After a quick nap to regain some of our energy from a day of sun and shopping, we were ready to head out to dinner at Sol e Luna.
Sol e Luna had come highly recommended to us from Kris, one of the owners of L’Esplanade and she had not steered us wrong up to then so we decided to follow-up on her advice and make reservations at the restaurant.
It was a quick drive from Grand Case and soon we were seated outside on the patio, enjoying the warm Saint Martin evening.
Both the exterior and interior of the restaurant have a slick, romantic feel, as you can somewhat tell from this picture:
Photo courtesy of Sol e Luna Web site
Our waitress, who was also the daughter of the proprietors, was extremely friendly and helpful in assisting us to choose a wine as well as provide insight into the menu.
We ended up order the Lobster Bisque to start, which was tasty but could have used a bit more substance. For the main course my companion had the jumbo shrimp, flammed with brandy and green pepper sauce, and served on a bed of lobster risotto. I ordered the linguini, which was cooked in a garlic and spicy tomato broth with a healthy provision of seafood.
We polished off the meal with some fresh berries and cream and a couple of shots of ginger rum, which I ended up developing quite an addiction to during our trip.
In all, it was a great experience and Sol e Luna lived up to its reputation as being one of the top restaurants in Saint Martin.
After a day of exploring the beaches on the west coast of Saint Martin, we decided to head down to Marigot to check out some of the shops the island had to offer. Apparently, there are two main areas to go shopping: the area around Great Bay, which is great for electronics and Jewelry; and Marigot, which has more of the high-end, boutique clothing shops.
As we were up in Grand Case, I was thankful that I was not made to drive down to Great Bay but was simply forced to drive to Marigot to check out the shops. My first impression of Marigot was that the traffic sucked pretty bad, as we were slammed from the moment we diverged off the main road into the town. We eventually managed to find parking and began exploring the shops throughout the city.
It was a bit disorienting to say the least, to see high-end boutique stores in such a localized Caribbean setting. After walking through the town, we walked along the harbor as the sun set before returning to our car.
Before heading up to Grand Case, we stopped at Match, one of the larger French supermarkets on the island, where we picked up some fruits, cheeses and chocolate to snack on for the remainder of our trip.
After Orient Bay, I felt as though my eyes needed some recovery time so we decided to head down to Le Galion Beach (Baie de L’Embouchure), which Kris had mentioned was normally quite quiet in comparison (although on Sunday apparently, it fills up with little children).
It was only a short drive away from Orient Bay and soon we were enjoying the calm water and relative quietude of Le Galion Beach.
Le Galion Beach
Le Galion Beach turned out to be my favorite beach in Saint Martin. It actually sits on a sand bar so you can walk out a fair distance in the calm waters. There is a nice little restaurant that sits on the beach where you can get drinks and snacks. All-in-all, it makes for a perfect destination if you are seeking a more calm, relaxed experience in Saint Martin.
