Monday, July 23, 2012

Bahama Mama!

While we were planning our trip to USA, hubby and I wanted to go somewhere new and fun. I have never been to the Bahamas before, and although hubby had been before during his college spring break years, we have never been there together - so, essentially, it was a new place to try. We decided that after visiting Atlanta, we would take a short flight down there for a few days. 

Because it was my first time going to the Bahamas, I wanted to stay at a place that  had alot to see, do, enjoy and eat, and somewhere where we could chill out and relax (chillax?) as well. After reading numerous reviews on Expedia and Tripadvisor ( my gurus for all my trip planning!! ), I decided that the Atlantis was the place to try! The Atlantis is great because besides being having a huge water park and a really amazing aquarium, it also has a choice of 5 hotels within the resort so you can really choose which one suits what you want most.

We finally made it to The Atlantis! This is the Royal Wing which is the main part of the hotel  - Stunning and enormous!


Out of all the hotels within Atlantis, I chose The Reef which is a service apartment/hotel and is located on the far end of the resort with a private beach. It was peaceful, quiet and private and yet a mere 5 minutes away from the hustle and bustle of the main Royal wing that houses the casino, aquarium and shopping. Perfect for people like me who don't want to be too far from the action, yet like a little peace and quiet time as well.

The Reef's private beach  - beautiful and truly exclusive!


I have to admit, although I love the beach and the sea, I have a love/hate relationship with the sun. When I am at the beach I always have my massive sunglasses and sunhat on, and am sure to always reapply my 80 SPF sunblock - just about every 10 minutes! Having said that, it's a testament to how great the Atlantis waterpark is that I actually spent hours upon hours every day playing in the water park,  actually enjoying it! They have this ride called the River Rapids where you float along in a huge water wheel and cruise down huge waves and rapids - I went on the River Rapids everyday, at least 3 times a day! They also had their famed slides - you can see the picture below - which were like amusement parks rides! Although I didn't have the guts to try any of the big slides, I had fun watching as people sped down at breakneck speed!


I think this one was called the Drop of Doom or the Tower of Terror - either way, the closest I got to it was enjoying the screams of people as they spend downwards! Too terrifying for me for sure!

Another one of the Atlantis' most popular slides! Although this was a little tamer than the "drop", it still was too much for me - yes, I am a chicken, totally!


Aside from all the fun and games, hubby and I enjoyed all the good food at the Atlantis as well. There were a great number of really good restaurants within the hotel and in Marina Village, an outdoor shopping village, which also had a great lively atmosphere and live music in the evenings. 


Hanging out at Ben&Jerry's at Marina Village - a must for staying cool in the heat!

At the Marina Village there was a dock for many private luxury yachts  - hubby had fun just walking around peering into them! In the evening the owners of the yachts would sit on their decks sipping wine - lifestyles of the rich and famous indeed!
 I can't write a post about food without posting this picture of Veal Saltimbocca at Carmines in the Marina Village - this is one dish! Can you believe the size? We ordered one between the two of us and even so,  delicious as it was, were not able to finish it! 


Am I starting to sound like an advertorial for the Atlantis? I really hope not. I enjoyed the resort and anyone who knows me knows that when I really like something I become its biggest advocate. Aside from a half day snorkelling trip out to the reefs and an hour walking along Bay Street doing some local shopping, we didn't leave the hotel at all in the 3 days we were at the Bahamas. We had such a great time and alot of it had to do with actually being at the Atlantis. Two thumbs up for sure!


One last glimpse before leaving - truly a sight to remember. 


Thanks for reading and I hope you are enjoying my vacation posts!

Friday, July 20, 2012

Loving Atlanta ( part 2 )

After such a great time at the World of Coca-Cola, my next stop in Atlanta was the Georgia Aquarium, which was conveniently located just opposite! Although I am not an expert on sea animals, fish or any type of aquatic life, I always find it so calming and mesmerizing to just sit and observe them as they swim so gracefully and effortlessly - in fact I could watch them for hours on end, which is why I love to visit aquariums! The Georgia Aquarium is definitely of world-class caliber and I would say its worth it just to go and watch the huge whale shark swimming majestically alongside manta rays and other exotic species in the enormous Ocean Voyager exhibit. Here's the whale shark in the picture below - magnificent, right?

Isn't this a most amazing sight? I could stay here forever!

Another one of my favourites were the Beluga Whales - I love how they look like they are smiling all the time  - they seem so good natured and friendly!


Loving the friendly Beluga Whales!


When I visit aquariums, jellyfish are also on the top of my must see list - don't these look so exotic and mystical? I can't remember what type of jellyfish they are but I do remember seeing a sign saying that they are poisonous and a sting is toxic enough to kill a person!


So pretty, yet so lethal!


Sadly, we didn't have that much time at the aquarium but it was definitely a visit to remember. I really hope to  return to Atlanta one day and spend more time there! Thanks for reading and I hope you liked the pictures!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Loving Atlanta (part 1)

This trip to the US brought so many new experiences, one of them being my first visit to Atlanta! Hubby had a few days of work there, so for my first stop in the US trip, I flew in to meet him. I really didn't know what to expect of Atlanta but I have to say I really loved it! There was so much to do and see, it was a whirlwind of fun which passed by way too  quickly.

We only had a few days there so I had to narrow down the list of places I wanted to see, and I was adamant about having to visit my first two choices - The World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium!

Our first stop !

We decided to make a day out of it as both places were right next to one another, and we went first to the World of Coca-Cola where the first things to greet us at the entrance were giant Coke bottles decorated in unique and fun colours and patterns to represent different countries and places. I loved them and wanted to take them home with me! We walked through a huge room where were thousands of Coca Cola paraphanelia pieces - everything you have ever seen in Coke advertisements, billboards, and commercials, including some really beautiful vintage collectors items. 


I couldn't resist a picture with the huge Coke bottles!


The first room with so much to see - all about Coca Cola!


The different Coke Bottles were everywhere along the tour , aren't they  cool?

We learnt so many interesting facts about the history of Coca-Cola .

The tour itself was so much fun and informative and took us through the history, and yes, the actual "world" of Coca-cola and how the drink and company has evolved through the decades. At the end of the tour there were drink dispensers where you could sample every single drink made by Coca Cola from all over the world - this was our favourite part! We tried different drinks from Brazil, Chile, China, and just about every country! Each country has its own variation on soft drinks so it was fun to try the unique flavours - talk about a sugar high! 


So many soft drinks, so little time! We loved this part of the tour - and of course, got a sugar high from all the samplling!
We had such a great time and I really hope I get the chance to re-visit the World of Coca Cola again!


Sunday, July 15, 2012

Coming soon, I promise!

hi everyone..I am so so sorry for the lack of new posts - I actually have so many things and fun pictures to share with you from my trip to Atlanta, The Bahamas, and Los Angeles - but please bear with me. When I returned last week I had a sore throat and fever which has developed into Bronchitis so right now I just need to get over it as fast as I can, and I promise in a few days I'll be back to share with you all the fun from my trip :) thanks for reading and I'll be back soon!