The girls excited about the plunge pool
Having their coconut "welcome drink"
Seriously, right in the middle of a working rice paddy. AMAZING!
Living/dinning room
Window seat/girls' bed
Our queen size bed that had all 4 of us in it the first night
Our villa, right on a little creek
Our fishpond open air bathroom!!
Eliza testing out the shower. I actually took a shower one night while it was raining.
Outdoor bedroom
So much fun!
The community pool, shared with about 10 villas
Cute girl at dinner
We found this yummy restaurant, "Three Monkeys", that we all just loved. It was in the middle of another rice paddy and so delicious. Probably the biggest shock about Bali was how fabulous the food was. We didn't have a bad meal the entire time we were there, really really good food!
Our first night there, there was a good rain and this guy creeped up on the porch. The largest snail I have ever seen in my life. That is an iPhone 5 for size comparison. It was HUGE!
Our first stop our first full day in Ubud was the Sacred Monkey Forest. It was so very cool. Monkeys were everywhere! I was a little apprehensive about letting the girls feed the moneys, but the lady we bought bananas from assured us she would help us feed them and keep the girls safe.
They thought this was the coolest thing ever, of course! We had to take off all bows, jewelry, hats and sunglasses, as the monkeys will steal them.
Me and my sweetie
Her favorite spot, right on Daddy!
So cool!
This little crazy monkey came up and thought a flower Olivia was holding was food. He climbed up her and grabbed it. Then he grabbed and bit Eliza's dress. Wild monkey!
One of the many temples in the Monkey Forest
We had lunch at the coolest little spot. I love that my husband is an avid guidebook reader/travel researcher. I just show up to the most amazing places with the best food!
The view of the working rice paddy from our villa
Girls in the tub!
Another day, another temple! The start of another cool day trip with a driver.
Both men and women are required to wear a sarong in the temples. Olivia wanted to wear them too, even though children are not required to.
Super cool waterfall that we opted NOT to hike down to in the heat
Goa Gajah or the elephant temple
The girls were entranced by the praying that was happening at this temple
They were so curious
About to go into the cave "Elephant Temple" built in the 9th century
Hiking around the area (no wrong this time, just the sash that goes with it)
Very cool tree roots
Super interesting Tirta Empul temple. It is believed that the spring that feeds this temple can bring health and fortune if you take a dip.
Religious ceremony
This isn't the best photo, but we got asked by strangers over and over and over for pictures with the girls. Every time we ventured out, the girls had a photo taken with some random person. It was too funny.
We stopped and had a snack at a restaurant that overlooked this active volcano. Very cool.
We stopped to explore Tagalalang, an amazing terraced rice paddy.
We told the driver we were just going to take a short look and we would be right back...Olivia had other plans. She saw people on the other side and she wanted to get where they were. We ended up hiking the entire thing. I had on flip flops, of course with hiking shoes in the car! It was quite a steep hike. It was so cool and I am glad Olivia pushed us in it.
Crossing a little bridge with a 40 foot+ drop
Our little adventurer
We got back in town that night for dinner at Cafe Wayan and had the most fun waiter. He did magic tricks for the girls and they ate him up! Really fun night with delicious food!
Olivia loved helping the staff make us breakfast each morning
They made us a huge breakfast each morning: crepes, eggs, smoothies, fresh fruit, and toast with the most delicious local jelly. It was so yummy!
Just hanging around the villa. We usually tried to alternate a day trip with a low key day at the villa or in town.
The quest was over! Mike was on a mission to find these carved statues we had seen in Seminyak, a Javanese wedding couple. We finally found ones we really liked after an epic search. The shop owner gave Mike a ride back to the villa to drop them off before we went to dinner. Eliza was less than impressed with Mike's lack of a helmet. She kept telling me that that was "NOT safe"!
We decided to check out the other side of Ubud and had dinner at the Four Seasons (where Julia Roberts stayed while filming "Eat, Pray, Love") up on the Ayung River. It was just beautiful up there!
Relaxing, vacation style!
Mosquito netting!
Cool picture of all the nature in Ubud! We saw way more than I would have liked!
One last dip before we go!
We had a masseuse come to the villa and we each got a massage (for $30 total!) while the girls watched a movie..."Everybody's happy"
Our last night in Ubud, we decided to go back to our favorite restaurant, "Three Monkeys".
Best noodle dish ever!
Everybody's happy!
It was crazy seeing kids on mopeds! We even saw tiny babies on them. What can you do when there is no public transport and cars are too expensive? This was on our way to the airport. This was such a great trip. We LOVED Bali and would jump at a chance to go back. We did enjoy getting back to some serious Middle Eastern air conditioning though!
