French St Martin/ American Sint Maarten

Manolee sometimes asks me, "can we go get ice cream on the English side?" - when I correct her, that there is no English side on this island, she then says, "I meant the American side".

Honestly though, the girl is not so far off. The Dutch side of the island is, for all intents and purposes as far as I can see, American. It's like mini Americana in many ways. Mind you, there are chunks of the island that I have not yet been to, so I cannot speak to all of it, but much of the Dutch side appears to exist to serve American tourists/expats.

On the French side things remain quite French. People speak French mostly (though I hear a lot of Spanish and Creole too), shop in French bakeries and French supermarkets (though curiously, a chain called "US Market" carries most exclusively French goods), and white French people from the mainland appear mostly to mingle within their own community. There are no buildings taller than 3 storeys. There are no casinos. Marigot, the capital, is just dead on Sundays (although the West Indies Mall is announcing that it's open on Sundays now). I once went through Marigot at 6:10pm during the run-up to the Xmas holidays and was stunned to see the streets deserted, with not one store open.

On the Dutch side, tall buildings, casinos and neon lights abound. People complain about overdevelopment, but boy does it feel good to find a supermarket open at 6am (you never know what you may need at an ungodly hour), a couple of McDonalds, KFCs, and Burger Kings - even Bubble Tea outlets. My girls screamed out in unison upon learning that a Dunkin Donuts will soon open up shop in the Blue Mall. In the 7 months we've been here, I've only heard Dutch spoken 2 or 3 times. American English definitely dominates, as does the US Dollar.

So back to this ice cream place that Manolee likes so much. It's a place called Carousel and it is exquisite. The ice cream is very good and very reasonable ($3 for a huge cone); the whole place is immaculate; there is lovely a merry-go-round in the back for which leather tickets are issued:


It's a lovely place to while away a half-hour with the girls. I hope the place does well (it is never crowded when we go) and sticks around - I know any time we are around Simpson Bay, it's now become a must-stop for us! I guess I also like it so much because it reminds me of similar kid-friendly places in the US. So - American Sint Maarten - I approve!