“If traveling was for free, you would never see me again”. – David Wolfe.
I love to travel. Always have – always will. On July 11st my son and I flew to Paris to meet my husband and his daughter Emma to enjoy this great adventure of Martinique, U.S.A. and Canada in approximately 8 weeks. I was excited but also a little worried and sad. I would leave my parents behind with whom I stayed for 1 1/2 years. Leave this comfort and sort of being protected to go on with my own life. It was weird but I hopped on the plane. I am still very thankful that my parents did not have to take me to the airport but my good friend Alex from next door. This made things easier for sure.
So my son and I flew to Paris. Business class (even though it was only 1 1/2 hours flight but still). The food was great:
One day before my birthday. Awesomeness! We all met at the airport and headed to our hotel next. Checked in, rented a car and had dinner at this place:
So what would my birthday have been like without checking out the Eiffel Tower? It is just amazing to be right below it and look up. I love Paris. I simply cannot get enough of this city.
The next day was my 34th birthday and I spent it mostly on the plane which was fine because we flew to Martinique. I knew by the end of the day and after an eight hour flight I will be in the ocean and swim that same day. My son is not two years old yet so he does not need a seat his own seat. Good for our wallets but not good for our legs. He sat mostly on mine unfortunately because he was very cranky and tired and just needed some mommy. We were all glad when we finally landed.
It was very warm and humid at first but not uncomfortable. Especially not after the cab driver took us to our resort/bungalow in Anse a l’Ane which is part of trios ilets and we literally changed into our bathing suits and ran to the beach. We haven’t been there too long when my husband decided to take a swim to where the boats were located. It was pretty far out there but he did it because he knew that one of the boats belonged to his sister and her husband. And he said: “They are all on this boat!” (His two sisters, and brother plus the sister’s husband and their daughter)
The boat is just awesome. We all loved it. My son was in paradise with all the buttons, strings and water. It was some sort of a family reunion which was somewhat planned but nevertheless one of the best experiences I have ever had. All this happiness to see everybody again.
We all stayed in Martinique for three weeks – intentionally we wanted to stay for two weeks but we loved it too much. 🙂 It was one of the best vacations I have ever had in my life – hands down. The weather was perfect, company was perfect, my son had a blast at the beach and even went into the water after only one week. Initially he was very scared of the water for whatever reason but then my husband started to built sandcastles close to the water so he got more and more comfortable to go in and play in the water.
Just a quick reminder how our day looked: We got up pretty early for us (7-8am!!!) and usually went for a swim in the ocean. Classic! Then came back to have some breakfast. Usually some local fruit:
This here is Guava and Dragon Fruit which was so yummy. We also had coconut water almost daily (freshly made and sold at little stands on the side of the road!), mangoes (so sweet and delicious), bananas (they tasted different than the regular bananas so my son did not want to eat any at all and he usually has ONE for breakfast, weird son!) My favorite was by far: Maracuja!!!! This fruit is just so delicious!!! I have never had it before but every time I ate it I felt like a million bucks. 😀
This is how Maracujas looks:
You like to go there as well now? Here are just some more things we have done throughout the vacation that might make you actually buy the ticket right now. My top five:
- Les Salines Beach
This beach was the most awesome beach we have been to on the trip. (see title picture). It is the longest beach on Martinique and has very calm, clear blue water and sandy beach. All the little food vendors that came by give you the option to chose some local food as well. We had some coconut ice-cream with cinnamon and lime sold by an elderly woman. The whole experience was just amazing. No preservatives added :). So this beach is just a nice place to spend the day. In a hammock if you wish. You are surrounded by palm trees.
2. Habitation Clement/Clement House
I do not like rum. I am usually a wine-person. Hello! Married to a Frenchi! However, I made an exception here and had some rum – rum in Martinique is just the real deal. The Clement house is a restored rum distillery and sugar plantation. How they restored the grounds and the old Creole house is just astounding. All the painting on the walls, the porcelain and silver and in every room of course one glass of rum poured on display. I love books and this house was full of them and old telephones and typewriters. Everything in excellent conditions which gives you a great idea how life was back then in a sugar plantation. We did the audio guided tour and all thought it was truly amazing. Rum tasting at the end 😉
3. Rocher du Diamant/ Diamond Rock and Grand Riviere
We rented a car to just be independent and we enjoy road trips. We started early in the morning and headed to the Diamond Rock. It is an island south of Fort-de-France and the main port of the Caribbean island of Martinique. It is famous because of the reflections of its sides cast during a certain time of the day. It is also very famous for its role in the Napoleonic War. It was truly breathtaking and we have not even been on the island. We continued our road trip all the way up north to Grand Riviere. There, we had lunch at Tante Arlette which serves the best Lambi I have ever had on this vacation.
(photo credit Joel Henry)
4. Musee de la Pagerie
This museum was a former sugar estate and the birthplace of Marie Joseph Rose Tascher de la Pager, the future Empress Josephine. (I did some research prior to our visit on wikipedia and google about her). We went on a guided tour that lasted approximately one hour. There is not much to see anymore because a lot had been destroyed but the guide told as plenty about the history of this place. (In french… mmmm so I bothered my husband with all the details I did not get). The formerly family kitchen has been turned into a museum that describes Josephine’s childhood – her bed, many letters to Napoleon as well as some of her clothing. Across the street there are the ruins of the old mill that you can access for free which we also did. We had Joel in a Child Carrier the entire time which was great.
5. Pottery Center
This is a great place if you are looking for something local or souvenirs to bring back home or to eat some awesome food in one of their restaurant. In one store they sell their hand made soap and it just smells so good in there. Of course I bought some. There are many shops to buy pottery (hence the name) so you can go all crazy. In one of the jewelry stores my husband bought me a ring that my son lost in the car. (yes, I gave it to him to play with….) And there is one store with local spices so we got ourselves a bunch.
These are just my top five of the trip but we did so much more. However, because my husband’s sister Evelyne and her husband live in Martinique they showed us the real deal. We attended her birthday party with the most awesome local food. Evelyne is crazy into sports for a long time. She is giving sightseeing and hiking – diving and snorkeling tours in Martinique. So she proposed one day to pick us up early in the morning to show us the nicest spots and the best views. So with our baby carrier as mentioned early we all left at 9am. She had all the equipment needed for a trip like this (nordic walking poles, backpack with water supply through a tube etc.). So I have to say the trip was tough but insane-reaching-my-limits-awesome. We ended up at Anse Noir – a beach with black sand. There we had lunch that she brought. Sandwich with sliced spicy cucumbers, carrots and a cod fish vegetable salad on a baguette. It tasted like heaven, especially the workout we had done previously.
Fort-de-France is also a great place to visit. Nice city to spend a morning or late afternoon because it was very hot when we were there at noon. Visit the local market there for spices and local food. There is a plethora of clothing stores if you want to go crazy in that direction. Having had a taste of what the local food cuisine had to offer: DO try Acras crevette (or any other type of Accra – they serve it as an appetizer and it is perfect with your rum), Labmis and Chatrou!
Thank you for reading.
