PeterLynn
Senior Insider
Cloudy, but pleasant day
Slept in a bit less than lately and headed up the hill to the Petite Columbe. Amazing how the new Jimnys can power up out of Flamands without manually overriding, praying nobody is headed down around that blind curve as I try to gather momentum and time the downshift to first in order to maximize the exit velocity. All with the A/C RUNNING!! Back in the villa, fresh croissants with and without "amandes" and coffee were a good way to start the day. Since the morning was cloudy, we decided to get an early jump on the parking in Gustavia and do some shopping before lunch. Fortunately the weather wasn't better as the maid decided to show up three hours earlier than the agreed time slot. Enough to strike fear in the heart of many (all?) villa renters. No damage, so a "Bon Weekend" and off we go.
Found a spot on the second pass-through, cheated the little blue clock a bit and set out. Not high-end shoppers, we spent most of the time in the local stores looking to replace a T-shirt or two and to pick up something for the (adult) children who are miffed for yet another year they weren't invited. Passing by the cave near the Choisy Boulangerie, we stopped in and flashed the pictures of a couple of wines we had at L'Esprit these past two visits. Note to all: The proprietor mentioned that he supplies wines to Jean-Claude. Might save you a trip or three. With an hour to kill, we sat down next to the "office" at Le Select and enjoyed a nice tall bottle of cold water and watched the locals and tourist assemble. Plenty of the latter, but not quite as crowded as the previous day.
As 12:30 approaches, we head over to the rooftop at Joël Robuchon's. After a taking in the amazing view, our friends arrive and we begin to reconnect having not seen each other for almost two days. For an aperitif we ordered the "Italicus Spritzer". Wow. Amazing flavor - light, refreshing, citrus, yet floral. Identical to an Apreol Spritzer, except with "Italicus" liquor, which none of us have heard of. Each of us ordered different dishes and I have to apologize that I didn't capture the menu to describe everything correctly. All found everything delicious, especially my wife's hamburger (I think the best on the island). Unfortunately, I wasn't as thrilled with either of my dishes. They tasted good, but the tuna in the tartar was sort of pureed and I like the texture of minced fish and a bit of spice better. The fish was cooked well, but I prefer a more traditional creole sauce (Grain de Sel, Maya's). Desserts were works of art. Especially my wife who had a tarte with the freshest tasting blueberries either of us have had since visiting the Maine coast years ago.
A pleasant visit with the bartender (sorry Dennis, but I didn't get names) about this strange Italian liquor and we parted ways with our friends with tentative plans to meet up at Le Select before we leave the middle of next week. Quick stop at the Super U and we're dodging raindrops heading back to the villa. The clouds began to clear somewhat, which is probably a prayer answered to any and all "sunset" weddings taking place. Some leftovers, a glass or two of Bourgogne, a square of "Chocolat Noir - Fleur de sel" each and it's time for bed.
Slept in a bit less than lately and headed up the hill to the Petite Columbe. Amazing how the new Jimnys can power up out of Flamands without manually overriding, praying nobody is headed down around that blind curve as I try to gather momentum and time the downshift to first in order to maximize the exit velocity. All with the A/C RUNNING!! Back in the villa, fresh croissants with and without "amandes" and coffee were a good way to start the day. Since the morning was cloudy, we decided to get an early jump on the parking in Gustavia and do some shopping before lunch. Fortunately the weather wasn't better as the maid decided to show up three hours earlier than the agreed time slot. Enough to strike fear in the heart of many (all?) villa renters. No damage, so a "Bon Weekend" and off we go.
Found a spot on the second pass-through, cheated the little blue clock a bit and set out. Not high-end shoppers, we spent most of the time in the local stores looking to replace a T-shirt or two and to pick up something for the (adult) children who are miffed for yet another year they weren't invited. Passing by the cave near the Choisy Boulangerie, we stopped in and flashed the pictures of a couple of wines we had at L'Esprit these past two visits. Note to all: The proprietor mentioned that he supplies wines to Jean-Claude. Might save you a trip or three. With an hour to kill, we sat down next to the "office" at Le Select and enjoyed a nice tall bottle of cold water and watched the locals and tourist assemble. Plenty of the latter, but not quite as crowded as the previous day.
As 12:30 approaches, we head over to the rooftop at Joël Robuchon's. After a taking in the amazing view, our friends arrive and we begin to reconnect having not seen each other for almost two days. For an aperitif we ordered the "Italicus Spritzer". Wow. Amazing flavor - light, refreshing, citrus, yet floral. Identical to an Apreol Spritzer, except with "Italicus" liquor, which none of us have heard of. Each of us ordered different dishes and I have to apologize that I didn't capture the menu to describe everything correctly. All found everything delicious, especially my wife's hamburger (I think the best on the island). Unfortunately, I wasn't as thrilled with either of my dishes. They tasted good, but the tuna in the tartar was sort of pureed and I like the texture of minced fish and a bit of spice better. The fish was cooked well, but I prefer a more traditional creole sauce (Grain de Sel, Maya's). Desserts were works of art. Especially my wife who had a tarte with the freshest tasting blueberries either of us have had since visiting the Maine coast years ago.
A pleasant visit with the bartender (sorry Dennis, but I didn't get names) about this strange Italian liquor and we parted ways with our friends with tentative plans to meet up at Le Select before we leave the middle of next week. Quick stop at the Super U and we're dodging raindrops heading back to the villa. The clouds began to clear somewhat, which is probably a prayer answered to any and all "sunset" weddings taking place. Some leftovers, a glass or two of Bourgogne, a square of "Chocolat Noir - Fleur de sel" each and it's time for bed.
