Exceptional Vaction in St.Maarten

I just came back from a vacation in St. Maarten, the Caribbean and stayed in one of finest luxury vacation villas. It was  located in the hills, with mid sized mountains and spectacular ocean views. Spacious, sunny terrace and shady veranda, which make outdoor living the most relaxing I have ever experienced yet. I had a view that will take your breath away, whether its the turquoise blue sea, a panoramic view from a hillside, or the twinkling lights at night. The villa had a fully equipped kitchen, with some of true gourmet quality. Maid service was provided 6 days per week and the villa had a private pool, TV/VCR/DVD and stereo system.

From their website : "Blue Ocean Villas" proudly offers privately owned luxury accommodations and style, service and privacy for your next villa vacation, with all the comforts of your home. Our villa experts live, work and play on the island of St.Maarten and St.Martin over 14 years and possess personal knowledge of all the villas offered. By consistently offering unsurpassed expertise and service we have built and maintained a large base of loyal customers who turn to us year after year to assist them with locating exceptional villas, car rentals and other special services. Please take a moment to review all that these unique properties have to offer. Do not hesitate to contact our skilled and experience consultants at any time. It would be our pleasure to assist you in your quest for the ideal villa rental experience. Visit us at www.blueoceanvillas.com


Luxury Travel Blog for the Resident

Monte Carlo – Paradise of a Different Sort

Monte Carlo is the city of glitz and over the top indulgence. I had to see it for at least a day trip and ended up finding my food paradise.

Monte Carlo Surprise

Monte Carlo is the where you go to see the pretty people. Well, maybe not pretty, but definitely wealthy. I was loafing in Nice for a few days and decided to join two travelers for a day trip to Monte Carlo. Monte Carlo is only a ten minute train ride from Nice, so it seemed like the perfect day trip.

Monte Carlo is the kind of place that makes you feel insignificant. The place screams yachts, money, plastic surgery, money, Ferrari and did I mention money? This is not a travel destination for the faint of budget.

Monte Carlo is mostly about beaches, being seen and a high end casino. We had already hit the beaches in Nice, weren’t important enough to “be seen” and had been denied admission to the casino, so it was off to the museums.

Museums in Monte Carlo are pretty run of the mill with one notable exception. Spend enough time in them and you’ll become convinced the Grimaldi royal family is solely responsible for human civilization. I’ve been known to embellish on occasion, but the museums are ridiculous.

As day turned to evening, it was time to find something to eat. There were plenty of restaurants, but we either couldn’t afford them or weren’t dressed appropriately with our shorts. Walking back to the train station, we stumbled upon paradise itself.

Growing up in San Diego, California, one becomes addicted to Mexican food. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of Mexican food restaurants in Europe. In fact, I hadn’t eaten a rolled taco for two months. That was about to change.

Turning the corner on one of many endless little streets in Monaco, we were stunned to see a line of people waiting outside a door. The sign over the door read “Juan’s” and paradise was before us. Turns out the restaurant was owned by a San Diego resident and served authentic Mexican food. Rolled tacos, chicken tortilla soup and Dos Equis beer.

Mexican food in Monaco was definitely my idea of paradise. Of course, it set me back $75, but I really didn’t care at that point.