My Honeymoon: Hawaii, Tahiti, and Bora Bora

Almost as much as we were anticipating our wedding, we were eagerly looking forward to our honeymoon as well. After all the stress of wedding planning for the past year or so, I knew I wanted to do a relaxing beach vacation as opposed to a city/exploring vacation. We also took the opportunity (it being our honeymoon and all) to justify going to Bora Bora which has been a dream destination of mine for years. Warning: this is going to be a pretty picture-heavy post!


Oahu, Hawaii

Since we knew that our end goal was to get to French Polynesia, we decided to break up the long travel by spending a week in Oahu first. Yes, I did go to Oahu twice in 2018 (as I mentioned in my Oahu vacation recap). However, there was so much we didn't get to see the first time around.

Since we didn't get to it on our prior trip, hiking up to the top of Diamond Head was a major priority.

We also did the Pink Pillbox Hike on the island's west side. This is my favourite hike I've done on Oahu thus far because there were no crowds (we probably saw about 6 people total) and the views were amazing.

We also rented a car and drove to the North Shore! I wish we had had more time to explore all the little shops in Haleiwa but we spent most of they day lounging at Waimea Bay instead. I did manage to get a photo with the iconic Colette Miller wings in front of Anahulu Shave Ice.

Hawaii, and Oahu in particular, have a very rich military history that my husband is really into. We did the USS Arizona Memorial and the USS Missouri on our last trip so this time we went to the Pacific Aviation Museum. In the Waikiki area, there is also a US Army Museum at Fort DeRussy which was incredibly interesting and also free.

Tahiti

After shopping and eating up a storm in Hawaii, we continued our journey with 48 hours in Tahiti. Although it's the largest and most populous, Tahiti is typically a stopover point for many people on their way to other islands in French Polynesia. However, it's beautiful in its own way with lots of lush vegetation and waterfalls.

We stayed in Papeete, which is the capital of French Polynesia. The Marché de Papeete is a must-visit for food and souvenirs.

I had also heard a lot about Les Roulottes (food trucks) that set up daily in downtown Papeete at Place Vaiete. These were interesting because they mostly served Chinese-style food but always with these giant plates of baguette. With the French influence over there, we got used to eating way more bread than we normally would!

Another thing I noticed all around the island were these beautiful, colourful murals that were basically everywhere.

Bora Bora

Then it was onto our final destination: Bora Bora. All of those photos you see of Bora Bora are what it looks like in real life... it's an absolutely magical place. The airport is located on its own little strip where there is no vehicle access. All of the transportation from the airport is by boat!

My whole purpose in going to Bora Bora was to stay in an infamous overwater bungalow (why travel so far to not do that?!) We stayed at the Sofitel Bora Bora Private Island, which is one of the smaller resorts but, as its name implies, it's located on its own private island. The grounds were perfectly manicured and the resort is adult-only which means quiet and very relaxing.

The water in Bora Bora was crystal clear and so warm. We spent each day doing some sort of water activity whether it was kayaking, snorkelling, or just floating around. What a serious luxury to have such access right from our bungalow.

Our resort offered a free boat shuttle to their sister resort on the main island. We took the opportunity to rent a scooter to tour around the main island "open air" style. There is only one road and it takes about an hour.

Bora Bora was the perfect end to a great honeymoon and I sincerely hope I get the opportunity to return. Maybe for a milestone anniversary? ;)

My Vegas Bachelorette

Yikes, somehow I've let the entire summer pass with barely a blog post in sight... it has just been SO crazy this year planning our upcoming wedding. I do have a ton of things I want to write about so hopefully will be able to get a few reviews out soon. In the mean time, I thought I'd share a recap of my recent bachelorette trip to Las Vegas!

The trip was planned by my MOH and one of my bridesmaids and was a total surprise until the day of. I was told what days to book off work and given a packing list but the ultimate destination and the activities we were doing were totally unknown to me. I'm the type of person who reads movie spoilers and flips to the back of the book to find out the ending before I've even started reading so the fact that I was able to refrain from shaking the info out of my friends was quite a feat. Side note: I'm keeping my friends off the blog for their privacy so the pictures in this post make it look like I was in Vegas by myself... I promise I wasn't alone!

My MOH got me a super cute Hello Kitty hat to wear (see below) -- when in doubt get me anything Hello Kitty because I am obsessed with her, haha. I was also excited to use my new Away Luggage, which ended up being the perfect companion for this 3-4 day trip (it's the Carry-On in white).

When I arrived at the airport, my friends were already there and on their phones they were playing a Backstreet Boys song... because we were going to the BSB concert that night!! Total dream come true. I had the best time singing along to all their classics and reliving my teenage years.

The next day we went to a pool party which is something I've always wanted to do in Vegas. It was super fun chilling at the pool, listening to the DJ, stuffing our faces with appies, and drinking cocktails. It also gave me the perfect opportunity to wear this "BRIDE" bikini that I've had for months.

Later that night we headed to the Strip for dinner at the Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill located in Caesar's Palace before we hit the club. I'm way too old to be clubbing but the clubs in Vegas are unlike anything back home (thousands of people, multiple rooms) that it really was something we all wanted to check out. We went to Hakkasan where Zedd was playing.

We didn't get to bed until 3 a.m. so a delicious brunch was in order the next morning. We had made reservations at Mon Ami Gabi, which is in the Paris Hotel. Afterwards, we decided to check out some of the other hotels on the Strip including The Venetian with its infamous indoor canal and gondola rides.

We ended off our last night in Vegas at our hotel, the SLS Las Vegas. It is a super cute boutique hotel at the north end of the Strip which meant it was much quieter and nicer to come home to. It also has its own monorail station so it's convenient to get around. If you are heading to Vegas, I would definitely recommend it!

Dinner that night was our favourite of the trip: Mediterranean tapas at Cleo. The food was sooooo good. We also hit the casino for a bit of "gambling" (in quotes because none of us are high rollers and won 60 cents only to lose it again).

It was tough heading back to Vancouver after such an amazing weekend with my friends. It's a lot rarer to get to go on girl trips like this now that we're all older and have so-called "adult responsibilities". I seriously cannot thank them enough for treating me to such a great time!

One Week in Oahu

Aloha! It's been a while since my last post... things have been busy with wedding planning and also an incredibly short trip to Hawaii for some sunshine and warmth. I have been to the Big Island and Kauai before, but this was my first time in Oahu.

The Hawaiian islands are so diverse; Oahu being the most populous with a "big city" vibe. Nonetheless there are still some quiet beaches like Lanikai Beach in the east.

We wanted to do a mix of culture and history with beach and relaxation. For one of our culture days, we headed over to the Polynesian Cultural Center which ended up being a ton of fun. We learned about all the different Polynesian cultures (not just Hawaiian), went to a luau, saw a great live show, and even got to do some rowing.

Pearl Harbor was #1 on my fiance's to-do list so we went on a full tour, which included the USS Arizona Memorial. Being Canadian, I only knew the basics about what happened that fateful day of December 7, 1941 beforehand so I really learned a lot through our visit.

We also explored the USS Missouri, a real battleship that has been decommissioned and is now available to the public.

A trip to Oahu would not have been complete without many strolls along Waikiki Beach, one of the most famous beaches in the world. It's got a spectacular view of Diamond Head.

Wanting to stay active even though we only had a few days on the island, we made sure to do a hike. The Lanikai Pill Box Hike was super short and easy with incredible views. Truly, a great reward for little effort!

Kailua Beach was just down the road from the hike so we made sure to stop off there as well for a quick dip in the ocean.

And now we're back to our regular lives! This trip was much too short but we are looking forward to returning later this year as part of our honeymoon. In the meantime, I'll just be dreaming about those palm trees and gorgeous sunsets.

Desert Discoveries

As I mentioned in my last post, I recently went to Phoenix, Arizona. Arizona is home to my favourite football team and it's been my dream for years to visit and attend a game -- a dream that finally became a reality a few weeks ago!

My first visit to the desert began with full immersion on the Lost Goldmine Trail where we trekked through fields of cacti and admired views of the Superstition Mountains.

Located nearby is the Goldfield Ghost Town, an abandoned mining town that has been reconstructed into a tourist attraction.

Just a short road trip away from Phoenix is Sedona, a.k.a. red rock country. This was definitely one of the highlights of our vacation... it was so beautiful.

We started out with a hike up Cathedral Rock, one of the scariest hikes I've ever done (you're basically climbing straight up rock faces). Despite the anxiety it caused me, this hike was well worth it for the views.

We also explored some of the other sights in Sedona like the Chapel of the Holy Cross and took in the stunning red sandstone formations, which were visible almost every way we turned.

Then, of course, there were the sports. Hockey games are ridiculously cheap in Arizona so we were able to get some great lower bowl seats to see Arizona Coyotes vs. Detroit Red Wings for only $25 each. These same tickets would cost an insane amount at a Vancouver Canucks game back home.

I was most looking forward to Football Sunday, however. I had so much fun cheering on the Arizona Cardinals as they beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Phoenix is such a reasonable flight from Vancouver (both time- and cost-wise), my fiance and I both can't wait to go back again. It was especially nice to get some respite from the rain... gotta get that vitamin D!