Day 5 (20 August 2015)

Macy shopping. Even with the disappointing exchange rate between Oz and US clothes are still very cheap in this great shop.  65% off most items!

Anne in the main foyer inside the Sony Studios, Culver City. The futuristic bikes were used in MIB movies

Inside the Sony Studio foyer. Used many times in various movies where airport scenes were needed.

This was the facade of the now MGM headquarters, now owned by Sony Pictures

Touring the stage buildings inside Sony Picture Studios. Stage 21 is where the Wizard of Oz was filmed.

The renown water tower inside Sony Picture Studio

The Ghostbusters car

Many movies involving car chases and other exciting vehicle scenes had to be driven backwards. Inside this one had a rearward driving steering wheel - clever!

Exiting the Sony Picture Studio with the huge rainbow in the background.

Inside Sony Picture Studio - one of the original buildings back in the MGM, Columbia and Tristar days

The new Sony Picture Studio main building in Culver City, Los Angeles

We collected our vehicle this morning from Alamo - a big Dodge SUV that can hold four passengers and large bags. It is like driving a truck. Needless to say Neil was very careful driving around the congested Los Angeles streets. The first port of call was shopping at Macy's. Anne has now converted Choon that this department store is the best in the world when it comes to fashion clothes. All of us purchased clothes at near rock bottom prices, even factoring in the big exchange rate gap. There are sales due to the forthcoming winter and stock must go. 65% off most design label clothes plus our visitor's 10% discount. Some items were as low as $10. We had lunch in the food court that served gigantic portions of food. We must learn to buy one lunch dish for two people or suffer the weight problem. After lunch we toured the Sony Picture Studio in Culver City. We were very disappointed with the tour. Didn't see any famous stars and actual some noted stars were there in their particular stage buildings. Our guide wouldn't let us in whilst filming. It was a two hour tour and the only positive aspect about our time was the historical information we experience about what had been filmed there. After our tour we visited a local Walmart to buy items for tomorrow's road trip to Yosemite National park. Returned to our accommodation at 7pm and ready to go for an early start tomorrow morning. We may not have any Wifi coverage for a few days, therefore we will catch up once we settle in South Tahoe. Cheers and please send those emails with all the latest news from home and Australia. 

Day 4 (19 August 2015) In Los Angeles

Our flight gave us a misty view of Hollywood

From our flight - downtown Los Angeles

One of the many Interstate freeways criss-crossing Los Angeles

Toasting our first meal in the USA at the Casa Gamino Mexican Family Restaurant (with margaritas) near our accommodation, Inglewood, Los Angeles

 Meals were huge and now it's time to walk off our Mexican cuisine - in front of the Casa Gamino Restaurant

Not far from our accommodation - welcoming feature to all visitors.

It was a 40 hour day today - due to the crossing of the International Dateline. The 10.5 hour flight from Nadi to Los Angeles with Fiji Airlines was normal. The food on board was adequate and with business class seats made our 9:40 pm departure to a 1:20 pm arrival the same day comfortable. We had a few hours sleep in their cot like seats. Going through immigration at LAX was uneventful however the line through customs was long and overall it took us nearly an hour to exit LAX. Our accommodation is only a ten minute taxi drive and after check-in and a welcoming shower we meet Meng and Choon who were resting next door. They had been in LA since 7 am and with a 14 hour flight from Sydney deserved to catch up on some sleep time. We had our USA first meal at a Mexican restaurant and ordered three meals to cover the four of us - and this was excessive with the huge portions they served us. Tomorrow we collect our vehicle in preparation for a long road trip across Western USA and a visit to Sony film studios - so cheers to all. 

Day 4 (19 August 2015) In Fiji

Our sea plane arriving at Mana Island (1030am). The pilot had to avoid snorkelers and swimmers before hitting the beach.

Ready to board our 20 minutes flight from Mana Island to Nadi.

Travelling at 500 feet, 92 knots, windows were opened and the pontoons were easily seen from the cockpit

Denarau harbour and an aerial view of our resort - approaching our sea landing site Nadi

The main street of Nadi - tourist shops and more tourist shops

The major scenic site in Nadi - the Hindu Temple

On the end section of Nadi - a cafe and bar. This is where we had time to spare with a couple of drinks before moving on the Nadi airport.

This is different, Neil's having a beer (that's normal) and I'm the one doing the blog, so please don't compare.  We started off from Mana Island in a sea plane, which was a little exciting with a big dose of "what are we doing " but once in the air it was great, the best view ever. Mana Island is definitely a family holiday destination,  Loads of families with lots of children but good accommodation and the locals are extremely friendly.

We arrived in Nadi some 15 minutes later and were given a complimentary ride anywhere we wished to go. We ended up in Nadi main town and we a sitting in a bar, Neil's on his 2nd beer and we are doing Fiji time.

Meng and Choon are in the air now and we have another 6 hour wait and there are shops waiting no begging to be explored. 

Until next time cheers to all our friends

Neil and Anne

Day 3 (18 August 2015)

On board the Sea Spray near Mana Island. It's free beer, wine, softies and water all day long in fact it was encouraged. David, we hope your vessel has the same catering?

Anne couldn't do the Titanic pose it was too bumpy for her to go all the way.

The Captain of the Sea Spray - also a ukulele player, including all the staff on board. They were playing and singing Fijian songs all through the cruise.

Montiki Island (also called Tom Hanks's Island). This is the island where Tom and his faithful basketball "Wilson" starred in the movie Castaway.

The Sea Spray off Montiki Island

On Montiki Island. Left over from the film Castaway

The majority of the scenes from Castaway were filmed here - Montiki Island.

Us on Montiki Island

A rare picture these days - Anne in her swimming costume. On Montiki Island

A great BBQ on board the Sea Spray

Our "bure" on Mana Island

What a great day we had today. This morning started with overcast skies, however by 10am it became clear and our journey on board the 1928 built vessel Sea Spray was memorable. We stopped at Montiki Island for snorkeling (not us) and wandering around the tropical island. We had a BBQ lunch on board the vessel and after the cruise took us to an island inhabited by traditional Fijian islanders. Here we tried "kava" (yuk) and after six hours returned to Mana Island. On board drinks were complimentary and the crew just wanted us to finish their stocked up esky in a fervour. Six Fijian beers later Neil was feeling great. Tomorrow we board a sea plane to Nadi and hope to tour around the town. Our flight to LA is at 9pm so we have a lot of time to spare at Nadi. Cheers.

Day 2 (17 August 2015)

The Bula Bus that takes "paying" passengers around the resorts on Denarau Island

View of Port Denarau

South Sea Island - the first island from Denarau. predominately a backpackers hideaway

The Fiji flag on the stern of our Denarau to Mana Island vessel

Disembarking on Mana Island

Mana Island along the south beach

Our outside shower unit in our "bure" on Mana Island

Anne on the north beach complex on Mana Island

The north beach on Mana Island

Newly renovated pool area in the Mana Island Resort, along the North Beach

It rained all day - mostly drizzling. From our Hilton Resort on Denarau we walked along the main road where all the resorts are located. We boarded our Mana Island boat at 12 noon and took one and half hours to reach Mana Island. The island is small and located among smaller backpackers isles west of mainland Fiji. Nice establishment on Mana however the Resort has a major monopoly on the entire island landscape. We walked along the south beach in between the light rain that bug us all day and sip a few cocktails at the main bar. The resort here is full of Australians with young children and babies. For dinner tonight we had an Indian buffet comprising of Lamb Josh, Vindaloo and other curry cuisines. 

Tomorrow we are off to Tom Hanks's Castaway Island and we may find "Wilson". (Wilson was the basketball that Tom Hanks relied on during his plane wrecked experience on the island.) The sailing vessel is a "all you can drink and eat experience" and hopefully the weather will be kind to us. Cheers.

Day 1 (16 August 2015)

Saying goodbye to our Lakeyn. What is that guy waving to in the background?

Fiji Airlines are okay. This is what Business Class looks like!

Watching the landing of Emirates at Sydney Airport with the CBD in the background

Our last look at mainland Ozzie - Palm beach and surrounds

An uneventful flight from Sydney to Nadi, Fiji. Took 3 and a half hours - landed in nightime and in drizzling rain. Our accommodation is in Denarau at the Hilton Resort. Nice quarters and everybody greeting us with "bula".

One Week To Go

Only one week to go our bags are out of storage and ready to be filled. Above is an excellent pictorial flag of the United States. Our next post will be from Fiji. Cheers to all our readers.