A PICTURESQUE DRIVE FOR FRENCH PASTRY

For our final port stop we returned to the island of St. Maarten. We visited here on our previous cruise, and we quickly decided it was our favorite Caribbean island. Instead of a planned shore excursion we decided to travel to both sides of the island for the two gastronomic delights we had been craving since we departed the island.

Some of the most beautiful blue water in the Caribbean welcomed us as we sailed into port...

After disembarking the ship we made our way to the water taxis that shuttle visitors from the cruise terminal across the Great Bay to the town of Philipsburg. The cost for an all-day wristband pass is only $7.00!

After arriving in Philipsburg we immediately hired a taxi to take us to the French side of island. We were unsure about spending the $20/one way rate but it soon proved to be worth the expense. The road to the French side travels up hilly parts of the island allowing for spectacular scenic views of the island, from a panoramic view of our Carnival Liberty ship docked in port...

to the Divi Little Bay Resort...

to spectacular views of Simpson Bay Lagoon...

When we arrived in Marigot we browsed among the colorful merchandise of its outdoor market...

but the hot Caribbean sun was beating down on us, so we sought refuge at Sarafina's, the well-known French bakery and patisserie in Marigot.

Sarafina's offers sandwiches on traditional French baguettes and scrumptious, flaky croissants, but we were here for the sweets. But what to choose? Between the pastries, parfaits, berry tarts, macarons and cheesecake, it was nearly impossible to choose. To satisfy my husband's love of cheesecake and my sweet tooth, we chose a slice of French cheesecake and a French parfait topped with juicy strawberries and meringue.

We found comfortable, cushioned seats in the shade and sat down and indulged in the best French confections in the Caribbean.

Sarafina's is located on the waterfront of Marigot just steps away from gorgeous Marigot Bay. Just follow your nose...the decadent aromas will lead you there.

In my next post I'll show you our journey to the best Belgian chocolate in the Caribbean.

Thank you for visiting,

A Great Europe Trip Planner 

All photos were taken by my husband and me during our visit to St. Maarten.

RETURNING TO ST. MAARTEN

The final port stop on our upcoming cruise is St. Maarten which was our favorite stop on our previous cruise. We have decided not to partake in any specific shore excursion this time. For the previous three days we will busy with planned shore excursions on our stops in Barbados, St. Lucia and St. Kitts. For our final stop we have decided to take it at an easier pace.

There are two things I want to do on this visit: First, I want to go back over to the French side (St. Martin) and spend more time in Marigot. Last cruise our shore excursion only allowed for an hour's time in Marigot. I really enjoyed strolling through the outdoor market...

and chatting and haggling with the friendly, local women over their wares...

 
























 

The other thing I want to do in Marigot is to go back to Sarafina's restaurant and bakery. I read about this place prior to our last trip, and we did manage to rush in and buy a couple of delicious bakery items. I'd like to go back and get some more!
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After spending a couple of hours in Marigot, we'll taxi back to Phillipsburg. There are two places that we know we want to revisit in Philipsburg that I wrote about in a previous post:

First is to go back to the beach on Great Bay. A water taxi travels back and forth from the cruise dock to a pier at the beach...it's a small beach, but it has some of the most beautiful water and softest sand I've ever seen and put my toes in.

The second must-visit is The Belgian Chocolate Box.

This small shop is located on Old Street, a small street just off Front Street, the main shopping street in Philipsburg. We purchased several pieces of both dark and white chocolate here...needless to say, we wished we had bought much more.

Sadly St. Maarten will be the last stop on our upcoming cruise. But once we have returned with many wonderful memories and photographs, I will be writing all about our adventures. And no doubt we will quickly be planning our next travel adventure.

Thank you for visiting,

A Great Europe Trip Planner

Unless noted, photos were taken by my husband and me during our Caribbean cruise in May, 2014.

TWO CULTURES; ONE ISLAND: ST. MAARTEN

After cruising through the beautiful blue Caribbean Sea for two days, with the new Norwegian Getaway cruise ship already docked, we finally arrived at our first port: St. Maarten...

...or is it Saint-Martin?

Our entire group decided on the Ultimate Island Tour for our shore excursion. It turned out to be a great choice.

The first part of the tour was a scenic ride from Philipsburg on the Dutch side to Marigot on the French side. The scenery was spectacular...that is St. Barts in the distance.

We arrived in Marigot and had an hour or so to walk around the town. We took the opportunity to shop at the local outdoor market...

and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

The second part of our shore excursion was a double-deck boat ride across the Simpson Bay Lagoon. Our catamaran departed from Marina Royale...

Back in 1995, Hurricane Luis caused severe damage to the island of St. Maarten. 80% of the buildings sustained serious damage or were totally destroyed. Cruising across the picturesque Simpson Bay, we could see many boats destroyed by the hurricane that had never been repaired, and still remained where they were moored nearly twenty years previously.

But there were also many beautiful sites (and boats) to see during our relaxing cruise across the bay...

Arriving back at the ship, we ate a quick lunch and decided to catch the water taxi over to Phillipsburg for some shopping. We were wonderfully surprised by what we discovered which in the end made St. Maarten our favorite stop on this cruise.

I'll show you that portion of our time in St. Maarten in the next post.

Thank you for visiting,

A Great Europe Trip Planner 

All photos in this post were taken by my husband and me during our Caribbean cruise in May, 2014.