Feb 17th - St Augustine

The 17^th saw us getting off to a very early start as we had booked onto a day trip to St Augustine, and our pick up time was 7.20am –yikes!! But we were ready and on the bus on time (even though it was early). There were 8 of us on the small mini bus, and much to my joy once the last couple was picked up we set straight off to St Augustine.  In the past we’ve had the experience of being taken to some central point and having to change buses etc.  It’s very annoying and time consuming! Our trip to St Augustine took about 2 hours, and we were there by 9.30am, which meant we actually had several hours there.  On arriving, the other passengers waited to collect their trolley passes or tickets for a boat trip. The bus driver seemed perplexed that we didn’t want to purchase trolley tickets, and kept telling us how we would see nothing if we walked. But we didn’t cave in, and we set off to explore. Ok, the trolley tickets are $20 per person and last 3 days. If you are staying in town for 3 days, it would be well worth buying. However if you’re there for the day, don’t bother. Face the fact you are not going to see everything, not even the tip of the iceberg!! SO save your $20, and spend it on something fun. St Augustine is a beautiful city, we fell in love instantly! It’s much more laid back than Orlando and so pretty. There are loads of museums, lovely shopping areas etc. I would personally rather see part of the city properly, than rush around like a mad person, and take nothing in!!

So, first we walked to the Castillo de San Marcos, a fort built on the water front. This is how their web site describes it –

America Begins Here

A monument not only of stone and mortar but of human determination and endurance, the Castillo de San Marcos symbolizes the clash between cultures which ultimately resulted in our uniquely unified nation.  Still resonant with the struggles of an earlier time, these original walls provide tangible evidence of America’s grim but remarkable history.

Bear in mind that St Augustine is America’s oldest city, and this is where the story started! We were lucky to have visited on Presidents day, as entrance fees were waived. It’s well worth a visit, even if you have to pay. The views across the water were wonderful, and you could just feel the history around you. 

We stayed there about an hour and a half (we would have liked a lot longer!!) and then went on to the pirates museum we had noticed on the way in. I knew instantly that Paul would want to visit it. And I have to say it was fun and very interesting. They gave you a treasure hunt to do, and if you found all the clues you got a little prize and were made an honorary pirate (yo ho ho me hearties!!). Your prize was a little piece of pirate treasure (aka shiny coloured glass!!) The museum was full of interesting exhibits, and information about all your favourite pirates – Blackbeard, Captain Morgan, and Anne Bonny etc. We both thoroughly enjoyed it.

Next we had a wonder around the Colonial shopping area, full of crafts stores, museums, little restaurants etc. Absolutely wonderful, I could have spent days just looking around. As it was we didn’t have enough time and I felt a little cheated. But we did look around a few shops and I bought a couple of lovely things. It was a lovely area, and I so wish we could go back again. We had lunch at a burger joint called Cruisers – great burgers. Again, would have been nice to have time to have a more leisurely lunch. But sometimes you just have to go with the flow. After lunch we decided to make our way to the Fountain of Youth, I really wanted to visit the place! It was a longer walk than I’d expected, but we found the place ok and I am so glad we went. It was much more than I expected. There was a little theatre show, a planetarium which sadly we didn’t have time for and various other exhibits. There was lots of open space to explore and it was beautiful. And there was a lovely white peacock roaming the grounds. It was stunning! Of course the high light was the Fountain of Youth, which you can actually drink from. I had 3 glasses of water, so I have high hopes....watch this space....or should I say....watch this face!!!

We left St Augustine at 4pm, and arrived back at our hotel at about 6.15pm. It had been a wonderful day and I was very sorry to leave St Augustine. We hope to go back there again, but for an extended stay. We had a coffee and sat by the fountain, one of the few times I got to do it on this trip. It was a nice way to unwind. Next we decided brave The Tilted Kilt!!! We really didn’t want to eat in there so decided to sit at the bar and have a drink, I chose a Caribbean Kilt, which was lace with rum....very heavily! I was surprised to see that most of the customers were older couples or families, probably not what I was expecting or the clientele the owners were aiming at! Call me old fashioned, but I wouldn’t want my daughter working there. They were all pleasant young ladies, but they were so young! When we left the bar, I was extremely merry but we made it across the road to the Chinese buffet restaurant for dinner. It wasn’t very busy, but we had a very nice dinner. The food was good! Finally it was back to the hotel...and beddy byes!

Feb 16th - World of Chocolate

Another beautiful hot and sunny day! We set off in the morning and headed to the world of chocolate, which is located at stop 37a on I-Drive. We arrived just in time for the 11am tour, it was a small group with just the 6 of us. Our tour guide was an Australian called David, nice guy -  apparently an actor who was doing this in between jobs! He was very funny!! The tour was interesting and lasted about an hour. We learned a bit about the history of chocolate, and then walked thru a gallery of large chocolate sculptures - pretty impressive! Imagine all that chocolate! There were other displays too, and last but not least a chance to sample some chocolate. Now don't go getting excited, you didn't get to eat a whole lot of chocolate. There were about 10 varieties, and you just got a little nibble of each. They were all very nice.....well it was chocolate! Of course you ended up in the gift shop/cafe! We didn't but any chocolate to bring home, i think ours here in the UK is far better and very readily available. But we did stop in the cafe for a drink and whilst there felt it rude not to share some key lime pie, well it was more like a cake. And my goodness it was gorgeous!! Is the World of chocolate worth a visit? Yes it is if you have a couple of hours to spare, but it is expensive. So at the very least make sure you have a money off coupon, they are available in lots of local publications.

When we left the World of Chocolate we got back on the bus and headed to the mall. We had a look around the shops and then decided to have lunch at Dicks again. Well what a difference a day makes, the place was quiet and seemed very subdued compared to the Saturday.  The food was good, but it wasn't the hilarious experience of the previous day and the service was slow. I think this was due to our waitress having tables at opposite ends of the restaurant which seemed crazy. No paper hats, outrageous banter or silliness. It was disappointing, but at least the food was good....fried battered pickles....an experience!!! Strangely, Paul seemed to really like these - go figure!

We were going to do the helicopter ride, but it wasn't operating which is a shame as Paul has never been in one before. It would have been a treat. Instead we jumped on the bus and headed back to the Pointe. After some shopping at Walgreens, we went to Bahama Breeze for dinner. The place was busy as usual, i have never seen that place quiet! We sat at one of the tables by the bar, and actually i really liked that. You had a great view of the whole place, ideal for people watching. And also a great place to drink a breezy sangria, my very favourite drink! Paul and i were talking, and may well consider one of the hotels nearer the Pointe next time. There are plenty to choose from!!

Feb 15th - Saturday at the mall

The week end was great fun, and left to our own devices we went shopping! On Saturday we headed down to Premium Outlets on Vineland.  It was pretty busy, but still fun to look around. Got a few things from Claire’s and the Disney Store, and then I headed over to the Ugg store which is situated over the road from the main mall. I had decided to treat myself to a pair of Uggs, but after trying on several different designs I realised they weren’t for me. They just didn’t fit, and it would have been a waste to money to even consider getting a pair.

We decided to visit Dick’s Last Resort for lunch, it kind of caught our eye and we just had to venture over and try it out. Oh my god, what a hoot.  It was hilarious, basically the premise is its service with sarcasm – cause they are all Dick’s!! Our server Justin, excelled at his job – though it has to be said the service was good and he was attentive. So it was good service with sarcasm, a lot of shouting, and paper serviettes being thrown everywhere!  The staff also make you huge paper hats to wear, and it is hilarious to read what everyone’s said. Mine read – will flash for vodka!! I ask you....how did they know!!! Some of the others were way more risqué or cringe worthy. Paul of course was given something different, they made him Heidi platts. He looked so cute....ahhhh!!! 

After lunch we headed back to the main mall to look around the shops some more and to have coffee and Mallorca pastries at Starbucks. By then it was after 4pm and we were shattered so we decided to head to the Pointe. We went to the Regal to see Winters Tale, the new Colin Farrell movie. It was an unusual and enjoyable film, not what I expected at all. It was pretty thought provoking. We both like it a lot though, and it was nice to rest for a while. 

Next we went to the Pub for drinks, I love the Pub, it kind of feels like a London pub, but is bigger than anything you would find in the city! We sat at the bar and I let the cute little girl behind the bar make me cocktails. They were so good!  We would never normally be found propping up the bar on a Saturday night, and I loved it. Gotta admit, I was feeling pretty merry when we staggered.....oops I mean walked out!

Back at the hotel we microwaved our left over pasta for dinner, it still tasted good! I totally enjoyed the day, just felt like everything fell into place. Every day in Orlando is a happy one when you're on holiday!

Feb 14th - Winter Park

Valentines Day, and what better place to spend the happy day than in Winter Park. Robin picked us up from the hotel and we headed off to lovely Winter Park. Once we got there we headed straight down to the lake to book onto the scenic boat tour. We were in time for the first boat, it was a beautiful morning tho rather chilly. However the sun was shining and the sky was blue, so it was a pleasure to sit on the dock while we waited. We did the boat ride two years ago, and enjoyed it so much we decided to do it again. You cruise along while the sites are pointed out. Its a rich area and the famous Rollins college is situated nearby. I am glad we had taken jackets, as out on the water (especially when we picked up speed) it was pretty darn cold! And boy was i on the wrong side of the boat, i got sprayed with some lovely cold water when the wind got a bit feisty......brrrr!!!! So happy we made it on the 10am boat as when we returned to the dock, there was a huge crowd of people waiting to go on the next cruise!

After the cruise we had a stroll around the shops - expensive boutiques that were out of our price range! But its nice to look! And then we visited the Morse Museum, a little description from the website is below -

The world’s most comprehensive collection of works by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933) is housed at The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art. The Museum’s Tiffany collection includes jewelry, pottery, paintings, art glass, leaded-glass windows and lamps, and the chapel interior the artist designed for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The Museum’s holdings also include a major collection of American art pottery and representative collections of late 19th- and early 20th-century American painting, graphics, and decorative art.

The museum is well worth a visit, the exhibits are beautiful! Next stop was Panera's for lunch, the loveliest sandwiches and cookies! Another place that's worth a visit. Before leaving this lovely town, we sat in the park for a while and soaked up some sunshine. A wedding was taking place there, what a lovely place to marry. Next stop was Michaels craft store and the local Dollar tree, for more treasures! 

The traffic coming back wasn't great, but we got to the Florida Mall. We had a look around the shops for a while and then headed to Buca di Beppa for dinner. Its a lovely Italian restaurant, and the food was good, we had the spicy chicken rigatoni and the baked Ziti. In fact there was a lot of it and we took some of it back to the hotel with us. Luckily we had a fridge and microwave in the room! When we got back to the hotel Robin came in for a while, we sat in the hotel's den and chatted....for 2 hours! The time just flew by....doesn't it always when you're having fun with friends!

For anyone visiting America this year, be sure to sign up to with some of the restaurants websites before going out. I did this with Buca's and got emailed a voucher for a free meal. Saved us about $18 - not to be sneezed at.

Feb 13th - Epcot

Thursday was a much cooler day, yes we had to wear jackets to Epcot!! We were there bright and early ready for another day of rides and shows! The park was crowded but didn't seem as bad as the other parks earlier in the week. Once thru the gates we headed straight to Soaring. When the ride starts,  you're raised up and the floor disappears from under you  - amazing ride and really gives you the feeling you're sailing across the skies! Next stop was Test track, i love that ride!! I thought it seemed faster but Robin and Paul said not! I think comments were made about my driving and how could i possibly consider that ride FAST!! We did all our favourites and coerced Robin into seeing the Circle of Life. I love it, but it does now seem rather dated! We had lunch at Via Napoli in the Italian pavilion. Lovely restaurant and the pizza was fabulous. We shared a very lovely dessert, kind of like an Italian profiterole. Can't say i was impressed with the coffee tho, it was luke warm - boo hiss!!

After leaving Epcot was went to Walmart and Dollar Tree - i love Dollar tree, full of treasures!! A fabulous place for stocking up on stationery. From there it was on to BJ's, a restaurant and micro brewery. We had wanted to try some new places to eat this year and thanks to Robin we got to do this. We loved BJ's, the place is huge and apparently always busy!! The food was delicious, my chosen delight was the chicken limone, and i loved it! The best bit was the beer, which could be ordered in small 5oz glasses for $1.99 - thus allowing you to sample several different ones if you want to. Fun idea, and lots to choose from! I liked the buzzing atmosphere, it was a good evening. And i was hardly tipsy at all!

Feb 12th - woo hoo shopping day

Wednesday saw us left to our own devices, so after a slightly later start we headed off to Bass Pro. We both love that shop even tho we have no interest in shooting, hunting or fishing! The shop is large and full of all sorts of outdoorsy stuff, plus a huge fish tank. I personally love the little coffee shop disguised as a log cabin in the centre of the store. We stopped for a coffee and moon pies, a little treat we always look forward too. And as usual we bought lots of goodies to bring home for friends - taffy, bulls eyes, moon pies etc and for us apple bread mix. We always like to have something 'American' to bake when we get home. From Bass Pro we were able to get into Festival Bay and  quite honestly it made me want to cry. It was always my favourite little mall, so pretty inside and with some interesting shops. Two years ago it was announced the place was closing, and pretty much all the stores closed making way for the developers to move in and knock it down. Well two years on and nothing has happened, the mall lays empty and deserted. All that was missing was the tumbleweeds. Its such a waste, we had a walk around for old times sake, but it made me sad. The cinema is still open, as is Fuddruckers, the book store, the crazy golf and Ron Johns Surf store.

From there we walked to Premium outlets across the road, its a pretty big outlet centre and i love looking around. Tho surprisingly we bought very little. We got back to the hotel mid afternoon and chilled out for a little while before taking the I-Drive trolley up to the Pointe so we could have dinner at The Pub. the sky was black when we left the hotel, and we did wander if going out was a wise idea!! It was quiet when we arrived, but soon filled up with conventioneers. Shortly after we were seated, the storm broke and it poured, we were glad to be inside!! The food was fab and we shared a dessert - bread pudding with a whisky sauce....oh my gosh ...lovely!! Sadly when we left it was still raining, we had no jackets or umbrella and got soaked running to the bus stop. Not a nice feeling!! It carried on raining all night, but it was the only rain we had which isn't bad going!!!

Feb 11th - Hollywood Studios

Tuesday saw us off to another early start. Robin picked us up and we headed to the Hollywood studios. Once the park opened we headed straight to the Toystory ride, which is so much fun! we rode it twice before the crowds built up, and its amazing how quickly they do at the popular rides!! Once again the park was busy, but we did all the rides we wanted like Star Tours and the Great movie Ride and also saw the great shows - Indiana Jones Stunt  Spectacular, Muppet Vision 4D, Lights Motors Action etc. One of the staff told us that partly the crowds were due to the terrible weather further north, apparently a lot of people had headed south to the sunshine. I am amazed they could flights!!

Lunch was fun, our first visit to the Primetime Diner. It was just like sitting in someones kitchen in the 1950's! Once seated you're introduced to your 'cousin' who'll be looking after you, a very quaint idea!! Paul was hoping to get 'told off' by the waitress, (aka - our cousin!!) apparently they are known for telling people to get their elbows off the table etc. Paul escaped the wrath of our waitress, but someone across the room got told to put their cell phone away! In keeping with the era I had the meatloaf....lovely! For dessert Paul and I shared some s'mores - mostly cause I wanted to know what they were like. They were very sweet and sticky, and thank goodness we only ordered one serving!! I have often heard people on TV mention them. Like a lot of places, it wasn't the cheapest but the atmosphere was fun and I am glad we got the chance to visit.

With Robin as my personal shopper (she's very good at it!) i found some lovely things to bring home - a beautiful Belle scarf and a music box. The Disney shops are just so full of fabulous things. After leaving the park we headed to Bahama Breeze for dinner, you just can't beat the empanadas and sliders! And as a treat we shared some key lime pie, oh my goodness the desserts are huge! But it would have been rude not to try some whilst in Florida. For anyone who's never been to Bahama Breeze, you gotta try it!!

Feb 10th - Magic Kingdom

Our first day in Orlando started with Robin picking us up bright and early and off we went to The Magic Kingdom. How can you not be excited about that! The sun was shining, the sky was blue and once again I felt like a child! We were there for rope drop, and as soon as we were able to enter the park.....the race was on!! It was straight to Peter Pan for a magical flight over London, oh how I love that ride! Once that was done, we went on to do all our other favourites.....Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Buzz Lightyear, Carousel of Progress etc. And of course - Its a Small World!! We didn't have to queue too long for any of the rides, but the park was much busier than  we have experience before.

At about 10.10 we joined the queue at Be Our Guest, Robin had advised we would need to join the queue early if we wanted to eat lunch there. It was worth it!! At 10.30am when the restaurant opened, all the staff came out to welcome us in. It was quite a magical moment. Once inside you self order your meals using one of their touch screen computers, collect a rose and proceed into the restaurant to choose where you would like to sit. There is the west wing - which is where we chose - the music box room and the ballroom. The west wing is dark and atmospheric. While we ate we could watch the rose petals fall from the rose, quite magical! Our food also appeared as if by magic, served by a waitress pushing what looked like an old fashioned hostess trolley! Can i just say that the cupcakes were amazing!!! If you go, you must try one!!

After a wonderful and tiring day at the park we headed to the Polynesian resort for dinner at the Kona Cafe, very nice! The sweet bread was very good, but tasted just like the Sally Lunn bun's you can buy in Bath! Go figure!! After dinner we went to the Mall @ Millenia to check out the Sanrio store - oh how i remember  halcyon days when they actually sold stationery. No such luck this time, but at least we looked! Next stop was Target and then Dollar tree. I did find some lovely stationery at Dollar Tree and am well stocked up again. All you pen pallers out there would be jealous, ha ha! The day flew by and I have to say by the end of it, we were shattered!

The Beginning.....

The much awaited holiday started on Feb8th, our 11th anniversary.  We left home around mid-afternoon and headed off to Manchester where we were booked into the Cresta Court hotel for the night. We had a lovely dinner in their hotel follower by an early night. The next morning we headed off to the airport, in good time for our 11.15am flight.

what can you say about the flight, other than it was LONG!! I managed to watch 3 films - Despicable Me 2, The Smurfs 2 and About Time. They were all very good, and helped pass the time.After what seemed like hours....wait it was hours....we finally arrived in Orlando. Our darling friend Robin was there to meet us. We headed straight to the Rosen inn international to check in and drop our bags off. Sadly no room by the fountain this year, instead there was a scenic view of the car park!! It wasn't actually that bad and we spent so little time at the hotel, it really didn't matter. Once we'd dropped the bags off, it was straight to Bahama Breeze for a breezy sangria and some delicious food. What better way to start our holiday!!

After dinner we headed to Downtown Disney with the intention of seeing Nova Era play, well firstly we couldn't find where they were performing as there is a lot of building work going on and they have been moved from their usual spot near Fultons. But when we got to the right location we found some people claiming to be Nova Era playing their music. It was nice but not the same as seeing the original band members perform. Apparently they were performing elsewhere that evening. To say i was disappointed would be like saying the ocean is wet....especially as we never got to see the 'real' Nova Era at all this time.

By then it was around 2am UK time and we were so tired, so there was a quick trip to Walkmart to stock up on milk and cereal, and then back to the hotel to sleep. Nothing like hitting the ground running!