Anguilla. Part 4. You Could Kill Someone with this Bowl.
Saturday morning we got a late start by waking up at 8:00am! How glorious.
We eventually made our way to breakfast. Nothing unusual today. Then we spent the entire day on the beach. At some point we walked down to the Cap Shack for lunch. LL was there too. I had the Island Bowl again and Tzvi had a fried fish sandwich that he loved.
We went to the pool in the afternoon where I had the pleasure of talking to a couple from Nashville. One husband was a primary care and infectious disease doctor and the other husband was in sales. They stopped me because they liked my bathing suit. Win. They also told us that Juluca is the name of an HIV medication, and that apparently it means rainbow something. In the pool we also spoke to a couple of guys from Toronto. They said they had to connect in Newark to get here. Ew. We ordered chips and guacamole and drinks that we had in the pool. I got a mudslide, which was absolutely delicious. Another win.
When we finished at the pool Tzvi went to the pool attendant to close the tab and said he wasn’t able to sign the check. The guy said no problem and asked if we were Adventist. I guess it’s not obvious to everyone. Tzvi told him we’re Jewish, and then the attendant said his family is Rastafarian and that they observe the sabbath on Saturday also. Who knew. Then the band arrived and started setting up for tonight’s live music at Uchu. The band leader asked Tzvi where he was from and when Tzvi said New York, the man said in the thickest Caribbean accent possible, “I’m a Long Island guy.” Apparently he used to live in Elmont.
It got a little less sunny in the afternoon so we ended the day at the spa where we went in the hot tub, even though it was still like 85 degrees outside. Tzvi spent some time in the sauna and I read my book.
We went back to the room, I finished my book, and we got ready for dinner.
Our last dinner was at Pimm’s, which I guess is supposed to be the best restaurant on property. As I’ve mentioned, it’s in the same building as Cips so it kind of just feels like you’re in one big restaurant, although I didn’t feel like I was eating at Cips. Somehow they make it feel different. The food was much better than Cips, although it was a very long meal. I don’t know why. It just felt like things were very drawn out, but they may have been trying to go for a fine dining ambience where nothing is rushed.
We started with drinks. I tried to order a drink with Pimm’s liqueur in it, but ironically they were out of it. How does that happen? We started with house bread. Then they brought an amuse bouche that was a salmon mouse macaron that Tzvi tried but I did not. Then we had a carrot ginger soup that was delicious. When they brought it to us they split it into two of the nicest bowls I’ve ever seen. I think they were marble and you could definitely kill someone with it. We also ordered cauliflower croquettes (which were awesome) and a beet salad (which was also good, and which they also split into two plates for us). For the mains I got a curry gnocchi and Tzvi got the grilled mahi. I was so full by the end and was sad I couldn’t eat more. I really enjoy curries. I’m not sure why I don’t eat them more often.
For dessert we got a chocolate soufflé and a coffee mouse, which was listed on the menu as having “sea moss, salted caramel and oat milk sorbet.” I don’t even know how to describe it. It was kind of a soupy mess of coffee and cookie crumbs. Tzvi really enjoyed it.
After dinner we came back and packed up. Tzvi set his alarm for 8am so we could be up and out and have some beach time in the morning! We watched some Law and Order and then realized it was midnight and we had never heard from the kids or my parents. I had texted my mom but got no reply. So, I assumed they were all dead. Turns out they weren’t, and the kids just don’t care to speak to us anymore. We spoke to my mom a little after midnight and sounds like all went well. It’s possible they agree to watch our kids the next time we go on vacation, but I’m not hopeful about it.
Sunday
Sunday we were up bright and early. Tzvi leapt out of bed and got ready for a breakfast that neither of us were hungry for. We opted for the French toast once again because it was so good. We also tried the Island Shakshuka, which was interesting.
Then we had our last hour and a half at the beach. We swam all the way down to the end of the bay by the main house, lamenting that it was the last swim. Then we walked back and it was time to head back to reality.
At 11:15 a man can for our bags and took us to the lobby. It was at this point that I learned about Hallie’s book report. Apparently she was supposed to have been working on a book report all week. Well, that never happened. I can’t blame her completely because she was out sick half the week. But she did know it existed. I then had to contact other moms to see what the story was and it ends up there was a lot of confusion. I don’t know what’s going to happen with this report, but I’m glad I’m not dealing with it this moment.
We packed up the car and said our last goodbye to Evan, who sent us off with a small coconut cake and stood waving as we drove away like in the White Lotus. I swear this place thinks of it all. I wonder if more hotels are doing that now that everyone has watched that show.
Now that the trip is over, I’m ready to render a verdict. This was a fantastic hotel. We have almost no complaints (we have to have some complaints – it is still us after all), but they’re minor, like the fact that they ran out of the complementary beach bags you’re supposed to get (apparently its been a few months now). I would say service here was top notch, and everyone was really friendly and personable. The beach and ocean were 10/10. The room was great. The food was great. But one thing I feel I have to mention is that the people were nice. For a luxury hotel that’s owned by LVMH, it doesn’t seem to draw an ostentatious crowd. No one was dripping in labels. Sure, we saw Prada beach bags and a woman walking on the beach was wearing a bathing suit and a Van Kleef necklace. But for the most part, people seemed pretty normal. Rich, but normal. Not sure what we were doing here since we are neither of those things.
The ride was about 15 minutes to the ferry terminal. We had to go through immigration and then wait for the ferry. I was hoping for another speedboat ride, but this boat was about twice the size of the last one. Still wonderfully bumpy though! I loved that boat ride.
Once docked at St. Martin we went through immigration yet again to reenter St Martin. We were driven the thirty seconds from the ferry port to the airport, and then checked in and went through immigration to leave St Martin. So many immigration points.
We had about an hour to spare so we did some shopping, picked up tuna sandwiches, and checked out the lounge. I wanted to buy something last minute for the kids, so I did, except they called our flight and started boarding early which led to Tzvi having a total meltdown at the gate. We were supposed to board at 2:29, but they started boarding around 2:15. Now I should mention that we were once again sitting in row 1, where you’re unable to put your bags under the seat in front of you so they always reserve the overhead space for those rows, so really there was absolutely no need to rush on the plane because there would definitely be space for Tzvi to put his bag. Tzvi ended up sitting at the gate watching people go by, practicing mindfulness.
We had to take a short bus ride from the gate to the plane. Once again the plane wasn’t that full and we had a free seat next to us. The flight, which was scheduled to take off at 3:14, took off at 3:15. I can’t remember the last time that happened.
And then we were off and the trip was over.
Great trip.