Saint Barth. Day 2. Tired On the Dance Floor.
Today our goal was to get out of the room at 930, which we did.
I’m not quite sure why we have a “goal” on vacation, but what am I but a willing participant in this carefully planned extravaganza. We headed to breakfast, which was included with our room.
Do you know why they only eat one egg for breakfast in France? Because in France, one egg is an oeuf. That joke doesn’t really work in writing, but try sounding it out. Anyway, we certainly ate more than one egg. You get the buffet, but also get to order whatever you want from the menu. One great thing about being on a French island is French food, specifically French pastries. The buffet was full of fresh breads, croissants, pain au chocolate, cinnamon buns and madeleines. There was also a beautiful display of fresh fruit, yogurts, nuts, jams, granola, cheeses and lox. It was all so delicious. Even the coffee was good.
(photos are from other days of the trip)
Our waitress for the morning was Amel. She was very nice and kept bringing us coffees. Also, she called Tzvi “Arry” which sounds so much nicer than Harry. Then, when we told her we couldn’t sign the check she too said “ah, Shabbat” and then told us to wait so she could bring us a box of pastries to take with us for shabbat. And then when we left she said “Shabbat shalom.”
After that we just hung out at the beach all day. It was a beautiful day – hot and sunny. At one point we went out into the lagoon for a swim. St Barth is known for having some of the most beautiful beaches and crystal clear water. The issue is, the area right in front of us, where you enter the lagoon, is kind of gross and has a lot of seaweed growing out of the ground (so while the water is clear, it looks green), but once you get a bit farther out the water becomes clear blue and you get to the soft sand. I think we must have been out there for at least an hour. We made it all the way across the lagoon, two hotels away. We saw all kinds of wildlife – turtles, fish, topless women and even a little shark (which didn’t seem interested in us and swam away). Then we walked along the beach until we got back to our hotel.
For lunch we got food at the beach. Tzvi had a Caesar salad and I made up my own salad. Both were good. Hindel and Mendy opted not to eat because they were “full from breakfast.” I guess that’s a thing. Then around 330 we headed to the spa and hung out at the spa pool for a while. Then we showered at the spa and used the sauna until it was time for our 430 massages. We had both booked 90 minute couples’ massages (with our respective spouses). Our massages were phenomenal.
Then we went back to our rooms and got ready to go out. Shabbos ended by 730 but we didn’t leave for dinner until 9.
Dinner tonight was at Le Petite Plage. Thankfully this place was indoors and had good air conditioning. It’s a very clubby place, the floor was covered in sand, and there was really loud music, and the food was actually fantastic. The chef is Eric Frechon, who is apparently a famous Michelin starred French chef.
We shared a bunch of dishes, but my favorite was the fried broccoli in curry sauce. It was so good we ended up getting two of them. The cocktails were also very good. Tzvi ordered a cheese cocktail. There is no other way to describe it, but it came with a piece of cheese on top. [Tzvi: It was some kind of mezcal negroni that was clarified with blue cheese. It was actually delicious and really unique.]. Mendy and I got drinks that came in a pineapple cup with a glow light, which is clearly the more appropriate choice. Hindel had a drink called “Drink Like a Porn Star.”
Every time someone ordered the magnum bottle of champagne they made a big show out of it and came through with a parade and big signs. Every time they came through they had changed outfits into a different theme (love, baseball, glitter). The same couple kept ordering the champagne, which I think was like $1000 a bottle. He looked to be about 70. She looked to be around half that.
The weakest part of the meal was the desserts, which were just eh. Also, the table next to ours was a father with two kids that appeared to be late teens, and a young boy probably around ten. The little boy fell asleep by 10pm and then slept for the whole meal. At some point the teens left but the father just kept ordering more drinks for himself, and then he would get up to get closer to the DJ and would leave the kid alone sleeping. It was weird.
Dinner was great, but I have to mention that it was expensive. St Barth is known for being an expensive island, and before we came we read about it and spoke to people and knew it would be expensive. As much as we were warned, I think we were still surprised to actually see how expensive things were. Also, because it’s France they don’t automatically give you water in restaurants, so we ended up spending 30 to 40 euro a night just on bottled water.
Eventually we finished our meal and danced for a bit. The DJ was great and they had a guy playing saxophone live. By the time midnight hit Hindel and I got up on a table, which is a thing they do here, but we were all so tired. By 1230 we got a taxi and went back to the hotel. I guess we’re old now. I’d say we could sleep in tomorrow, but apparently that’s not a thing on this trip either.
Great day.