SXM: St. Maarten!!

I'm looking at pictures of my recent trip to cheer me up and remembered that I never shared my pictures from St. Maarten with you guys! I didn't take too many pictures is St. Maarten unfortunately. Here are some of my favorites: The condo we stayed in was gorgeous! I loved the kitchen and really wish I could find an apartment with a kitchen this big and shiny!

We ate lunch at the beach bar right next to Maho Beach which is that beach that the airplanes fly over to land at Princess Juliana airport. The beach is literally separated from the airport the airport by a single-lane road. It was so cool to sit at the beach bar and watch the airplanes land. As I may have mentioned before, my bf is getting his pilot's license so he could quite literally watch this for hours. My attention span is a tad bit shorter, but it was still fun!

We went to this piano bar in Maho Bay called Sopranos (I think). We went there last year too and remembered how much we liked it. The piano guy was awesome (and from Boston!) and played Elton John's Levon per my request!

We also explored the beaches on the French side of the island. We went to Orient Bay which is one of the most popular beaches on St. Maarten, but it was unfortunately pretty overcast that day. We also ate dinner in the French Quarter that night which was delicious. If you are ever in St. Maarten, I highly recommend visiting Phillipsburg, the capital of the Dutch side. The streets are lined with many shops - mostly JEWELRY! We walked around for a few hours and poked in and out of shops. I had decided that I wanted to buy a pair of earrings, but was really intimidated by how the salespeople jump all over you. I got so flustered that I almost walked away empty-handed (a travesty, I know!!)... but my bf convinced me to try another few shops and that he'd help me negotiate the price once I found something I liked. Little did I know that he was planning on buying it for me! I got a beautiful pair of black and white diamond earrings. I'll have to post a picture sometime!

Counting Down...

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful day! I've been on a cleaning spree - I hate coming home to a messy place, so I'm cleaning everything like a mad woman. Then, when I come back from vacation, I will come back to a clean apartment! I'm getting more and more excited to leave on Tuesday! I went shopping yesterday for some last minute things and already have a plan to sneak the extra clothes I bought into my bf's suitcase... I will definitely not have room in mine! ;)

I've been looking through some of my pictures of vacation last year and wanted to share some with you!

This is Shoal's Bay, one of the more popular beaches in Anguilla. It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. You can buy drinks, go snorkeling, grab some lunch, get a massage, or just lay out.

Driving down to Cap Juluca, a resort in Anguilla. We had drinks at Maunday's Club there one night (soo preppy) and then walked around another day. This year, I'm looking forward to having dinner at Pimm's, one of the restaurants there.

Entrance to Pimm's. I love the ginger jars!

I'm looking forward to St. Maarten too! The island is divided into two sides - the French side (Saint Martin) and the Dutch side (Sint Maarten). Our resort is on the Dutch side so we spent most of our time there last year, but we really want to see the beachs on the French side this year.

Staircase down to the beach (Cupecoy Beach) at the resort.

Thanks for looking! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

Destination: Paradise!

In just 3 short days (who am I kidding - the days are gonna seem SO long! Especially Monday!), I will be off to the Carribean. My boyfriend and I are headed to Anguilla and then St. Maarten...

...we'll arrive in the afternoon at Princess Juliana airport on the Dutch side of St. Maarten...

The planes fly right over Maho Beach - it was cool (OK, and a little scary) to see this as we landed last year, but even cooler watching the planes land from the beach bar! The bar has a chalkboard that lists the arrivals/departures and little speakers where you can hear the pilots and the control center talking to each other. My bf is getting his pilot's license so this is right up his alley and we must have watched the planes for an hour. And people lay out on the beach! We sat there for a few minutes, but I got too scared so we moved before a plane flew over!

Then we'll take a taxi to the French side of St. Maarten and hop on the ferry to Anguilla. Note to self: bring dramamine. I got horribly sick on the ferry ride last year. I had NEVER gotten sea sick before!

...after the 20 minute ferry ride, we'll arrive in Anguilla where our rental car will be waiting. We'll hop in (side note - Anguillan rental cars do not lock. We kept trying to lock the car and it would unlock every time we shut the doors. The island is supposed to be very safe!) and drive to the condo on Mead's Bay!

Picture I took right outside the condo on Mead's Bay. The beaches are always super quiet and private.

And then dinner that night will be at The Straw Hat, just a short walk down the beach from where we are staying!

Photo from StrawHat.com. The food is fabulous and the staff is amazing. And you can't beat eating delicious food just steps away from the ocean!

We'll be in Anguilla for 4 days and then we'll be off for another 3 in St. Maarten. Why stay in Anguilla first if we land in St. Maarten? Anguilla is so quiet and peaceful. There is practically nothing to do except lie on the beach. There's very few traces of tourism. We'll veg out for a few days and then head over to St. Maarten where there are casinos, bars, shopping, etc!

Can you tell that I'm super excited??!! Has anyone ever been to either island? I'd highly recommend them... especially Anguilla, it's like no place I've ever been and is perfect for those who prefer places that are not touristy!