We had a great week in on the island of Saint Barthélemy in the French West Indies. While Mr. Splendid and the crew were out racing in Les Voiles St. Barths the “racer chasers” {including moi} explored the island.
The flight in provided a great overview of the island. The main town is called Gustavia, named after the Swedish King who purchased and ruled this island before selling it to the French. From the air Gustavia is a thickness of red roofs which top all of the great restaurants, boutiques, shops and villas surrounding the port. In the distance on the right you can see the craggy, rocky cliffs on the outerbanks of the island and the splashes of villas higher up on the hills. Look at all of those sailboats anchored out getting ready to race.
I loved the fact that the majority of residents speak French, so I could practice mine. If I found myself on the Rue du Bord de Mer, I knew I was heading in the right direction.
We stayed in “The Penthouse” with two other couples. It’s conveniently located in town, walking distance to the grocery, boutiques, restaurants and the regatta dock. All of the bedrooms faced out to the bay with a great view of the port. It had a very clean, open and contemporary design with massive decks on each level. Click on “The Penthouse” for more information and to see more images. Here’s the view from our bedroom.
While we were in the heart of the city, we were also within walking distance {via the above mentioned Rue du Bord de Mer} to one of the most charming beaches on the island, Shell Beach. This beach is literally covered with petite, sea polished, colorful seashells. It served as the most beautiful yoga studio for me in the morning.
Each of the beaches offer these crafty ashcans or “cendriers” to help keep the beaches clean. Doesn’t “Pas de Mégots sur la plage” sound better than “No butts on the beach”??
This is also where we concluded most days. The winds were high and the sun was strong throughout the week, so when the crew finished their daily races they were ready for a swim in the Carribean. Every afternoon we would saunter over to Shell Beach for a swim and then drinks at the fabulous Shellona.
Every night was a party!! 
One of the best was at Shellona on Shell Beach. They offered a tasty buffet of local cuisine and an incredible performance by the amazing Jimmy Sax, he plays a means sax with back up from a DJ, bringing a special sound to our favorite songs, I loved his version of Pumped up Kicks…
Thanks for visiting St. Barth with me, now why don’t you join me at the party by clicking on my links to Jimmy Sax playing Pumped up Kicks or {Kids, oops}, I promise it will put an extra beat in your step!
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