Now we had planned to take a second tour to the French side. We arranged it with our concierge, Eugene to ensure we had a spot on the bus. We also asked her if we could take it over but then come back by cab later on. Her response, oh that will be enough time for you to be on the French side, it’s from 9-2. I’m sorry, Eugene, but we missed our bus!
We got on the bus and headed over. We arrived in Marigot around 9:30. Just in time for breakfast. I finally got to try the pastry shop that was closed on Monday, Sarafine’s. It was an absolutely wonderful meal. We started with a latte for me and a passion fruit juice for Matt. I can still taste it. Next came my smoked salmon crepe with mozzarella and tomato topped with an sunny side up egg. Matt had nutella crepes with a crossant. What an absolutely wonderful meal. We then ordered our lunch to take up to the beach.
We left Sarafine’s fat and happy (and I wonder why I gain weight on vacations). We headed over to the open air market. This market was a combination for the locals and the tourists. The locals section had fresh seafood, and when I say fresh, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. I love my freezer of beef and the homestyle feeling I always get but seeing the availability of product made my jealousy twinge a bit. I did delay Matt and get 2 bags of seasoning...the fish and jerk. We also hopped over to the tourist side where Matt picked up a set of knock off Oakleys and a diving shirt. I was pretty content to take a look just checking out local product, picking out my magnet, and finally taking a look at the food vendors with their local flavor. 
From there, we took a cab to Orient Beach, a well known beach on the French side that has a reputation all its own. It’s a beautiful bay. We rented a spot 2 chairs and 1 umbrella for $20. It was wonderful. We sat there took in some sun, enjoyed the sand, even took a bit of a swim. Had a few beers and the only addition that we could have had was that we wish we had brought our kindles versus the snorkel gear…the water was a bit choppier than we expected to snorkel. But it was a wonderful afternoon and when we were ready we brought out our picnic lunch that we got at Sarafine’s, a salami and prosciutto sandwich served on a baguette and macaroons for dessert. It was absolutely wonderful until I handed the lemon macaroon over to Matt and he didn’t realize how delicate they are and it dropped into the sand at our feet. Saddest thing ever. The raspberry and vanilla were good but the lemon was heaven.
We enjoyed our time there and eventually grabbed a cab and headed back to the island. We got out the snorkel gear a final time and took it in again. This time we saw some of the same things but got close to a sting ray. Was so cool. I do know my husband is not the picture of romantic but snorkeling under the water we held each other’s hands so to not get too far from each other. It was like we were otters! It’s the sweet things that like that make me glad we have and are what we are. We did find a few more sand dollars in an attempt to recover the one the maid took…but they are so fragile.
That night we headed over to Simpson Bay, which was where the nightlife from Philipsburg moves after 6. We took in one of my favorite restaurants of the trip…Skipjack’s. It’s a fresh seafood market. You could pick your lobster (Caribbean or Maine) but we decided to go to more of what we knew. We started the meal off with a gin and tonic and a guaveberry colada with a dozen oysters in the half shell. For our meal, Matt had the blackened grouper and I had shrimp stuffed baked Mahi Mahi. I got the better shake of this meal.
After the meal, we took off and tried to walk around a bit. We had heard good things about Lee’s so stopped in there for a drink. The food looked good, but we were definitely finding out that the island liked serving ribs…and to think, we were all about the seafood.
We stopped at a couple more shops and headed home with a baguette, some pastries, and a couple cigars.
Best meal: Skipjack’s was probably one of my favorite restaurants of the trip. We sat on the water and even saw a boat that later one of the cab driver’s told us belonged to Steve Jobs. Was nice, great service, and great product.
MJR: I’m so glad you talked me into it.
Referring to coming to Orient Beach.
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