Shoal Bay 2013...

Last month H and I had a week at Shoal Bay in Port Stephens with my parents. We have been going to Shoal Bay annually for nearly 30 years...

It's a great beach for kids as it's a bay so not too deep nor too rough. Nice calm waters...

They call it the blue water paradise and when the weather gods are shining down on you it really is...

This year we had very patchy weather but when we were able to get to the beach we made the most of it...

H was rocking his Bobbi Sunshine Swimwear... he looked terrific (in my very biased opinion!!)

Shoal Bay is only 2.5hrs from Sydney and a great spot for families or couples to Holiday. Port Stephens is a large area and includes areas such as Nelson Bay, Fingal Bay, Corlette, Soldiers Point, Anna Bay, Shoal Bay, Little Beach, Salamander Bay and many others.

It's well worth a visit for a weekend, a week or several...

Jx

Portugal...Lagos...Holiday Photos...

Two years ago we were in Portugal for the Wedding of a lovely couple. We were only there for 3 nights so it was a very quick trip. It was our first time to Portugal and we were sad we weren't able to stay longer and have more of a look around. What we did see we loved. We stayed where the Wedding was...the stunning Le Meridien Penina Golf & Resort.

One of the local towns is Lagos. On our last day...with large headaches from the terrific wedding the day/night before...we ventured into Lagos for a look around. It was such a pretty town. We really wished we could have spent more time there and hope to go back one day.

Have you been to Portugal before? Any must sees if we are lucky enough to head back there one day?

Jx

Family Holiday...Destination Fiji...

Bula!

Last month we were lucky enough to have a week in Fiji for our first family holiday. It was my first time to Fiji and it did not disappoint...from the moment we landed until the moment we left it was excellent!

The Fijian people were so hospitable and in our experience couldn't do enough for you. We had heard all of this from friends and family and we found out very quickly just how lovely they are.

H was a big hit and it wasn't long before he developed an attachment for two lovely ladies. He would look for them every morning and flirt with them to get their attention...

With or without children it's a wonderful holiday destination. We can't wait to hopefully go back one day.

Here are some photos from the trip...

All photos copyright Jessica Flett

Some of the real highlights of the trip were...

Seeing H enjoy exploring, he had only been walking for two week when we went away so he was loving his new found independence.

Being serenaded by the lovely island band... they went around to each table and sang a song just to them...when they got to us they sang... 'Burning ring of fire' by Mr Johnny Cash (a highly interesting coincidence in light of how many curries had been on offer over the last 2 days!!!)

This was not a highlight but was definitely memorable. The most embarrassing moment was after H's dinner one night...for his dinner we would head down to the main bar and have a drink whilst feeding him dinner. The gorgeous staff would be setting up for dinner and would come over and say hi and have a chat. This one evening the gorgeous Va took H for a walk to say Hi to the guys in the kitchen and when he came back he was wrapped in a towel...unbeknown to us he had gone to the bathroom and had leaked all over the lovely Va. We were mortified and she was sooo good about it... Ah the joys of parenthood!!

Vanaka to everyone at Vomo Island Resort, especially Va, Mere, Maria, Maci, Henry, Vuli, Sarah, Shane, Maddi and Noah for making our stay so special. We hope to see you again.

I would love to hear about your first family holiday...where was it, did you enjoy it and would you go back there?

Jx