Hey That's Me!

Oh my eggs benedict!

2012-01-11T12:20:00.000-08:00

Being so inspired by one of my besties' food blog, I've decided to try my hand at being a foodie too! So on a fine, beautiful Sunday morning, Phong and I decided to go for a nice brunch. We decided on a small little cafe called "The Creamery" which is located just behind our local supermarket, a 10 minute walk away from our apartment. By the way, it's 10 minutes based on my walking pace. Phong claims I walk slower than a crippled old woman... to that I reply where's the rush??? :)

"The Creamery".. makes you think that this is an ice cream joint doesn't it? I know!!

The Creamery

I love the old quaint look and feel of this place. However it is a little small and on this day, extremely crowded. I found myself having to fight through a crowd of waiting patrons just to reach the sugar and milk area for my coffee! When you first walk in you are instantly hit with the scent of freshly brewed coffee.

Eagerly awaiting for his brunch... it was a bit late cause yours truly woke up late.. sorry! :(

The menu consists of both savory and sweet crepes, sandwiches of all sorts, and your typical brunch type items such as scrambled eggs, omelette and of course, eggs benedict!

Eggs Benedict

I don't think there is anything to hate about eggs benedict! I mean you have eggs, bacon, and bread.. all the necessary items for a healthy balanced meal! This dish came with a side of fresh fruits which adds to the healthiness of this meal .. bonus! :)

However as beautiful as this dish looks, there are a few things that I didn't quite enjoy. First of all, the juices from the fruits leaked all over the plate, making the bottom of the english muffin soggy in several areas. Very disappointing as I absolutely hate soggy bread! Not to mention the fruits didn't quite go very well with hollandaise sauce... a good suggestion will be to serve the fruits in a separate bowl!

The greatest part of this dish was of course, the canadian bacon!! It had just the right amount of smokiness and saltiness to taste and it was absolutely divine. The eggs were perfectly poached in my opinion.. which meant that the egg yolk was thoroughly cooked through and wasn't runny at all! This made it easier for me to negotiate around the egg yolk, pulling out as much white as I could and not letting the egg yolk ruin the dish for me! :) The hollandaise sauce was fantastic as well, not too thick and tastes awesome. Overall, I would rate this dish a 7 out of 10.

Phong ordered an omelette filled with capsicums, olives, spinach and feta cheese with a side of roasted potatoes and toasts.

This dish looked absolutely delicious as well, but unfortunately after I was done taking pictures and sampling my eggs benedict, I looked over to find that Phong had already polished off his eggs. I guess he was a lot hungrier than I thought... :D

Le Shopping...

2012-01-03T17:10:00.000-08:00

Now lets get straight down to the point. Shopping in America is amazing... not because it's cheap. I mean honestly, I was earning Ringgits and every time I purchase something I automatically multiply that amount by 3.2 times. However, eventhough it's a high multiplying factor, the end result is still considerably cheaper than anywhere else in the world!! Shopping here is amazing too because of the many different types of brands available.

Macy's window display for Christmas. Gorgeous!

With beautiful store front displays and sales happening all over the place, how can one resist shopping??

I love jeans. Nothing makes me happier than buying the perfect pair of jeans and trust me, that ain't an easy task! My favourite brand of jeans is "7 For all Mankind" jeans and America is the cheapest place I have found for this particular brand. Example.. my first pair of jeans from this brand is bought in Sydney and I paid over AUD300 for it. I bought a new pair in San Francisco for USD109.00. Fine, this pair was on sale but even at full price, it's still cheaper than prices you would find in Australia and definitely cheaper than Singapore!

Thank you Phong for taking such a good picture that doesn't make my behind look like a blimp. :)

I absolutely love this pair of jeans and I honestly haven't said that phase in a long long time. Upon trying out this pair, I opted for size 26 as that was my usual size and the only other size available was size 24! After secretly checking the price in the privacy of the changing room (I didn't want to look blatantly obvious that I was only aiming for jeans that were on sale!) I was happy that the sales price was marked down to USD149.00. However I felt that the jeans were a little loose fitting as the material was of the stretched kind. Feeling somewhat brave, I tried on size 24 and not only did it fit perfectly.. I immediately noticed that the marked down price was only USD109.00!!! In my mind, this jeans is already considered sold. :)

At the cash register however, once the jeans was scanned in, the price showed that it was indeed USD149.00 and that someone has marked it wrongly to USD109.00. That's why don't do markdowns in writing! But I sure ain't complaining because guess what.. customers are always right!!! The nice sales lady immediately told me she will match the price written! There is nothing I love more than a bargain!! Not only did I find an awesome pair of jeans, it was on sale and even after that, I managed to get it for USD40.00 less. BARGAIN!!!!

All around America there are many outlet locations. The most famous ones are the Premium Outlets and brands there includes BCBG, Coach, Nike, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Gap, Banana Republic... and hundreds more. I am not joking. So Phong and I decided to visit Gilroy Premium Outlets which is over an hours drive away. We decided to go on 26th December, or more commonly known in America as one of the biggest sales day in the year. (Apparently Boxing Day is not a term that is known here... )

After stalking people in the parking lot for over 30 minutes, we finally found a parking space (I will not mention whether it was an actual parking or not.. :P) and proceeded to join the hoards of bargain hunters looking for the best deals.

As it was the day after Christmas, I initially assumed that this massive queue was for Starbucks as I assumed they were nursing a hangover and needed a caffeine fix. But just looking at the ratio of 95% asians lining up, I concluded that yes this queue is indeed for Coach. That explained the tour buses parked all along the street at Gilroy! Needless to say, I wasn't allowed to join the queue as Phong threatened to drive home if I did... :P

After 2 hours of walking, all I bought was a dress for Chinese New Year. Why you may ask? Well everyone always assumes that Outlets are cheap, but they always forget that the stocks that they mostly carry are standard items such as polo shirts, jeans, and off season items that couldn't be sold off cause well.. they are ugly. Once in a while you will find amazing pieces and one shop in particular that you can find this is in BCBG! I absolutely love BCBG dresses and it's one of the only few shops I aim for in the Outlets.

Just before we left the Outlets, I noticed a shop handing out free bottles of mineral water to patrons entering their premises. Being slight dehydrated from all the walking, and being asian (:P) I couldn't pass up the chance for freebies! It was then I realised I had walked into a shoe shop and it was where I bought my new favourite pair of boots!

Vince Camuto.. Never ever heard of that brand before but just look at the packaging! Looks expensive doesn't it? Not only was it only USD79.00, there was an additional 20% off just because it was Christmas!! BARGAIN! So for my Christmas, my handsome husband bought me a beautiful dress and pair of beige suede boots. Another bonus fact.. Jessica Alba has the exact same style of boots!! :)

So apparently everyone knows how great prices and brands are in America. Not only that, you can shop for anything and everything online as well!! And majority of them offer free shipping to anywhere in America. So guess what our apartment has become???

Boxes from numerous online shopping shipments..

We should start a new posting company. I'm thinking PLD services.. Phong Laura Delivery services! :)

Fisherman's Wharf

2012-01-03T14:00:00.000-08:00

Fisherman's Wharf is definitely one of my favourite spots in San Francisco! It's an entire stretch of street filled with wonderful restaurants and cafes, tourist souvenior shops, many interesting knick knack type shops, and even a Madame Tussauds Wax Museum!

This picture was taken 2 years ago on my first trip to San Francisco. Why didn't I post a recent picture? Just take a look at the quality of the wax figures.. who are they?? EXACTLY! I wasn't about to waste money to see this museum again!

Again this picture was taken 2 years ago with my mother. :)

But my absolute favourite spot along Fisherman's Wharf has to be Pier 39. This area oozes "tourist trap" but it's just portraited so beautifully that one would immediately forget about the extra prices you pay for food and drinks just to enjoy the wonderful ambience this place provides.

This day that we visited the wharf was another beautiful day with clear blue skies and warm-ish temperatures. Pier 39 was packed with many locals and tourists, all taking advantage of this beautiful weather.

Just walking up and down this pier, it feels like stepping into a whole new area and era. It's like walking back in time to the cowboy era in the old wild wild west... minus the sand and the dust! Shops here includes many restaurants such as Bubba Gump Shrimp (FORREST GUMP!! :P) and Crab House and interesting shops such a shop dedicated to left handed people (I am so taking Christine here) and a shop that sells all sports team name outfits and university outfits.

Right in the middle of the pier is a magnificent carousel that totally brought out the inner child in me. If only I had a willing participant to ride the carousel with me.... :(

Absolutely Magnificent!!!

They even have a giant Claw game machine with giant stuff toys as prizes. Again, if only I had a willing participant to help me win a prize... :(

One of the famous attraction in this place are the seals that hangs around this pier. Nobody knows why they just hang around, although they did mysteriously disappear for a whole year last year but now they are back!

Logically thinking, as a seal, why would I ever want to leave this pier! The waters around have abundant amounts of food (from the sea and also from the oogling tourists!), they are perched on floating decks that has full exposure of sunlight and is secluded enough so no one can disturb them, and they are celebrities of the pier! Pretty good deal if you ask me...

Personally, I think another important under appreciated attraction on this pier are the seagulls. I have NEVER seen such huge seagulls ever in my life!! If you have ever wondered to yourself, how did the birds in the Alfred Hitchcock movie ever killed anyone? Well, if they were the size of the seagulls here, all I can say is RUN FOR YOU LIVES!!!

Alcatraz, the famous prison island, is just a boat ride away from the pier.

A secluded prison on a private island... eventhough it is quite a distance away, I swear I can feel the sense of foreboding terror and solitariness that this massive hunk of concrete building gives. Thankfully it's no longer used as a prison and is now a tourist destination which I hope to visit one day.

Ok, now to show you my FAVOURITE reason for coming to Pier 39. The Crab House! I was introduced to this restaurant two years ago by my twin sister Lisa, and in my 3 visits to San Francisco, I have probably frequent this joint about 8 times now. Many will confirm that I have a sick addiction to crabs of all sorts. Mud crabs, flower crabs, King crabs, snow crabs.. and my number one favourite, dungeness crabs!

Cooked in generous amounts of garlic butter, this sweet dungeness crabs are simply divine. Only the claws are served and the best part about eating this crab is cracking open the shell and pulling out huge chunks of meat that makes all the hard work of cracking it so worth it.

Such an enjoyable meal that this couple of oblivious to anything or anyone around them... only the presence of the dungeness crabs.. :)

As hubby Phong always claim, this is the only time that I am silent cause I'm too busy concentrating on eating them. True story....

In fact during our lunch with Rina and Clements, the only sound you could hear for a good 30 minutes was the sound of shells cracking. Of course occasionally you will hear squeals of laughter as pieces of shells become airborne and acted as projectile missile aiming at unsuspecting victims (namely Phong!).

Another satisfied customers at The Crab House! Now, have you booked your ticket to San Francisco yet??? :)

City of San Francisco

2011-12-28T13:17:00.000-08:00

The city of San Francisco is just sheer madness during Christmas time! I once thought Singapore was just absolutely the craziest place to be during shopping season but one walk into H&M stores here, the pure amount of people that greets your sight is just unbelievable!

I started the day off with meeting the beautiful couple Rina and Clement at the Ferry Building for lunch. The Ferry Building is just an absolutely gorgeous place (no doubt totally touristy but still gorgeous) and they have the most amazing gourmet markets selling all sorts of cheeses, hams, meats, and I swear I even saw them selling rabbit sausages! We shared a platter of a dozen oysters and had the most delicious clam chowder ever.. so far.. mind you this is only the second time I have had this dish and I love it! I wish I had taken more pictures of the building but unfortunately that totally did NOT come to mind then. :(

There are actually two types of oysters on this plate. Can you spot the difference? Neither could I... :S

After lunch, we proceeded to spend the rest of the afternoon with a full on girls only shopping spree! However on the way, I spotted the dog of my dreams! Isn't he a beauty? Mountain Bernese... such an adorable boy who was absolutely giving me a side profile pose.

Union Square is the main centre of the city of San Francisco. It is however just a square! It's just surrounded by the biggest departmental stores and branded shops such as Macys, Saks 5th Avenue, Christian Dior, Bulgavi and the main office for Tiffany and Co. Shopper's Paradise! This year they set up an ice skating rink in the middle of the square and a huge giant christmas tree next to it!! It just reminded me of the scene from "Home Alone 2" in New York City. :)

As far as shopping days goes, this day was absolutely warm and beautiful with clear blue skies. Yet we are in the middle of December and where is my white Christmas???

Unfortunately this day did not turn out to be such a great shopping day as we did not have the patience to queue more than 30 minutes for a changing room and another 30 minutes just to pay for the purchases! It was great to see all the people shopping around for Christmas presents, all the bags they were carrying and the happiness and laughter that was going around. :) So even though we both ended up pretty much empty handed after hours of walking, it was still an extremely fun day which totally heightened my Christmas mood and excitement!

My favourite view of the day? I saw a Coach! Literally! Smiles :)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-28T12:47:00.000-08:00

Our first real Fir Christmas Tree!!

This is the very first Christmas that I have ever spent away from my family! But also, this is the very first Christmas I spent as a married woman with my husband. :) We decided to have a small little dinner party, and the guests of honour was Jannine, Dave, Aunty Barbara, Mikey, and James. It was a challenge trying to fit everyone into our living area, but we managed with 4 people happily sitting on the floor and the remaining 3 in our sofa. With drinks in hand, it was definitely a perfect night.

Turkey marinated and stuffed and ready for the oven!

This is my very first time cooking a turkey! Usually I tell everyone every year that I played an integral role in being Lisa's helper when we cooked the turkey but honestly, I don't. So this year, after begging Lisa for her recipe, she emailed me an extremely detailed recipe with step by step guide on how to cook the turkey. In this recipe, it called for the turkey to be cooked breast side down as that's the secret to having moist, juicy and tender white meat. Makes sense really...

After being in the oven for roughly 2 hours, I was suddenly hit with a revelation! This turkey came equipped with a red tab that was embedded in the breast meat which pops up and indicates that the turkey is perfectly cooked. So how was I going to know when the tab has popped??? A few desperate messages to Lisa asking her how she did her turkey and this was her answer : "Oh, ignore that part of the recipe. Cook it breast side up so it will also brown!". Great!!! So how was I going to turn a 13 pound turkey? With a lot of sweat and muscles and teamwork. :)

Perfectly cooked turkey!! I know because the red tab popped and told me so.

Being chinese, I always have the tendency to over feed people. I absolutely have no concept of the right proportion of food per person which is why our fridge is filled with leftovers right now. Which is why for Christmas, I prepared a 13 pound turkey, a leg of ham, roast potatoes and grilled asparagus with freshly made cranberry sauce and gravy for a total of 7 people who unbelievably are all extremely small eaters! Not to mention Mikey brought along homemade stuffing and James baked awesome cookies.

It was a great night of eating, drinking and plenty of laughter and to round up dinner, Dave and Jannine provided dessert which was an awesomely moist coconut rum cake with whip cream from a can!

Dessert took a while to be served as someone was having too much fun with the canned whip cream! :)

Dave got aggressive when Jannine hid the whip cream.. :) such a cute couple!

I am ordinarily not a dessert person and I usually shy away from any coconut flavour products other than the real fruit. But this is potentially one of the BEST cake I have ever eaten! But then again it might be due to the amount of rum they put in the cake. :)

The damage done at the end of the night? 2 bottles of Mumm Napa Champagne and 6 bottles of red wine! Cheers!

Fiji Wedding.. Gwen's Style! (Part 1)

2011-12-15T13:58:00.000-08:00

I love western style weddings!! The ceremony was set to begin at dusk, 5pm by the side of the lagoon, as the sun sets in the background. Therefore the entire morning and afternoon was dedicated to full pampering with champagne and wine! Well that's for the ladies. Sorry guys! :)

However when 4.30pm rolled around, the clouds came and then rain poured heavily. But throughout this whole time, the beautiful bride sat calmly on her make up seat, bravely saying she didn't care where she got married and she just wants to get married! The venue was quickly shifted to the beautiful seaside chapel.

No anxieties from the groom nor his men! :)

I absolutely love what the groom and his merry men were wearing! Everything was matched up, right up to their ties and shoes. The bridesmaids were dressed chicly in a fun hot pink dress with bling shoes that I would die to own. I love the twist of Gwen appointing an "overgrown" flowergirl who proudly did her role of scattering flowers as she walked down the aisle. :)

There was absolutely nothing traditional about this wedding! The flowergirl, bridesmaids and the beaming bride walked down the aisle to Bruno Mars "Just the way you are" and the bride and groom exited as husband and wife to Bruno Mars "I think I wanna marry you". Brilliant choices!

Gwen looks absolutely gorgeous in her custom made Maggie Sottero dress. Absolutely loving the thigh high split! :)

The ceremony itself was the fastest I have ever sat through. The bride and groom came up with their own vows, which was the sweetest vows I have ever heard!

Signing of the registry :)

Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Darron and Gwen Rowe! In true fashion of Gwen's style, check out their first kiss as husband and wife!

Now we know why her dress has a split!

Cave visit.. or is it??

2011-12-15T13:20:00.000-08:00

Another fun feature provided by Intercontinental Golf and Spa Resort is that they run different types of activities every day to entertain their guests. Snorkeling, city visits, island hopping, and a visit to a nearby cave that dates back to over a million years ago. How very interesting isn't it? I thought so!

So we signed up for this exciting trip which they promised would take no longer than 2 hours. Where is this cave?? In fact it's on an island which is literally five minutes walk away from our resort. We just needed to wade through some corals in low tide and we stepped into a whole new island. Beautiful...

This island was built up from volcanic rocks and centuries ago was the centre of some kind of war... please do not quote me as I was too busy oogling at the beautiful scenery rather than listen to our guide talk. Anyways, the war is long gone and the island is still inhabited by the Fijians who now rear goats and pigs on this land.

The waters surrounding the island was super crystal clear with plenty of tiny tropical fish swimming around. Unfortunately there was no signs of Nemo nor Dory among these corals. After trekking some distance on the edge of the island, we entered the forest where the guide proceeded to show us some plants which the locals used as natural remedies for different ailments. Funny how one of the plants look suspiciously like "chilli padi" to me...

So as the guide continues to tell us about this cave we are about to visit, he brags about how there were many tunnels in this cave and how very dark it is. In fact his ancestors used the cave during the war to hide out from their enemies. He did warn us that when we see the lighted end of the tunnel, don't run to it because it is a cliff at that edge. OoOOooo.... doesn't that just sound incredible???

Believe it or not, that's the entrance to the cave that we're suppose to visit... Yup.. I kid you not. As my vietnamese counterparts joked, it looked more like the Chi Tunnels in Saigon! It's just about the right size too! :)

After duck crawling for a distance of 5 metres past this entrance, we emerge in a large dark room. Our guide only brought a measly flashlight for our group of 7 and I am not ashamed to say the moment he asked who wanted to hold the flashlight, I immediately volunteered. Last thing I wanted was to walk into a spider web!!

Finally when we all entered the room, I shone the flashlight around and my first reaction was "THIS IS IT??" That room was no bigger than this apartment that I am living in right now and how did the guide come about with the theory that this cave is over a million years old?? No, there weren't any cave drawings (well there were some but I am pretty sure they were relatively new...) and there were no prehistoric bones, only one femur which apparently belongs to an animal and looks suspiciously planted there. This cave is over a million years old because of the stalagmites, or was it stalactites... I ain't no cave expert.

The reason why I couldn't get a group picture inside the cave was because there just wasn't enough space. As dark and small as it was, it wasn't very exciting nor spooky and to be honest I was quite disappointed! In fact the scariest thing was probably the guide's toothless grin as you accidentally shine the flash light in his face in the darkness of the cave.

The "cliff" was quite real, cause the end of the tunnel leads straight to a drop off. But don't be scared. At a height of no higher than one and a half storey, you will most likely only break some bones. The sand below will no doubt break your fall.

So after 5 minutes, we crawled back out through the same entrance as we entered. Have you ever tried duck crawling? Again, one of the best workout ever. You work out your quads and your butt, your thighs and your calf muscle! Only problem is trying to stand up after doing the duck crawl. Not recommended for many people... :)

Thus ends our cave visit. Although I must say that they neglected to mention a very important fact in their brochure. They neglected to tell you that you have to walk 15 minutes after this cave, under the hot Fijian sun, along a stinky track littered with horse poo to get back to the hotel. Slippers are definitely not advisable. I should know, cause the only souvenir I got from this trip was a massive cut under my foot from tripping over some sharp rocks.

I have to thank Bert, who immediately took on the role as a paramedic as he attended to my wound as I bled helplessly. I would also like to thank Jacq for sacrificing her water to wash off the blood. And I would like to thank Phong for holding my hand. :)

Reunited and it feels so good...

2011-12-14T16:24:00.000-08:00

All of you know that it has been three months since Phong moved to San Francisco whilst I remained in Kuching for certain reasons. Therefore this made our Fiji trip more special as not only were we there for his beautiful sister's wedding ceremony, it would be the first time in 3 months that Phong and I will be together again!

The best thing about this resort I have to say, is the infinity pool that is reserved for adults only! That's right.. adults only! If you guys are thinking it is something along the x-rated style, Please!! With the blue ocean background and nothing but open skies around, the peacefulness of this pool is beyond incredible. There's nothing more satisfying than being perched along the edge of the infinity pool with a cocktail in hand, blissfully ignoring the real world that is coming soon to knock you back down to earth.

And that was exactly what Phong was doing in this infinity pool. Again, unfortunately I am not skilled enough to capture the true beauty of this scene on camera!! I decided to take on a beginners class on diving (wasn't really my decision, Bert pretty much called me a chicken and I am not one to back down on that threat!) which pretty much just involves an instructor teaching you how to breath with the apparatus and diving down to the bottom of a 3 meter pool. Lets just say I don't think I will be attempting diving any time soon as I have commonly proclaimed that I am the only girl who is incapable of multi tasking! Diving is one tough job.. breath.. equaliser.. sink.. breath... it was just all too much that i panicked at the bottom of the pool and made the decision never to do that again! Kudos for the instructor who immediately asked me the moment I took off my mask whether it was the last time he will see me diving. He knows me so well....

After running back to the infinity pool with my tail between my legs, I found Phong snoozing at the edge of the pool, beer in hand, and a serious burn covering his back! Told you this pool was just utter peace and serenity! :)

Randoms..

2011-12-14T14:32:00.000-08:00

So after being a couch potato for 3 whole days, I finally decided to get off my butt and venture outside of the apartment and buy some groceries. Yes, after three months living apart from my husband, I have to say that his fridge looks like it has been robbed....

Don't be fooled!! You may see a tray of eggs at the side of the fridge, but I dared not open it in fear of furry chicks flying out at me and clawing my eyes out.

At the intersection outside of Safeway supermarket, I was surprised to see several traffic cops directing traffic. This gave me a nostalgic feeling as it is a super common sight in Kuching! But I soon got irritated (again, just like in Kuching!) after I noticed that the cop has failed to let us pedestrian cross the road after standing in the cold for over 5 minutes!! Imagine shivering and knowing that a warm supermarket is only right infront of you but you can't get to it! Only then after eavesdropping on other pedestrian then did I find out that they were actually filming a car commercial and closing the streets every 5 minutes! It was indeed very exciting as I caught my first glimpse of the car speeding through with a camera car chasing it.

After purchasing all the necessities, I started the journey home and it was only then did I realise why my husband's fridge is empty. It was probably only a 10 minute walk between the apartment and Safeway, but imagine doing that journey with two bags load of groceries! I felt as if I have been weight lifting for 2 hours minimum and even though the wind is blowing, boy did I work up some sweat!

Therefore I have now decided that grocery shopping will now be limited to the weekend, where Phong can be the official bag carrier. :)

My most important purchase today? Shampoo!!! Have been using Phong's for the past two day and I am tired of my hair smelling like Men... :(

BULA!

2011-12-13T15:09:00.000-08:00

Bula from beautiful Fiji! For those of you thinking of an image of me jumping out from behind a bush yelling "BULA!", this is actually the official saying for Hello in Fijian. After taking an 8 hour flight from KL to Sydney, spending a night in an Airport "Hotel" which shall remain nameless as I do not want to get sued for defamation (message me if you are thinking of staying in an airport hotel and I will tell you all the what nots of this place), and then taking another 4 hour flight into Nadi, Fiji, and finally travelling an hour by car, we finally arrived on heaven on earth, the Intercontinental Golf and Spa Resort.

Everything you have ever heard about Fiji, how they have miles and miles of white sandy beaches, beautiful sparkling blue clear waters, beautiful ocean life, expensive prices for everything... they are ALL true.

The first view we were greeted with was from the balcony of the hotel lobby. The breathtaking blue ocean and the pure serenity of the whole place really makes you feel like you are on some paradise island and suddenly you know why "Lost" ran for so many seasons, it's because the cast did not want to leave the island! Ok fine, they were in Hawaii but there were times I felt like I was in Hawaii too!

The two views above were actually from the windows of my sister-in-law's room. They were upgraded to a lagoon view and I invited myself over after her husband informed me they had a bottle of wine that came complimentary with the room! As beautiful as the pictures looked, the true beauty did not get fully captured by my camera.

As the sun set beyond the coconut trees, I sat back with my chilled glass of New Zealand chardonnay (Yes, they served NZ wine!) and reflexed about the grueling two days it took me to travel to Fiji, as well as the two different time zones I experienced. I just have to say that it was all worth it as the magical island dissolved every tired bone in my body and revitalized every ounce of energy that was drained in the past two days. Do not believe me? Just look at this two romantic couple to feel the magic of Fiji......