, walked by. She had on a beautiful dress, her hair was coiffed to perfection, she was covered in gold jewelry and was carrying the biggest Louis Vuitton purse I’ve ever seen. Mind you, it’s about a zillion degrees out and the humidity is approximately 120%. She stops a couple dozen feet from us, looks around suspiciously, and drops her $5k gorgeous purse in the wet sand (I nearly cried). Looking around some more, she cautiously starts unbuttoning her dress… and takes it off. She puts the dress in her purse and now everyone in a 30 foot radius is staring at her in her see-through bra and panties (did I mention that she’s old and overweight?). She backs into the ocean, watching her purse the whole time. After a couple of minutes, she comes back out and her see-through bra and panties are REALLY see-through. It’s a train wreck and no one can look away. She gets back to her purse, pulls out a gorgeous silk scarf, and plants her big wet ass on it. Then she pulls out a Louis Vuitton hat and a thermos of coffee (did I mention it’s roughly the temperature of the sun?) and sips away. After a few more minutes, our “beach waiter” Guy approaches her and she gathers her things and leaves. I can hear you asking for photographic evidence of this horrific moment in time. Enjoy (but don’t say I didn’t warn you).
[flickr]5802489811/[/flickr]
[flickr]5802489437/[/flickr]