California Trip 2023 - Newport Beach/Laguna Beach

 We're just back from our family trip to California and it was so great to have that time as a family and revisit some old favourite places and discover some new spots.

We landed at LAX, grabbed the shuttle bus to Avis to hire a car for the trip and drove the hour to Newport Beach. We checked into the VEA hotel in Newport Beach for 2 nights to check out the OC.

We were blessed with amazing weather throughout our whole trip so it was great to soak up the sun, recover from the flight and get on California time.        

Across the road from our hotel was Fashion Island. A great mix of restaurants, shops, Starbucks etc. There was also a Wholefoods where we stocked up on water, snacks and fruit.

We drove to Newport Pier, checked out Lido Marina/Village, ate at Malibu Farm, admired the cute houses. We also hired a boat from Balboa Island and it was great to sightsee from the water.

On day 2 we drove to Laguna Beach to have a look around. The views along PCH from Newport to Laguna Beach are beautiful! We walked through the town and admired the beach from Heisler Park. Stunning!

There is also a great Shake Shack at Crystal Cove State Park.

Amazing views as well.

We had a great time exploring the OC and on Day 3 we drove to Anaheim to check into our Disney hotel.

On the way we had to stop at Walmart and Target so Noah could check out the American lollies etc!

We checked into Disney's Grand Californian Hotel and I'll share more of our Disney stay in another post.

Let me know if you have any questions?

Summer Holidays 2021

Summer holiday vibes. 

We crossed the QLD border to catch up with family and enjoy some time in the sun.

 We are now in Byron. The weather has been amazing and it has been beach, eat, sleep repeat. 

Bliss! Totally needed and sooo appreciated after this year. 

Staycation - February 2021

Simon and I had a lovely night in the city on the weekend. We took advantage of a free Saturday and booked a room at the Four Seasons Hotel.

We had a gorgeous room overlooking the harbour. It never gets old!  It's so beautiful!

The weather was a little grey but the rain held off. We had a great time wandering around The Rocks, checking out the markets and having lunch at The Squire's Landing. Great beers and food looking out onto the Opera House. 

We then went back to the hotel for a swim and later a cocktail and dinner.

It was a quick break but so relaxing and a nice little time out.

A few photos from our stay below...

How was your weekend?

Fiji 2019

We are just back from a wonderful week in Fiji. 

18 months ago the family started planning a surprise family getaway for my mother in law's 70th birthday. Simon's parents were already in Fiji for their annual holiday and we all popped up and surprised her whilst they were relaxing by the pool. She was truly surprised to see us all there!

We managed to keep the secret!

In total we were a group of 14 and we stayed at the Sheraton Denarau Villas. We had the use of three integrated resorts (The Westin + The Sheraton as well) - which included several restaurants, six swimming pools and recreational facilities.  Our family of 5 stayed in a 2 bedroom lagoon view villa which had a fully-equipped kitchen, 2 bathrooms, lounge + dining area, laundry facilities and 2 patios. 

As we were on the ground floor we were just steps away from the pool. The kids loved it! 

We utilised the 'Stay and Play Free' offer for children under 12 which gave us free meals for the boys and complimentary use of LaiLai Kids Club.

After a cold, windy and rainy winter it was so lovely to feel the warmth of the sun and enjoy the blue skies and sand between the toes. Most of our days were pretty relaxed and consisted of swimming, reading our books and catching up on all the family news. As we all live so far from each other it was great to have this time to just hang out together.

I rediscovered the delicious Toblerone cocktail. It took me back to my early 20's when they were a firm favourite. A cocktail and a beautiful sunset = bliss.

On one of the days we all headed down the road to the Bula Waterpark which consisted of lots of inflatable slides and 6 big slides. We found the perfect spot in a cabana down at the end of the park with comfy lounges and a great view over the slides. Unlike other water parks we've been to in Australia there were no lines, no crowds. It was such a great day out and both the adults and kids utilised all the slides and had so much fun. I'd definitely recommend a visit. 

We spoke to the tour desk at our hotel and as we had a group we received vouchers for 30% of the entry price which was a great saving.

Another day the boys had a round of golf across the road at the Denarau Golf and Racquet Club.

We also went there a couple of nights for dinner. They do great wood fired pizza. The pesto chicken one was a favourite. They also do takeaway for those nights the kids are super tired from all of the swimming and sun and you want something easy to eat in the room.

There is something that just says your on holidays when the restaurant has a sandy floor.....

Noah went to kids club one morning where they fed fish and went on a coconut hunt. He loved watching the coconuts get cut open and was keen to taste the coconut  but wasn't a fan. ;)

One afternoon a few of the group hired jet skis and went on a guided tour along the coast for an hour.

It was fast and fun!

Relaxing by this pool was more my speed......

By the end of our stay we were well and truly on Fiji time and were feeling very very relaxed.

It was so lovely to have that time with family and help Maralyn celebrate her 70th birthday.

It really has us keen to plan another family trip in a few years.