Seven island women...

....together for a weekend in a coastal french city is a recipe for complete and utter chaos i.e. hours and hours of laughing, eating, drinking, dancing, singing, gossiping discussing world peace and NO sleep whatsoever.

Yep, that's what happened this past weekend in Marseille with six crazy and beautiful Samoan women along with a just as crazy and beautiful Fijian girl.... oh and of course, there were two French hubbies and four gorgeous children in tow.

We gathered from all corners of the world with the furthest based in Hamilton, then Dubai, then Rome, then Geneva, then London and with two "frenchised" hamos. I'm actually amazed we managed that considering we all have such busy jetsetting lives (ueeeeeeer! ia ua lelei angelina!).

Most of us went to secondary school together, but that was like 12 5 years ago and since then we've gone our own ways - living it up, achieving so many things from marriage to master's degrees, to motherhood, to executive jobs, to traveling the world... to EVERYTHING a woman can do (girlpower!). And when we met up it felt so natural and everyone was at ease with each other. It was freaken awesome I tell you!

As true islanders, the biggest priority was feeding the churren food and we were not lacking in that department. We had BBQs, sapasui, panipopo, french food, all kinds of snacks and everything was well accompanied by wine, beer and many more alcoholic drinks. We went shopping and on little excursions to vineyards in the French Riviera and along the port of Marseille. Yes, we did it all and all in loud and true island style....because, well there ain't no other way!!! :) Oh and I nearly forgot, we also had a girls' night out which was so not kid-friendly, so I'll just say that it was EPIC!!!!

AND there's more. We even took time out of our busy schedule to sort out a message for our beloved Manu Samoa win or we'll fasi you!!! as they prepare for the upcoming Rugby World Cup. Let's just say we are now celebrities... in Samoa (fank it Samoa Observer) and on Facebook (fank it Go the Manu)! Ia faafekai angelina!

I'm so grateful we got together and I will always cherish the love, friendship and laughter we shared. It's a comfort and joy to know that no matter where I am, I'll always find the Samoan spirit nearby to cheer me on! And I'm not sure if we'll ever repeat it again, but at least I can say... ladies, we'll always have Marseille.