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Gorgonzola Apple Quiche and Hawaii

We spent two magical, glorious, incredible, fun-filled weeks in Hawaii.

We swam…

We surfed…

We went paddle boarding…

We shopped…

And we shopped some more…

We toured Kualoa ranch on the east coast where Jurassic Park, Lost and Pearl Harbour and were filmed…

My husband loved it here on the east coast of Oahu the  most…

Where the mountains met the coast…

We watched scenes being filmed for Hawaii 5-0 at our hotel… (can you tell my daughter loved this the most!)

And we ate…
Buffet breakfasts, freshly made omelettes filled with vegetables and plate after plate of the sweetest pineapple, papaya, cantaloupe and watermelon you can imagine. Duke’s on Waikiki beach was our favourite breakfast hangout! (pic is of buffet at Hilton Hawaiian Village where we stayed)

We ate Haupia pie on the North Shore at Ted’s Bakery…

Garlic Shrimp and grilled corn at Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck on the East coast…

And we discovered the Cheesecake Factory!

We looooved the Cheesecake Factory!!!!!

Between us all we snapped about 2000 pics on our iphones and ipods.
Flicking through all the photos to get to the pics of the gorgonzola apple quiche has been another bonus to this week’s French Fridays with Dorie!

Coming back was hard. We had such an amazing family holiday we didn’t want to return.
But I have to admit it was nice to get back to into the routine of normal life and I realised how much French Fridays with Dorie has become a part of my life! I hate blue cheese with a passion! But I missed the group and the baking and there was no way I was going to miss another week! I knew I could try a different filling but hey, when will I ever have the opportunity to try gorgonzola and apple quiche in my life! I knew this was the perfect time! Fresh from my adventures in Hawaii I made the quiche…

Along with a salad I found in a magazine for American Cobb Salad (I replaced the blue cheese with Haloumi though!)

My family ate the quiche and we loved the pastry and the filling (without the gorgonzola bits!) What can I say! We are not blue cheese people!

So thank you French Fridays with Dorie for again introducing me to a new taste and allowing me to reminisce over two of the best weeks in my life!!! Can’t wait to see what every one else thought of the gorgonzola apple quiche!

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Tasmania Day 1 (Part 1): Launceston and the Tamar Valley Resort

As the plane descended into Launceston my husband, Emily (13 and jumping above) and

Todd (10) strained their necks to look out of the tiny plane window. They took in the the endless, rolling, green hills with a random farm house scattered here and there. They all turned to me and said in awed wonder “Where the hell did you take us?!’

“We flew over a town back there! Seriously!” I defended my choice of holiday destination.

They weren’t really complaining I realised, just slightly concerned and bewildered about about finding food and lodgings amongst so much emptiness!

After a short wait, we were told our rental car was going to be upgraded from a full size sedan to a full size sports model. And in no time at all my husband was loving the empty freeways that he could “play” on with his new toy!

Launceston was a short 15 minute drive from the airport and our accommodation, the Tamar Valley Resort, was another 10 or so minutes after that.


Seriously, this place is real!
I was half expecting to see the Griswold’s kitted out in their Bavarian slap-dancing polka outfits strolling through the putt putt golf course!

Our two room lake-view cottage was picture perfect and newly refurbished (so we were happy to overlook the fact we weren’t on the lake along with the paper thin construction of dwelling until we froze our arses off the first night there).

However all was forgotten when the kids discovered the jumping pillow.

And putt putt golf, kayaks, paddle boats and trikes.

The Tamar Valley Resort was a bit out of the way however I think it’s part of being in Tasmania. There is a lot of empty space, as long as you have access to a car though, it’s really no issue as the roads are pretty good and empty!

Overall, a pretty good choice of accommodation for a family staying a few days in Launceston and a great start to our Tassie vacation!