We are a little behind on the blog.  Our time in Bali got away from us and once in Ubud, internet was spotty.  We will be updating as much as we can.  Might be a little our of order, but it will all be there none the less.

Bali is a lot different than Dave and I expected, mainly bigger and more crowded.  I think we were thinking it would be along the lines of Hawaii, and I’m sure there are places that are much quieter, but we spent time at the beach in Seminyak and there are a lot more people than we expected.  And it’s hot!!!!  When we say hot, crazy hot for us San Franciscans!!  Easily low 90’s with close to 80-90%% humidity.  Took us a few days to get used it that, although I never fully did.

Samaja Villas – We stayed at a great place close to the beach.  Probably a 5-8 minute walk or a quick bike ride on the two bikes they had to use.  The staff couldn’t have been nicer.   A little bit of indoor/outdoor living, which took some getting used to since the eating area and living room was outside with no AC and I already mentioned how hot it was.  But the pool was amazing to have in the afternoons when we needed to cool off.

Beach days – we had many.  The girls spent hours playing in the waves, boogie boarding and Claire tried surfing again, which she loves.  Dave did too, but has decided surfing isn’t for him 🙂 We had to be in the water while we were at the beach other wise it was just too hot – so no sunbathing on the many lounge chairs set up on the beach, but we found many seas shells and treasures walking the beach and playing the waves.

 

Horseback riding – The girls have been asking to ride horses this whole trip and we had to walk right by Mesari Stables each day to get to the beach, so we really didn’t have any more excuses.  The girls and I chose to go for a sunset ride when it was cooler and there was a nice breeze.  They had a great time!! Claire was in her glory and the twins are now horse lovers like Claire.  And sunsets on Seminyak are quite a thing to see both for the beauty and for all of the people who come to see it.  The beach side bars and restaurants are filled with people.  Each restaurant has large bean bags and umbrellas set up so that everyone can enjoy the sunset – it is really something to see.

Massages – I am loving the massages throughout Asia – it has been a treat. And in Seminyak was no different.   We were introduced to a woman named Susan who owns Jari Menari Massage through a friend. She sent us pages of information before we left about place to go, places to stay, restaurants, etc.  We definitely had to try a massage at JM and we were not disappointed!!!  We loved it so much we went back twice!  If ever in Seminyak, that’s the place to go!  And we made a new friend in Susan who even had us up to her beautiful home for our first home cooked meal of the trip.  We were in heaven!  She had dogs and a pool and couldn’t have been nicer.  She even gave us tips on where to go once we left Seminyak and headed to Ubud.  We will be meeting her cousin up here who paints on silks, which the girls will love.  We love the friendliness and hospitality of all the people we have met.  We have pages of information from Susan and another friend of a friend, Amy, who lives in Seminyak as well, if you ever need tips for a trip to Bali, let me know.

Thanksgiving – We couldn’t miss our favorite holiday, Lauren would not let us if we tried.  So we found a hotel in the area that was serving a traditional Thanksgiving dinner – the L Hotel.  A beautiful rooftop setting  with almost all we could imagine – pumpkin soup, turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and apple pie.  The only thing missing was the stuffing, but we survived and had our first Thanksgiving as a family away from home.  We missed being with the rest of our family, but we know this is only temporary and we were blessed to be together in a beautiful place on an amazing adventure.

Tour day – We had a driver take us all around for the day. We started at Padang Padang beach where we swam amongst tons of seaweed, but it was beautiful for sure.  And there were some caves that Claire, Grace and Dave explored.  Again, Claire was in her glory and wanted to go back again.

We also went to Uluwatu temple which is an amazing temple on a cliff – truly something to see.  There were some crazy monkeys – one that grabbed at Grace’s foot, so we didn’t spend long, but are glad we were able to see it.

Our last stop was Jimbaran Bay for fresh grilled seafood at Cafe Made Bagus, which Susan has suggested.  Amazing!!!  We saw the fresh fish as we walked in the restaurant as well as the coconut husks that they grill them on.  We chose to have a little of everything – prawns, lobster, clams, squid and white snapper.  So delicious and the view was amazing and the beach was relatively quiet.

We are now in Ubud and have much to tell you – more to come soon!