Well, Well, Well….. THAT was a weekend and a half!  I have to say, that was probably, if not definitely the best weekend of my life. 

A HUGE thank you to the staff at Qualia and Hamilton Island and Hamilton Island Sea Planes for making it such an amazing trip.  And what a trip it was.

First of all, there’s a reason Qualia won the Conde Nast Award for Best Resort in the World, it absolutely is.  It’s by far the nicest resort I’ve been to and truly a delight to all of the senses.  From the second you arrive, to the moment they drop you at the airport, you feel like you’re in a different world, even on a different planet.  One that looks, smells and sounds like heaven.  I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to have a few days of serenity, peace, good food, and champagne!  (Charles Heidsieck is what the pour and it is delish!)  Even without the perfect proposal and engagement, any time spent at Qualia will be special and unforgettable!  I really can’t say enough great things about the resort or the staff…. of course the $38 sandwich and $42 burger may have been a bit much but when you’re sitting in a perfect location with a nice tropical breeze you can almost forgive it (until your next trip to the ATM).  

Aside from the resort itself being perfect, our seaplane ride to Whitehaven beach (the site of The Question from The Runner) was amazing.  

First of all, I’ve always wanted to ride in a seaplane.  I think being a child of the 1980s, I’ve had a weird fascination with seaplanes for a while now.  I’m not sure if it was Tattoo from Fantasy Island  or George Michael’s Careless Whisper video (go to the 3:00- 3:30 mark) that did it, but to me, there’s something enchanting about seaplanes.  The Runner knows this because the last four years I’ve been bugging him to go on a seaplane.  Bugging him…..Unlike other places,well most, normal non-tropical island cities, Sydney actually has quite a few Seaplanes hanging around.  So, I’m sure it was quite annoying for The Runner to have me mimic Tattoo every time one passed over.  Well, finally he can breathe a sigh of relief.  We’ve had our seaplane ride and it was soooooooooo cool!  It’s quite surreal taking off and landing on the water, it’s like being on a flying speedboat.  Very cool, and the Great Barrier Reef, super cool from the air (especially if you hate fish and swimming and oceans like me!) It was my first trip to the Whitsundays but it won’t be my last.  What a gorgeous part of the world!  Whitehaven Beach is perfection!  It’s one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever been to and yes, the sand really is that white!

I’ll spare you all the full story, but the trip to Whitehaven was quite memorable and special.   

The whole weekend really was quite amazing and enjoyable.  A huge thank you to everyone involved in every minute of it.  It was fantastic and memorable and wonderful and special.  I can’t say enough good things about Hamilton Island and the Whitsundays and Qualia.  So in short, my weekend was perfect and this morning I had a very sparkly answer to the Monday morning question, “How was your weekend?”