# St Barts Forums > St Barts Trip Reports Forum >  >  Trip report

## MIke R

Trip report coming soon..meanwhile here is this years video slide show from Lena who does this  every year,  as some of you already know.....

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## cec1

"My own kind of Paradise!"  Wonderful video . . . thanks to Lena for the great job (and for sharing your lovely vacation)!

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## andynap

Safe trip home. Wonderful Lena. Thanks

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## phil62

Great job, Lena. As someone who has made several of these videos, I know the work that goes into the production, particularly syncing the photos to the music.

Keep up the good work.

Phil

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## marybeth

Love it! Great pics.

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## pascaleschmidt

Nice!

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## tim

Great video with some shots rarely seen!

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## amyb

More-Lena I love your braid! And a 3 iguana shot is a winner. I never saw the teepee from your angle. The boats are cool. Hey, I enjoyed this video twice already.

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## stbartshopper

The only part of the video we don't like is when it ends! Thank you for sharing your time on the island with us!

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## elgreaux

fabulous, and looks like "your" St Barth hasn't changed so much...

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## shihadehs

Great video.....we so appreciate and agree with your feel and comments about the island...glad you can still find it....as we do also...

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## julianne

Excellent video, Lena. Obviously, you all had a restful vacation, doing it your way!

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## MIke R

A few observations and random psychotic thoughts 



GETTING THERE ..........First  time in forever we we're able to fly AA out of Manchester. Even though it got us in an hour and a half later than if we had flown out of Boston the trade off is huge for us....and ultra modern, never busy, small airport an hour from the house beats Logan by a mile for us....So that was a treat for sure.  We always go for Monday to Monday travel to the tropics because it's usually really slow that day , but even this is ridiculous ....36 people on an Airbus!....we each had our own row to stretch out!

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Anyway going down was seamless, drama free, and quick ..but it always is for us .....we landed at 1:32 ...breezed on through In Transit and we were out of SXM at 2:15 on St Barts Commuter.......


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BEING THERE ......The island looks as parched as I have ever seen it ....dangerously parched ......We stayed at Auberge Petit Anse ....we have a monogamous 20 plus year relationship with #17 which we love ......most of you would hate it so I ll spare you the details ...PM me if you want details. 

The island is a mess.....traffic and parking is horrible....cement trucks and dump trucks everywhere ...construction noise pollution is over the top in some places .....cars and scooters everywhere .....I had multiple occasions where a mirror to mirror collision on the road was within inches of happening.....this completely changed the way we do vacation there ....afternoon in between beaches diversion to Select for a few pops, like we always do????....forget it..ain't happening ...no way ....no how ...not worth the aggravation of getting there and trying to park .....evenings are much easier however and the pay park lot is working out well it seems. We decided to mostly hunker down in Petit Anse for the week....we have Colombier,  Flamand, and Petit Anse as beach options within walking distance, so we were more than good to go .....and as long as we have these patio views without the noise pollution by day and without light pollution at night,  we don't need anything else thank you very much


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WEATHER or not ..Forecasts called for pouring rain all week.....didn't happen..and that's why I pay little attention to it ..For us it was perfect weather ....nice mix of clouds and sun and a strong breeze which kept the bugs away and us from overheating .....but they clearly need copious amounts of rain ....just not on my watch please ...LOL*


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THE GREAT BAKERY WARS and R.I.P to the almond Croissant .......Petit Colombe is dare I say... average now .....the baguette is still the best on the island but the other things have really gone downhill .....and they now feature American donuts right up front and center, but please do tell me again how the island is not becoming Americanized ..no more fig bread...no more raisen nut bread ...average 

Remember when the almond crosisant on St Barts was a thing of beauty?..that slightly puffy hard exterior that easily crunched into buttery flaky goodness with a nice almond paste inside ?....remember that?....now it's this flat mushy I dont know what, with way way too much almond paste.....just awful ...and Choisy s weren't any better although Choisy was far better for plain croissants, pain chocolate and dessert items ...but absolutely positively the three French bakeries in New England, two of which are on the Cape, are now far better choices for almond croissants and other delights than anything in St Barts ....very sad as Petit Colombe was always the standard we judged all Bakeries everywhere against ....


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The FOOD 

This is where I really disappoint you because we dont go to SBH for the food....not even in our top three reasons and we dont think the high end joints are worth the coin ....only so much even a great chef can do with frozen food .....fresh ingredients are the cornerstone to truly great dining in my opinion and without that the ceiling is low........however...... we had some good meals at Eddys, Tamarin, Creperie ( mulitiple times ) Gloriette, Bananiers, and of course Select...... and Chez Mikes was rocking as well....best meal was clearly Tamarin...they had three fresh fish options and we got two of them and they were very well done ...their 99% Chocolate dessert was the best dessert I ve had on the island in quite some time ..... Eddys was also solid ..the wahoo in ginger was terrific .....very strange to have a trip to St Barts that didnt involve multiple meals at the Hideaway ...but it is what it is and we move on ...no tipping drama any where ...we pay in cash for our meals however so can't tell you what credit card slip looked like in terms of a tip line or not

Kevin scored us fresh local eggs and the poached egg over an open face slightly toasted Croissant with a little melted greyure and Parma prosciutto were highly regarded at Chez Mikes ..as well as the mushroom and Brie frittata.

The new butcher and specialty food store behind Marche U are both outstanding ......AMC in Gustavia is still my favorite grocery store of them all with the best produce ...they had tomatoes and cukes from Dominca that were just bursting with flavor ...and they still do cheese the French way ...cut to order....not the American way - prepackaged like Super Marche does .... low and behold the island which is marchng towards Americanization now has Half and Half so American tourists no longer have to endure the drama to figure out what the French equivalent is......kinda sad 


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WEST INDIES REGATTA. AND ST BARTS FILM FESTIVAL 

For the  most part, with us living and working in event filled resort towns, we try to avoid "events" ( and people for that matter ) like the plague when on vacation but these two events we love.....West Indies Regatta had some terrific live music on the quay and of course the hand crafted island built boats to admire as well and the local arts and crafts on display ....funny thing is I walked on the quay to look at the boats, and the first boat I came across was a boat and crew I know very well from the Cape who just happened to be sailing through on their way north ...a small world indeed. 

 We really enjoyed watching Film Festivals Havana Moon film on the quay too.....nicely done. Two terrific laid back unpretentious island events that are perfect for our tastes ....


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SO NOW WHAT ?


All in all a good week although a bit different from our typical St  Barts vacations due to changes in the island dynamics ....but we made it work... So the girls want Jost and a few days in Anegada next year so that's what I am working on.....I think I am going to do a solo long weekend trip again to St Barts in November as that was just what I needed to recharge and get mentally and physically ready for our extremely busy stressful winter season ....after our BVI trip in 2018 we will re evaluate what is going on with St Barts and decide if we want to go back in 2019.....but I suspect as long as Petit Anse remains the perfect little quiet step back in time respite for us, we will want to return...


.OH AND ONE MORE THING  ( playful but somewhat serious tease warning )

The two new Gendarme cars say POLICE on them instead of Gendarme ...and I saw multiple restaurants with CLOSED signs ( one in neon ) instead of FERME signs....but tell me again how the island isn't becoming Americanized at all  :Wink-slap:

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## andynap

Don't hold back.  :tongue:

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## MIke R

I spoke of the positives and negatives like I always do and like many people have told me through the years ....they appreciate ... :Wink-slap:

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## Toni

I always enjoy your reports, Mike, and Lena's video is fantastique! Thanks for sharing.

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## amyb

Mike, an honest and  thoughtful report. I did not expect anything else.
 St Barths still remains my favorite island, warts and all.  There is no destination like it anywhere, IMHO. 

God willing, I look forward to many more happy days to share there with Phil and our island family and friends.

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## andynap

> I spoke of the positives and negatives like I always do and like many people have told me through the years ....they appreciate ...



I know. I wouldn't expect anything less.

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## GramChop

Super video, Lena.

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## cec1

As others have written, Mike . . . a great report, in your succinctly personal, informative style.

A couple of thoughts:  The pull of night sky, without light pollution, is one of the truly alluring island attractions – especially at Grand Fond; as you suggested, the “Great Bakery War” is something of a standoff,  and I think the choice between Choisy & Petit Colombe in Lorient has largely become a matter of availability of parking; glad to see your “outstanding” recommendation for the butcher behind Marche U – I also have found it to be excellent; is Half & Half really used on the island? and . . . finally . . . I wanted to hear about your boat trip.  Fun, I’m sure . . . and Kevin and Lena highlighted some great views.  Any other “color?”

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## MIke R

Yes Dennis sorry to report but Crowley Half  and Half was for sale in two AMC stores ...Crowley is an old dairy company from up here in the northeast 

Boat trip was very fun but not much to say because it's pretty simplistic in how we do it  ...we rent a 32 foot Contender from Ocean Must , load it up with more food and drink than we can possibly consume....head out to Colombier and grab a mooring for some swimming, snorkeling, relaxing, talking, laughing, eating and drinking, and just generally enjoying each others company on  our precious vacation time together,  and then we head in ..usually stay out there for  about four hours or so ......lots of big sea turtles swimming with us on this trip and a big eagle ray hanging out underneath us ...fun  times ....highlight of our week for  sure

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## cec1

> . . . more food and drink than we can possibly consume . . . swimming, snorkeling, relaxing, talking, laughing, eating and drinking, and just generally enjoying each others company . . ..



Just what I hoped to read!  Memorable times, for sure!  (I'm usually land-based as I do much of the same!)

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## tim

> I spoke of the positives and negatives like I always do and like many people have told me through the years ....they appreciate ...



Well done :thumb up:

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## noel

Thanks for the interesting report Mike.
Petite Anne is one of our very favorite places on the island.  And I've always liked the photos of Auberge Petite Anse because it reminds me so much of Didi's parents' place.  Small wonder the new owners tore it down.  So it goes.

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## KaraBrooks

> we try to avoid "events" ( and people for that matter )



Ha! Hear ya man!! Nice report! We had a couple of trips a few years ago that made us nervous that it was the end for us but we have found new places of solitude on this particular rock and new routines that really make it all work for us for now. Glad you guys had a nice time! THe weather sucked up here while you were gone - great timing!!

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## bto

Enjoyed it, Mike.  Lena did a great job on the video too.  I've read many )probably all) of your trip reports and always gain something new.  Merci!  Oh, and Lena is so tall!!  Darling too.

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## stbartshopper

Great report and as one network says- fair and balanced!

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## Karen

Love the honest reporting!  I always appreciate a good and fair report.  Super video, too!

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## MIke R

Thanks!

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## MIke R

> Enjoyed it, Mike.  Lena did a great job on the video too.  I've read many )probably all) of your trip reports and always gain something new.  Merci!  Oh, and Lena is so tall!!  Darling too.




she s a 5'9" 13 year old.....who can now wear her mothers clothes.....LOL....

thanks for your comments

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## Lance

Mike

Wonderful trip report, and I enjoyed your many observations.  What no photos from Nikki's?     lol
Lance

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## LuckyKid

Enjoyed reading your trip report, Mike. Lena's slide show is very cool.

Interesting that you have a preference for the island's west end and it's amenities. We have a similar feeling about where we we've always stayed on the island's east end. The more we can avoid the busy center: airport, Gustavia, Public, etc. -- the better.

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## MIke R

We love the east side as well and stayed many years in Les Residence until  constructions noise from  Toiny  and  lack  of maintenance at  Les  Residence  made us look elsewhere....many fun nights on that side of the island at Marigot Beach Club ...Hubert's place...West Indies Cafe and Flamboyant

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## andynap

I stay in the middle.  :thumb up:

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## Chipper

Mike, loved your report and video! Merci!

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