Trip Report: February 25 - March , 2004
by Kara Brooks

Leaving St. Barths:

We're back from the lovely SBH although we barely made it out yesterday (would have been tough, eh?). The weather yesterday (Monday, March 1st) was as wild as I’ve ever seen it – zero visibility and pouring rain in the morning and 39 knot winds during the day. The windsock was flying sideways. The SBH airport was a zoo and by about 11:30 they announced that all Winair flights were cancelled (apparently they cannot fly if the winds exceed 15 knots). A few brave pilots did land empty planes and the entire airport staff ran out to the runway and the firetruck went screaming down to the beach because no one thought the plane had any chance of stopping. I can honestly say that I have never seen such shaky landings before. (BTW - in unrelated plane news – an Air St. Thomas plane beached itself this week).

St. Barths Commuter claimed to still be flying (although I saw only one or two planes actually take off) and people scrambled to book charter flights or boats over to SXM (just where you want to be in a wind storm). The Winair rep said he had worked there for 18 years and wouldn’t get on a plane if his life depended on it. We gave up, rescheduled Winair for Tuesday, went to the travel agent in St. Jean (who happens to be related to Rosita 007 (who happened to stop by the airport to say goodbye)) and changed our AA flight back to NYC. Then it was off to lunch with 007 at Gommier for a sublime meal (our second fantastic Gommier meal of the trip). Rosita and I made plans to take a class at Forma Fitness that night but as we were driving back to Village St. Jean around 4:00 to see if they could make room for us we noticed that the wind had shifted and decided, on a fluke, to stop by the airport (anything to get out of a workout). Winair said a plane was leaving in 3 minutes; we ditched the car and made it to SXM where our flight to NYC was boarding. We, of course, no longer had tickets on this flight but we somehow managed to get on and make it to New York 3 ½ hours later. Arrived to find our car with a dead battery, waited for AAA and eventually made it home.

It was a great trip and many more details to follow. It was the first trip in ages that we did not bring the laptop and, although I vowed to hit the internet café, I never once looked at a computer (thus all the unanswered emails and PMs, unapproved photos, etc. - I promise to get to them soon!).

The Highlights (as reported a few weeks later . . . )

It has been a couple weeks since we were last in SBH. I have had a cold (that I probably caught on the plane ride home) that I can't seem to shake and whiteout conditions are predicted for this afternoon in CT so I thought I would finally share a few highlights from our last trip before true snow-induced/nowhere-near-a-ski area-so-who-needs-it depression sets in.

The "good things" (yes - a little tribute to the domestic diva):

--Flying direct from JFK - this was fantastic. We were in St. Barths before 2:00 p.m. just in time for lunch and a bottle of wine at Piment. On the other end, we didn't leave SXM until 5:30 for the trip home so, under ideal weather conditions (which we decidedly did not have on the way home) it was like getting two extra days in SBH. Yet another reason to love New York . . .

--The people: it was lovely to meet new people and see old friends. We saw lots of new faces at the cocktail party at Haute Maison and ran into a couple we met years ago on a Winair flight. Bob and I often talk about them because the woman stepped out onto the runway in SXM, looked up at the sun and beamed. To us, it was always the perfect example of how you feel when you are only a mere 15 minutes from SBH. Bob, who never forgets a face, recognized the husband and I, somehow, remembered their name (this was a LONG time ago and we only spoke for about 15 minutes) – how amazing to run into them again at Haute Maison. Only in SBH! We also caught up with Deb and Roger from the forum and we all had a lovely lunch at Andy's (which was, as always, great) and we ran in to Lance and Libby on St. Jean on their last day on the island.

-- Chef Christophe Vanda - We headed to Zanzibarth on our first night because Christophe Vanda, the chef from Gommier last year, moved to Zanzibarth when Gommier closed. Sadly, we quickly learned that he was no longer with Zanzibarth because he returned to Gommier when it reopened a month or so ago. As a result, the food at Zanzibarth did not make the highlight reel. Gommier, however, was fantastic. We had two wonderful lunches there -- the scallop sausage was amazing as was the tuna tartare (layered with Christophine squash and crab), the Mahi Mahi and the lobster salad. Highly recommend!

--Alan Landry - DebTor mentioned Alan in her trip report. He is the singer/piano player that plays before dinner at Gommier and then at Gaiac during dinner. We went to Gommier for pre-dinner drinks one night and to listen to Alan play (and left with a copy of his CD). He is a great musician, mellow with a Caribbean touch, and I recommend stopping by and listening to him and having a drink. I believe he plays from 5/5:30 - 7:00. Next season Gommier is going to open an after dinner club and he is going to headline.

--Lafayette Club - we had a great lunch here - one of those perfect Sunday afternoons. It is really expensive and we only go on rare occasions but on the last day of our trip, when all our Paradise Found related business was finally done, we decided to head to Lafayette Club. I forget sometimes how wonderfully laid back and relaxed it can be and the view is sensational and your feet are literally in the sand. George and Nadine have managed to keep the same wait staff for years (and you don't see that all that often on SBH) and they are first rate. Nadine also has some beautiful items in her boutique (and that aren't all that expensive truth be told). The duck filet was delicious as were the legendary Pina Coladas. A really fun afternoon (and thank you to the group who sent us champagne when they learned that we wrote the book they were reading over lunch - it was very funny actually).

--Wall House/Denis and Franck - love these guys and love their new after dinner drink. They made schnapps in mountains of France and shipped it to SBH but it got lost in transit and only recently made their way to the island. It is made from the "genepi" root and is exceptional. I also have to recommend the Cerdon as a pre-dinner drink - a wonderful sparkling gamay that they serve at the Wall House. They also finally got their new chairs in and have eliminated the parking area directly in front of the restaurant so there is a very nice view of the harbor. They replaced the parking area with tables and chairs -- it is a nice place to have a drink before dinner.

--The weather - I have already described our adventure getting home thanks to the weather that materialized on our last night but up to that point the weather couldn't have been more perfect. I am trying to channel the feeling of sun on my face and the warm St. Barths water (happy thoughts) to get me though this next snowy week. . .