Thursday, 16 February 2012
Sunday, 18 December 2011
Fiji
Hi!
Now i know that date of these post says 18th December 2011 but I am actually in Fiji writing this!
We flew from LA airport at 11.30pm to Nadi, Fiji on July 10th. We arrived in Nadi on the 11th, at 7.30am. The flight was 15hours but because of the time difference, it seemed as though we only travelled for 8 hours! When we got to Nadi, we were greeted with a shell necklace and a great big "bula!". We were the driven to our resort on the coral coast. The resort is very nice, quiet and relaxing with very nice staff. Ony a couple of other guest couples so we basically have it to ourselves. We had beach front houses which was very nice....until mini tsunami waves came in and pushed all the water and coaral etc into our rooms! It also ment the bridge broke and the pool was filled with gross water and bits and bobs. It was extremely funny and exciting anyway. We all sat round the pool or played pool and table tennis, bascially just relaxed all day. That night the activity boys had a frog race with us all which was really funny!
Next two days followed a similair pattern: wake up late, eat, relax. We were all looking tanned and cool. The activity boys played games with us though. They climbed a coconut tree and we drank the milk, we got our hair braided, we played pool tournaments, egg hunting, ice-cream eating, bingo and a crab race after tea. On the leat day we even got to go kayaking and snorkeling which was very fun. The last night we went and saw a show where the Fijians walk on fire and had a traditional feast. To sum out of Fiji leg of the trip: we had our ideal holiday, which basically ment we relaxed.
Fiji was great, as was the rest of the world. It was a trip that we will never forget! An amazing experience, one where the knowledge we gained will broaden our horizons and make us appreciate the world, it's people and different cultures more. Mum and Dad, you gave this fantastic opportunity and for that we are forever grateful. Thank-you! Thank you to all the people who helped us around the world, people who helped us carry bags down stairs, or find our hostel. Watch out world, the Taylors will be back before you know it!
Now i know that date of these post says 18th December 2011 but I am actually in Fiji writing this!
We flew from LA airport at 11.30pm to Nadi, Fiji on July 10th. We arrived in Nadi on the 11th, at 7.30am. The flight was 15hours but because of the time difference, it seemed as though we only travelled for 8 hours! When we got to Nadi, we were greeted with a shell necklace and a great big "bula!". We were the driven to our resort on the coral coast. The resort is very nice, quiet and relaxing with very nice staff. Ony a couple of other guest couples so we basically have it to ourselves. We had beach front houses which was very nice....until mini tsunami waves came in and pushed all the water and coaral etc into our rooms! It also ment the bridge broke and the pool was filled with gross water and bits and bobs. It was extremely funny and exciting anyway. We all sat round the pool or played pool and table tennis, bascially just relaxed all day. That night the activity boys had a frog race with us all which was really funny!
Next two days followed a similair pattern: wake up late, eat, relax. We were all looking tanned and cool. The activity boys played games with us though. They climbed a coconut tree and we drank the milk, we got our hair braided, we played pool tournaments, egg hunting, ice-cream eating, bingo and a crab race after tea. On the leat day we even got to go kayaking and snorkeling which was very fun. The last night we went and saw a show where the Fijians walk on fire and had a traditional feast. To sum out of Fiji leg of the trip: we had our ideal holiday, which basically ment we relaxed.
Fiji was great, as was the rest of the world. It was a trip that we will never forget! An amazing experience, one where the knowledge we gained will broaden our horizons and make us appreciate the world, it's people and different cultures more. Mum and Dad, you gave this fantastic opportunity and for that we are forever grateful. Thank-you! Thank you to all the people who helped us around the world, people who helped us carry bags down stairs, or find our hostel. Watch out world, the Taylors will be back before you know it!
Monday, 11 July 2011
Disneyland
Disneyland is actually the happiest place on earth!!! It's just simply magical, a whole different, wonderful world! Those three days we spend in Disneyland and California Adventure Park was the most fun days of this entire trip, just because everything in the theme parks, every ride and attractions, is so enjoyable!! Another contriburting factor to our fun was finally having the compnay of other people..the Walkers! :) It was SO great seeing them and enjoying Disneyland with them. We meet up in Downtown Disney, a open shopping mall that runs up to the parks. We ate and watched the fireworks that first night and then was straight into it the next day!
Now, I are not going to go threw every single ride detail because, well, there are heaps of them and we went on almost everyone! Basically, Disneyland itself is brooken up into 5 'worlds', each with different rides. There are the disney rides, like Snow White, Little Mermaid, Alice in Wonderland, Mr Toad's Wild Ride, Pinncohio, and Winnie the Pooh, which were the ones where you hop in a buggy and get taken through the story. Those rides were actually one of the most enjoyable as they are so cute and entertaining! Some of the best rides that everyone loved were the really interesting, not too crazy rides, like Pirates of the Carribbean, Soarin over California, Star Tours, Jungle Cruise, Its tough to be a bug etc.
We all LOVED the water rides! Splash Mountain is one the most thrilling, exciting rides ever, and we couldn't get enough of Grizzly Mountain, white water rafting ride, as we went back a total of 4 times! Us kids adored the out of control semi-rollercoasters, like Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Goofy's sky school and Indianna Jones; God!!!, they were the best rides and we kept going on them! And then so of us crazier people went on Terror Tower, we you were dropped in an elevator over and over, then flung back up only too go down again! It was sheer madness and our stomachs were extremely up and down after that! Though the madness didin't stop there. No, the terminally insane of us, ( Maria, Jack, Rebekah and I ), went on California Screamin, a full loop the loop rollercoaster! It was suprising fun and I actually really enjoyed it, though the scars I have on the plam of my hands from my nails digging in while I clung on for dear life doesn't really show that!!!
The thing with Disneyland is that there was always something to look at, something to watch, or you can simply just sit there and absorb that amazing energy the place holds! We watched the disney parade, World of Colour all together and when the Walkers left, we watched the Fantasmick show and did the car driving ride, ( I don't think I will be getting my licence anytime soon!!!!!!!).
It was really sad too leave as it was such a wonderful place, like really wonderful! The vibe, the music, the characters, the rides, attractions, everything was magical!!!! A whole different, incredible world!
Now, I are not going to go threw every single ride detail because, well, there are heaps of them and we went on almost everyone! Basically, Disneyland itself is brooken up into 5 'worlds', each with different rides. There are the disney rides, like Snow White, Little Mermaid, Alice in Wonderland, Mr Toad's Wild Ride, Pinncohio, and Winnie the Pooh, which were the ones where you hop in a buggy and get taken through the story. Those rides were actually one of the most enjoyable as they are so cute and entertaining! Some of the best rides that everyone loved were the really interesting, not too crazy rides, like Pirates of the Carribbean, Soarin over California, Star Tours, Jungle Cruise, Its tough to be a bug etc.
We all LOVED the water rides! Splash Mountain is one the most thrilling, exciting rides ever, and we couldn't get enough of Grizzly Mountain, white water rafting ride, as we went back a total of 4 times! Us kids adored the out of control semi-rollercoasters, like Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Goofy's sky school and Indianna Jones; God!!!, they were the best rides and we kept going on them! And then so of us crazier people went on Terror Tower, we you were dropped in an elevator over and over, then flung back up only too go down again! It was sheer madness and our stomachs were extremely up and down after that! Though the madness didin't stop there. No, the terminally insane of us, ( Maria, Jack, Rebekah and I ), went on California Screamin, a full loop the loop rollercoaster! It was suprising fun and I actually really enjoyed it, though the scars I have on the plam of my hands from my nails digging in while I clung on for dear life doesn't really show that!!!
The thing with Disneyland is that there was always something to look at, something to watch, or you can simply just sit there and absorb that amazing energy the place holds! We watched the disney parade, World of Colour all together and when the Walkers left, we watched the Fantasmick show and did the car driving ride, ( I don't think I will be getting my licence anytime soon!!!!!!!).
It was really sad too leave as it was such a wonderful place, like really wonderful! The vibe, the music, the characters, the rides, attractions, everything was magical!!!! A whole different, incredible world!
LA
After our night in Santa Barbara we drove in LA, down Sunset Blvd, and Beverly Hills, looking at star's houses, including Madonna's. Then we went onto Hollywood Dr, where we walked down, looking the star's stars on the path. We spend the rest of the afternoon at the Warner Brothers studio, doing a VIP Tour! It was fantastic. We drove round the studios, looking at the sets and the recording studios, prop houses, transportation museums, sitcom studios, learning about how the make certain movies, who was in them and how they shot them...brilliant! We even went on the set of Big Bang Theroy and was shown how they film sitcoms like that, and the set of Central Perk, from Friends, where we sat on the couch. It was a great tour and really worthwhile. After that very brief visit to LA it was off to Anaheim and Disneyland! Now that is another ball game! ;)
Sunday, 10 July 2011
San Fransico
San Fransico wasn't as hot as Las Vegas, actually the same kind of temperature as Christchurch summers, with that cool wind. One thing that suprised us about San Fransico was the amount of homeless people. Far more then any other place we had been too. The first night we went to the show Billy Elliot which was so funny and extremely entertaining.
The easiest way for us to get around was by hop-on-hop-off bus. So we got on that and drove round, getting off at the Golden Gate Bridge. We walked that, looking at the great views of the bay and Alcatraz island, then got back on the bus round to fisherman's wharf. It was hussling and bustling and smelt of fish, very smiliar to wellington harbour I thought. Early night that night as the next was 4th of July. The first person to say "happy independence day" was a drunk old lady but o well! ;)
We travelled round on the bus again, getting off at the botanical gradens where we ate lunch while watching a band play some american songs. Went up the observation tower at the art museum and saw the fog come in over the foggy part of town and swallow the golden gate bridge! Back to fisherman's wharf, with a walk down crookest street in the world, ( no, not wall street!). We took a crusie out around Alctraz Island then went to the aquarim by the bay. The fourth of July festivities were well underway, with live music and crowds of people! The fireworks display was amazing and lasted over 20 minutes, it was fantastic! It was scary walking home though as lots of strange people had illegal fireworks and everything so that was frightening but we survived! :)
Drove down the coast to LA the following day. Dad and Mum say it was a beautiful drive but I don't really remember it as I was asleep most of the way, tehe! ;) We stayed the night in Santa Barbra, where Wills and Kate were just days after! Then drove into LA!!
The easiest way for us to get around was by hop-on-hop-off bus. So we got on that and drove round, getting off at the Golden Gate Bridge. We walked that, looking at the great views of the bay and Alcatraz island, then got back on the bus round to fisherman's wharf. It was hussling and bustling and smelt of fish, very smiliar to wellington harbour I thought. Early night that night as the next was 4th of July. The first person to say "happy independence day" was a drunk old lady but o well! ;)
We travelled round on the bus again, getting off at the botanical gradens where we ate lunch while watching a band play some american songs. Went up the observation tower at the art museum and saw the fog come in over the foggy part of town and swallow the golden gate bridge! Back to fisherman's wharf, with a walk down crookest street in the world, ( no, not wall street!). We took a crusie out around Alctraz Island then went to the aquarim by the bay. The fourth of July festivities were well underway, with live music and crowds of people! The fireworks display was amazing and lasted over 20 minutes, it was fantastic! It was scary walking home though as lots of strange people had illegal fireworks and everything so that was frightening but we survived! :)
Drove down the coast to LA the following day. Dad and Mum say it was a beautiful drive but I don't really remember it as I was asleep most of the way, tehe! ;) We stayed the night in Santa Barbra, where Wills and Kate were just days after! Then drove into LA!!
Las Vegas
I really have no idea how people live here! I mean it is so so so so so hot! The days we were there it was around 38-42 degrees!! Thank god for air conditioning I say! :)
Las Vegas is a cool but crazy town. When you look at it, it looks so fake and like all the buildings have just been dumped in tghe middle of a desert, which of course, is completely correct. We arrived in at 10.30pm, after a horrible flight with Air Canada, ( they were bad staff, keep running over Dad's feet with the trolley, you had to pay for headphones and all food!) We ordered a shuttle to our hotel and guess what turned up to pick us up......a stretch limo! So we drove through Las Vegas in a stretch limo! How cool is that. :)
Happy Birthday Mum was the first thing we said the next day as it was the 30th of June! It was a scorcher of a day, so after a massive breakfats a Dennys, it was straight into the hotel pool. After the tanning/burning was done, we wandered down to the strip and the MGM Grand. We did this TV show survey thing where we watched a rated a new show coming out. Then the CSI experience, which was really cool as we solved the murders and pretended we were CSI agents!
That night we went to Cirque du Soleil KA, which was out of this world amazing! It was the most incredible, unbelieveble, outstanding show any of us have ever seen. Dad even had slight tears in his eyes! We walked down the strip that night and saw the bright lights of Las vegas, which, to tell the truth, weren't as bright as New York. But still groovy! After watching the Caesar Palace's fountain display, we went to bed.
Dad hired a big american car with smooth leather seats and so much room and drove us into the desert. Its funny how we were driving in the middle of a city one moment then the next, driving the desert, with rocks dry grass and cacti stretching for miles. We stopped at the Hoover Dam then the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately the canyon was private property and cost $76 per person to look at it! We saw it from a distant though. That night it was back to the strip, down to treasure island and the venezia/paris part.
We flew from Las Vegas to San Fransico the next morning.
Las Vegas is a cool but crazy town. When you look at it, it looks so fake and like all the buildings have just been dumped in tghe middle of a desert, which of course, is completely correct. We arrived in at 10.30pm, after a horrible flight with Air Canada, ( they were bad staff, keep running over Dad's feet with the trolley, you had to pay for headphones and all food!) We ordered a shuttle to our hotel and guess what turned up to pick us up......a stretch limo! So we drove through Las Vegas in a stretch limo! How cool is that. :)
Happy Birthday Mum was the first thing we said the next day as it was the 30th of June! It was a scorcher of a day, so after a massive breakfats a Dennys, it was straight into the hotel pool. After the tanning/burning was done, we wandered down to the strip and the MGM Grand. We did this TV show survey thing where we watched a rated a new show coming out. Then the CSI experience, which was really cool as we solved the murders and pretended we were CSI agents!
That night we went to Cirque du Soleil KA, which was out of this world amazing! It was the most incredible, unbelieveble, outstanding show any of us have ever seen. Dad even had slight tears in his eyes! We walked down the strip that night and saw the bright lights of Las vegas, which, to tell the truth, weren't as bright as New York. But still groovy! After watching the Caesar Palace's fountain display, we went to bed.
Dad hired a big american car with smooth leather seats and so much room and drove us into the desert. Its funny how we were driving in the middle of a city one moment then the next, driving the desert, with rocks dry grass and cacti stretching for miles. We stopped at the Hoover Dam then the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately the canyon was private property and cost $76 per person to look at it! We saw it from a distant though. That night it was back to the strip, down to treasure island and the venezia/paris part.
We flew from Las Vegas to San Fransico the next morning.
Saturday, 2 July 2011
Niagara Falls
This town is nothing like you would expect it to be!! When we were on the bus to Niagara after a flight to Buffalo airport, I was imagining what it will be like. I was thinking, the falls with a few hotels and eating places. Well blow me down with a feather. It is the opposite! Yes there are hotels and millions of eating places but the main street is like a carnival, complete with rides, lights, haunted houses, mini golfs, target games on the side of the road....everything! It was crazy!
Our hotel was really nice and had an indoor swimming pool, spa and sauna!! So of course we swam and swam and swam!! We did go see the falls, which were fantastically spectacular! But the boat ride was incredible! We got absolutely soaked as the spray from the impressive falls was so strong and intense! It was like being on a ride The water was churning so fast and we were getting forced backwards by the super dense spray! You couldn't help but laugh hysterically, it was so awesome!!
The falls at night were beautiful, all light up and stunning! The next morning we went to The Guinness Book of Records museum were was entertaining. Then we caught a bus to Toronto. We did see Toronto as after the bus we went straight to the airport for our flight to Las Vegas, but what we did see was very busy and lots of skyscrapers!
Our hotel was really nice and had an indoor swimming pool, spa and sauna!! So of course we swam and swam and swam!! We did go see the falls, which were fantastically spectacular! But the boat ride was incredible! We got absolutely soaked as the spray from the impressive falls was so strong and intense! It was like being on a ride The water was churning so fast and we were getting forced backwards by the super dense spray! You couldn't help but laugh hysterically, it was so awesome!!
The falls at night were beautiful, all light up and stunning! The next morning we went to The Guinness Book of Records museum were was entertaining. Then we caught a bus to Toronto. We did see Toronto as after the bus we went straight to the airport for our flight to Las Vegas, but what we did see was very busy and lots of skyscrapers!
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