Tag Archives: restaurant

Voted Number 1!

Blue Bay SunsetIt was fun to see that Blue Bay Beach was voted number one beach in Curacao by the Art of Scuba Diving website! They particularly like that the beach was kid-friendly since it has “amazingly soft white sand”  that has a “gentle slope” to it so that kids can safely play.

They also mention the many amenities, including a dive shop, several restaurants, a playground just for kids, lots of shade, plus beach chairs and umbrellas too. Another new thing just added that they don’t mention are several sail clothes fastened between trees so that there are extra shady areas, not just from palapas. There is also a nice massage hut where you can get various spa treatments as well.

Another nice amenity is the beach service from the restaurant. Not a lot of beaches in Curacao have service staff patrolling the beach to get you a drink, lunch or a snack, but Blue Bay does!

Colorful coralAnd of course, it has some of the most amazing coral you will find anywhere! When you head into the water, go to the RIGHT for the best coral. Head around the point, and then swim across the sandy section to see the truly beautiful underwater scenes!

South to Albuquerque

San Felipe de NeriToday we took a drive down south to Albuquerque. It’s a large city, with an historic “Old Town” featuring a grand old church, surrounded by several blocks of adobe structures hundreds of years old. Like Santa Fe, the Old Town buildings are filled with art galleries, shops and restaurants. We wandered around some of the galleries and shops. Many have a tourist feel, with lots of Route 66 memorabilia. About the only nod to Breaking Bad, an AMC television hit, was a couple of shops had pork pie hats, Walter’s hat of choice for his Heisenberg alter ego.

Old Town, AlbuquerqueWe strolled across the central square, being guarded by a couple of 12 pound mountain howitzers, a relic of the Civil War. When the Confederates out of Texas invaded New Mexico, they brought these guns with them. After a defeat, the Texans retreated, and buried the guns near the church. Twenty-seven years later, a Major Teel, who led the Texans, returned to Albuquerque to show where he had buried them. Recently restored and placed in “Mountain Carriages” they now guard the square from marauding tourists.

Pam outside The Church of San Felipe de Neri was founded in 1706. A flood wiped out part of the church and it was rebuilt with five foot thick adobe walls to prevent any further flood problems. It’s still in use, hosting services many times a week. The interior looks much more modern than the Cathedral in Santa Fe. There are no impressive stain glass windows, but it has an impressive feel to it anyway.

We only stayed a few hours, and didn’t explore the modern Albuquerque much. We drove over to the University of New Mexico, looking for their iconic entry statues, but we couldn’t find them! Drove all over the campus, but no luck. (Turns out I was confused – they are actually at UNM in Taos!)

A view near CochitiTent RocksOn the road back to Santa Fe we stopped into a couple of pueblos, but neither allowed photos to be taken. We found Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument on Cochiti Native Indian land. It’s a strange world, with oddly formed “tent-like” rock formations. It’s in the desert, with posted warnings to be ware of rattlesnakes! We hiked up the trail and saw pretty spectacular views. It takes a couple of hours, but a neat walk into the desert.

Tent RocksI have to mention dinner. We went to a Spanish tapas restaurant called El Meson in Old Town Santa Fe. It was one of the best meals we’ve had in a long long time. Wonderful wonderful food. A delightful hostess. A terrific waiter, knowledgeable and helpful. Very nice live music. A magnificent experience.

 

St. Martin – Final thoughts

Last sunset at Mullet Bay, St. MaartenThe highlights of the trip for me were in the ocean. I love being in the ocean, swimming, and checking out the fish. The variety, the color, the number of the fish was very cool. The coral was excellent in many places, and lots of fun to explore. I wish the ocean had been calmer, but what can you do? The fine sand beaches were remarkable, and getting in the ocean was always easy. The trip with Octopus Diving out to Creole Rock and Turtle Reef was truly memorable, and something I would do again in a heartbeat.

Grand Case, St. Maarten The food was too often, not very good. With the exception of the one meal at Captain Oliver’s, a lot of the rest were most UN-memorable. The second meal at Captain Oliver’s was a major disappointment, mostly I think because the bad singer really put us off, although the steamed shrimp with lime is an amazing appetizer.

The food at the restaurants in the Oyster Bay Resort where we stayed was not that good. Beau Beaus was bad bad bad – they are fine for a lunch time burger and beer when you hop out of the ocean, but the fries were a greasy mess, and the Caribbean fare was truly a mess. Infinity was slightly more upscale, but only in terms of price. The food was decidedly average, and sometimes plain awful. Mr Busbys on the Beach was a daytime wash-the-ocean-salt from your mouth type of joint, with no food worth recommending. It turned into Daniel’s in the evening, and was a pasta joint, with too high prices, not something I care to eat.

The Border CrossingThe dinner at Big Fish was nice, though, close to Oyster Bay beach, right across from Daniel’s. Nice food, thoughtfully and attractively presented, with excellent service. I can recommend that restaurant to anyone. It is also where they should send the chefs from the Westin to learn a thing or two.

Germain's PlaceThe food at the lolos, the roadside snack shacks was kind of like a Subway or a Burger King – you know you’re not getting excellence, just food. I would liked to have tried other lolos but my traveling companions (the rib fanatics!) insisted on returning to the same one over and over, even to the extent of sitting at the same table! We got to be regulars, that’s for sure! We never did swim at Grand Case beach tho – just over on Creole Rock/Turtle Reef which is opposite the Grand Case beach. Ate there 3 or 4 times, but never swam there.

Pedestrians, St. Maarten The driving was like other Caribbean islands – chaotic, noisy, smelly, and bumpy. The number of vehicles belching pollution is really shocking. I would estimate that one vehicle in 300 (wow that’s an exaggeration, but man – TONS of cars are belching something) would pass our AirCare program. The roads were filled with enormous potholes, and numerous unmarked speed bumps. More pedestriansGoats, cows, pigs and dogs freely wandered the roadways, creating even more chaos. Drivers are aggressive, driving far too fast for conditions, and the congestion sometimes bordered on the insane! There are only a couple of traffic lights on the island and they’re hilarious. Kind of like when it snows in Vancouver – people aren’t sure how to drive. We saw a couple REALLY late cars racing through the intersection at the lights.

The road to Friar's beachWe had awfully cool trips to some neat locations, like Friar’s Bay, a real favorite.  But the road leading to it was a wild ride, but we did it a couple times! Mullet Bay was really awesome. We went twice and had a blast. The driving on those crazy roads was in a lot of ways a highlight too. Driving near PhilipsburgSeeing crazy mountainous roads, driving over nothing more than dirt paths to reach beaches. It was really a neat part of the trip. Getting lost, I’m really good at going down the wrong road. “Turn here M” “where?”  “At the corner you just drove past!” lol But man, we saw that island!

Christmas lightsI had read that driving at night in St Martin was scary, and I was a bit paranoid at first, but it was part of the fun too. Christmas lights everywhere. A creche with a couple Santas as wise men, in the church yard. Lots of festivals were starting, the decorating going on in earnest. Route 66, man... Even the long two hour ride home from Mullet was worth it. Sitting there, windows down, we crept along, saw a fist fight, found the Argentine steak joint, saw the place with Route 66 signs all over place, guys popping wheelies with all manner of two wheeled vehicles, even three wheeled vehicles – motorcycles with two wheels in FRONT! It was a real slice of life.

Shopping is mainly for cheap Chinese mass-produced trinkets, with little in the way of locally produced goods. Most stores carry the same tacky items. You have to hunt for the gems, which, you know, naturally, we found!  Walk the boardwalk in Philipsburg, through hundreds of stores, and see the same items over and over. Go to Marigot, and see the same items, with a 15-20% higher price.

Church overlooking Belle PlaineI love Hawaiian shirts, and loaded up. I think I lost the bet, um, 4 times over! Tim is getting the hang of ’em too! The Rima store- the guys who make the shirts I like – right by the Heineken Plane was a fave stop for all the stuff in one spot. haha Although lots of stores on Front and Back Street had unique ones. Lots of masks, you have to say you “bought” them on St Martin lol because most are from Indonesia, or Africa. Only local one we found was by a St. Lucia artist.

Turtle at Turtle Reef The Caribbean is really about the sun, sand and water sports, though. And I loved all three. The sun was great – temperatures were in the mid to high 80s and never felt overwhelming. There is a nice breeze that keeps you from overheating. The ocean was always at a nice warm temperature that was attractive. While we primarily love to snorkel, there were lots of other ways to enjoy the water. Like in a hot tub! haha We jumped in for happy hour nearly every night, before dinner. They were nice relaxing hours, trying to spot the rays we knew were out there in the ocean. Would have been great to have gotten a real calm day there, off of Dawn Beach.

Sunset in St. Maarten Bottom Line: Would I go back to St. Martin? Yes, but certainly not to Oyster Bay Resort, and not right away since I’d rather we get an exchange someplace new. The thing is, the Oyster Bay resort is too isolated, making the drive to most of the calmer beaches too lengthy – usually an hour or more, and sometimes two hours.  Parts of St. Maarten are set up as cruise ship destinations – that is, a way to strip you of your money in the few hours cruise ships are in harbor, and Marigot, even more so – man they just didn’t care when you told them what they sold it for in Philipsburg! lol But if we could get a place nearer Philipsburg it would be cool, even out near the Argentine restaurant. There were a number of timeshare looking locations we drove by. Lots closer to the calm beaches. Or even the French side, up around Grand Case. Then you’d avoid the major traffic snarls, be close to great restaurants, and the best beaches for snorkeling. And you’d be closer to Octopus Diving!

Long time, no post

It’s been a long time since I have sat down and wrote a post, and for that I apologize. Life goes on, walking the dog, going for dinner, not much new. (I did get poisoned at work, and I’m recovering slowly but still feel very out of sorts, and I’m not able to think for long periods of time.)

Saturday night we felt like trying someplace new for dinner. It was around 8 pm and we went by the 120 Bar and Grill on 120th street. The establishment is large, with two generous rooms. As you enter, to the right is “The Grill” which was empty, so we went left into the bar.  There was no one serving as a hostess, so we kinda looked around a bit. We got a few strange stares so we sat ourselves in a booth.

A waitress with a LOT of makeup asked us for an order, and I requested Sleeman Honey Brown. They don’t have it, but have Rickard’s Honey, so I take that. It comes flat. I order the “pork special” but she doesn’t know what that is, and I say, “on the board, the pork special.” “Oh, the pork wellington,” she says. Uh…. ok….

The bar is quite dirty. It really needs a good scrub. It feels like it has not been properly cleaned since they banned smoking, which was what? 3 years ago? 4? The tables are still horribly scarred with burn marks from cigarettes.

We were watching the football game, but the bartender turned all the televisions to the Cartoon network. When we queried him on it, he said they wanted to turn the bar into a club at night, so putting on kiddie shows seems to be the way to attract their desired clientele.

Wonderful. We’re looking for a nice adult evening out, and we get cartoons blasting at us from 15 televisions, all tuned to the same program. Needless to say, five minutes after the switch, the bar, which had 10 tables, emptied. There were three tables left. Yes, the joint emptied.

Dinner arrived. What a joke that was. The “pork Wellington” was a piled high mess of stuff, that came in a bowl. When dinner arrives in a bowl it’s never a good thing, unless you’ve ordered soup of course. There was something on the bottom of the plate, then a pile of mashed potatotes, then some pile of something, then something piled on top that, that made it look a little like a Mickey Mouse doll head. The two “ears” were “roasted peppers”, which fell off the pile when the waitress set it down. She was embarrassed and apologized, but really the chef should apologize for that stupid stack of food.

The pork was NOT wellington (Wellington means it’s wrapped in pastry – there was no pastry in this dish). It was a piece of POORLY cooked meat, that was SOOOoooooo rare, it was bleeding on the mashed potatoes. When I called the waitress over and told her the pork was not cooked, she asked how I’d like it cooked! I said, well how about cooking it so I don’t die when you serve it??

The 120 Bar and Grill is a total embarassment. The staff obviously need better training. The chef is a moron, who should be charged with reckless endangerment. The management well, what can you say about management that puts cartoons on TV on a Saturday night, when people are there to watch football!!? When three quarters of your tables get up and leave, you think they’d catch on. Of the three tables that did not leave, one was us waiting for dinner, the other was eating their dinner (they left as soon as they finished), and the other was a group of Sikhs getting drunk.

Check out the 120 Bar and Grill – walk in, look around, leave – Just don’t order the beer or the food!