Taking it easy

I was happy to have a go in the hammock - very peaceful swaying in the breeze but you don't want to get out too fast!

Who'd want to be anywhere else???

We also had told the kids that the last time we were here (more than 20 years ago - really???) our bure was inhabited by geckos on the walls and frogs in the bathroom (and a constant colony of ants proceeding through daily). They believed us when Caitlin found one on the phone in our room - what a cute little guy!

 The kids also wanted to try scuba diving - there were free lessons in the pool . . .

while I decided to try the spa for a French (of course) manicure :-D

So you have to get your hair beaded don't you?

And you HAVE to have pina colada in the pool??? Aw - really? Actually this one was in the bar while I was quietly reading and enjoying the breeze. Tough huh? Oh by the way - the one I had in the jet pool (spa) was not as fancy as this. And the experience was marred by some uncouth Aussies who didn't want the jets on in the spa (why not go in the regular pool knuckle-heads!)and had their under 6yo in there who was splashing and being a typical 6yo (NB sign on the jet pool - no children under 6yo allowed in jet pool). And there was not an adult male without tattoos by the swim up pool bar. I do not admit to being an Aussie these days!!!

Resort Living

Most of us slept quite a bit through the trip over from LAX to Nadi airport so we didn't feel really too washed out on arrival. After a quick trip through customs (we didn't have fruit in our luggage this time) our driver was ready and waiting for us. Harry drove quite slowly for the whole 90 minutes (national maximum speed is 80km/hr) as the Queen's Highway obviously had not seen HM visit recently and so was in quite bad shape.

The roads were lined by people waiting for buses to go to school or to work and some of them waved and smiled which was true to the descriptions we had read and heard that Fijians are amongst the most friendly in the world. Unfortunately being friendly does not mean you have road sense - several times people just stepped into the road without looking (a bit like sacred cows I guess) but drivers didn't seem to be overly worried, just tooting and going around or slowing down.

Upon arrival at the resort (which was surrounded on three sides by jungle and small free-holdings and the fourth by the sea) we were greeted by the jovial Charlie who directed us to the Reception area. I love hotels that have no doors or windows, but are open to the elements - mostly warm ones though :)

After some argy-bargy about who was sleeping in which bed/room, we went off to have second breakfast and explore.

Somehow we got an upgrade to an "oceanview" - not too shabby

the kids enjoyed pools of both kinds!

 The down-side to staying in a resort is that you are dependent on them for all food drink and activities - and most don't seem to be complimentary. Luckily there were several little entrepreneurial shack-stores either side of the boundary on the beach where we could pick up water and snacks for a smaller cost. They offer a diversity of items, from hair-beading to horse-riding, bottled water to massage but the resort clearly states demarcation and denies all affiliation with them - just in case.

Walking Amongst The Stars

So of course I had to take daggy photos of the Hollywood sign, and the stars on the pavement. What was quite cool to me was the Hollywood & Vine sign on the corner of Hollywood Blvd and Vine St (I believe). I am glad I will never see any of those people again – it’s embarrassing taking touristy photos!

Bob Hope - RIP

I played Zelda until 2am one morning - it's very addictive!

Would you believe that the tunes and music from the N64 game Legend of Zelda (something I was hooked on years ago) has now been transposed into a symphony??? That is something very bizarre. It was playing at a very ornately ceilinged theatre (quite old from what I could see) that I can’t remember the name of. Will do some more homework to jog my memory.

We decided to drive up through Griffith Park to get a bird’s eye view of Downtown LA; we could see the observatory but the morning smog/fog was hanging heavy over the skyline and it was only in ghostly evidence.

We rounded the day off with adrive around the Hollywood Hills (woo hoo), Pasadena (wow) and finished off with dinner with Mike, Margie, Mark and Sandy in an Argentinian restaurant called 1810 – sangria – uh huh! Oooh, LA is not the only thing that's a bit foggy . . .

Off to the airport for our overnight flight to Fiji – bring the sunshine on.

Midway

Yes – I braved driving on the wrong side of the road – the right side that is . . . and not a big deal really, it’s a bit like putting mascara on with your left hand (when you’re right-handed). I did however, restrict my driving expeditions to the town of Temecula & environs – population approximately 300,000 – baby steps.

We attended a dinner and dance at ‘The Stone House’ attached to the golf club/resort and it was a great setting, outside under the stars with some patio heaters to keep us warm if we got too far from the dance floor. I am sorry I didn’t capture a photo of the lady wearing her scootin’ boots flashing occasionally from under her long red dress – she came prepared to be comfortable and was able to get down when others were literally tottering about on VERY high heels!

Tony & I took a day to go to San Diego and he was so excited to find without any trouble at all, the aircraft carrier Midway moored permanently there as a museum. It goes without saying we did the tour of the ship (but not until after I was fortified with peanut butter pretzels – we had skipped/missed lunch). I think if I had been the captain or the admiral I may have survived – their quarters were almost habitable. I am sure regular sailors had an uncomfortable time of it as there were no exhibits of crew quarters. The best statistic we found out was that the plans and drawings alone, took seven months to complete and weighed nine tonnes!!! (I thought he said 90 tonnes, but Tony assures me it was only nine). Oh, the other stat was that there are four acres of decking. It was big.

Walk Ten Paces

On Sunday lst, I visited Old Town Temecula (est 1859) with Vicki - and it had the feel that instead of cars - or chopper bikes - there should have been two cowboys facing off down the street.

We started with lunch in Rosita's Cafe (top photo), which served fast meals and very sweet margaritas but there was no end of embarrassment when one of us tried to negotiate two trays, stairs and a door blowing in the wind. Yup - meal slid off the tray and splooshed right to the bottom of the stairs, followed by one of the margaritas. The establishment were very kind and replaced both at no charge, and cleaned up the mess real fast.

You can see in the photo above in the bottom right area, what looks like smoke - it's actually very fine mist being sprayed out from the eaves of this corner cafe/restaurant. There were several and it made for a very refreshing walk down the street as it's quite warm still in these parts.

So apparently there is some French heritage in the area, and the obsession with all things a la francais has encroached even into this little enclave. My favourite shop there (well there were two) was Vintage Begonia (and which blog I am now a follower of) and the ladies in there are just lovely! The other store bills itself as 'outrageously feminine' and is right "Up Your Alley"! It was - for proof, see bottom photo. I could not leave it in the store - it had to come home with me :)

I never saw a truer truism

Yes - really.