Selamat Datang

The lovely touches by our very own private pool

Hello from Bali!

We are here to source some materials for our new home as well as to celebrate (early) our 10th wedding anniversary. It is with mixed feelings that I write this post. We are without the children and we miss them terribly! We didn't realise just how much we enjoy sharing the excitement of travel with them. We also left the country with my mother-in-law in hospital. We will, however, enjoy this special time together as best we can. We appreciate the kindness and generosity of family and friends who are minding our children, who made this all possible. So let's not waste it!

Other than a 20 minute delay, the flight to Bali went smoothly, too smoothly. How easy is it to travel without children?!??! Malcolm and I enjoyed our coffee without interruption and we didn't have to fight to play with our own phones. Words with friends at the airport was a highlight. We purchased ourselves some snacks and drinks in preparation for the Virgin BYO everything flight. We did, however, purchase some very tasty albeit expensive Luke Mangan beef pies.

What is out of place here...there's only 1 bag! We normally travel with a  LOT more...

Setting up our own electronic store at the airport

We booked a one bedroom villa at The Elysian via the internet. It looked fabulous online but we weren't sure how things would pan out in real life. We needn't have worried. We were picked up in a private car by a Villa staff. He provided us cool, fragrant and refreshing towels, bottles of cold water as well as an ipad with wi-fi. I was sold on the spot.

Our ride from the airport

Our very delicious welcome drink - ginger, lime and lemongrass

The Elysian is a group of villas tucked away in the Seminyak area. You really do feel like you're in your own private space. The staff so far has been amazing. They greet you by your name when they meet you and are very friendly and helpful. The villas themselves are beautiful, private and is feature packed! It comes with its own private pool, apple TV with free movies, bose sound dock and much much more. We will let the photos do the talking!

Complimentary hat

Flowers for me!

Our living area

Bathroom equipped with L'occitane toiletries

The bath and shower in one

The bedroom

The private garden of our villa

By night

Our private pool

Perfect for that after dinner swim

We decided to have dinner at the restaurant within The Elysian. The prices were surprisingly reasonable. The restaurant overlooked the lap pool shared by all the guests. The service was good and efficient. We ambled back to our villa for a quick dip before settling in bed, ready to use the free wifi! Cake drinks and flowers on arrival, return airport transfers, 2 hour spa for 2, breakfast, complimentary shuttle to the Seminyak area...all in all, not bad value for $120 per night!

Our welcome cake!

Locking up our villa to go for dinner

The path to and from our villa

The 25m lap pool and day beds

Our dinner venue poolside

Love these towels! Smells so good and so refreshing! In fact, all the linen smells beautiful

Apple mocktail

Scallops in Vietnamese sauce on the house

Bread the asian way...love it!

Seafood and prawn papaya salad

Complimentary bicycles for us to us

Needn't have worried about bringing our own!

The driveway to the property the guard lowering the barrier

A very satisfied husband heading into the villa to retire...