(Each) Let’s go get away… [sorry – I can’t say that without singing Nicki Minaj]

Friends! Did you all have a good Thanksgiving? Or, as they refer to it in Canada, a good Thursday?

Mine was ahMAYzing because I was on my annual escape-Black-Friday-and-usher-in-the-holiday-season-on-the-beach vacation!

(Yes. Am luckiest girl in the world. Am aware.)

For the third year in a row, The Husband and I took advantage of having no American Thanksgiving traditions to prevent us from enjoying the long weekend and headed off to St. Martin. Third time was definitely the charm – the first year it was still all new and we felt obligated to do touristy things. Last year there was the spectre of “must sell house and move across country” hanging over my head. But this year was perfect – a well-established routine, no pressure to try anything new, and an extra day to boot.

Let me show you why I love it so much! First, you wake up to blue skies and hot sun and flowers and palm trees.

Then, off to breakfast where (because we stay on the French side), you get croissants and pain au chocolat and fresh juice.

Then you saunter back to your room, apply 90 SPF sunscreen, and head off to the beach!

A short stroll later, you reach the only difficulty of the day – catching the attention of the right beach boy who will get you a good seat (it helps if you tipped well the day before).

And then you are placed and you politely request that the umbrella be moved to make sure not a single sunbeam touches your skin and then you ask for an espresso and you take out your Kindle and then ahhhhhh…..

(See how there’s a little tile with our name on it on that table? Once you’ve come for a few days and proved your worthiness, you get a reserved seat!)

Then it’s all “read a few pages” and then “stare at the ocean” and then “read a few more pages” and then “ask for a drink refill” until you take a break from all that arduousness for lunch.

(Also on the beach, because luckiest girl in the world.)

Then, when the sun starts to think about setting and the wind starts picking up and you start to get a bit cold, it’s time to pack up, bid farewell and “a demain” to the beach boy and head back to the hotel room to rest up from such a hard day.

(Made all the better with beer and French snacks. Note: That collection of bottles is not from my side of the bed. My collection was much smaller. But also contained fewer Miller Lites. [Good grief])

Second wind obtained, it’s time for dinner. There’s decent restaurants (because France) but my favourite, favourite evening is Friday.

I don’t go for the lobster party. I go for SHINE! See the smooth dude behind me with a stool and a microphone? That’s Shine and he croons the best karaoke ever.

(Sorry about my face – I’m doing that thing where you pretend you’re posing for a picture when really the person is trying to unobtrusively take a video.)

Oh, and the resort is full of feral cats! So there’s little friends hanging around your dinner table! (That actually makes it sound less cool than it is….)

And then you happily sway back to your room and your crazy-big king-sized bed that is so big you can’t even find each other and smile as you drift off knowing you get to do it all over again tomorrow.

Swoon. It really is my favourite thing. And so amazing to have a week to be just the two of us, reconnecting and relaxing and calming our spirits before the holidays. I look forward to it all year and every second I’m there is truly a dream.

Oh, and don’t you feel bad about our poor left-behind children. Shout out to my parents who came out for the week and exceeded expectations (which was possibly not that hard since we gave them only one requirement: “keep the kids alive”). Not only alive, but also a Thanksgiving feast!

Sigh. I can’t wait to go back! Only 359 more days!