Papeete offers dinning options from formal classic French, casual brasseries, and a variety of Italian, Japanese, Vietnamese and Chinese. While most of the restaurants are closed on Sunday the Chinese will be open. Open-air sidewalk cafés reminiscent of Paris are a great place to people watch and enjoy reasonably priced meals. Our picks for places fun and out of the ordinary are the lovely botanical garden setting of Mama Lala’s café at the museum, La Maison James Norman Hall, Le Restaurant-Bar du Musee Gauguin, (1 km from the Gauguin Museum) and the Roulettes (rolling food trucks) of Vai’ete Square.

Our afternoon touring took us half way around the island of Tahiti across from Tahiti Iti, little Tahiti island. We saw many of the villages and natural settings that Paul Gauguin describes in Noa Noa, his diary of his first stay in Tahiti from 1891To 1895. Surprisingly just a short distance from the city limits the island becomes very rural and one can easily imagine the way of life on the island in the 19th century. At the peak of the afternoon sun children can be seen on nearly every beach riding the waves, some adults are out tending their gardens while others sit with family and neighbors in the breeze of their shaded patios and island dogs cool off by fishing in the lagoons for midday snacks. We were envious as our afternoon consisted of visiting three pensions and being in a car for three hours. However, we have discovered a charming pension that caters to serious surfers by offering twice daily transfers to the breaks with the owner who doubles as a surf guide as well another delightful pension offering bungalows with full kitchens and a host who goes out if his way to fulfill his guests interest in water activities such as deep sea fishing and even yoga sessions are available over water on a catamaran.

Our second day in Tahiti was our day for visiting the major museums of the island. All are well worth visiting if you have made Tahiti a destination and not just a stop-over on your way to other islands. The Museum of Tahiti and Her Islands has excellent displays detailing the geology, anthropology, and native species of flora and fauna. Visitors will benefit by learning the history of human events created with a cultural time line, both before and after contact with western world.

The Gauguin Museum, traces the life of the artist and his works as they evolve through out his career in Europe as well as the South Pacific. Unfortunately all of his works are in collections of major museums around the globe, none remain in French Polynesia. Yet the memory of the man is still fresh in the minds of several people we met and one of our guides on Hiva Oa shared a family story based down through a great uncle, (read a recap of this story on the Hiva Oa island page). Many credit Gauguin of bringing French Polynesia to the attention of the world and influencing travelers to visit the islands. Here I should add that visitors are truly welcome and the numbers of visitors are shockingly small. Annually 220,000 tourists visit French Polynesia, it’s been said that this is the number of tourist on any given day in Hawaii. Even the remote National Parks of the southwest have over a million visitors in one year.

The James Norman Hall home, houses the collection of the writer and co-author of Mutiny on the Bounty. This prolific author had several of his novels adapted to the Hollywood screen. Hall spent thirty years in this location writing and hosting locals as well as the literati of his era. Add one or two of his books to your reading list before your arrival to further enjoy the visit to his lovely arts and crafts style home.

The Black Pearl Museum, gives visitors an in-depth history and technical understanding of the pearl production and industry that is a vital part of the art and culture and financial life of the islands. There is no shortage of opportunities to shop for pearls, either loose, directly from pearl farmers or wholesale dealers or set by glamorous high-end jewelry designer in resort boutiques or jewelry stores. Be prepared to part with a few clams for these gems and make sure the dealers are reputable.