In early June we made our third flight to Krabi.  We had previously been to Koh Lanta and Railay, but this time the plan was to stay in Ao Nang.   We were meeting up with one of my oldest and bestest friends in the world and her husband.  They were traveling around Southeast Asia and planned to stop by Bangkok before their flight home.  But I couldn’t wait to see, them so we traveled to Krabi for a long weekend beach vacation.  We all stayed at the Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Krabi.

The closest airport to Ao Nang is Krabi.  Taxis from the airport to Ao Nang are a flat rate of 600 baht and the drive takes about 40 minutes.  Hotels often offer a pick up service, but in my experience the price point is much higher.  It is usually best to secure a taxi once you’ve arrived at the airport.  We also coordinated a pickup from the same taxi driver to take us back to the airport a few days later.  The taxi drive agreed to a slightly discounted rate of 500 baht on the way back.

Vacationing in Ao Nang, Thailand at the Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Krabi | Beach Vacation, Travel, Travel blogger, expat in Thailand | Life's Tidbits

The Centara Grand Beach Resort can be accessed two ways: 1) by a ‘monkey trail’ which is a wooden pathway that leads you up and over the edge of the mountain to Ao Nang Beach. 2) by boat to the hotel’s private dock.  The hotel provides a free shuttle boat that runs from morning until late at night.  A reservation to ride the boat is required so planning ahead is essential.

Since we went during low season, the free shuttle boat wasn’t running very often and therefore the boat was crowded.  People were pushing their way forward as the boat approached to secure a seat, as many appeared nervous there were more people than seats.  Overall I was unimpressed with the boat service especially when I was informed upon checkin they informed me they were at 90% occupancy.

Vacationing in Ao Nang, Thailand at the Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Krabi | Beach Vacation, Travel, Travel blogger, expat in Thailand | Life's Tidbits

The Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Krabi has a private beach and is secluded in its own bay called Pai Plong Bay. The hotel is nestled into a small mountain range in a well-preserved National Park.  A gorgeous resort for a long weekend holiday with friends and family.  The hotel room was stunning and Jellybean immediately made herself at home in the gigantic bed.

Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Krabi in Ao Nang, Thailand | Beach Vacation | Life's Tidbits

Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Krabi in Ao Nang, Thailand | Hotel Room | Life's Tidbits

I loved the tranquil, quiet beach and impressive pool located at the Centara Grand.  The food and mixed drinks, especially, left something to be desired.  If we go to the resort again I would definitely BYOB as well as try to venture off the property for dinner.  Downtown can easily be accessed via the Monkey Trail.  Though the monkey trail isn’t ideal for those traveling with small kids and toddlers.  I wish we had brought the baby carrier so we could have made the trek out with Jellybean safely on our back.

Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Krabi in Ao Nang, Thailand | Breakfast View | Life's Tidbits

Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Krabi in Ao Nang, Thailand | Pool View | Life's Tidbits

Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Krabi in Ao Nang, Thailand | Pool View | Life's Tidbits

Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Krabi in Ao Nang, Thailand | Beach | Life's Tidbits

Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Krabi in Ao Nang, Thailand | Beach | Life's Tidbits

We had a grand time at the Centara Grand Resort in Ao Nang, Krabi.  I definitely recommend this hotel for a peaceful and low key vacation, but if you are looking for someplace with hustle and bustle you will want to stay downtown.

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Phuket for Thanksgiving was just what the doctor ordered.  Beautiful beach, sea breeze, swimming, family time and a little break from the hustle and bustle of city life in Bangkok.

We stayed at the Le Meridien.  Everything we needed was right there.  A private beach, baby elephant and some different restaurants to choose from.  Although we could have taken a taxi into town to try a restaurant or explore Phuket, we chose to keep it super low key and never left the resort.  There’s always next time to do some exploring!

Le Meridien coordinated a ride from the airport to the hotel.  When we arrived we were greeted with a seriously delicious fruit juice and the flowers (pictured below).

Le Meridien Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand | Life's Tidbits

Le Meridien Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand | Life's Tidbits

Le Meridien Beach Resort pool in Phuket, Thailand | Life's Tidbits

Le Meridien Beach Resort pool in Phuket, Thailand | Life's Tidbits

Le Meridien Beach Resort private beach in Phuket, Thailand | Life's Tidbits

Le Meridien Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand | Life's Tidbits

Le Meridien Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand | Life's Tidbits

Le Meridien Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand | Life's Tidbits

Our first dinner was at Portofino.  The food was delicious and dessert did NOT disappoint.  Yum, chocolate!

Portofino Food at the Le Meridien Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand | Life's Tidbits

Portofino Food at the Le Meridien Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand | Life's Tidbits

Le Meridien has a private beach, which is a great perk to this resort.  GAHHH just looking at this picture makes me want to go walk in the sand and dip my toes in the warm ocean.

Beach at the Le Meridien Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand | Life's Tidbits

Le Meridien Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand | Life's Tidbits

Raise your hand if you aren having a good time!

‘Meeting’ the baby elephant was fun … or really just viewing it from afar since Jellybean was petrified to get close too the elephant despite her initial enthusiasm and saying {or really screaming, because that’s the only volume a toddler knows — wink wink} ‘ellie’ over and over again.

Baby elephant at Le Meridien Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand | Life's Tidbits

We went to La Fiamma every day for lunch … if it ain’t broke don’t fit it, right?!!!  The pizza from the wood oven was so yummy and the view wasn’t too shabby either.  Oh, and they have mango-mojitos.  Go ahead and order one.  You can thank me later.  ;)

Wood Oven Pizza on the Beach at the Le Meridien Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand | Life's Tidbits

The food was all amazing, but our favorite was the seafood restaurant next to Portofinos.  Our Thanksgiving dinner, while not traditional, was absolutely the best meal of our whole vacation.

Food at the Le Meridien Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand | Life's Tidbits

On our last day in Phuket the hubs took Jellybean to the beach and gifted me some alone time.  I sat by the pool, had a drink, read The Boston Girl on my kindle and generally just soaked up the beauty {and quiet} around me.

Le Meridien Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand | Life's Tidbits

Le Meridien Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand | Life's Tidbits

Le Meridien Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand | Life's Tidbits

Le Meridien Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand | Life's Tidbits

The sunset on the last night was particularly beautiful.

Beach sunset | Le Meridien Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand | Life's Tidbits

beach sunset | Le Meridien Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand | Life's Tidbits

I want to go back!  We had a fabulous time at the Le Meridien in Phuket and would highly recommend it!!

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My favorite part of this photograph is the little girl sitting on her father’s shoulders.  I have many fond memories of getting “tired” and my father hoisting me up onto his shoulders and off we went.  This picture was taken on one of our trips to Ixtapa, Mexico.  Man would I like to be sitting on the beach, soaking up the sun today. :)

DSC_0142

Happy Friday and have a fabulous weekend!!

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And I mean that literally … the wheel on the bus (read party bus) went POP.  So which (party) bus, how, when and what exactly happened is the “not so funny then”, but “kind of funny now” type of story.  Last summer my amazing maid of honor and bridesmaids planned a super fun bachelorette weekend for me and our friends!!  It was weekend packed of fun activities in the DC area.

The weekend started with a roof deck party.  Each girl brought a special drink/shot to share with the group.  It was our “low key” night in, however it turned into a late night with a very late night round of the game “never have I ever”.  Seriously, I don’t think I had played that game since high school, but what a fun thing to do on my last weekend as a single lady!

The next day we woke up and got ready for our party bus to arrive!  The ladies and I were headed to the beach to catch some rays and relax before our big night out that evening.  We all loaded onto the super cool bus and off we went.

About two thirds of the way there we all hear this huge POP!  The bus driver stayed calm and managed to pull over without any incidents.  We all pilled out of the bus and there was the culprit …

There wasn’t a whole lot we could do, but sit on the bus and wait.  This is where we went wrong. What we should have done was called a cab and had the bus company meet us at the beach.  Instead the bus driver kept assuring us it would only be another 30 minutes.  About 2-3 hours later they finally had a limo pick us up and drive us to the beach.  By the time we made it to the beach it was FULL and they were no longer letting people in.  We were all at a loss.  What should we do at this point?!

Luckily one of my friends jumped into action.  She called her friend who has a boat and he agreed to let a bunch of girls come hang out for a couple hours  … lucky him, right :)  Back to the city we went and spent a little fun in the sun on the boat.

The evening was spent having dinner at Lincoln and then we got our dance on at Josephine’s.  Despite the wheel going POP we had a great day!!!  I’m very lucky to have friends who just roll with the punches (so to speak).  The weekend showed me no matter what happens my friends and I always have a great time together … even if that means sitting on a hot party bus on the side of the highway for a few hours!

Do you have any “not so funny then”, but “kind of funny now” bachelorette weekend stories?

Happy Bachelorette Weekend!

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We began our honeymoon in Positano and then we were off to Sorrento.  Day 6 was spent on the train heading north to Cinque Terre.  The trip was long and I read an entire book on the train ride there!  The trip wasn’t over when we arrive at the Monterosso train station.  We then had to shlep our luggage up a hill to the hotel.  Then it was official … we had arrived in Cinque Terre!

Cinque Terre, Italy: Honeymoon Part |  Life's Tidbits

Screen shot from Google Maps

We stayed at the #1 hotel in Monterosso, at least according to TripAdvisor, Hotel Villa Steno.  The hotel was great and the view was amazing.  We made good use of our balcony during our stay. I would definitely recommend a balcony with an ocean view!

Day 7: Day at the Beach

After sleeping in a little, we lathered up with sun tan lotion and headed to the beach!  The day was spent ocean side reading, tanning and hanging out.  The beach was beautiful and while relaxing on the beach I read Sarah’s Key, which is a great book and I highly recommend it.

Cinque Terre, Italy: Honeymoon Part |  Life's Tidbits

After a drink on the balcony and taking in the beautiful views we decided it was time for some PIZZA! Nothing had compared to the first place we found in Positano, however we were going to try to find something at least close.  As always we used the TripAdvisor app on the iPhone and decided upon Pizzeria Da Ely.  The pizza was very good and we were able to land a seat outside without having a reservation. :)  After a lovely dinner and bottle of wine we headed back to the hotel.

Cinque Terre, Italy: Honeymoon Part |  Life's Tidbits

Monterosso al Mare shuts down a lot earlier than Sorrento and Positano did.  For us this was a good thing, because the next day we planned to hike the 5 cities of Cinque Terre!

Day 8: Hiking Cinque Terre

We woke up early, which was a nice change and headed directly to breakfast.  After breakfast we packed water bottles, sunscreen and the camera into our backpack and headed towards the trail for our big hike.  We hiked from Monterosso to Vernazza.  I honestly don’t think I’ve ever sweat so much in my entire life.  It was SO hot and although the hike wasn’t hard there were enough stairs to make it so I couldn’t control the sweating. Hahaha.  Sexy, right?

Anyways after finally reaching Vernazza we stopped for lunch at Gianni Franzi.  I had the pasta with meat sauce it was A-Mazing.  After resting for a while we began the hike to Corniglia.  Once we arrived in  Corniglia it was time for a drink at a cute little bar.  The path from Corniglia to Manarola was closed for some reason so we would have to hop on the train to Manarola and then we could finish the hike through the cities.

The path closure was about all the level of excuses we needed to skip the last two cities (Manarola and Riomaggiore).  It was hot and we were tired from already hiking for the better part of the day.  We got on the train and headed back to our beautiful hotel.  We sat on the balcony, watched the sunset and savored our last evening in Cinque Terre.

Here are a few pictures from the hike:

Cinque Terre, Italy: Honeymoon Part |  Life's Tidbits

So beautiful!!! Even though we didn’t finish the hike I am glad we enjoyed the portion that we did do.  I think if it wasn’t so hot then we would have done the whole thing.  On our last night we went to Il Casello for dinner.  The food was great and the view of the ocean was perfect.  I think this is a place that only takes cash though … just a little fyi/heads up if you decide to go.

Day 9 would be spent on the train to Rome – our final stop on the honeymoon.

Caio! See you in Rome!!!

Happy traveling.

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