We're kind of cute, aren't we? :)
In addition to the lizards that joined us at Gilligan's for lunch, there several birds. There was this one bird that was completely black with a bright yellow eye. It had an Edgar Allen Poe vibe to it.
Still having fun.
Still relaxed.
Since we'd enjoyed Smokey Joe's so much, we decided to go to one of its sister restaurants. (It has two -- Iguana Cantina and Iguana Joe's). For some reason, I had it in my head that Iguana Joe's was within walking distance of our hotel and that we'd passed it on one of our nightly walks. John and I walked down the high-rise hotel strip and kept looking at each other wondering where it was. Turns out that the Iguana Cantina was within walking distance, so we went for that. It's a Mexican restaurant that overlooks an outdoor mall. Every night they have a "water/light" show. I'm not really sure I'd call it a "show", but there were actually people sitting in stands watching it.
On the menu that night:
Chips & salsa (of course)
Katie: Shredded chicken burrito (I really need to branch out.)
John: Coconut shrimp
To drink for both of us: Sangria swirl margaritas:
Traditional evening photo:
Day seven. Back to the beach. It's a tough job but someone's got to do it.
Traditional lunch at Gilligan's.
If I close my eyes and think hard enough, I see frozen raspberry margaritas and a "bucket" o'shrimp in front of me.
Even after eating all that, John can still float.
I thought I'd be all artsy and try to write in the sand and take a photo. Yeah, didn't exactly pan out.
(It says "John & Katie, 10 years.) I won't quit my day job.
I may not be able to write in the sand, but I have no problem relaxing in the blue waters of Aruba with my husband of ten glorious years.
Dinner on day seven. We'd been waiting for this ALL WEEK. We were headed to Madame Janette. If you've been to Aruba but never been to Madame Janette, you MUST go. It was our "get all gussied up night" so naturally I wanted extra photos. (You can click on photo below to enlarge it and see how fancy we look.)
(In case it wasn't clear from these blog posts, this picture confirms we love Aruba!)
Madame Janette is in Noord, which is not walkable from the high-rise hotel area and is basically hidden in a residential neighborhood. Taxi drivers can find it easily, but if a tourist rented a car and tried to drive there? Forget it. Twists and turns and in someone's backyard.
Luckily cab drivers can drive the route from the high-rise area to Madame Janette in their sleep, because John and I put our cab driver to the test (and lined his pocket.) As soon as we go to the restaurant, stepped out, and looked at the menu, I realized I had forgotten my lactose pills. ::sigh::
I had dreamed about a cream-type frozen drink or a large slab of meat doused in cream sauce.
WAIT!!!!
Luckily our taxi driver was still idling there. Um, can you take us back to the hotel? He gave us a bit of an odd look, but happily drove us back to the hotel, waited while I ran up to the room and grabbed my pills, and then drove us back. We arrived back (for the second time) just moments before our reservation.
Phew.
We were escorted to our seat and promptly asked if we were allergic to cats.
Um, what?
Apparently there's a resident cat that roams the section we sat in. I'm not a big cat person, but he/she sat below our table and wanted a chin/belly rub and he/she got them (mostly from John, as is evidenced by this photo.)
On the menu:
Appetizer: Janette's Homemade Crab Cakes with chef's spicy island aioli
VERY GOOD. Yummy, in fact.
John's Entree: (from the specials menu) Comentatore Mario Andretti's Veal Chop.
Yes, that was for ONE person. HUGE. Delicious, according to John!
Katie's Entree: (also from the specials menu): Pasta a la Mamma Mia.
AMAZING. Delicious sauce and just the right amount of creaminess.
Drinks were Appletinis for me and a Brown Lady for John.
Best night. (insert heart here.)
Up next: days eight and nine -- last two days. :(
The food looks delish, even the veal that I won't eat!
ReplyDeleteThe beach looks so relaxing. I want to go float like John was doing (not many can do that, but I can, even when I was 9 months pg I could still do it!).