More Dive Photos From St. Barth

Well today on the island it's very windy, overcast, and with on and off light showers. After a light lunch with Dan at Santa Fe, and some exploring by car, I worked on some of the photos from my two dives yesterday in the protected zone outside of Gustavia Harbor. The first dive was Le Pain de Sucre and the second, shallower dive was at Les Gros Ilets. I am always amazed to find wonderful creatures inhabiting these areas, and I never tire of diving these sites and photographing the denizens thereof.

A Fun Evening

Last night the Wimco Co, who rents us our apartment in Colony Club, hosted their weekly cocktail hour, currently held at the restaurant La Guerite. While we were enjoying glasses of wine at the bar, we ran into a couple we had met two years ago at a similar event. Craig and Robert, from Toronto, rent a villa near St. Jean’s, up in the hills. After chatting with them for a bit, we found out that they were also headed to Eddy’s for dinner, so I asked if we could join them there. We were all lucky to get a table at the popular Gustavia restaurant, since they only take reservations late (from 7:30) and the place was packed. Though it was Monday night,it seemed like Saturday. Eddy’s does not have an extensive menu, but what they make is well done and the atmosphere, a huge tall wooden building, with paintings on the walls and plants everywhere, makes it seem like one is dining in a tropical garden. In fact, there are few walls in Eddy’s. Three of us had the excellent lobster medallion salad to start the meal, and then everyone had something different for the main course. Mine was a chewy monkfish in a cream sauce, while Jim had prawns in a curry sauce. Robert ordered the mahi-mahi which looked tender, but Craig ordered the most typical Caribbean dish of all: goat in a Colombo (curry) sauce. The hot chocolate cake for dessert was also delicious and we washed all this food down with a bottle of San Pellegrino water and a red Sancerre wine. Usually Sancerre is a white wine, but the red version is also interesting, if perhaps less memorable. -Dan

Sunday Adventures In St. Barth

Sunday morning, while Jim caught up on the laptop, I went to the Anglican church where there was a Lenten service with excellent musicians: a woman who played violin (the Music Director), a pianist and a guitar player. Later, I left our apartment here to play Chopin and Schubert on the church’s Yamaha. For lunch we drove to the beautiful Bay of Angels and Flamande Beach where we first walked along the exquisite beach, perhaps the most lovely one on the island. Then we had a delicious meal at La Langouste, a favorite. Jim started with the soupe de poissons, served hot with a subtle rouille, which is rather like an aioli sauce. I had a ‘Tiramisu’ made with layers of guacamole, tomato salsa and crab, an rewarding combination. Jim then had an entire grilled fresh snapper, which was tender and not dried out; the extras on a nearby plate include a sweet potatoe ‘pie’ of miniature size, with rice and curled eggplant. My monkfish with leeks and mushrooms was served with a fine cream sauce and rice. We both indulged in the Moelleux au chocolat for dessert, the cake with hot sauce, accompanied this time by a small scoop of pistachio ice cream instead of the usual vanilla. We washed all of this down with a light and excellent white Sancerre wine, Les Barrones 2013. In the afternoon, while I’m playing Chopin Jim went to Shell Beach nearby our flat. Since we had a large lunch, we decided to do a light dinner. We walked down from our apartment to Isoletta, an Italian pizza place run by Isola, the most famed local Italian restaurant. However, we did not order pizza! Jim had a spinach salad with potato, parmesan cheese and hard-boiled egg. My mache & citrus salad was refreshing with avocado, grapefruit and orange slices. Then we shared a parmigiana eggplant nicely melted and full of chewy cheese. But the best item—not on the menu—was the fabulous Chianti wine, “La Porta di Vertine” 2011 which we both agreed was a 5 star ***** wine. The dessert, a cake made by Isola’s chef, was an excellent Black Forest. –Dan

Restaurant La Guerite, St. Barth

Dan's review of a new restaurant in Gustavia, St. Barth: Saturday evening we tried the new restaurant, La Guerite, that replaced one of Gustavia’s best eateries, Wall House. What’s the verdict? Well, there are pros and cons, as with any almost any deluxe restaurant. I’ll go over the items we had and our opinions on this newly renovated space. On the waiter’s advice, we shared a few of the entrees (or appetizers.) One was the pissaladiere, which was billed as a combination of caramelized onion tart with olive and anchovy. The other flavors were not discernible, but the soft, moist onion flavor was outstanding. We also had a too-liquidy taramasalata (the chef is Greek) and a superb pouple, finely sliced octopus in a delicate lemon oil. For the main course, Jim had gnocchi which was homemade and featured a wonderful tomato sauce. Dan enjoyed the Filet de loup (sea bass) which was lying in a delicious puree of artichokes but covered with some bitter arugala (also known as roques in French or rockets in English, another linguistic mystery.) The fish was extremely tender. We washed all this down with glasses of a good Malbec and a second rate Pinot Noire. Why didn’t we order a bottle of wine? Well, the prices on a bottle of wine are astronomical; it’s about 80 to 169 Euros for an average bottle of vin rouge. Could we afford it? Yes, but we don’t like the idea of being ripped off, to coin a cliché. That is the attitude of La Guerite. So…while the food is good, if you are a St. Bart’s regular this is a place to try but sadly not a place to repeatedly return to, the way we used to frequent Wall House.

Returning To Scuba Diving In St. Barth

Returning to scuba diving after open heart surgery is controversial. Certain post-surgical conditions militate against diving, as does taking anti-coagulants (blood thinners.) Prior to surgery I specifically asked my surgeon about diving after my recovery. He assured me that there were “no restrictions,” those were his very words, to the chagrin of my poor husband Dan. Of course, had I not fully recovered, or if I found myself with one of the many conditions that are a contraindication to scuba diving, then I would not be diving today. However, thanks to a skilled surgeon, some good luck, and determination on my part, I have returned to the sport that I have enjoyed for 36 years. Here are a few photos from my diving on Friday in St. Barth, my first time down under since before my surgery last year. The Mooray eel is a baby whose head is no more than a couple of inches in size. The dive site was the North side of Le Pan de Sucre.

Dinner At Orega, St. Barth

OREGA IN ST. BART’S by Dan Evans It’s quite a change to leave the snow back in Philadelphia and arrive in sunny Gustavia, St. Bart’s. We’re back in our lovely rental ‘villa apartment’at the Colony Club, with the spectacular view of the harbor. Jim even went swimming just after we arrived Friday afternoon, on Shell Beach. For dinner we decided to try Orega, one of the new restaurants which have opened since we were last here two years ago. It’s a very popular venue, with a menu that suggests a fusion of Japanese and French cuisines. (See pic of Dan with the owner Greg.) The French staff all speak fluent English and offers advice on what to order. For starters there was a complimentary small cup of cold turnip soup, which was piquant. Then for his appetizer Jim had “Organic Bouquet” which was a large plate of raw vegetable salad. Jim enjoyed the enoki mushrooms most in the salad, although there was not enough of the ponzu sauce to cover all of the sliced veggies. Dan had a tuna tataki, tender slices of raw tuna with an oil-infused ponzu sauce. For his main course Jim had “Caribbean Treasure” a combination of ravioli pieces with spiny lobster and roasted mushrooms. The lobster was chewy but flavorful. My Hotate, grilled sea scallops were just cooked enough and served with mushrooms and a very delicate, delicious puree of edamame. Our bottle of Cotes du Rhone was not one of the better selections, but we both had excellent desserts. Jim’s lemon tart received 5 ***** and my Bomb Chocolate was ice cream in a chocolate shell, with pieces of cake, all covered by a hot chocolate sauce. The Lichee-flavored rum liquor finished off the meal nicely.

Portrait of Katie

Brother-In-Law Bob Russell took these photos of Katie puppy and me the other day. Thanks, Bob!

Fun In New York City

On Saturday last we visited the beautiful new Whitney Museum of American Art, located at one end of the "High Line" in the "meat-packing" district of lower Manhattan. Dan posed outside of the building and I got a couple of shots of the high line. The painting is a lovely Hopper in the Whitney's collection. I particularly like it because of the train-related theme.

One Year After Open Heart Surgery

"A heart will never be practical until it can be made unbreakable." - L. Frank Baum

One year ago today, February 16, 2015, I embarked upon the most profound adventure of my life, as I put myself in the hands of a young heart surgeon at Temple University. He had told me that my heart condition would kill me if not treated. I trusted him to use his great talent and training to help me and he did not let me down. A year later I feel fully recovered and I'm enjoying my new lease on life.

It was a difficult recovery at times. Only the love and support of a wonderful spouse, many good friends, and our beautiful pets got me through it. To them I offer my undying gratitude.

To those facing open heart surgery in the future, know that all will be well with the support of loved ones and the passage of time.

A Birthday And An Art Opening

Dan has two paintings in a Community College of Philadelphia Faculty Art Exhibition at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. The opening reception was last Thursday. We were joined by friends Louise, Cindy and Patrick, Tom, and Stephen at the well-attended event. Afterwards we enjoyed dinner together at Aki Japanese restaurant.