Travel Agent - June 23, 2008 - (Page 206) ST. MARTIN friendly isle with a FRENCH ACCENT C onnoisseurs often tout St. Martin as having the best French food this side of the Atlantic, and with good reason. The French side of the two-nation French/Dutch island, St. Martin has remained true to its homeland, in language and attitude as well as politically. A bit less developed than its Dutch counterpart, St. Martin’s accommodations tend to be on a smaller scale — villas, small inns, hotels and guest houses, and just a few larger luxury resorts. THE CAPITAL OF FINE CUISINE Being French, St. Martin takes food very seriously. The self-proclaimed dining capital of the Caribbean is Grand Case, a small fishing village set along a lovely broad bay. The village is renowned for its fine French cuisine and wine selection at restaurants such as L’Auberge Gourmande and Le Pressoir, and for the colorful, elaborately carved gingerbread buildings that line the tiny Boulevard de Grand Case. The village is especially lively on Tuesday evenings during the “Harmony Nights” season, when the street closes to traffic and becomes an open-air music, art and food festival. Marigot, the capital, feels like it was plucked from the south of France. Its colorful narrow streets are a colorful jumble of sidewalk ST. MARTIN GEOGRAPHY: The terrain of St. Martin is of a pastoral green, rather than the very lush tropical green found elsewhere in the Caribbean. There is a mountain in the North called Paradise Peak (Pic Paradis) which rises to 1400 feet, and there are many lofty forested heights in the center of the island, but most of St. Martin is rolling hills and hillocks. The coastline is set with deep coves and bays. There are about 37 beaches encircling the entire island. LANGUAGE: French is the official language of St. Martin, but English is widely spoken. POPULATION: 34,037 in 2002. CLIMATE: Average daytime temperature in winter is about 80ºF-83ºF. Summer is a few degrees warmer. Evenings are cool in the winter. TIME: EST +1. GMT -4. 206 www.caribbeantravel .c om http://www.caribbeantravel.com
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