Hi Everyone!

Sorry I haven’t been posting very much in the last month, but we were preparing for our trip to Mauritius where my sister tied the knot at the Hotel Sofitel Mauritius L’Impérial Resort & Spa! My parents and I didn’t stay for very long in Mauritius, but the beaches were absolutely beautiful! As Canadians, we definitely weren’t used to the heat especially since it is summer in Mauritius- even their winter time is warmer than Canadian summers, so you can imagine how hot it was for us. Thus, the reason for our short stay of one week (technically, it was 5 days when you take into account the two full days of travelling there and back).

The Sofitel was paradise, as soon as we walked in, we were blown away (see photos below). They definitely made the right choice in picking the Sofitel for their beach wedding. Especially since they basically chose the venue based on pictures. You know how you look at pictures and then you go somewhere and it’s not what you imagined (in a bad way)? Well, the Sofitel’s pictures did not do it justice; it was even more beautiful in person than the pictures.

For the first half of our trip, we stayed at Le Méridien Ile Maurice (pictures below), which was beautiful as well, but obviously not as breathtaking as the Sofitel (since Le Méridien is a 4-star hotel and Sofitel a 5-star). Regardless, the view of the water was equally breathtaking at both resorts. Each day, we got a buffet breakfast, the danishes and croissants were to die for, as well as the salted butter from Australia. For the three days we had breakfast at Le Méridien, I had the potatoes (which they served differently each day- potato wedges, fried potatoes with onions, sliced potatoes with chives). My parents said that the banana croissants were also tasty. At breakfast, they served oatmeal, omelettes, pancake crepes, congee, fruit, etc. One day, they even served noodles with meatballs (I’m not used to eating breakfast so that was way too heavy for me at 8 in the morning).  We decided not to get dinner each night since we didn’t know if we’d be eating out or not. I would highly suggest getting breakfast and dinner included because the buffet was very expensive at dinner time. Since you probably want to be back at your resort before dark, you’ll be back in time for dinner anyway.

It gets very dark in Mauritius- it started getting dark around 7pm and our resort was pitch black by 8pm. Their streets are very different from Canada and they don’t have street lamps, so the only source of light is coming from the car. I’d say it’s best to be back by your resort earlier than later if you have rented your own car.

I didn’t get to tan very much because we arrived a few days before the wedding and I didn’t want to get a sunburn. The day after the wedding, we went on the beach, but it started to get a bit cloudy by the afternoon. I may have gotten a slight tan, but it’s not super noticeable, the most tanned parts of my body are my feet. Don’t forget to slather than sunblock on! I used SPF 110 and SPF 60 (face). Also, make sure to bring insect spray especially if you’re going to the botanical gardens or seven coloured sands! In the travel guide, it says that insect spray is expensive there, so make sure you pack some in your suitcase! We didn’t buy a lot of souvenirs, but I brought back about 10 bug bites (all on my legs).

We heard that the lychee jam was delicious, but didn’t have time to try it in Mauritius, so we bought some at the airport and have yet to sample it.

I’m still recovering from the time change, so I will slowly be uploading some pictures and writing more posts on the wedding and our trip, so stay tuned for more!

Love,