Vitamin Rhi! Day 1&2

Finally... oh thanktheLord finally... it was time for Deon and I to head up North to the tropical playground of Port Douglas and up my levels of Vitamin Me thanks to Tourism Queensland and Nuffnang Australia! I was desperately seeking some sunshine after freezing my arse off in this cold Victorian winter, and was very willing to start partaking in some cocktails ASAP.

After a morning of miscommunication and a mix up where we almost missed out flight (queue panic attack and hyperventilating) and a mad dash to make our connecting flight, I finally managed to relax on the flight to Cairns. A HUGE thank you to Theresa from Sunlover Holidays for sorting it all out for us, you are an absolute star!

When arriving in Cairns we picked up our brand new Hyundai i30 (woot woot!) and drove that baby all the way to Mantra Aqueous on Port in Port Douglas. Mantra was perfect- a one bedroom fully self contained apartment right on the corner of Macrossan st and a one minute walk to Four Mile Beach. Plus... bonus! We had a jacuzzi on our balcony!

That balmy air hit us as soon as we stepped outside, and we made our way to the Rattle and Hum for tea. There are quite a few pubs along Macrossan, but I'd always loved the atmosphere in this one and the food never let me down. I sat there in pure bliss, sipping on a Vodka, Lime and Soda and not quite believing that I was finally back in Paradise. We then idly strolled back to Mantra, stopping briefly for a cookies 'n cream gelati as I firmly believe that icecream has no calories while you're on holidays, therefore it's perfectly acceptable to have one every day if you wish. 

The next day dawned bright and sunny, and it was the perfect morning to wander down and check out the Port Douglas Sunday markets. First stop was breakfast though, which involved eggs benedict and fresh orange juice from the funky Cafe Ecco.

The markets are located at Anzac park, and it was packed. Rows upon rows of stalls selling everything you could think of, including sugarcane juice which I was tempted to try, but never got around to doing so. I did try the fresh pineapple juice though- delicious! 

Bright jewel tones caught my eye everywhere I turned, from bracelets to necklaces, and anklets and toe rings. Shells and beads in every shade you could think of. It was one big  feast of colour. 

I've always loved wooden toys, and right now Carter gets a huge kick out of completing puzzles. I had a look for a new wooden puzzle, but unfortunately they didn't have one suitable for his age. See the little crocodile of the left? Carter had one similar, and he adored it. 

See? I'm not lying about that cornflour sky. It was seriously hard for me to believe it was actually the middle of Winter. Why on earth am I living in the South?

Coconut masks... coconut juice.. straight coconuts to eat...everywhere you looked someone was selling something to do with coconuts. 

The live music added to the atmosphere, and there were quite a few buskers out singing and strumming on their guitars. 

I loved all the muticoloured bracelets stacked together, but I wasn't quite sure about the blinged up Buddha. I mean, I love a bit of sparkle but I'm not quite sure that would go with my decor at home...

After wearing ourselves out traipsing up and down the stalls and burning our credit card (especially at Lorna Jane- I couldn't help myself!) we picked up a couple of magazines and it was time to chill out and soak up some rays back at the pool at Mantra. I have to make a special mention of the Whileaway Cafe though- it's a funky little cafe-slash-bookstore that has an awesome vibe and we actually spent quite a bit of time in there as they have a great selection of books. We ended up buying a fab interior design one for Deon's sister Summer (which I could have quite easily kept for myself!) and one called Jungle Drums for Carter.

We had the whole pool to ourselves... soooo peaceful! I caught up on Maddison then simply lay back and closed my eyes, drifted away and relished the fact that right then, we had no troubles in the world. We could just breathe and enjoy anticipating what the rest of the trip had in store for us. I was hanging out for the next day... hello Sailaway!

Tomorrow- Day 3&4!