Melinda Blanchard
Paperback | Pages: 304 pages Rating: 3.91 | 2577 Users | 243 Reviews
Itemize Books Concering A Trip to the Beach: Living on Island Time in the Caribbean
| Original Title: | A Trip to the Beach: Living on Island Time in the Caribbean |
| ISBN: | 060980748X (ISBN13: 9780609807484) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Setting: | Anguilla |
Chronicle In Pursuance Of Books A Trip to the Beach: Living on Island Time in the Caribbean
This is the true story of a trip to the beach that never ends. It's about a husband and wife who escape civilization to build a small restaurant on an island paradise -- and discover that even paradise has its pitfalls. It's a story filled with calamities and comedy, culinary disasters and triumphs, and indelible portraits of people who live and work on a sliver of beauty set in the Caribbean Sea. It's about the maddening, exhausting, outlandish complications of trying to live the simple life -- and the joy that comes when you somehow pull it off.The story begins when Bob and Melinda Blanchard sell their successful Vermont food business and decide, perhaps impulsively, to get away from it all. Why not open a beach bar and grill on Anguilla, their favorite Caribbean island? One thing leads to another and the little grill turns into an enchanting restaurant that quickly draws four-star reviews and a celebrity-studded clientele eager for Melinda's delectable cooking. Amid the frenetic pace of the Christmas "high season," the Blanchards and their kitchen staff -- Clinton and Ozzie, the dancing sous-chefs; Shabby, the master lobster-wrangler; Bug, the dish-washing comedian -- come together like a crack drill team. And even in the midst of hilarious pandemonium, there are moments of bliss.
As the Blanchards learn to adapt to island time, they become ever more deeply attached to the quirky rhythms and customs of their new home. Until disaster strikes: Hurricane Luis, a category-4 storm with two-hundred-mile-an-hour gusts, devastates Anguilla. Bob and Melinda survey the wreckage of their beloved restaurant and wonder whether leaving Anguilla, with its innumerable challenges, would be any easier than walking out on each other. Affectionate, seductive, and very funny, A Trip to the Beach is a love letter to a place that becomes both home and escape.
Particularize Epithetical Books A Trip to the Beach: Living on Island Time in the Caribbean
| Title | : | A Trip to the Beach: Living on Island Time in the Caribbean |
| Author | : | Melinda Blanchard |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 304 pages |
| Published | : | November 20th 2001 by Potter Style (first published October 10th 2000) |
| Categories | : | Travel. Nonfiction. Autobiography. Memoir. Food and Drink. Food |
Rating Epithetical Books A Trip to the Beach: Living on Island Time in the Caribbean
Ratings: 3.91 From 2577 Users | 243 ReviewsAssess Epithetical Books A Trip to the Beach: Living on Island Time in the Caribbean
I'm not usually a fan of true life stories but this was so easy to read & so much fun. On holiday in Barbados, Mel & Bob Blanchard visit a beach where an enterprising man charges them $10 each to cook their own burgers! Thinking that they could do something similar, they decide to leave the US & make a new life for themselves in Anguilla. However, they end up with is something far more ambitious than they intended! Not only do Mel & Bob have to build a restaurant but they soonPart one is a whirlwind and exhausting move to Anguilla along with building, stocking and staffing the beach restaurant. An expensive and tedious process undertaken on Island Time. Part two is an endless and tedious day-in-the-life (more like year) of being a restaurateur. This section was endless and repetitive though some of the staffs antics were rather amusing. Part three involved a disaster and a rebuild. All in all, a well-written book that read more like fiction than non fiction. I'm glad
You can't help but fantasize about Anguilla after reading this. Fantasize about visiting, fantasize about dropping all your responsibilities and moving there, fantasize about the great meals, fantasize about the two types of speed there, island time and dead stop. This book really captures all of that and really captures the island. Crazy to read it and realize it is 20 years ago. Having been there 2 years ago, it is clear not too much has changed. Which is really good.
Did this book make me want to move to an island? Absolutely! But the self serving advertisement of their restaurant and accomplishments turned me off. The book paints a picture of island life and the friendships with wonderful low income islanders and then they turn the beat up shack they rent into an over priced 4 star establishment. They speak of hoping Antigua will not be the next cruise ship stop but only rich tourists can afford to go 🤔. Just my humble opinion!
Simplistically written, quick read. I actually thought this was self published (it's not) if that gives you an idea. I was expecting it to be a bit more of a "fun" read but it was more businesslike. The hurricane part at the very end was the most interesting of the whole book. I kept hoping to feel that dreamy beach vibe while reading but this unfortunately fell short.
This was a very relaxing book. Perfect summer read, perfect beach read. It really did sweep me away to Anguilla for a little bit and it got me researching the island. I enjoyed the Blanchard's story from the beginning to the last page. The descriptions of the island were just charming. And reading about the people was even more so. So if you have some time and some wanderlust, I'd give this book a go.
I seem to be one of a few that didn't give this book high ratings. Why the low rating? A few reasons: the book is poorly written for starters. It's a slow read and, to be brutally honest, not all that engaging once you get past the first chapter or so. It's the memoir of a self absorbed couple who decide to move to Anguilla to open up a restaurant. The adventures of an affluent white couple in a third world country! Oh the stories they could tell about those nutty natives and all the crazy
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