# St Barts Forums > St Barts Trip Reports Forum >  >  Day 2: Sandblasted & Smitten!

## katva

Sandblasted at Saline, but loved it .....

Dinner at...... Andy's!  Here's her description, LOL:

"Omg the head guy here looks like Antonio banderas! In fact so does the head chef and the other waiter! And the bartender looks like mark Anthony. Everyone is sooo good looking. Ok there are a total of 6 guys here that look like Antonio banderas.  Just got back. 4 glasses of wine and 3 shots of vanilla rum. They just kept brining them. Lots of fun!. There was a little girl at saline building sand castle (next to her supermodel mom) that made me wish Allison was here!

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## andynap

Is your sister having a good time?

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## katva

Bored to tears, clearly  :tongue:

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## katva

image.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpg

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## NHDiane

> Sandblasted at Saline, but loved it .....
> 
> Dinner at...... Andy's!  Here's her description, LOL:
> 
> "Omg the head guy here looks like Antonio banderas! In fact so does the head chef and the other waiter! And the bartender looks like mark Anthony. Everyone is sooo good looking. Ok there are a total of 6 guys here that look like Antonio banderas.  Just got back. 4 glasses of wine and 3 shots of vanilla rum. They just kept brining them. Lots of fun!. There was a little girl at saline building sand castle (next to her supermodel mom) that made me wish Allison was here!



I'm thinking that after 4 glasses of wine and 3 shots, ALL the guys look like damn good  :Triumphant:   Sounds like she's having a blast!  Party on.....

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## katva

:thumb up:   Yeah---- and that's very likely more than she's had all year!  I didn't tell them about the Rhum  :cool:

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## BBT

Can a report be any better. Glad to see she is having fun.

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## NikoleRob

Vanilla rum after dinner at Andy's... Wish we were there!

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## GramChop

Yep....she's hooked!! Awesome.

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## katva

> Yep....she's hooked!! Awesome.



They most certainly are!!!  I just got off the phone /Skype with them......they are completely in love with the island, the people, the food, etc etc. They're having a bikini made for their daughter....hiking to Colombier tomorrow, spent the day at Nikki Beach, had delicious crêpes from la Creperie, and loved dinner at Le Repaire tonight. Prior to this, their favorite place was Sorrento......and other spots on the Amalfi Coast.  SBH is now in the lead, by miles. I'm so glad they love it!! ( And get it)..... :cool:

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## amyb

A pleasure to follow your posts. Yes indeed, they get it!

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## katva

She's been running all over the island!!  She did the Saline-Lorient rt and then yesterday ran from Saline up that big hill towards Lurin, and back (tough, she said!).  This morning, a spectacular run from Saline to Grand Fond and back.

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## andynap

Love those walls in the middle of nowhere. Who has the stone monopoly there?

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## Jeanette

So happy to read your sister finally took the SBH plunge and is enjoying herself. And I would agree that SBH has a ridiculously high concentration of very beautiful people. 

Interesting to read her thoughts on SBH beating the Amalfi Coast by miles. I just got back from the Amalfi Coast and had the opposite reaction. I found the Amalfi Coast other-worldly beautiful with some of the best vistas, culture, food, wine and gracious service that I've experienced anywhere in the world. I can't wait to go back.

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## katva

Yeah..... I bet if one asked a hundred different people where they had the most magical vacation, one would get a hundred different answers. She travels constantly for work, from Japan to Chile, New Zealand to Scotland. The only place I heard her really gushing about was Amalfi Coast.... Until now:)  She has a meeting in Florence coming up.... I would love to tag along!  This is a very well needed adult, relaxing, just be sort of trip. I can only imagine, after watching their 5 & 8 years old all week!  T-82 minutes until the nanny gets here to relieve me!!!!  Phew....

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## Jeanette

I bet if you asked 100 different people on this forum where they had the most magical vacation, you wouldn't get 100 different answers! :)

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## katva

Yeah, you're probably right!  I still think Zermatt was one of the most magical places.... Or Sardinia.....or Dubrovnik .... Or SBH. I could never decide!

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## katva

> She's been running all over the island!!  She did the Saline-Lorient rt and then yesterday ran from Saline up that big hill towards Lurin, and back (tough, she said!).  This morning, a spectacular run from Saline to Grand Fond and back.





They are seriously in the groove now!  Cigars are lit, Rhum is poured. Can't wait til we get there!

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## tim

The road up to Lurin from Saline has some of the steepest pavement on the island.  Well done!

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## Eve

What and where are those oysters?  Andy's?

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## katva

Eve---I don't eat oysters, so I have no idea if/what, etc, they are--- and I don't know the menu by heart.  It was at Andy's. 

They  loved a cheap, very delicious meal at Le Buchon last night, spent the day today at The Christopher with the day pass including lunch, drinks, lounges and massage (all "good", but massage was "excellent"). They are currently enjoying dinner at Le Carre!

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## katva

> The road up to Lurin from Saline has some of the steepest pavement on the island.  Well done!



I know, Tim!  I don't think I could do it!!!  She called it a mountain :)

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## Goooner

> I bet if you asked 100 different people on this forum where they had the most magical vacation, you wouldn't get 100 different answers! :)



Magical? No doubt Paris for me.
I'm one of the view who travels to St. Barth because it is, in context of a family of four, inexpensive.
And no tiger sharks, which is a plus.
Great to go swimming with a concern about being eaten.

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## Goooner

Regarding running -- didn't "Earl" used to do that?
I know he did a lot of the hills on the island.
That simply amazes me.  The heat and the incline would make it brutal.
Katva, she must be in awesome condition.

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## amyb

Mussels at Andy's--a signature dish there.

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## katva

Yes, she is, Dave!!!!  She's very petite, and is in amazing shape!  Otherwise, we are very similar :p

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## NYCFred

You are a world class sister/aunt for your childcare duties.
Good to see your sis "gets" it.

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## BBT

Kat when will she be leaving I hope we get the chance to meet her.

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## katva

Thanks!!!  They leave tomorrow---- they've had a week to remember, and I bet they'll be back!

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## amyb

I think they are hooked too. Great getting new SBH fans.

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## katva

> I think they are hooked too. Great getting new SBH fans.



 :thumb up: 

Here they are at La Plage tonight----- do they looked HOOKED, or what!!!!!

I don't thinkI've ever seen either one looking so relaxed ...... Hooray !!!
p

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## amyb

For sure, they have that stars in their eyes happy to be here look

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## Eve

> Mussels at Andy's--a signature dish there.



They look like Oyster Rockefeller.  With Mussels would be delicious!  Thanks!

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## Eve

I brought my sis last year, and she is more hooked than I am!

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## amyb

Large mussels more oreganata style. I know they are quite popular. Alas, I am allergic to mussels and have never ordered them.  Enjoy and then let us know what the preparation actually is.

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## NHDiane

Your comment about your allergy, Amy, brought back a sad tale for me.  My husband and I have been ordering these mussels EVERY time we went to Andys, which was a lot!  Up until 3 years ago when I realized that I had had a reaction to them.  Hubby and I shared a plate and after returning to our villa, I came down with what I thought was a stomach flu..up all night but fine the next day.  Hubby was OK from the get-go.  So, two days later, we found ourselves back at Andys and ordered those mussels again.  That night I was violently ill, and it continued into the next day.  It took me several days to overcome that unsettled stomach...again, hubby just fine.  The best we can come up with for an explanation was that I must have had a reaction to one of the ingredients and we THINK it was anise which is used in the prep.  Needless to say, I'm SO upset that this will no longer be on the menu for me :uncomfortableness:  I still can't fully enjoy mussels anymore even here in the states, although I have had some but don't pig out on them as I used to.

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## MIke R

kinda weird considering anise is widely used as a homeopathic cure for upset stomach...

sure it isnt the mussels?...thats a classic allergic  to shellfish reaction....Lena cant eat shellfish...what a hell night when we discovered that little tidbit...

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## andynap

I agree it's probably the mussels and not the herbs

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## NHDiane

I have been eating mussels for many years, and those at Andys were my favorites where I had eaten SO many times prior to that.  I have to say, however, that I haven't eaten more than two or three here in the states (or anywhere else for that matter) since that episode...that's how sick I was.  I just think it's weird that all of a sudden, I'm allergic to them??  I guess that could be it...I was so ill that it tainted my love of mussels, however, they were one of my favorite seafood treats.  If it IS a shellfish allergy, what else can't I eat?? Haven't had clams in a very long time and don't like oysters...I've consumed MANY lobsters since then with no issues.

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## medskis

> Yeah, you're probably right!  I still think Zermatt was one of the most magical places.... Or Sardinia.....or Dubrovnik .... Or SBH. I could never decide!



Same song sheet here!! Zermatt _(and a few other Euro ski villages)_ a perennial favorite!  Finally got to Dubrovnik (and Korcula, Hvar, Trogir) this year and loved it!!  Have not yet been to Sardinia ......  SBH FIRST land stay (vs day trips)  starts 11/11 !!!!

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## andynap

> I have been eating mussels for many years, and those at Andys were my favorites where I had eaten SO many times prior to that.  I have to say, however, that I haven't eaten more than two or three here in the states (or anywhere else for that matter) since that episode...that's how sick I was.  I just think it's weird that all of a sudden, I'm allergic to them??  I guess that could be it...I was so ill that it tainted my love of mussels, however, they were one of my favorite seafood treats.  If it IS a shellfish allergy, what else can't I eat?? Haven't had clams in a very long time and don't like oysters...I've consumed MANY lobsters since then with no issues.



Diane- 1 bad mussel will get you sick.

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## katva

> Same song sheet here!! Zermatt _(and a few other Euro ski villages)_ a perennial favorite!  Finally got to Dubrovnik (and Korcula, Hvar, Trogir) this year and loved it!!  Have not yet been to Sardinia ......  SBH FIRST land stay (vs day trips)  starts 11/11 !!!!



Well, you are in for a treat!!  Enjoy your trip---- we arrive just after you do. If we run into each other, I would love to hear about your other stops along the Dalmation Coast!!

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## NHDiane

> Diane- 1 bad mussel will get you sick.



Normally I would agree BUT my husband was sharing both meals with me and he did not get sick.  I'm confident that it wasn't the mussels.

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## Zach & Renee

Looked like Mussels au Gratin to me...  Yummmmm

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## noel

> kinda weird considering anise is widely used as a homeopathic cure for upset stomach...
> 
> sure it isnt the mussels?...thats a classic allergic  to shellfish reaction....Lena cant eat shellfish...what a hell night when we discovered that little tidbit...




I can have shrimp and scallops but not crab and lobster.  Not sure what that's all about.

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## amyb

Being a grown up is knowing what your digestive tract can handle and dining accordingly. I just pass on the mussels and am glad I can tolerate the rest of the shell fish world.

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## TJH

I've had a similar reaction to scallops. Used to eat them without incident, and the first couple times I got sick, I was sure I'd eaten a bad one. Over time, the reaction got worse and happened faster, and then to confirm my suspicions, twice I was sick after eating Chinese food with "XO sauce" before I realized it was made with dried scallops. I eat other shellfish/mollusks without a problem. Someone told me that sometimes the allergy will develop over time and I believed them. Don't know if that's true, but it makes sense to me. (ps, this has become a funny sidetrack to this thread!)

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## MIke R

whatever you do dont believe the allergy tests...after two incidents of violent projectile vomiting from my daughter both times from scallops and clams ( and let me assure you scallops and clams from me are *not* bad ever...they are that day fresh or we dont eat them ) we took her to an allergist who ran the tests and told us she has no allergies....

yeah.....right.....sure

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## NHDiane

Thanks for the comments - definitely a hijacked thread  :Big Grin:   My decision has been to stop eating mussels altogether, and as I said, it's very sad cause they were one of my favorite seafood dishes.  Scallops are right up there too and I have no issues eating them, thankfully.  From what I have been able to find out via Goggle there are seafood allergies and then there are seafood reactions and I'm blaming the latter.  I haven't discussed it with my doc since it appears it's only this one, yummy, seafood item that affects me.

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## NikoleRob

I'm not allergic, per se, but crustaceans (crabs, shrimp, lobster) are a violent migrane trigger for me.  My blood pressure bottoms out, heartbeat starts to race, tunnel vision, followed by 24 hours of violent nausea and headaches. Fish and mollosks (clams, scallops, octopus, squid and oysters) are no problem for me, however.

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## BBT

> I'm not allergic, per se, but crustaceans (crabs, shrimp, lobster) are a violent migrane trigger for me.  My blood pressure bottoms out, heartbeat starts to race, tunnel vision, followed by 24 hours of violent nausea and headaches. Fish and mollosks (clams, scallops, octopus, squid and oysters) are no problem for me, however.



Yeah I would probably not eat them often. Nice to know it's not an allergy

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## katva

Well, my sister just texted me......she is definitely hooked. She's already looking at airfares and contacting the villa manager about the next trip!!  What have I done!!! :Star:

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## amyb

Remember the old NIKKI tee shirts-tell only your best friends?

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## katva

Yep!  She definitely qualifies :)

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## Goooner

> Well, my sister just texted me......she is definitely hooked. She's already looking at airfares and contacting the villa manager about the next trip!!  What have I done!!!



Tell her to bring her child next time.
The twins love the island.
Now I can't imagine going without them.

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## katva

> Tell her to bring her child next time.
> The twins love the island.
> Now I can't imagine going without them.



Too funny---- that's exactly what she's planning  :thumb up:

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## fandango

> Magical? No doubt Paris for me.
> I'm one of the view who travels to St. Barth because it is, in context of a family of four, inexpensive.
> And no tiger sharks, which is a plus.
> Great to go swimming with a concern about being eaten.




just curious? where do you do swimming?  only place i know is dangerous with sharks is around Massachussets cap cod and east coast of Florida..

but i agree..its great swimming and not worrying!

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## MIke R

calling swimming in Cape Cod "dangerous" is simply laughable......

the odds are greater of getting hit by a bus on Cape Cod

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## andynap

I would call swimming in Cape Cod very cold :)

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## MIke R

yeah  I would call it that!!!

6 Million visitors a year....one shark attack in the past ten years..and none on the bayside beaches

some people just have to believe the hype without looking at the actual statistics I guess.....

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## kent1994

Some great pictures. Thanks for sharing!

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