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Holiday in Hawaii at the Outrigger Reef on the Beach!

Hello my dear blogging friends- I have missed you!

We have just returned from our family vacation to Hawaii and LA so I apologize for the lack of posts over the last couple of weeks. The summer holidays have flown by; I can't believe that the kids will be going back to school soon! It was so nice to be able to get away for a couple of weeks with my hubby and kids.  I absolutely loved spending quality time with the family; it was so nice to just relax, sleep-in and dine at some great restaurants.

We started our trip in Auckland (we flew Air New Zealand-what a fantastic airline!) and we really loved it there. Look at this great display in the city centre:

Natasha in Oz, Auckland, Holidays, New Zealand, travel,



Here is another picture of Santa but he is a bit harder to spot in this one-I took this picture from the top of the Sky Tower. It is 328 metres (about 1000 feet) and it is the tallest man-made structure in New Zealand.

Natasha in Oz, Auckland, Holidays, New Zealand, travel,

Isn't the view amazing...

Natasha in Oz, Auckland, Holidays, New Zealand, travel,

We all loved New Zealand and I can't wait to go back there again to explore more of both islands.

From here we went to LA and we had a wonderful time pretending we were movie stars in our gorgeous hotel, the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills.

Natasha in Oz, Beverly Hills,Holidays, travel,


On our last night in LA night we had an amazing meal at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant "Cut" which is in the hotel. We had the most tender and juicy steaks ever with sides of brussel sprouts, creamed spinach and fries...YUM!!!

The desserts were also divine. I had a huckleberry cake and the kids had apple crisps.

Natasha in Oz, Beverly Hills,Holidays, travel, Wolfgang Puck


For travel to be delightful, one must have a good place to leave and return to. Frederick B. Wilcox

The last part of our trip was spent in beautiful Hawaii. We stayed at the Outrigger Reef on the beach and we will definitely be returning to this hotel next time we visit Hawaii. We usually stay at the Hilton Hawaiian village but I can't see us going back there when this is the type of view you get in a partial ocean view room at the Outrigger....

Natasha in Oz, Hawaii, Waikiki, Outrigger, Holidays, travel,  
No matter what happens, travel gives you a story to tell.   
Jewish Proverb

Natasha in Oz, Hawaii, Waikiki, Outrigger Reef on the Beach, Holidays, travel,

Right across the road from the hotel is the amazing restaurant "Roy's Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine" and this is where we went to celebrate my husband's birthday.

Natasha in Oz, Hawaii, Waikiki, Roys, Holidays, travel,

 The food was absolutely sensational.

Mr Attorney had the Roasted Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi with Lobster Cognac Butter Sauce:

Natasha in Oz, Hawaii, Waikiki, Roy's, Holidays, travel,

I had the Hibachi Style Grilled Atlantic Salmon with Japanese Citrus Ponzu Sauce:

Natasha in Oz, Hawaii, Waikiki, Outrigger Reef on the Beach, Holidays, travel,


Maddy had the Tender Braised Beef Short Ribs which came with creamy Mashed Potatoes:

Natasha in Oz, Hawaii, Waikiki, Outrigger Reef on the Beach, Holidays, travel,


And Big Al had several serves of sushi:

 Natasha in Oz, Hawaii, Waikiki, Outrigger Reef on the Beach, Holidays, travel, Sushi

Before dessert was served the staff brought out a little treat for the birthday boy!

Natasha in Oz, Hawaii, Waikiki, Outrigger Reef on the Beach, Holidays, travel, Roy's

My dessert was a delicious macadamia tart.

Natasha in Oz, Hawaii, Waikiki, Outrigger Reef on the Beach, Holidays, travel,

Hubby had the signature Melting Hot Chocolate Soufflé:
 Natasha in Oz, Hawaii, Waikiki, Outrigger Reef on the Beach, Holidays, travel, Chocolate Souffle

After a long day of shopping, eating and walking it was so nice to come back to this...

Natasha in Oz, Hawaii, Waikiki, Outrigger Reef on the Beach, Holidays, travel,


Natasha in Oz, Hawaii, Waikiki, Outrigger Reef on the Beach, Holidays, travel,

In the morning we would wake up to watch the sun rising majestically over Diamond head....

 Natasha in Oz, Hawaii, Waikiki, Outrigger Reef on the Beach, Holidays, travel, Diamond Head

 Natasha in Oz, Hawaii, Waikiki, Outrigger Reef on the Beach, Holidays, travel, Diamond Head

 I could go on and on and on about our vacation but I won't as I am sure I have probably bored you to tears already! Can you tell that we had a brilliant time?

Well, I am off to bed now as I am still a little jet-lagged. I can't wait to catch up with all of your news over the next few days.

Best wishes always,
Natasha In Oz 
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24 comments:

  1. Welcome Back Natasha! That sounded like a dream vacation for you and your famlily. Your pictures are so beautiful. Love your son's Birthday plate; nice touch.
    Now the fun part...getting back to the routine but if you are like me; you are happy to do it.
    Happy and healthy 2010 to you.
    Rita

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  2. Welcome back! It is good to know you were having a wonderful holidays with your family while you disappeared :)

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  3. What a lovely vacation you had Natasha...I would love to see New Zealand. We had friends that lived there for a year, they really wanted to escape the States for awhile! lol! The Santa is enormous! What a sight.

    I am so glad you enjoyed your time here. I am surprised that you didn't meet any celebrities in or around the Beverly Wilshire...that seems to be the hub for them!! And your meals all sound scrumptious, the desserts to die for!

    I had been wondering where you were, Natasha! So happy you had a fabulous vacation! :-)

    xoxo
    Jane

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  4. What an amazing vacation! Looks like you had an amazing time. Great photos! Those desserts - yum!

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  5. What a fabulous vacation! I love the photos. How wonderful experiences for your children to travel the globe. 4 places I've never been which I'd love to see one day, LA, Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia.
    Happy Monday!

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  6. It looks to have been spectacular!!!! Catch up on your zzzzz's now!!! Thanks for all of the wonderful photos!

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  7. Oh my!!!!!What a wanderful trip,and what a wonderful photos.Welcome back Natasha.
    Have a lovely day.
    Hugs Annalisa

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  8. What a FANTASTIC vacation! You made me hungry with all the beautiful pictures of fine food!:)

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  9. WOW WOW WOW! I need to travel with you! :) What an awesome trip! I can't believe all the places you made it to! I think I could just sit here for 1/2 the day dreaming of your vacation! I am so glad you had a good time with your family. I can't even imagine all the wonderful memories you made together!

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  10. Bored us??!!! More like made us completely jealous. We've been happy because it finally made it above freezing here. I can't wait for our summer and our vacation (not as exotic as yours :)). But you took awesome pictures and I'm glad you had such a good time.

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  11. New Zealand-Beverly Hills-Hawaii! Sounds like a dream trip come true. Thanks for taking us there in your pocket with such beautiful photos. Now I must add New Zealand to my bucket list!

    Welcome back,
    Debi

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  12. Welcome back Natasha! Seeing your pics makes me want to jump on a plane and travel, which is unusual for me as I'm a bit of a home-body.
    When I was 8 years old I wrote a poem about that exact Santa. Does his finger still move???haha
    Have a restful day.
    Angex

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  13. I wondered where you were! Jetting around the world...so cool.

    You will NOT bore us... travel is an awesome thing to share. Great pictures.

    Share more!

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  14. Oh my!!! It was a vacation for me just looking at all your lovely pictures! Wow, you guys know how to vacation in style. I had so much fun just looking at all your beautiful meals! Keep sharing your adventures with us, and happy belated birthday to your hubby!
    Kate

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  15. I was wondering what happened to you! A vacation is what happened! The photos are lovely, food looks divine and the pillows on that bed smashing!

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  16. Looks like you all had the most fantastic time Natasha - am so pleased... and that bed - could curl up in that right now... gorgeous.

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  17. Welcome back Natasha! Those are beautiful pictures ;)

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  18. What an incredible vacation, and how lovely your hotels were. I enjoyed all the photos especially of Hawaii.
    Glad tht you all had a great time!
    Micki

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  19. Oh Natasha...We've missed you too :-) I am so happy you and your family had a wonderful vacation. Your pictures are beautiful...Especially the ones of the sunrise in Hawaii...Beautiful! Welcome back dear friend.

    Hugs and Kisses,
    ♥Ana

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  20. Was catching up on reading. Those are some nice photos of Hawaii - and New Zealand. Looks like y'all had a nice time. Thanks.

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  21. Oh such beautiful photos! between my recaps and yours, I'm ready to move there!!!

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  22. Oh and the hotel you stayed at in LA... jealous! :). That's a really famous hotel!

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