Christmas dinner in Fiji at Nanuku Resort, that was our plan. But it was no easy journey. We spent over 24 hours traveling to Fiji from Los Angeles. Double masked for the duration, we arrived 4 hours early to LAX, only to learn that our flight had been delayed 4 hours. Strong headwinds added extra time to our 14 hour flight, add in customs and a 2 hour drive from Nadi to Pacific Harbor, and it felt like the trip that would never end. By the time our driver pulled up to the Pearl Resort in Fiji, the same resort we’d gotten engaged at in the summer of 2016, we were absolutely exhausted.
My now husband, had been working on the reality show Kicking and Screaming during the spring of 2016. After his show wrapped, I joined him there and made the proposal with the help of the hotel staff. During his six week stay there, Recio had become great friends with the resorts GM, Ms. Natalie Marletta. I knew she’d be the perfect point person to help make the proposal spectacular, and she delivered. Hand cut flowers, a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, a spectacular dinner on the patio of Seduce restaurant, with a panoramic view of the South Pacific… this was no Gilligan’s Island. This was Fiji in all it’s glory,
Our friendship with Natalie has grown over the years. She attended our wedding in Venice, Italy, along with her husband, and she frequently visited us in Los Angeles when she was in town on business. And the last such time that she did that… Thursday March 13, 2020. We were texting with Nat as she boarded her flight to LA, I said: are you sure you should be coming to the states, they’re starting to shut things down. She said: Oh no honey, I’ll be fine. Twelve hours later as she exited her first class flight, the world had changed. She’d expected to be in LA for a week. However, she was informed that she had to return to Fiji the very next night, as LA was going into full lockdown on Sunday.
If we only had one night in LA for fine dining, then it had to be at one of our favorite spots, so we headed to the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel. We arrived with our little bottle of hand sanitizer, to a nearly empty dining room sprinkled with guests. We had an amazingly long and luxurious dinner, and also ran into George Hamilton. At 80+ years of age, he knows how to turn on the charm, and graciously took a photo with us. It seems we always run into celebrities when we’re with Natalie… she’s our good luck charm.
When we said goodbye that night, none of us could have imagined how long it would be until we’d see each other again. While our lockdowns in the states were intermittent over the next year, Fiji would remain closed until December 1st, 2021, over 21 months.
So was it worth it to make such an exhausting journey just three weeks after Fiji had reopened? You better believe it was. After a gazillion phone calls, whats app chats, texts and emails, Natalie was finally standing in front of us, in the flesh. Her gorgeous smile and radiant blue eyes were soup for the soul. Since we were four hours delayed arriving at her resort, she grabbed us, threw us in the Hummer, and hightailed it down the road to Nanuku Resort, where her family was patiently waiting.
We arrived at the resort, hopped out of the SUV, and walked down the long log colonnade to an outdoor dining area with ocean views. It was divine!! And there was our dinner table lined with familiar faces, her husband, her kids, and a few new friends she couldn’t wait to introduce us too. We ate and drank for hours, basked in the warm Fijian air, and showered the kids with gifts that we’d brought from LA.
Christmas is Fiji is so much simpler than in the states. No over the top tinsel decorations from Target, Costco or Walmart. Just hand made displays nodding to the spirit of the season. It’s simpler, relaxed, and exactly what we needed to wrap up 2021. We’d missed that Bula Spirit, and were so happy to be back at our second home.
