just came back...tried new things +/-

[fattypatty]

okay, so we ended up staying at the stellaris again (4x) and got upgraded to the ocean/pool view room which was a nice way to start the vacation. the first thing we noticed was how empty the place was - june 1-5.

this time aroud we rented a car from amigo. their service was good and the car's condition was good - the same as any other place in the USA. driving in aruba was easier than i thought. but boy was gas expensive! i think i paid about $4.50/gallon.


anyhow, we tried new places for eats:

marandi - got lost coming back home in the dark with a few drinks in my system. the food was great, but they had small portions and it was expensive imo. but the quality was good. the view was also great - no flies or mosquitoes to report.

charlie's bar - ate lunch there and vowed to never go back. it's definitely a place you go once to see what the hoopla is all about but i found it hard to find a reason to go twice. the food is expensive imo for both the quality and quantity.

passions - great food and decent price. we tried the watermelon salad and found it very interesting.....it was good and it was bad. it's hard to explain. but it's definitely something to give a try. you won't find something like that here. but it was way toooooo windy when we went - things were flying off the table and i think i ate at least a tea spoon worth of sand. but the view of the sunset is by far the best compared with old man, flying fish, and marandi (the beach/water eateries).

blossoms - same ole, good food and decent pricing - perhaps a little pricey for a chinese food but nothing out of the ordinary compared to nyc eateries. we go to for our rice fix.

belgium bistro (at the new mall - the name may be incorrect) - this is probably one of the worst places we went along with charlies. the service was way too slow and the food was bland and tateless. and it's quite expensive. although the terrace seating was nice.


baby beach - awesome. regretted not having been there the other times i went to aruba. the drive was long and the detour coupled with poor signs didn't help, but getting lost was half the fun.

casino - got my 1st full house at the caribbean stud!

ling and sons - probably the best supermarket. it's definitely nicer than many of the places near my house. we went to 3 supermarkets in aruba and found ling and sons to be the cleanest, fully stocked, diverse choice, and most americanized. i think their prices were cheaper also.

[Arubalisa]

Welcome home. Sounds like you packed a lot into a short trip, BUT also sounds like you had a terrific time. Good to hear you had a good experience with Amigo. We did too when you rented for a day with them last year.

[fattypatty]

we tried to go to that mountain but just kept circling it. we couldn't find an entrance of any sort for us to climb it up.

and we did notice how extensive the stray dog issue was. it's funny how none of the strays ever come to the resort areas (or how well they make sure the strays aren't there).

we also took in a movie at the new theater....it's clean and priced the same as the states. $8/ticket and $10 for popcorn and soda. i think the release dates for them are about a week or two late.

[Andrea J.]

absolutely agree with you about charlie's bar
imo YUK
i have no idea what all of the hoopla is about


glad you had a good time
thanks for reporting in!
andrea

[~Amy~®]

And we LOVE Charlie's Bar...different strokes for different folks, right?

We go there for lunch with a group of friends at least once per trip, sit at the bar (sitting at a table is no fun), BS with our usual bartenders who are there year after year, BS with the various patrons who come in, drink ice cold Balashi on tap in frosted glasses, wait for unsuspecting souls to ring the bell (so we get a free beer on them), and order my favorite steak sandwich with HOT honeymoon sauce. We've been going there every year since '97 - it's tradition for us.

[cindyo]

Fattypatty,
It sounds like you had a nice time. I "hear" you on the restaurants. Sometimes ya just get a bad one, that others love. Post your restaurant reviews on ArubaRestaurants.com....
CIndy

[qlaval]

Glad to see you had a fun vacation!

By the way the gas as of today for June is $3.60usd/gallon.

January 2009 - $3.06
February 2009 - $3.33
March 2009 - $3.39
April 2009 - $3.50
May 2009 - $ 3.60

[arubamark]

Originally Posted by ~Amy~®

And we LOVE Charlie's Bar...different strokes for different folks, right?

We go there for lunch with a group of friends at least once per trip, sit at the bar (sitting at a table is no fun), BS with our usual bartenders who are there year after year, BS with the various patrons who come in, drink ice cold Balashi on tap in frosted glasses, wait for unsuspecting souls to ring the bell (so we get a free beer on them), and order my favorite steak sandwich with HOT honeymoon sauce. We've been going there every year since '97 - it's tradition for us.

Never been there but plan on it one day. So if you ring the bell you are obligated to buy a round of drinks for everyone in there or just at the bar? How does that work?

[~Amy~®]

Originally Posted by arubamark

Never been there but plan on it one day. So if you ring the bell you are obligated to buy a round of drinks for everyone in there or just at the bar? How does that work?

If you ring the bell you have to buy everyone sitting at the bar a drink. So if you're going to do it, make sure you count heads first!

I will say this about Charlie's Bar though....it is never a cheap afternoon there since we stay for so long (their prices are fair but definitely not on the cheap side) but we're on vacation and having fun so that's all that matters.

[fattypatty]

what was worth it about going to charlie's bar was seeing the red light district depicted in SanNic44's book. although, i'd have to say that it seemed that there were much more ladies of the night standing by the doors than the "4 girls per bar" restriction SanNic44 stated.....or perhaps there were just much more bars. i did see "minchi's" - which was a bar in the book.