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2nd out of 130 books
—
101 voters
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...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
November 20th 2001
by Potter Style
(first published October 10th 2000)
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This explains why meals/accomodations on some Carribean Islands can be so expensive.
The first half of this book is fun and interesting to anyone who has ever visited Anguilla. A middle-aged Norwich Vermont couple relocate to Anguilla and open a restaurant. It is still in business, and is called Blanchards. Import duties, taxes, delays, weather, and the relaxed approach to life by Anguillans contribute to stress equal to that of any restaurant opening in NYC.
The second half drags a bit, then H...more
The first half of this book is fun and interesting to anyone who has ever visited Anguilla. A middle-aged Norwich Vermont couple relocate to Anguilla and open a restaurant. It is still in business, and is called Blanchards. Import duties, taxes, delays, weather, and the relaxed approach to life by Anguillans contribute to stress equal to that of any restaurant opening in NYC.
The second half drags a bit, then H...more
It feels like a long time since I read a really good travel book. Or maybe it's just that it's the end of February and reading about a warm, sunny island felt like such a relief. Whatever the reason, I loved this story of a Vermont couple who move to Anguilla to open a restaurant and make a life for themselves there.
This is the kind of travel book I like best, the ones where the writers have done more than just vacation in their chosen spot - they have lived there and because of that they can gi...more
This is the kind of travel book I like best, the ones where the writers have done more than just vacation in their chosen spot - they have lived there and because of that they can gi...more
Lately I've been reading non-fiction books about people who drop everything and travel around the world or start new lives. This book is about a couple who decided to sell their home in Vermont and open a restaurant on a tropical island.
Overall, the book was great. Their main goal, however, seemed to be to tell stories about the life of the locals. I appreciated the stories but I wanted to hear more of the logistics of starting a restaurant in a foreign country.
For instance, the wife is the cook...more
Overall, the book was great. Their main goal, however, seemed to be to tell stories about the life of the locals. I appreciated the stories but I wanted to hear more of the logistics of starting a restaurant in a foreign country.
For instance, the wife is the cook...more
The story of this couple selling everything in Vermont and struggling to open a high-end restaurant on Anguilla, an idyllic Caribbean island, is inspiring. The writing was clunky at times, but I don't think people read this for the writing but rather to see the details of a risky, big life change. The author and her husband are entrepeneurs with experience starting food-related businesses and a strong sense of adventure and lifestyle creativity. I admire them. They are dreamers who can deal with...more
As a quick reading alternative to a romance novel, this book would work. But for a literary experience this book falls short. It is an interesting exsersize to read it and figure out why. First, the book has two authors, but only one voice. Melinda Blanchard's voice dominates the text. During the parts of the story where she is not around, i.e. the parts her husband Bob wrote, her voice becomes omniscient. Second, Melinda tells us what we see instead of showing us the surroundings and everything...more
Feb 27, 2011
BJ
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone who enjoys a good armchair traveller type book with a "foodie" edge.
I found "A Trip to the Beach: Living on Island Time in the Caribbean by Melinda and Robert Blanchard on a list on the Goodreads site. Reviews were mixed, but it sounded good to me, so I checked it out of the library and I'm glad I did. This book tells the story of a couple from Vermont who go to the island of Anguilla on vacation and fall in love with the island and its people. Later, after selling their business, Blanchard and Blanchard, a popular specialty food company, they decide to open a b...more
Read this some number of years ago...very entertaining AND includes a recipe for the best cornbread. EVER.
The Blanchards are a couple who decide to pack up and move themselves to the Caribbean isle of Anguilla. There, they begin a highly successful restaurant and turn the native people into their family-away-from-home.
As in your life, every day isn't pina coladas and sand between your toes - the Blanchards contend with hurricanes, employee headaches and even wildlife issues - who knew Paradise...more
The Blanchards are a couple who decide to pack up and move themselves to the Caribbean isle of Anguilla. There, they begin a highly successful restaurant and turn the native people into their family-away-from-home.
As in your life, every day isn't pina coladas and sand between your toes - the Blanchards contend with hurricanes, employee headaches and even wildlife issues - who knew Paradise...more
Having the desire to move to St. John, USVI, I ordered this book specifically online so I could read a first hand account of the process and feelings associated with moving from the states to a tropical caribbean island. The book chronicles the lives of a married couple from Vermont, who decide they would like to live on the island of Anguilla, and open a restaurant. The book is very detailed, the descriptions of the island, the people, the process were very vivid. I enjoyed reading the book, al...more
What a surprising find this was! While staying in Austin last year, we found this book in the hotel lending library that Hilton Garden Inn hotels have started adding to their properties. My husband started reading this first, and he enjoyed it so much and recognized that it's the type of book I'm usually telling him about that he recommended it to me. Melinda and Bob's writing style is easy and engaging, and their story of how they moved to a tiny island and opened a world-class restaurant is pr...more
Ugh. I read a lot of travel books and have a particular interest in island cultures so I was attracted to the subject of this book. It was not enjoyable to read. The author has a condescending attitude towards the locals and their culture. It was also poorly written, but I have a fairly high tolerance for poor writing when it comes to memoirs, the thing that made this book so unpleasant was the authors perspective. She comes across as the kind of person who considers an island that suffers chron...more
I read this one at the beach a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I had to finish it after we returned home and it kept that endless summer feeling alive for a few more days.
If I remember correctly, there is a little rough language at the beginning. Then it just goes away. I remember thinking how unnecessary any of it was. The characters would have been perfectly believable without the language.
But I loved this book! Big decisions, new beginnings, hurricanes, starting over, and sticki...more
If I remember correctly, there is a little rough language at the beginning. Then it just goes away. I remember thinking how unnecessary any of it was. The characters would have been perfectly believable without the language.
But I loved this book! Big decisions, new beginnings, hurricanes, starting over, and sticki...more
Ok, so while I was pleasantly surprised by how this turned out to be sort of a foodie/travel book, it still wasn't the best account out there. It had many strengths to it, but in all, just wasn't as interesting as it could have been.
Melinda and Robert Blanchard, after selling their business at far below what they should have, decided they want to live on the island of Anguilla. Not as well known to the tourists, but still with a thriving tourist economy, they decide they will open a restaurant o...more
Melinda and Robert Blanchard, after selling their business at far below what they should have, decided they want to live on the island of Anguilla. Not as well known to the tourists, but still with a thriving tourist economy, they decide they will open a restaurant o...more
Mar 18, 2011
Suzanne
marked it as to-read
"A Trip to the Beach" by Melinda and Robert Blanchard
(Clarkson Potter)
The book is a trick, in a way. It's light and fun, hardly a critically-acclaimed iconic novel, but its central theme of "island time"—the easy-going way of Island life—is a nice, calm-thyself-instantly reminder. Of course, I was handed a copy of this book while on the island of Anguilla, so it might be that the book reminds me of that wonderful trip. -- Amy Guth
http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/...
(Clarkson Potter)
The book is a trick, in a way. It's light and fun, hardly a critically-acclaimed iconic novel, but its central theme of "island time"—the easy-going way of Island life—is a nice, calm-thyself-instantly reminder. Of course, I was handed a copy of this book while on the island of Anguilla, so it might be that the book reminds me of that wonderful trip. -- Amy Guth
http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/...
May 10, 2013
Lisa (Harmonybites)
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommended to Lisa (Harmonybites) by:
The Ultimate Reading List
This is the memoir of a Vermont couple who moved to the tiny Caribbean island of Anguilla and poured their heart and sweat--and life savings--into creating a world class restaurant there. It was recommended in the Travel Section of The Ultimate Reading List that had provided me with reading for years--and this is the penultimate book left. On that list travel memoirs seemed to split into two kinds: tales of tourists, such as with Bill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country or expatriates, such as Franc...more
I'd really give this book 2 1/2 stars if that was an option. This memoir offers some unique insights into the challenges and triumphs of chasing a dream and making it happen, on island time. Conveniences that we take for granted in America are essentially non-existant in Anguilla, and the Blanchards found a way to beat the odds, time and again. Also, Melinda shares some fantastic recipies throughout the text--a foodie's dream.
I just found myself wishing that the memoir was written in another fo...more
I just found myself wishing that the memoir was written in another fo...more
This is definitely a beach read, one of the new generation of adult chick lit type books about life, travel and cooking, with a few interesting recipes strewn here and there.This one is about a man and woman that move from Vermont to the eastern Caribbean island of Anguilla (their favorite vacation spot) to open the beachfront restaurant they have always dreamed about.
It is an easy read that is written as a one year narrative about dreaming, building and running their restaurant until it is dest...more
It is an easy read that is written as a one year narrative about dreaming, building and running their restaurant until it is dest...more
Memoir of a Vermont couple who move to the tiny Caribbean island of Anguilla to start a fancy restaurant on the beach. It's a good quick read if you are looking for a tropical fix and/or like true accounts of people who decide to do unusual things (I do). It's not terribly well written (there's no masterful use of the english language, at least), nor does it delve very deeply into the emotional roller-coaster that their endeavor must have been. It also doesn't go into any depth about the dynamic...more
I finished this quickly! The writing wasn't too fancy, but descriptive enough to allow me to imagine what starting a restaurant on a small island in the Caribbean would be like. I appreciated how Melinda didn't paint a perfect situation, but included all the difficulties of starting a restaurant. I also liked how they were slowly adopted as "natives" and not tourists after a while, and the transition they went through to get that status. It made me want to do the same thing!
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 thing...more
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would....
Bob and Melinda Blanchard were Vermonters who vacationed yearly in Anguilla. One year they decided to take the plunge and live in Anguilla. This book documents their first year living on a tiny Caribbean island and all the fun and drama they went through to open and operate a world-class restaurant. I Googled them and their beautiful restaurant is still in business. You can visit their website here:
http://www.blanchardsrestaurant.com/i...
Bob and Melinda Blanchard were Vermonters who vacationed yearly in Anguilla. One year they decided to take the plunge and live in Anguilla. This book documents their first year living on a tiny Caribbean island and all the fun and drama they went through to open and operate a world-class restaurant. I Googled them and their beautiful restaurant is still in business. You can visit their website here:
http://www.blanchardsrestaurant.com/i...
I really liked this book because when i read it i was on a trip in the bahamas with my family, which is basicsally what the book is about, a trip to the carribean, more specifically Anguilla with their family. I liked this because i felt like i experienced the book s i read it. I really enjoyed the story about a family who tried to open a resturaunt on the island, it was a risky business but they prevailed. I recommend the book to anyone.
The story itself is interesting, but the best things in this story are the recipes. The banana bread recipe in the book is to DIE FOR! It is the best I ever had. Other recipes such as rum punches and coconut rice sound enticing and I can imagine myself at a small table on the beach enjoying the scenery. A good read for anyone who has ever dreamed of chucking their everyday life and moving to a beach somewhere far, far away.
Good book...it takes you on a journey to Anguilla and introduces you to the locals and daily life on a paradise island through the eyes of Melinda Blanchard and her husband Robert as they have decided to move their life from Vermont to paradise in hopes of building their very own restaurant. You feel like you are right there building this life with Melinda and Robert in paradise and go through the struggles and hardships right along with them. The charaters (or I should say people since it's a t...more
This was a great book to read to put you in a state of tropical bliss. For most of the book anyway. The building of the restaurant was great the way they started from a ratty shack and built it into a great restaurant with a lot of work. The stories about their interaction with the locals who helped them build their place and run the restaurant are great. It gives you a feeling of their culture and the meaning of "island time". The writing style was not the best, but still a great read worth 5 s...more
A nice, easy book that gave a general idea of life in Anguilla - the sights, the sounds, etc. I couldn't help but wonder how much money Melinda and Bob Blanchard had, to pull off their move to Anguilla, the movement of all of their possessions, and the opening of their restaurant. And, of course, their lunches at all the expensive Anguilla hotels.
Ah well. The book is a nice bit of fluff, easy to pick up or put down at any point. Nothing mind blowing, but generally pleasant. And the recipes look...more
Ah well. The book is a nice bit of fluff, easy to pick up or put down at any point. Nothing mind blowing, but generally pleasant. And the recipes look...more
My dream - to live at the beach!
How one couple can find the courage to give up everything they have to go live at the beach is beyond me. Wish I had the guts to make such a bold move. The island sounded beautiful (already checking it out for a future vacation destination), and I really just wanted some rum punch and fresh seafood as I read the book. A perfect book for starting summer vacation!
One can always dream.....
How one couple can find the courage to give up everything they have to go live at the beach is beyond me. Wish I had the guts to make such a bold move. The island sounded beautiful (already checking it out for a future vacation destination), and I really just wanted some rum punch and fresh seafood as I read the book. A perfect book for starting summer vacation!
One can always dream.....
I didn't read this at the beach, but it was still fantastic. It's the memoir of a couple who moved to Anguilla (a British protectorate in the Caribbean) to open a restaurant. They talk about how awesome the island is, but more about how they had to adjust to its culture (they were from Vermont). They were self-deprecating, funny, and clearly in love with the island.
This book, which I "read" in audio form, grabbed my attention when it crossed my desk at the library because its story, about a couple who decides to move to their favorite vacation spot, is one that is so common where I live. But instead of moving to the mountains of the southwest, Robert and Melinda Blanchard move to the Caribbean island of Anguilla. The narrative, read by Melinda Blanchard, is part autobiography about opening a restaurant and adjusting to a new life in an exotic location, par...more
I found this book by accident -- I was preparing to leave for a summer internship in Anguilla and stopped in a bookstore to escape the rain and get some summer reading. I looked in the travel book section to see if by chance there was anything from the Caribbean. The very first one I picked up was this one -- which happened to be about Anguilla!
The book itself is not spectacular. But it gives a good idea of what Anguilla is like for anyone planning to go there. All of the descriptions are spot o...more
The book itself is not spectacular. But it gives a good idea of what Anguilla is like for anyone planning to go there. All of the descriptions are spot o...more
When I read text that is written to reflect a certain accent or method of speaking, I usually find it quite annoying after a while, but not here. I actually found it endearing; probably because the book seems to be written with such love and appreciation. A nice quick read and virtual vacation.
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“From the air Anguilla looked narrow, flat, and scrubby, but that was only part of the picture.”
—
1 person liked it
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Jul 08, 2011 02:29pm