Escaping the Heat of New York in the Caribbean?

We recently traveled back to the Grand Case Beach Club in St. Martin. It's on the French side, near Grand Case. We have been here before, and love the resort, and more importantly, the great restaurants! While we were vacationing, enjoying tropical breezes, and temperatures in the mid 80's, it was over 100 in NYC! Ugh. Granted, it is very humid in St. Martin, especially this time of year. However, being able to jump in for a swim, and the constant breeze seems to make it not so bad.

This was dessert at Le Tasetvin, one of our favorites for lunch. Lemon, raspberry, and apricot sorbet. Delicious and refreshing.

This was my dinner on our final night at L'Auberge Gourmande. Words can not describe how flavorful this was. And it's vegetarian!

The flowers and plants in St. Martin are amazing. They almost appear to be from another planet.

I look forward to our next trip, maybe next year?!

And it's fall!

Well, summers is finally over and I am looking forward to cool, crisp days. The subway platforms are still hot, and they usually do not cool off until early November. i say bring on the cold and snow so I can wear sweaters, jackets, and scarves.

The photo is of my brunch from this past Sunday at Don Pedros. They have a 3 three course, all you can drink sangria brunch for $19.95. I enjoyed a spinach omelet. We have been here once before, and are always impressed with the food, service, and presentation. We need to go back for dinner sometime soon!

We also tried Gobo last Friday for dinner. It is vegetarian with many vegan choices. Being able to choose from anything on the menu was awesome. Usually, we are having to choose form only a few options. the vegan chocolate cake was super good. We have been vegetarian for over a year now, and I am still alive!

Our first opera, Rigoletto, is this coming Saturday night. Time flies by!

St.Maarten, Grand Case, a beautiful place!

Last weekend we were in St.Maarten, Grand Case. We stayed at the beautiful Grand Case Beach Resort. Our room was larger then our apartment! It had a full kitchen, a living area, bedroom with a King size bed, and two bathrooms! I have never stayed in a hotel room with two bathrooms. All I can say is that it is the best to have your very own bathroom, and there is no waiting around while the other person is getting ready.

When we checked in the room was not ready, so we dropped our bags off and went and had a drink at the Sunset Beach Restaurant. Upon entering our room we found fresh flowers everywhere. A large vase on the table, and other flowers scattered throughout. A very nice touch. Oh, there was also a complimentary bottle of wine.

Our days consisted of getting up fairly early, having a complimentary breakfast of assorted croissants, a baguette with butter and jelly, oj, and coffee. Then, off to the beach for a few hours. Shower, lunch somewhere up the road, back to the room to hang out in the shade under the Seagrape Trees outside our room, nap, get ready for dinner, and then eat at one of the many fabulous restaurants up the road.

We dined at some great French places, as well as one of the outdoor spots. For about $9 euro we received a giant plate which included: Ribs, potato salad, broccoli, fried plantain, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, salad, and rice. We enjoyed this with a few Caribbean beers.

The desserts were amazing everywhere we went. The above photo was a molten chocolate cake with a delicious homemade vanilla bean ice cream. More photos and descriptions to come.

The last photo is of the beach, enhanced by my new favorite Web site, tiltshiftmaker.com. You simply upload a photo, adjust the setting, and you get a fun photo that makes your picture look like a miniature model. I am going to so enjoy playing around with this site!