And now the end is nigh

At the request of my dear Friend Deb, I am back once more to write up an account of our last day.

A last day is always going to be filled with sadness, it had been a wonderful holiday and though in some ways I was happy to be going home, I was also sorry the holiday was rapidly drawing to an end. We finished the last bit of packing, and checked out. We opted to leave our cases at the hotel and spend our last day on I-Drive. On checking out we were asked - how was your stay? To which my response was OK, that's really the best I could offer. It was just Ok! We've stayed at this hotel many times over the last 20 years but I found this stay disappointing. Housekeeping was hit and miss, and generally we really didn't find the staff very friendly, I'd describe them more as apathetic. But you know, there are many other hotels on  I-Drive, maybe the Rosen hotel chain should bare that in mind.

Anyway, we headed to the Titanic Exhibition. We have been before but its interesting, and I feel like I am paying my respects to those who went down with the ship. When you arrive and pay your admission fee, you are given a ticket with the name of an actual passenger that sailed on the Titanic. At the end you can find out if your passenger survived or died. This time I was the countess of Rothes who travelled in first class, and survived. Unlike so many who perished on that freezing cold night in the Atlantic. At 11am our guide arrived, he came in the form of a Titanic passenger who took us on a tour of the ship and shared their experience of the journey and that fateful night. After the tour, which lasted an hour we were free to wander around the exhibition as long as we wanted. We stayed till about 1pm, much longer than we anticipated. But there was a lot to see, including an actual part of the Titanic which was brought up from the ocean bed. The gift shop also held many treasures, Paul had a very nice watch (one of the few things we got on holiday) and I bought a little pendent that holds a piece of coal retrieved from the Titanic held inside it. I love it!!

We had planned to have a last lunch at Game Changers, sadly they weren't open so we headed over to the Tilted Kilt. Can't complain, the food was good and I enjoyed a last drink. Alas, after lunch we went back to the hotel to collect our luggage and wait for the transfer to the airport.

The flight back was long and very bumpy, we encountered a lot of turbulence. The seat belt signs were on nearly all the way back. Believe me when I say, I was glad to get off. We finally arrived back at Manchester at 7.30am, and that really did mark the end of the holiday, But its true what they say, one adventure has to end, so the next one can start. And this year is going to be full of adventure, this summer we're heading to unchartered territories  - Luxembourg! I am so so excited! And later in the year, even more excitement to be had.....but that's a story for another day.

Watch this space.....................

Valentines Day and beyond

There comes a time when you have to wind things up, and I think that time has arrived. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to stop by and read this every day. I may one more post to make after this....maybe!

This year we were lucky enough to spend Valentine's Day in Orlando, after getting up late we headed to Ripley's Believe it or not. Paul had never been there before, and it seemed like a good day to go, We could take things easy and enjoy ourselves at our own pace. It wasn't too busy and there was tons to see and do. Lots of exhibits to look at and things to play with. I have to admit there was way more there than I remember and Paul also said he was impressed. We probably stayed much longer than we thought we would, which is always a good sign. Its not the cheapest thing to do, but actually turned out to be a lot of fun.

After we left Ripley's we headed down I-Drive to try an Indian restaurant we had noticed from the trolley. It had a big poster in the window advertising a buffet lunch at a reasonable price. Well, can you believe we got there for lunch and the place was closed. Go figure!! Luckily just next door was a big Tony Roma's, so you can guess where we ended up eating lunch. Actually this turned out to be a great move, really nice place and the service was excellent. Our server Ryan was a great guy, a very laid back Californian. The food was amazing, I wish we could have gone back and had the ribs again, I've never had any that tasted so good! Lunch really did turn out for the best. We even stayed and shared a dessert. Sometimes you just have to go where destiny takes you.

After lunch we headed to Pointe Orlando for a little while and then headed back to the hotel for a rest. I wouldn't normally do this, but the cold had wiped me out. Later in the afternoon, we headed back down to the Wonder works to see the Outta Control Magic show again, yes - we liked it that much! We saw the 6pm show, and there was a good crowd - a completely different demographic from our previous visit. We met some lovely people, it was nice to chat and find out where people were from. The show was once again hilarious and entertaining. I really love Tony Brent, and thoroughly enjoyed the show. The pizza was good, and the wine free flowing. After the show Tony came back on stage and I was able to go and say hello and get his autograph. It was the best Valentines Day I've had in years!

After the show we had a wander around the shops and looked at all the weird and wacky stuff in the tourist shops. I did find a really nice grey hoodie, so all was not lost. It was a very happy Kathie that fell into bed that night.

The 15th was our last full day - boo hoo! How could the time have flown by so fast. We got up later, finished as much of the packing as we could and then took the hotel shuttle to City Walk. We got there late morning, so we had a little walk around the shops then headed to the Chocolate Emporium for lunch. Oh my god, the place was amazing! I didn't know too much about the place and was delightfully happy when I found it was completely Steam Punk themed. Awesome!! There were two characters - Lady Penelope and Shock - in costume and wandering around talking to diners. It was very cool. Thankfully the food was also really good, and portions HUGE!!! I had really wanted to try a dessert, but there was no way I could squeeze it in. It was a tragedy! I did however have a wonderful cocktail made with double chocolate vodka and ginger ale. We ended up staying for nearly 2 hours, and it was one of the highlights of the holiday. I an highly recommend the place! You really have to visit the Candy Smiths too, though be warned, everything is uber expensive! Still ended up buying some goodies though.

After our Chocolate emporium experience we spent the rest of the afternoon at city walk looking around the shops and dodging the showers, and took a bus back to the hotel at about 5pm. The bus was nearly an hour late - I was so not happy. You should have seen the huge queue waiting for it. I am glad its the only time we needed to use the bus!

In the evening we went to BJ's for our last dinner, wise move the food was amazing! I was feeling very adventurous and had a Thai style satay chicken noodle dish - to die for!! Now that is something I wish I could have again. I can't say it hasn't been a wonderful holiday, we really did have a great time.

Oh, how could we have reached our last day!!!!

Epcot - around the world in 80 minutes...

.....Ok, so maybe it took longer than 80 minutes. But more about that later!

February 13th was Epcot day, its always been my favourite Disney Park so I was excited about going. Once finally in the park first stop was Test Track, I love that ride, but it always takes my breath away when you fly through the doors on to the track. Paul is always quick to remind me that I drive faster, but when you're up there with the wind in your hair and the world flying past in a blur, it feels fast. Next stop was Soarin', followed by the other rides and shows. I am sure Robin was thrilled I wanted to see Circle of Life - but hey, it has to be done! I also love the boat ride at The Land.

We then headed over to Epcot to tour the World Showcase. I decided I would take photo's in every country and post them on Facebook with a Howdy to the pen pal or friend I have there. That was fun! I have always loved the World Showcase and the Disney Take on each different country. Its a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. It was very crowded, and got more humid as the day went on. It may just have been me that was hot, I felt at my worst on Monday. Paul and I grabbed some lunch at the Japan Pavilion, a very nice chicken teriyaki and rice. It was what I needed to keep me going.

I got another music box to add to my little collection,  this one  features Anna and Elsa and plays Let it Go, I love it! It was a lovely souvenir to bring back with us. It would have been nice to do the Frozen ride at Epcot, but apparently there are long queues for it all the time, so we decided not to bother. By the time we left Epcot, I was ready to drop. I am clearly getting too old for this running around theme parks malarkey!!

 When we got back to the hotel we wandered over to Game Changers for a little dinner, and I had something called a Carolina Cola - cherry coke and Jack Daniels. I never knew I like JD - but I really do! I really enjoyed sitting outside on the porch and watching the world go by. Its a place I would like to go if we lived nearer, alas we don't!

A Wild Disney Day

Feb 12th

Sunday dawned hot and sunny, or maybe I was just running a temperature!! Robin came to pick us up at 8am and off we went to the Animal Kingdom. Its the first time in years we've been to the park, so I was excited about going back. It didn't seem to have changed very much which was reassuring. We were there for opening and as soon as the rope dropped we dashed off to the safari ride. I really enjoyed that and we actually saw a lot of animals. It was a lovely start to the morning, though I was disappointed we no longer chase poachers along the way!! Maybe they have all been caught.

The park was crowded and hot, so many people. Is it an illusion or are they always going the opposite way and blocking your path? We did some other favourites - Dinosaur, A Bugs Life, Nemo the Musical etc. The Lion King show was as wonderful as ever. I loved them all. At lunch time we headed to Downtown Disney for lunch at  Blaze. After lunch we returned to the Animal Kingdom, there were long queues for all the rides so we didn't end up doing any. Partly this was because we had passes to see a preview of the New Rivers of Light. It was quite exiting, as I thought we were going to miss this. We had a long wait for the show, over an hour and a half, people had started waiting long before it was due to start. The show was quite magical, beautifully done, with an amazing light show. However it only lasted 15 minutes, I am not sure if this was because it was a preview, or whether this is really how long the show will be.  I'd be interested to know!

After the show we went back to Dinosaur and managed to ride that twice without any wait. Lucky for us as we love the ride. We left the park at 8pm, and headed to our hotel. I was shattered and hungry, so we decided to wander over to the pub next to the hotel and grab something to eat. I had a glass of wine, just what me and my germs needed and we had a sharing platter between us. The food was really good and a decent price. We both liked the place, and it was really convenient for the hotel. Would definitely recommend to anyone staying in the area.

Outta control.....

Feb 11th

Saturday did not start well, I woke up with a very sore throat and a cold. Saying I felt desperate would be an understatement. Sadly I'd had to cancel plans to meet my pen pal Cheryl. I was so disappointed, but I think it was the right decision to make. I really wouldn't have been up to much, and I believe Cheryl was poorly too. Definitely something doing the rounds in Orlando!!

So, having got up late we made out way to the outlet Mall. I figured we could take it easy and call it a day if I felt too bad. It was nice to just take a gently stroll around the mall. We didn't buy anything, but at least it got us out of the hotel room. We had planned to have lunch at Dick's Last resort, so it was a bit of a surprise to find it closed when we walked over there! Seems like a few places had closed since we were last in Florida. Kind of left us not knowing what to do, it was hot and there was little in the way of shade. Not a good combination! In the end we headed back down I-Drive and stopped at The Wonder Works, we decided to get tickets for the Outta Control Magic show. Its something I had really wanted to see. Once tickets were purchased, we decided to walk to Café Tutu Tongo. It turned out to be way further than I thought.....oh dear!! But we got there in the end! Its an interesting place, and somewhere I had always wanted to try. There's artwork hanging on the walls that you can purchase, and they a resident artist on site making jewellery etc. I got up and had a wander around while we waited for dinner, lots to see. The food was good, but expensive!

After lunch we got the trolley back to the hotel, I was ready for a lie down somewhere cool! The cold was really starting to develop and I was ready to drop!! Apparently back at home snow was forecast! Once again, we luckily managed to miss it. That made me happy.

Later in the evening we got the trolley back down to the Wonder works, oh my god, I thought we were going to be late for the show. At one stop about 50 cheerleadery types got on.....very slowly. You have never heard noise like it, we couldn't 't wait to get off the trolley, and that in itself was a challenge. But at least we reached the Wonder Works and made our way in for the show.

The Outta Control Magic Show was awesome, the crowd wasn't  too big and we were sat right at the front by the stage. Dinner was unlimited pizza and salad, really good pizza! And also as much beer or wine as you wanted. I could certainly go for that! We loved the show, Tony Brent was hilarious and I will never work out how he did those tricks. Despite feeling sick, the wine helped and I laughed so much my sides hurt. And as we were in the front Paul got to bang the gong to start the show, he liked that!!

Despite the disappointment of not seeing Cheryl, and the horror of feeling awful we rescued the day the best way we could. And you know what, it was good! There was definitely magic in the day!

I spy a not so little eye

Still reading? Thanks for sticking with me!!

Feb 10th

 

A little bit cooler today, definitely not going to complain about that! In the morning we ambled down I-Drive to the Orlando Eye. No queues, we walked straight on and had a whole pod to ourselves. It took about 25 minutes to go all the way around, the views were amazing. I was glad we got to enjoy the experience alone. It was a completely different experience to the London Eye. After we came off, we had a coffee and then carried on walking up the Pointe. Nice, if we stayed in the shade. We had a walk around Pointe Orlando, mostly its just places to eat and the cinema. Can you believe there are now two ice bars there. If it had been more affordable, I would have like to experience one!! We headed straight to the Pub, a place we both love to eat at. I just like the décor and atmosphere. There was nothing on at the cinema, so we decided to head back to the hotel for a rest. I was already coughing and sneezing, a sign of things to come. It was good to get back to the air conditioning of our room and sleep for a while. I really hadn't expected to sleep for so long, but I guess I hadn't expected the cough to take hold so fast.

Robin came and collected us around 4.30pm and we headed to Disney Springs. The place seems so different to what I remember, a lot more to look at and more interesting shops. We had coffee at Starbucks and then went to see Nova Era perform again, I love those guys so much. We got there a little  before 6pm so we were able to chat with Marie Luisa for a while, such a sweet person. After their wonderful show the three of us headed to Blaze for Pizza. The place was really busy, obviously uber popular. They do good pizzas for sure, and a reasonable price. Finally after a wander around the shops, then headed back to the hotel. Robin stayed to hang out for  while. Sadly by the time I went to bed, I was feeling pretty dire. Who ever gave me germs should be very sorry!!

Summer weather in Winter Park

Bonjour et Bienvenue!!

So glad you decided to stop by and spend a little more time with me. February 9th saw us heading off to Winter park with Robin. Its a place I love, a pretty little town. We arrived at about 9.30am and headed straight to Scenic Boat Tours, the first boat tour is at 10am, so we bought tickets for that then found somewhere to sit and enjoy the morning while we waited. The tour was almost full, and it was a much warmer day than the last time we took the trip. It was a very pleasant hour, sailing around the lakes while the guide pointed out places of interest and told us a little about the history of Winter Park. After the boat ride we had coffee and a little wander around the shops.

Next stop was the Morse Museum to see the Tiffany collection, it is so beautiful I never get tired of seeing it. They have some beautiful lamps, windows etc. Its the 75th anniversary so luckily for us the entrance was free. It was so lovely to look around. When we left the museum we took a walk through the park on the way back to the car park.

From Winter park we headed to Altamonte Springs Mall, this was probably my favourite of all the malls we visited. First order of the afternoon was coffee at Barnes and Noble and a look around the books. There were so many I would have liked to have bought. But I showed restraint and didn't, too expensive and they would have weighed the cases down too much. But still, there is nothing better than just being in a book store. I did however end up buying a whole ton of stuff from Hot Topic. Oh my god, I love that store!! They had a lot of Alice in Wonderland merchandise, it would have been rude not to get it, so I came away with a bag,  umbrella, necklace, scarf, purse and bracelet. Joyous occasion, one totally Aliced Kathie!!!

We had lunch at Bahama Breeze, always a favourite. I love their sangria and the food is so good! And best of all they had a happy hour and the food was half price. The coconut shrimp is delicious, as are the empanadas.

When we left the mall, we headed to Hobby Lobby, this was my first time, oh wow!! The place was full of stationery, stickers and other exciting stuff.  We also visited Office Depot and Dollar Tree - more stationery, and at this point I was panicking about how heavy our cases would be!

Robin came back to the hotel with us for a while , just to hang out and chat. It was a good day full of laughter, fun and good food. Who can ask for more! This was probably one of my favourite days of the holiday!

Happy anniversay to us!

Hello you!!  Thanks for stopping by, its kind of nice to know that someone is reading this.

Feb 8th was our 14th anniversary, what better place to celebrate than Disney World. We spent the day at the Hollywood studios with Robin, she got us these cool Happily Ever After badges, and Disney cast members were wishing us a Happy Anniversary all day. I liked that! We started the day with the Great Movie ride and the Little Mermaid show, both old favourites. It was a warm day, a struggle for someone that's not used to it.

We had an early lunch at the Sci-fi Dine in, haven't been there in years. It was fun to sit in one of the cars and eat lunch while watching cartoons and B-movies on the big drive in screen. I could have hung out there all afternoon, but I guess they would have had something to say about that. I did notice though that the portion sizes have gotten  smaller while the prices have gone up. A sign of the times me thinks.

After lunch we carried on enjoying the rides and shows, Paul even ventured on the Hollywood Tower of Terror. You'll never get me on that again, once was enough even if it was years ago. Paul seemed to take it in his stride, what a hero!! I think this year we really noticed how much busier the parks were, trying to navigate your way through the crowds is tiring, especially when there are hoards of cheerleaders involved, and huge South American school parties.

When we left the park, we headed to Disney Springs. We had lunch at Blaze and a wander around the shops. There's so much to see there, especially as we hadn't been since the changes. Paul was thrilled he finally got to make his Mr Potato Head.

It was a great anniversary, and a wonderful way to celebrate 14 happy years of marriage.

Lost bus stops & Missing Ruby's

Tuesday the 7th

Its kind of nice waking up to sunshine every day, but I dread to think how hot it must feel like in Orlando during the summer. In February I was already struggling with the warmth. Anyhow's off we went to Bass pro. We both love the place, even though we don't hunt, fish or camp - ha ha!! We had a coffee at Uncle Bucks Café and bought a whole ton of sweets, snacks and goodies.....that was all the presents bought for family! We love the huge fish tank too,, very relaxing to it and watch the fish. Its a great place to wonder around, even if we don't know what half the stuff is for. Sadly Artegon had closed the week before, and unlike when Festival Bay shut, it was closed off completely and it looked like they were already starting to rip out the fixtures and fittings. Such a shame we never got to look around. We did have lunch at Bass Pro, corn dogs and fries.  A feast indeed. Who doesn't love corn dogs!

By the time we left it was already hot, but we walked over to the outlet mall. Its always fun to partake in a little retail therapy. Now, we already knew the exchange rate was shocking, the worst I can ever remember it being. But we didn't know how much prices had also gone up in America, it came as a huge surprise to find that some things were actually cheaper back in the UK. We ended up buying very little from the outlet mall, other than a couple of things from Bath and Beyond.  But it was still fun to look around. The fun stopped when we decided to leave and found a sign on the bus stop to say it wasn't in use, along with a little map showing where it had been moved to. It was a fair walk away, but luckily we found it before I melted.

We had a short rest at the hotel before our friend Robin came to pick us up. We headed out to Dollar Tree and Office Depot - happy days, lots of lovely stationery! And it doesn't get better than stationery for a dollar, much more my kind of price, ha ha!! Then it was off to the Florida Mall. I Kind of already suspected we wouldn't buy much and we didn't. I have never shown such restraint! We had planned to have dinner at Ruby Tuesday's so imagine my shock when we found that it was gone!! Wiped off the face of the mall map! Who knew?? This kind of threw us into a spin, where to eat! In then end we decided to head to Bucca de Beppa ( I think I got that right) for sangria and delicious pasta. It was Robin's birthday, it was great being able to celebrate with her. Italian turned out to be a good idea, but still a shame about Ruby's. Can't believe its gone!

I often wonder, why is it when you're on holiday that days fly past so quickly? One minute you're getting up in the morning, then next you're climbing back into bed. But still, every day is full of fun delights! And I guess that is what matters!

Orlando 360

Feb 6th 2017

Another lovely warm and sunny day, we decided to walk down to Orlando 360 - new since we last visited. Our first stop was Madame Tussards, it turned out to be a lot of fun. Unlike the one in London, it was very quiet and there was plenty of opportunity to take photo's. We ended up spending a couple of hours there, and took a lot of photos. Even Paul had to admit it was way better than he was expecting. Definitely worth the admission, I was glad I purchased the 3 attraction ticket,

We had lunch at the Yard House, a big pub that's located at 360. They have 150 different types of beer, I had one that tasted like blueberry muffins, it tasted SO GOOD! I can totally recommend the place. The food was good, and the lunch time deals were pretty good value.

After lunch we headed to the Sea Life centre. Its a really good aquarium with a lot to see. We spent the afternoon there, took loads more photos and just enjoyed the exhibits. Again, unlike the London Sea Life centre, this one wasn't crowded. I loved the place and in some ways, I wish we could have gone back. We did also take the behind the scenes tour which was only $5 and lasted about 30 minutes. I am so glad we did, it was interesting.

We went back to the hotel for a little while for a rest before heading out to dinner. We decided to go to the Tilted Kilt which is just across the road from the hotel. We actually like the place, the food is good and there's a good atmosphere. After dinner, we had a wander around some of the touristy shops. Pretty much the same stuff in all of them, a lot of rubbish but sometimes its fun to look around them. It was a great end to the day.

Orlando 2017 - The Beginning

I hadn't actually realised how long  it had been since I last posted, I guess life has just been too busy. But having just returned from Florida, it seemed a good time to reprise Thru the Looking Glass.

As with all good stories, I should start with the beginning. Our holiday started on Feb 3rd, having left work at lunch time, we were able to set off for Manchester. Traffic was terrible, but we finally arrived at the Mercure in Hale. My friend Cheryl came to meet us, it was great to have a coffee and a catch up. What a lovely way to start the holidays. After dinner at the hotel, we decided to call it a night. The following morning we got a taxi to the airport, dropped the bags off and headed to the V-Room. Its the first time we've used one of the lounges, it was brilliant. Lovely surroundings, unlimited food and coffee, what more can you ask for. It was great to just chill out in comfort, till one of the Virgin peeps came and told us it was time to head to the boarding gate. All very civilised!

The flight was long, but pleasant enough. I watched a few movies, wrote a letter and counted the minutes till we landed. And finally we did!! We caught our shuttle to the hotel, checked in and called my friend Robin to let her know we had arrived. It was great to see Robin again, we went out to dinner together, and then hit Walmart. And so, our holiday in Orlando had commenced.

We stayed at the Rosen Inn International, the same hotel we've stayed at many times before. I was disappointed that they couldn't accommodate my request for a room near the fountain. In fact, they put us in a room about as far from the fountain as you could get! It was actually an ok location, but still disappointing. Generally we felt like standards had dropped, which is such a shame. However there are plenty of other hotels on I-Drive if we go back.

It was so good to be back, the weather was lovely. Maybe a little too warm for me, having left cold damp foggy days behind in the UK the 80 degrees plus temperatures were a little too much for me. Especially when running around the theme parks. It was wonderful to see sunshine again though.

Our first day saw us heading to the Magic Kingdom with Robin. I love the place, the rides, the shows - they're all so much fun! I have to say though, how much busier the parks were this year. More so than I have ever known. There were long queues, even at Small World, now that was a surprise. In the past we've been able to pretty much walk on a lot of the rides with minimum wait time. Not so this time, and we were thankful for Robin arranging a few Fast Passes.

We took one of the boats over to The Grand Floridian for lunch that was a lot of fun, and it was nice to have a break from the parks. In the afternoon we headed back to do some of the shows etc. When we left the Magic Kingdom, we headed to Disney Springs, its almost unrecognisable from what used to be Downtown Disney.  It was fun to look around all the new shops etc. The highlight of the day though was seeing Nova Era perform. I've loved them for 19 years, and was thrilled to see them again. After the performance we stayed to speak to Marie Luisa, who actually remembered us. She's a lovely person, and it was good to chat with her.

We had dinner at a new place called Blaze - excellent Pizza! Finally we stopped to listen to some more live music. I so wished we lived near somewhere like Disney Springs, it would be so cool to go listen to live music, or just sit outside and have a drink.

Our first day was over, and I sure was ready for bed!