Idris Elba

I don't need an excuse to post a picture of him.

Michael Sam

Best NFL Draft, EVER!!!

That's Michael with boyfriend Vito Cammisano

 

So damned sweet!

 

Morning Coffee in French Polynesia

I didn't start out making a series of themed pictures, but it turned out that way. One morning I was out on the balcony, sipping my coffee and taking pictures. "Snap" I took a pic of my cup. And I continued almost every morning after. Here's my favorites.

First morning in Pape'ete - coffee and leis

 

On Mo'orea - Breakfast buffet was included with the room.  This was the view from the breakfast dining room.  I mean, come on, pretty great stuff!

Huahine - The furniture was wicker but super comfortable.  This was the patio for our room, surrounded by plants.  Serene!

The dining room at our hotel in Huahine.  Bummer the pic didn't come out better, but that splash of sunlight was the pool and beach and ocean.  Ahhh...

Bora Bora - Again, breakfast buffet was spectacular every morning, as was this view.  It never got old.  And the coffee press brought to our table with croissant and mini-baguette was always welcomed!

View off our private above-water bungalow in Bora Bora.  Yeah, it's heaven!

More Bora Bora spectacularness (Is that a word?  This place demands it to be!)

Flowers & Plants in French Polynesia

I'm the farthest thing from a plant specialist. I'm drawn to a pretty color, vibrant blooms, and really cool textures.  Just don't ask me the names of the plants, I'll give you a blank stare.

 

These lovely yellow flowers were hanging right outside our bungalow on Huahine.

In our room on Mo'orea

 

These were trees with long red (almost pink) fuzzy things.  It looked soft, but I didn't want to touch in case it was fragile or might make me break out!

Pineapple

 

An elegant flower (I think it's a flower?) but with other-worldly blooms, long and skinny, but elegant in a way.

Yes, they're everywhere!

Again, yes, they're everywhere!

So soft and frilly

 

Tiny red trumpets SCREAMING with color!

Like little orange beads - fascinating to me.

 

Pink lovelies

 

Someone said this was young, green coconut.  Not sure but I thought they were cool. 

 

I think this was the pink flower that was in our hotel room, only this was wild.  Wild indeed!

These giant leaves drew my attention, then I noticed the tiny buds growing out of the big green bulbs in the middle. 

 

"Hello, I'm lilac-colored and I'm awesome! Neener, Neener"

Underside of these leaves were purple

I've only seen these in pots in the states, but these were wild. 

Ubiquitous

 

Full disclosure:  I took this pic because those orbs and stem reminded me of "man junk". 

 

Splattered leaves

 

"Look at me, out here in the pond, I'm FANTASTIC!"

 

Tattoos of French Polynesia

I became sort of obsessed with the tats in French Polynesia. I don't like tattoos much but something about these fascinated me. Might have been the intricate details or the tribal patterns or just the hard core traditional methods used to make them.

 

But for certain, these fellas loved to stop and pose when I asked. Haha!

 

Ok this shark tattoo was incredible. It was happenstance that I found a tshirt with a similar pattern. So cool.

 

This leg tattoo was on our boat captain. He said it was a family tattoo All his kin had the same one, but different parts of their body.

Finally our bellman was sporting this amazing pattern. Soooooo terrific!

Fertility Totem Poles in French Polynesia

What felt like the most romantic place on earth, it seemed obvious that there would be fertility totem poles everywhere with the male "business" front and center. 

 

This stone guy is by the pool at our hotel in Mo'orea.  Just swim right up to the schlong!

 

Close up of the fella at the hotel in Pape'ete walking down to the public bathroom.

Or is that pubic bathroom?

 

 

Same hotel, same totem in Pape'ete.  Just from farther away. 

Geez, that's quite something!

 



 

First day, first hotel, first totem genitalia on display.  Yay!

 



On Bora Bora, there's an old famous restaurant, Bloody Mary's.  The floor is covered in sand and the place has island charm all over it.  The half-outdoor men's room has a not-so-clever sign in case you forgot why you were there. 

But at the urinal at Bloody Mary's, you have to pull the chain to get the water to flow.  And of course the handle at the end of the chain is a penis. 

 

I mean, OF COURSE it is!

Bora Bora, French Polynesia

Bora Bora really was everything I'd read about. It somehow managed to live up to the hype. It's blue waters really were incredible and these pictures do not do them justice. Our little adventure was like going to Fantasy Island. We were greeted at the airport (really just a landing strip!) by a boat to take us to the private island.

The Sofitel is an amazing property.  There's 2 in Bora Bora, with boat shuttle service back and forth.  We stayed on the Private Island with just 30 units on the property.  Here is our room.

Yup, there was a porthole in the floor.  You could see the ocean lagoon right underneath your room.  At night, we would turn on the light underneath the bungalow to watch the long pencil-shaped fish swim around. 

Our first morning, this is what we woke up to.  It was warm, nice breezes, and terrific sun (albeit mixed with a few clouds)

That's our bungalow again, right between the palms.  The vantage point the picture is taken from is the main dining room of the hotel.

Another shot of our bungalow (aka temporary oasis!)

Henri loved the lookout point on the island.  You can see the mainland Bora Bora in the distance. 

At the lookout point on the island, there's romantic seating areas like this one.

Flowers nearly everywhere.

Some of the cool coral right under our bungalow.

Long walk off a short pier?  If I had to, I'd make it this one.  Ha!  This vantage point is from the mainland looking towards the private island.

Since this was French Polynesia after all, the little French desserts at each meal were incredible.

Bloody Mary's is a bar restaurant on Bora Bora.  We didn't eat there, but had a pineapple juice after a long walk.  Lots of famous folks names on the wall out front.

One morning a ray swam underneath our bungalow.  We spotted him through the porthole in the floor and ran out to the deck to watch him glide away.

I'll miss this view each morning with my coffee, but I'll never forget it!

My 2 favorite waters, the still Royale, and bubbly Badoit.  I preferred the Badoit and just saying the name was fun!

As our water taxi pulled away, we were played off the island.  It was surreal and I'll never forget.