A Trip to the Beach

Rating:
Summary: a great book!!!!
Review: a must read for anyone who has been or will go to anguilla, the island where they have there restaurant. an enchanting and warm tale about a husband and wife who move to paradise to live out their dream. it is full of great recipes from the restaurant, but also just a great story!!!!

Rating:
Summary: A love letter to a place that becomes both home and escape.
Review: This book originated in one of those proposals that only comes once or twice in an editor's career: I opened the first page and I was immediately drawn into a world of seaside charm, of sun and sand and the pleasures of an island escape. I knew I wanted to go there, and I wanted to go in the company of Bob and Melinda Blanchard. This book was a dip into island time with two of the most delightful authors I'd ever encountered. And my response was widely shared: over the past winter, my in-house colleagues clamored for new chapters as soon as I got them in!

In A Trip to the Beach, Bob and Melinda Blanchard have written an enchanting true story of living and working on the island of Anguilla, a sliver of paradise in the Caribbean Sea. Having turned a little beach bar and grill into a magical restaurant that garners four-star reviews, they've now written a delicious memoir of life and love and work--and have even included some favorite recipes from their restaurant. Affectionate, seductive and very funny, A Trip to the Beach is a love letter to a place that becomes both home and escape; I'm sure it'll bring pleasures to many readers.

Rating:
Summary: Great reading for your Caribbean Vacation
Review: I can relate to Island time, having just finished producing "The Best Caribbean Beaches" DVD here on Amazon.com. Every Bahamas Air plane was an hour late and no one seemed to care! Anyway, this book is a nice 'adventure' tale of a couple trying to make a living in Paridise which I can strongly relate too. Dealing with all the unusual problems and joys of running one's own business in a foreign country.

Rating:
Summary: As Enjoyable as a Tropical Breeze
Review: Caribbean vacationers who have ever wondered what it would be like to sell everything and operate a business on their favorite island retreat will find satisfaction in this easy going account of a Vermont couple who move to Anguilla. Anguilla is a sixteen mile long thirty-five square mile patch of land at the northern end of the gentle crescent of islands in the eastern Caribbean nestled close to the flashier and better known St. Martin. Here on this quiet island the Blanchards arrive with their life savings and a dream to open a restaurant. Their story is about the embrace of the gentler life rhythms of this special island paradise. For the Blanchards the secret of "island time" is a life of breathing deeper and walking slower. Along the way we meet the locals against a background of palms, bougainvilleas, frigate birds, blue skies, and sandy beaches. We follow the Blanchards during the holidays, a local election, a demanding wedding celebration, summer boat races, an employee's dismissal, a break-in, etc. Occasionally we are treated to a recipe, for example, banana bread or better yet, "banana cabana"! The gentle trade winds that are the text of this impressionistic account build to a natural climax - a direct hit from Hurricane Luis (1995). Stow this paperback in your carry-on bag for quick relief while you wait impatiently to board your fight to the island paradise of your choice.

Rating:
Summary: A JOY TO READ!
Review: I dearly loved this book. The Blanchards have done a beautiful job of telling their story in such an endearingly human, yet captivating way. Their descriptions of the people and places they encountered drew me into each chapter of their adventure. I didn't want the book to end!

Rating:
Summary: Blundering into success
Review: This book is a journal of the first year in the lives of a couple who decide to cash in their chips, sell their house in Vermont, and start a restaurant in Anguilla. Although they've had some experience in the food service industry before, having started a reasonably successful company that makes bottled sauces, they had no idea about the challenges that might face them when trying to run a business in a foreign country and culture.

Their first task upon arrival in Anguilla was to find a suitable location for their restaurant. They soon discovered that the way to find a property in Anguilla is not through a real estate office, but through connections and backroom deals, sealed with a handshake. As they moved on to the renovations and supply stage of their business, they were shocked to find out that they couldn't just run down to the local Home Depot to get construction materials. Slowly, they became aware that things are done differently in Anguilla, and one reason why prices for tourists are so high is that most everything must be shipped in from Miami and pass customs at great expense.

It's very fortunate for them that Melinda is a great cook and Robert is handy and knowledgeable in so many areas, and most important of all, that they have a healthy relationship based on trust and wanting to keep each other happy. Many people would never have the courage to even attempt what the Blanchards have done- -they would sit down first, make some calculations on the back of a napkin, check with the local business people to find out about tax laws and suppliers, and give up before they ever got started, realizing that the venture would be hopeless. But the Blanchards aren't planners, they don't agonize over what disasters the future may bring, and as a result, with fortune smiling upon them, their little business venture seems to fit in fine in Anguilla.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Trip to the Beach
Review: This book was well written and gave a fantastic depiction of life in the caribbean. I am a beach lover and enjoyed this book immensely while vacationing in the carribbean. I purchased this book as a "beach book" and was not disappointed. I have recommended this book to numerous family members and friends. Even if you are not able to travel this book will definitely be a great "Trip to the Beach".

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!!!!!
Review: A Trip to the Beach is a fantastic book that you can't put down. Usually I want a book to end, but not this one - I was sad to finish it. I was awed by their ability to open the restaurant with all the trials and tribulations they had to overcome. I highly recommend this book - the food descriptions were fabulous. I am awaiting their new cookbook and can't wait to try the recipes.