alaithea

I was never a Francophile; I don’t even know French. Yet since going to Paris over New Year’s, I cannot stop thinking about the place. Amazing.

...and I don’t usually like the beach. I highly recommend the Renaissance Resort & Casino, as their private island is great. There’s cool wildlife everywhere, like flamingoes, small lizards, pelicans and iguanas. The beach is well-shaded with palm trees, it is amply supplied with lounge chairs, and the swimming area is protected by a rock barrier from the larger waves. Great experience.

The food was good. Our favorite restaurant was Cuba’s Cookin’. Que Pasa was also very good, although expensive. The Dutch Pancake House was excellent for breakfast, and the restaurants at the hotel were also quite good, with the buffet-style one being a much better deal than a lot of the food we got.

The weather around Christmas-time was ideal. Just humid enough to make the air feel “soft,” with the temperature in the low 80’s (F).

I was not terribly impressed with the town area, which was overcrowded with stinky cars and a little dingy. Some shops were interesting, but I personally wouldn’t go there for the shopping.

If you go, it’s fun to pop into the casinos and blow a dollar here and there trying your luck at the slots.

The CRMC is a very memorable place. It is as emotionally moving as it is educational.

Montgomery is a nice little town, and the park where the Shakespeare Festival and Montgomery Art Museum are located is fantastic. My only complaint was that when I was there, on a Sunday, nothing in town was open at all. To get dinner, we had to head to the highway strip for generic chain-restaurant food.