Saturday, February 28, 2009

There Goes the Sun

Angela & Guillaume returned home on Friday night at 9:30, after 8 days and 7 nights in paradise! Well, paradise with a lot of people...

They arrived in Aruba last Friday, and checked into their hotel, the Westin, on Aruba's Palm Beach. For the first night, they were in a room that was a little dark and smelled musty, like it was damp all the time. Fortunately, they received a room upgrade for the rest of the week, and their room looked over the pool, and the Carribbean sea.

After they got into their room on Friday at 5:00 in the afternoon, they put on their bathing suits and ran down to the beach. They jumped into the warm water and swam around like little fishes. The little bar next to the pool was not crowded, so Angela got a Pina Colada, and Guillaume had a Caipirenha. Then they each got one more...




They went to a little reception at the Westin one night and they watched the sun set from the terrace

For their first dinner in Aruba, they went to a restaurant in the hotel, Blossoms. It is a Japanese style restaurant, and they sat at the sushi bar. Angela doesn't really like sushi, so she got some chicken and beef skewers, and Guillaume got a sushi pizza! He also had tuna sashimi, and Angela tried it... and LIKED it! Wow! They drank some cold beer, and watched the sushi chef create amazing things.

They went to the casino in the hotel for the first and only time that night. First, they tried their hand at Roulette. They really didn't know what they were doing. Then they played Video Poker, and won $2.80. Big money.

Guillaume woke up early and went for a run on Saturday morning. When he came back to the room, they drank coffee on their little terrace, and went downstairs to the beach. They rented a "palapa" for the week. It is a little hut on the beach to give them some shade from the burning hot Aruba sun. The hotel brings bottles of water and fruit to the palapas every afternoon.

Unfortunately a very large group of people came to the hotel on Saturday, and were staying for the whole week. And it wasn't just any large group. It was a bunch of beer-drinking, chain-smoking, overweight, multiple-tattooed, extremely loud, really big people. They brought six-packs of beer into the water with them. I was so amazed that I had to take a picture. They were everywhere. Next to the little palapa. In the water. At the pool bar. So, Angela & Guillaume did everything they could to stay away from them. But Angela wanted to take a picture of them with their six-packs in the water.

They rented jet skis - twice! And they rented an ATV for half a day. It was fun and a little bit scary. They drove over half the island, and Guillaume saved the day when they tried to re-start the ATV in the middle of nowhere, and it wouldn't start. So he pulled the hand-starter, and it worked!



The food was very good, and not as expensive as Guillaume thought it would be. They ate dinner at all the restaurants in their hotel, plus dinner at the Hyatt, Le Dome (a great French restaurant on the last night in Aruba), Aqua Grill, and the Radisson Hotel (bad, bad food).



This was at the Aqua Grill, on the terrace.

On the last day, they didn't rent the palapa because they wanted to sit in the sun.






When we were leaving, Guillaume stopped to feed the birds that are on the property. They talk! "What's up?"



Well, what's up is that a snowstorm is coming in today, and lasting through tomorrow. Maybe the biggest this season.

Gros bisous, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY CYRIELLE!



6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not sure of the date, but Happy Birthday, Cyrielle!

Helen

p'tit pap said...

Welcome in winter !!Be courageous for work !!!Ptit'Mam'

Chad Reynolds said...

Welcome back, Guillaume. Now when will I get the opportunity to meet Angela? When will you and Angela have the opportunity to meet Emily and our new arrival, Emmett? Let's be convivial.

Charles

Cyrielle et Nicolas said...

Looks great your holidays !!!!
thank you for my birthday ...
I hope to see you on August, I'm waiting for my boss to know how it will be possible.

Gros bisous

p'tit pap said...

Hi everybody ! is there anything new in Boston ? I hope you are fine. Here, life goes on, Cyrielle and Nico in their "small" appartment and us in our "big" house..we are on friday 13d, I work at home, the weather is a little sunny..spring is coming..wouaouhhhh !!!love...Ptit' Mam'

Papy said...

Coucou les jeunes. Un p'tit mot pour vous dire que nous pensons à vous fort comme à tous nos proches . On prend l'avion Lundi matin pour MARRAKECH. y restons 8 jrs. Vu vos photos ; enregistrements faits. Bisous papy