Two Tickets to Paradise

I don't know where to even begin telling you about the wonderful time we had in what can honestly only be described as paradise.  I should probably let the pictures speak for themselves:

We were upgraded to a water villa the first night (due to an issue at the airport);  I'm happy to report that other than a delay waiting for our transfer at Male Airport, there was absolutely nothing we could find fault with. 

The Adults Only Pool :) 

The amazing beach outside our villa: 

Walking around the Island:

Lazing Around: 

Hammocks were everywhere and I definitely took advantage! 

As much as we loved the water villa, we were much more content with our garden villa.  

Our own sunbeds waiting for us on our section of the beach:

The Spa was amazing - we had a complimentary treatment upon our arrival, and then of course the couples massage on my birthday.

That's the Over-Water spa behind Andy - the fish we could see swimming below while we had our treatment  were beautiful.

The food was brilliant and such a variety of choice every single day.

The picture below is of commonly used Maldivian spices; Friday night was Maldivian Curry Night, the only night Andy wasn't really thrilled with because although lots of the dishes were marked mild, they weren't.  At least not to Andy who is not a fan of spicy food. 

The wildlife was fantastic and we saw plenty of gecko's, bats, sharks and heron's. 

I fell in love with these:

They were very friendly and curious :) 

 Heron's were constantly outside our villa (in the jungle) and weren't one bit shy.  We loved watching them  stand perfectly still in the water on an evening, when the sun was setting and the tide was out, while they fished.

As for my 40th Birthday...  

It was fabulous.  We spent the morning sunbathing and I even went to the gym before a late lunch; we snorkeled in the afternoon and then walked to the other side of the island for an afternoon drink (which we did  most days) at the Pavilion Bar, which was our favourite, the chairs were so comfortable. 

We then headed back to our villa to shower and get ready for the amazing couples massage at 5:30 which left us feeling very relaxed chilled

Andy had arranged for a candlelight dinner on the patio next to the beach which was perfect.

We arrived back to our villa after lots of food and wine to find flowers all over my bed:

It only rained once during our time on the Island, on the Friday before my birthday. It came on quickly and didn't last long.  We got soaked as we were out walking but we weren't complaining.  

It was a lovely way to cool down and we didn't mind falling into the Pavilion Bar for a cold beer!

Before we knew it, the sun was back out.  

The picture below is the patio area outside the bar next to our restaurant;  we often met another couple, Vicki & Dave there for drinks on an evening after we'd eaten our evening meal.

And the sunsets - they were spectacular:

I have so many fantastic memories of this holiday which already seems such a long time ago. It is Andy's and my hope that one day we are able to return; we aren't sure if we want to try another Island or go back to Meeru because it is honestly such a fabulous resort.  

(I also have tons more pictures that I will be posting on FB once I get them all sorted in case any of you are interested in seeing even more .) 

I have some great stories that I want to share with you, however this post is long enough.  I will try and do a few posts of my favourite moment's from our holiday when I get a chance.

In the meantime try not to be too sick with envy over what I have managed to shown you ;)