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:

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.

Isn't the view amazing...

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.

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.

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....

 

No matter what happens, travel gives you a story to tell.   

Jewish Proverb

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.

 The food was absolutely sensational.

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

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

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

And Big Al had several serves of sushi:

 

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

My dessert was a delicious macadamia tart.

Hubby had the signature Melting Hot Chocolate Soufflé:

 

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

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