A trip to St. Martin

It was that time of year again and so Peter and Seva got their baggage in gear and we passed the Swatch store, so Seva could demonstrate her watch (though we did not take Peter to the fancy watch stores so that he could save money) and we were on the plane when they brought us the Immigration Arrival Cards and many liquids to go with the greasy sandwiches we had brought on board from Green Leafs and Bananas. This helped the time pass and soon we were at St. Martin stepping off the plane and onto the bus, though Peter and Seva were waiting for the next bus and so we could make our way through the terminal where we met Elvis who took us to meet Michael who had this rental car for us and so we followed Elvis through town until we got to Villa Cote Mer where we would be staying and were greeted by Benedicte who showed us the house but not this falling tree by the pool as Peter processed paper and we then headed off to the Simply Market to get groceries stopping to record a local license plate and then piling things into the car though contents shifted as we made our way back to the Villa.
Once unpacked we headed to Sol e Luna where this was the free appetizer together with bread before the first courses arrived and were illuminated and joined by main courses and a bottle of papal wine as we explored the mysterious container on our table and realized it was an ash tray as I took this artistic picture of reflections of reflections before dessert was served with lovely spoons and the meal ended with coffee >p? Our first full day on the island we looked towards the sky and recorded the various views on the deck before going in to have coffee that Seva was pouring (white for decaf, gray for caf) and bread was sliced for this standard (that is, I had it most days) breakfast as I admired the napkin holder and we then headed to Anse Marcel beach where this was the food menu and the water scene as we made our way to settle in and explore the various views as Peter posed with this man who sold us chairs and eventually brought us drinks from a menu that became clear in time. I admired both my feet and the view they defined as a strawberry colada found its way to me and I read my book which I quite enjoyed even as we look out into the distance and saw this boat near to shore while Suzanne showed her pina colada and it was a leisurely day at the beach as people began jumping off the boat as the sun made its way through the sky and onto my lens before the evening began to show some darkness so that the views to left and right which had displayed similar colors were suddenly very different. which meant it was time to start thinking about packing up and after a few restful moments heading down the beach back to our car which we drove to the gas station to get some ``sans plomb'' before heading back to our villa to clean up before dinner.
We drove to the town of Grand Case and stopped at Le Pressoir to check out the menu and make a reservation for Thursday night and then headed to the lolos where I recorded the menu at Talk of the Town before we went next door to Sky's the Limit where these were the condiments and this was the menu which went well with Carib beer as this girl came by and did her pirate act for us eventually engaging Seva as a partner when our food came including Peter's ribs Suzanne's chicken my vegetarian plate (and Seva's chicken which arrived late and was not recorded). The restaurant had a sticker for the Garden State exit for LBI which amused is as we settled the bill. I recorded Blackberry our waitress (along with Cherry the other waitress) and she came out of the shadows to pose with Suzanne before we walked down the street and discovered the dress Seva had thought she wanted the night before but after an audition, it was rejected and so we walked on to take the obligatory phone booth photo and to record a restaurant and a gift shop before calling it a night.
Monday started with coffee and espresso but the toast was burnt and so a second try was needed as we admired the view and especially the weather and headed out past the beautiful flowers to Friar's Bay where this rule was not followed precisely but the beach was very welcoming as we met this person who did Kenny Rodgers imitations and righted a live crab on the beach as the search for sea glass began causing us to walk the length of the beach and follow this trail with a few more drops of sea glass and a missed turn that introduced us to this cow before we made our way to Happy Bay where there was some gathering of sea glass (a rare commodity on the island) and the wave that knocked Suzanne and Seva down so that efforts to remove sand were undertaken initially with little success judging from their rasta like hair as Peter explored means of sand removal and Suzanne led the way down the beach to its rocky end where we met this couple -- he from England, she from the Phillipines who took this picture of us before we discovered the local beach bar which sold water, soda and beer and recorded the beach sign before finding this marker that gave the correct way to Happy Bay as we headed back through the woods to Friar's Bay where a few droplets of rain were falling and so we sat under cover at the restaurant and enjoyed the menu as our drinks arrived selected from the drink menu and the grill menu was produced as our French fries arrived along with a shared salad and elegantly provided cutlery as more drinks arrived and our key was recorded with this philosophical message as we settled up with the psycho waiter and claimed our chairs and umbrella with the rocks we had gathered. Back at home, Peter tried his hand at making pina coladas with pineapple and accompanied by cheese and this small pizza from the boulangerie as I recorded the artistic droplets on the counter that came from my drink and we tasted some of the pastries that had come from the boulangerie along with the cooked pizza.
On Tuesday, Peter and I headed back to the boulangerie for breakfast fare and ran into these goats in the parking lot and we then went to Leader Price where I recorded this sign before we went in for our groceries. back at home, the croissants were enjoyed before we made our way to Orient Beach to see what it was about and saw an artist's wares before heading to Anse Marcel where the sky was threatening so that we sat at a table under cover before making our way down the beach where we observed a mirage man delivering a drink into the water and bringing back the container (still partly full) before the rains sent us home for the next few hours.
We went back to Grand Case and noted the salt mill and this sign for Patron and the crepe stand and the large rock out at sea in front of Anguilla hoping that this sign meant that the Tuesday parade would take place but learning that it had been canceled for weather. So we headed down the street past the church and the Men's Fellowship Hall before we got to the Love Hotel with its signage and settled in to look out and await the sunset as Peter and Seva took their places and drinks and guacamole arrived along with the needed Off! and we looked off to see the skies preparing for sunset

pausing to record a floor tile and then back to the sunset

that Suzanne and I were watching as it progressed to the amusement of the girls on the beach who were taking this selfie in the wrong direction and as the sunset progressed

the waiter returned and the sun continued its descent

as was recorded by our neighbor and the setting sun amused Seva and Peter until it was fully set and we made our way back to the street where we ran into Kenny Rodgers, St. Martin style, who was selling wonderful vegetarian soup and then added to the soup tasty crepes capturing the menu and the process by which crepes were made at this establishment with this final product.
Wednesday rose as a beautiful day as Suzanne enjoyed her coffee and Seva bottled some water so that we could head to the water taxi pay our fare and get on board for these photos that need to be merged and this selfie preparing for the trip to Pinal Island on the boat

until the island came into our sight including beach chairs and rocks and views until we disembarked and got settled so that we could see folks out in the water from our beach seats even as boats passed us by and I recorded the scenery as Suzanne settled and Fabian negotiated our chairs even as this person paddled past us and these folks walked by as Peter sampled the water and we watched a faux mirage lady scene erupt

which made us all the more ready for lunch at Karibuni where this was the menu as Seva had a premonition about what might happen in the meal though this didn't keep Suzanne from enjoying the experience though I appeared fully incognito until the bread condiments and drinks (best mojito of the trip) arrived and a cute little lizard appeared nearby along with this frightening looking character by the grill even as my salad arrived as did Suzanne's and Peter and Seva had salads along with their burgers. During the meal, a lizard appeared overhead and left us some souvenirs which made him less cute looking (in our eyes) but didn't prevent a second sample from arriving. After a pit stop, I was ready to go back to the beach saying farewell to the lizards even as Seva did her mirage lady (serving herself) imitation and these ladies were trying to arrange their photo shoots as Peter emerged from the water to join us on the sand but recorded our journey back into the water. Next we noted some hang gliders passing overhead along with Karibuni boat and the nag gliders continued to fly

as I scanned the skies and boats before we returned home and found that the Justs had arrived. By and by, we went to Ti Bounchon for dinner where Momo the owner served us which amused Suzanne Peter and Sara but may have panicked Seva and Steven before I took this selfie as the gazpacho arrived together with my appetizer and Suzanne's (which many others also ordered) and this salad. Next, the main courses arrived

and I recorded the spices at the kitchen before we called it a night.
Thursday began with a visit to the boulangerie which brought back these pastries and then a trip to Friar's Beach where Peter returned from snorkeling with this bicycle made for two

and so Seva joined him

for a trip around the bay

and even as Suzanne was looking for the ever elusive sea glass their journey continued. After a long day at the beach, we decided to explore and so I captured this license plate At Plum Bay Beach which had its rules and so we made our way to the beach and then headed to long bay beach where there were different rules and again made our way to the beach where this hotel stood and these dogs were part of the family being photographed as we gathered on the rocks to see if there was an easy way into the water with Suzanne smiling as we took these selfies before the setting sun but did not stay to see the final set though I did record these flowers on our way out.
We headed to dinner at Le Pressoir but a crime scene limited our progress and so we took photos in front of the gendarmerie before going inside to have our bread and enjoy the candle fixture as my baked mozzarella in tomato sauce arrived along with first courses for the others along with the main courses including my delights of 9 before the desserts arrived including this pear in chocolate and creme brulee and then the pear erupted in chocolate as a cappuchino arrived. After dinner, we took photos with the chef in the kitchen and then he posed with his kitchen staff and gave me this card so that I could post the photos on facebook. Next, I recorded the wait staff by the painting of the owner
It was our last day and so we headed back to Friar's Bay where Seva checked out the water and was joined by Peter as this donkey made its way to visit Suzanne (but I wasn't fast enough to capture the scene) and this bevy of speeding vehicles kept going by the beach 9cruise ship people, perhaps) before we made our way to the restaurant in the rain where I recorded their signs and the view out to the beach as we waited for the rains to stop so that we could return to our wet seats and umbrella before some of the boats docked and we settled in to lunch as Peter and Seva looked at the menu as Suzanne and I posed and I recorded the salt and pepper as today's menu arrived followed by our drinks and the printed menu all delivered by our psycho waiter who then took away our menu and brought us the silverware and Suzanne's salad Peter's burger the diet Coke and my Greek salad as Suzanne enjoyed the aftermath of her meal.
Eventually it came time for Suzanne's last dip which I recorded even as she was joined by Seva and Peter realized that we had to pack up as did I and so Seva and Suzanne emerged from the water.
Later we returned to the Love Hotel for drinks

and water. We also had a version of Croque Monsieur and a goat cheese salad before calling it a night.
Our last day began with a visit from Benedicte and then we bade farewell to the Justs who were in a hurry to get into a beach pose and then took this photo of Suzanne and me as we were joined by Seva and Peter for the trip to the airport where we unpacked the car recording this sign that was everywhere (but usually not blurry). I took an obligatory phone booth photo and then we went into the airport where I ran into Scott Lynch and his wife who had been on St. Bart's and then discovered that I had been upgraded so that I was served peanuts and a bloody Mary along with this dinner to make the re-entry home a little bit easier.