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account (telling you, for instance, that
the Mamas and the Papas perfected their
harmonies in the city’s alleys). A high-
light of the tour is the lovely St. Thomas
Synagogue, with its floor coveredwithfine
white sand; some say the sand represents
the Israelites’ journey through the desert,
while others contend that it honors the
conversos
, Jewswhowere forced to convert
toCatholicismbut practiced their own reli-
gion in secret andfloored their cellarswith
sand to muffle the sound of their prayers.
Following Larsen up the steep, wind-
ing streets that overlook the waterfront
has earned you a hearty lunch. Within
the labyrinth of alleys once teeming
with cu hroats and buccaneers you find
Gladys’ Café (
3
)
. Not long a er you order
the house specialties of conch fri ers and
curried goat, the eatery’s namesake owner
(and bartender) belts out a song. Her sing-
ing voice and her lip-smacking arsenal of
hot sauces are both legendary here—the
former calls for a standing ovation; the
la er calls for a cooling soursop colada.
You take Highway 35 up and over St.
Thomas’ higher elevations to the sheltered,
mile-long expanse of pristine white sand
at
Magens Bay (
4
)
, where you take a dip.
The bay is on the island’s north shore,
which means the 82-degree water you’re
enjoying is technically the Atlantic, not
the Caribbean. The peaceful surroundings
have a profoundly soothing effect on you,
but not everyone has been so easily lulled:
It is said that Sir Francis Drake used the
bay as an anchorage while lying in wait
for Spanish ships to plunder.
A er anhour spent dri ing inandout of
consciousness, you drive back to the hotel
and board the Ritz’s elegant 53-foot cata-
maran, the
Lady Lynsey
, for a sunset sail.
A crewmember offers you an aptly named
“Painkiller”: dark rum, coconut cream, pine-
apple juice and orange juice topped with
fresh-gratednutmeg. Youbring it topside to
watch the sundisappear belowthehorizon
with a Technicolor flourish.
You’re back at the dockwith ample time
to check out of the hotel and drive down
to nearby Red Hook, where you catch the
day’s last car barge to the island of St. John.
You arrive in Cruz Bay and minutes later
are seated at a sidewalk table at
La Tapa (
5
)
,
a contemporary Mediterranean spot that
had celeb chef Mario Batali tweeting his
enthusiasm for it last April. The atmo-
sphere is as exuberant and sophisticated
as you’d find in any southern European
DAY ONE
| After you wake up in your
luxurious suite at the
Ritz-Carlton, St.
Thomas (
1
)
, you pad out to the balcony,
take in the view of tranquil, turquoise
Great Bay and breathe in the sea air.
Feeling fully decompressed, you head
to the hotel’s Bleuwater restaurant for
a breakfast of lobster Benedict with
spinach callaloo-style hollandaise sauce,
and then get in your rental car to begin
the day’s adventures.
Your first stop is the bustling little
capital of theU.S. Virgin Islands, Charlo e
Amalie. To explore it, you meet Simon
Larsen, the Danish sailor who leads the
Charlotte Amalie HistoricalWalking Tour (
2
)
,
at Emancipation Gardens. Larsen gives a
lively, humorous and often surprising
WELCOME TO PARADISE
Top, the Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas; below, Gladys’ Café owner
Gladys Jones with, at left, the sublime hot sauce that helped make her a local legend
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