# St Barts Forums > St Barts Island Main Forum >  >  Day Quatre

## davesmom

Bonjour!  Its getting to the point where you lose track of days..I guess it is pretty relaxed because DD did not set my alarm and I slept right through workout but I for sure am not missing breakfast around here and it only goes until 10:30. Early bird catches the almond croissant, and my Sara is off today but my 2 coffees were already on the table when I walked in, so life is good!  As long as I get my espresso and some croissants (regular et pain au chocolat obligent), nobody gets hurt!

So to make up for the lack of work out, DD and I took a kayak out on the lagoon, which was rougher than yesterday and the surf is really up at the entrance to the lagoon by the ocean as well as much higher still on the Anse Maréchal side, which makes for beautiful surf watching.  Even in the lagoon, there are some pretty significant waves so you want to keep your kayak nose pointed into them. One big one splashed me in front pretty significantly and luckily I did not lose my sunglasses but the salt water can be stinging in the eyes. I nobly saved DD from the same fate, however, by sitting in front, doing the hard work ..that is what we girls do!

So last evening after a jour de Champagne (day drinking is rare on my part but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do), we went to Papillon Ivre. As you know from our members, it is a little up the hill in Les Amandiers. You can only see a little sign on the left across from the dive motorcycle bar, which you can not miss, as it is very lively. And smoky with some well served patrons. Parking at Papillon Ivre is a ****show, and it is hard to get any at all. So they had a space in front of the restaurant but squeezing into it required the skill of a top gun landing a fighter jet on an aircraft carrier in the middle of an ocean in rough seas. Luckily I had a real one driving me and I had to put myself between the car and the tree to make sure he didnt hit the tree. Landing a fighter jet on the carrier is easier; trust me, Ive flown the real simulators. The sacrifices we girls make

Eh bien, onto the wine. And food. Too bad DDs drinking partner is a lightweight (and I was totally not sure wed make it out of the aforementioned parking space), so we took each a glass of Bordeaux and DD explored the inner workings of the shelves filled with bottles. I waited outside and one of the waiters/gentleman came out and said DD was like a kid in a candy store. But drinking another bottle was out of the question or Id be asleep on the table. And I would be there for the night as I was not driving back

It is definitely a small plates place, but you feel like you might be in Lyon in a bistrot. We had the artichoke sauce gribiche, the rillettes traditionnelles, saucisson in pastry, and DD regaled himself with the escargots. Finished the evening with a slice of delicious, not too sweet, chocolate tarte. Everything is home made. It was all very good but I have to say that the portions were pretty smallI would have liked a much bigger portion of the sausage in  pastry, and the things in photos made the portions on their facebook and instagram appear much larger, but 4 things were enough. I guess we could have ordered more, as there were some great other choices on charming blackboard menus, almost as charming as the lovely Julie with her little black beret. It is not your typical SBH place, so if you are up for small plates, you have a ton of choices! The wine is, overall, pretty pricey, according to my sommelier perso, who moonlights as a conducteur de voiture et pilote. 

Et voilà, no lunch plans and I think it is Sand Bar night so I am very excited about that. Im sure there is some sort of piña colada in my future!  À bientôt!

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## KevinS

Re: the waves, this from the Collectivité:

PORT INFORMATION
Due to the weather conditions, and the danger posed by the docking of boats, the disembarkation of passengers at the ferry terminal is currently suspended. Inter-island traffic is suspended for the time being.
We will keep you informed of the evolution of the situation.

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## cassidain

Bonne continuation

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## NancySC

Christmas winds are working methinks !

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## JEK

Swells from the North that align with the harbor entrance is the usual culprit. They are building baffles in an attempt to mitigate the swells.

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## davesmom

You are all surely correct about the winds and they were very strong 2 days ago and practically none yesterday.  Coming over the hill into St Jean a bit ago, there were large waves breaking on the Sand Bar..I just figured out the namesake resto.. I need to get out more, really..

In other news, we went to Marché U and they had their cute Christmas display right outside the entrance door and saw some smallish Christmas trees there, too. There were some decorations for sale but the ornaments would never make it back in one piece, sadly. I went to make haul#2 for my take home items and noticed quite a number of things I got in February were not available this time..no worries, I found plenty to fill the big duffle, but the cashier said that the delivery which was planned for the end of November never arrived. I will check in a few days. They had some bûches de Noël, which I am sure do not compare with the real pâtisserie variety, and the prices were reasonable so we got a prâline one and called it cake. Not too bad as a little snack. I want to go to a real pastry shop to see them..was not sure if you could buy them here without ordering. The pastry shops in Paris put a veritable show of Bûches de Noël, one chocolatier outdoing another. Every year before Covid, we put on a big dessert party at the house and I would love to be able to get one Bûche from each chocolatier and compare.  Too bad Paris doesn’t have SBH weather :cool: ..

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## KevinS

> the cashier said that the delivery which was planned for the end of November never arrived



That would likely have been caused by a freighter bypassing the island due to the fishermen's port blockade.

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## davesmom

> That would likely have been caused by a freighter bypassing the island due to the fishermen's
> port blockade.



Oh, you are exactly right..it crossed my mind but I didn’t want to speculate out loud to the cashier…wasn’t sure who was on what side of the fence in that…

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## Cwater

Love your reporting!

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## NancySC

Enjoying your posts DM, the shopping etc.  Living & dining vicariously & I thank you ! Are you looking at villas to rent for the next visit ?

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## davesmom

> Enjoying your posts DM, the shopping etc.  Living & dining vicariously & I thank you ! Are you looking at villas to rent for the next visit ?



Hi Nancy, we are always open to suggestions !

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