"Where We Found our *Bliss*" Sint Maarten by Geisha_Girl

Love Boats

St. Maarten was just one of the stops during the 2007 Summer *Birthday Bling Bash*, which started in New York City, then continued in St. Barths, St. Maarten, Miami's South Beach, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and eventually finishes in Paris. It wasn't so much a celebration of a birthday as it is more a Celebration of Life!

The island of St. Maarten proved to be a perfect locale for this celebration.

We spent a good part of our time based in St. Maarten at our "home away from home" beach villa on the 'Dutch side' of the island in the area of Bergaux Bay.

After spending time in St. Barths, which had a consistent air about it all across the island, the many stark contrasting characteristics of St. Maarten became obvious. There were definitely 2 distinct flavors between the Dutch and the French sides of St. Maarten. The Dutch side being more filled with the port stops for all the major cruise ships, touristic shopping, the bustling bars, casinos, and nightclubs. The French side with a slightly quieter personality, and more areas to find secluded beaches.

We loved spending our days discovering the distinct qualities of the French side and stumbling upon these little bits of paradise tucked away in places like Anse Marcel, Orient Beach, the very lively atmosphere at Coco Beach-----and then spending our nights unraveling all the slick nightlife the island had to offer in Maho Bay. There was definitely always something to do here on The Friendly Island.