Miguel Gierbolini

This is a nice, recent account of Laperouse. http://www.burkeandwells.com/archive/000182.php

Yes. My wife.

I have a pretty quick trigger for one thing: sit me and forget about me. No menu. No drinks. No nothing. Just waiters and other staff walking back and forth. I get up and leave and if I am up I will not sit down again.

Great! You should ask Jason to help you. Today he posted some rather large pictures in the Saint Martin thread in the Caribbean Forum. Freaking large pictures.

Hey awbrig: did you ever post these? I think I only saw three. We should play guessing "what's in the Trotter plate?" Aurora is really good at that!!

I think that pretty well sums it up You know an eon is only 7 hours? But seriously Ed, what's in the menu at Barbarosa? is it local fare?

Culebra is fine, just don't go there to find food. When i was last there, eons ago, the Dinghy Dock served appropriate burgers. The scenery, the beaches are really breathtaking is you like that sort of stuff.

Excellent pictures Jason. How do you get them to come out so big? What's the truc?

Great report. Lizzie: how much more expensive is Ducasse than other Paris three stars? (I gather from reports here and elsewhere that most French non-Paris three stars are less expensive). Cabrales: which is, if there is one, your favorite restaurant in France? (I have read many of your reviews--thanks-- but I can't recall right now if you have a favorite).

I forgot St. Barts. You can speak French there. Really expensive though.

Good. Rachel, you also can practice French in the following Caribbean destinations: Guadeloupe, Martinique and best of all-- Haiti! I forgot to say that plane fares to San Juan from New York City are less than $200 roundtrip. The Puerto Rico Tourism Company better pay me good money for all this publicity . . .

Well just to bring this back to the top. I am surprised that a little Mickey Mouse island like St. Maarten/St. Martin has like 10 times the posts that the Puerto Rico threads have. There are more and better restaurants here. And the beaches are REALLY NICE! (here people keep their clothes on-just barely). Old San Juan is more interesting by a mile than Grand Case or Phillipsburg or Marigot. And the roads (with lots of Federal Highway Authority funding) are slightly better here! Golf courses, Rain Forests, Shopping Centers, Old Spanish Forts, Mofongo, Nice looking people (think J. Lo and Ricky Martin not Marc Anthony), Plaza las Americas, Tito Trinidad, Roberto Alomar and Iván Rodriguez (any baseball players or boxers in St. Martin?), the Luquillo and Pinones kiosks, nice Puerto Rican Rum (from El Barrilito to Don Q Cristal). And even some high-end restaurants like Ramiro's, Augusto's, Chayote, Inverninos etc. Puerto Rico is better.

With the butler, in the foyer.

This thread is still alive? Let's see Mexico, USA, Canada. Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, St. Thomas (does this count?), Anguilla, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Maarten (I can't count this as two, sorry), St. Barts, Dominica. England, Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar, Holland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Russia, Estonia (or wherever Tallin is), Germany and Denmark. I am only missing all of South America, all of Asia, all of Africa, all of the Pacific Islands, Australia and Antartica. That's all.

Hmm, I was going to say that (but only after taking a peek at the menu in the website ). Did you see how fast Aurora went through that trap door? She will be missed . . .

Cabrales thanks. Is Trotter doing a lot of travelling these days? He was here in Puerto Rico last week for some exhibition. Unfortunately I could not attend.

Thanks Awbrig. Round and red carrots?

I am trying to guess what this last one is but I don't think I have the foggiest. Something yellowy . . .

Odd indeed. Guy Savoy handed your table a bag with a plate? Weird.

hoping? wishing for? desiring? longing?

Cabrales- Are you planning on having that little bird-the Ortholan?

I am not in New Jersey but this is what will happen: 1. The Supreme Court of New Jersey will permit Lautenberg on the Ballot. 2. He will win. 3. Democrats will maintain a majority in the U.S. Senate. 4. Lautenberg, 78, will retire soon after taking office. 5. New Jersey's democratic governor will appoint someone, (it could be Torricelli) to substitute Lautenberg for the remainder of the six year term. 6. Torricelli or whomever Lautenberg's substitute is will be investigated by the Senate Ethics committee. 7. And so on.

I do speak Spanish and after looking all over Sole Graells' site could not find a reference to MICRI. There is, however, a lot of stuff. After clicking on the first screen a menu will appear. Click on "Tienda Virtual" (Virtual Store) and then on "Area de Compras" (Purchase Area) at the bottom right of the next screen. The next screen will have a list of product categories: "Cacao y Derivados . . . Gelificantes -gellifiers? . . . Estabilizantes--stabilizers . . . gelatinas--gels" and many others. Click on any category and you'll see the individual products. There is a search function ("búsqueda") but yielded nada when searching for MICRI. I searched elsewhere and could not find anything on MICRI. Hey, are we certain this product exists??

Robert, I have not been there yet. One of my dearest friends lives there and we have had many communications about the subject. Istanbul is in my short list of places to visit.

Istanbul is both in Europe and in Asia. But I think the turks consider themselves closer to Europe; they play soccer in the European group to qualify for the World Cup, they want to join the European Union, so I guess that it is appropriate to post about Istanbul here.