St Denis

St Denis may be the largest city and the capitol of the island, but even in guide books St Denis is considered the city where you book your gites, plan your trip, catch a taxi and get out. It's not that it's a very dangerous place. In fact most people claim it's rather "French," and it's got the most shopping on the island. I guess its biggest flaw is its lack of a nice beach with some pretty bars and restaurants to go with it. Unlike Hermitage, which has a beautiful lagoon and crystal clear waters, St Denis has got plenty of rocky coast, with waves crashing in with muddy brown water that is probably more inviting for fisherman and sharks than swimmers.

However there are some great parts of the city. For one, you can check out all of the museums, that line up along Rue de Paris, which is quite a nice little avenue with old style creole houses and plenty of trees to provide shade along the way. There's also the jardin de l'Etat, which after its recent renovation is quite the treat.

I guess what really makes my head turn when I'm in St Denis is the strange array of cultures you can find there. Typical of most big cities you have a better mix of cultures than anywhere else. When I was finally able to spend a night out on the town in St Denis, I was lucky enough to catch glimpses of the Chinese New Year, in full swing. You could see drummers, dancers, streamers were thrown everywhere. It made me think of Chinatown for a bit in San Francisco, but I shrugged that thought out of my mind as I munched down on an Indian buffet with a Creole family, dancing the night away for a 14 year old girl's birthday party.

Not only were the Chinese celebrating, but everyone was dealing with Valentine's day at the same time. Since it was his first time out in St Denis as well, I let my friend drag me along to the most happening place in town: Le Boys, a gay night club. Surprisingly there were more people than I expected in the bar, dancing the night away, guys eying guys while dancing around the club, trying to flirt without even talking. For an island where homosexuality is less excepted than you would think, this place surprised me, especially for how many people I saw there. I guess city life is such a mix of cultures and lifestyles that it is the great equalizer. Everyone is different, and thus accept each other.