OK, so I’ve remembered some stuff from the cruise you might be interested in; namely our purchases. Firstly, I treated myself to a Disney Dooney and Bourke messenger style handbag. It was the Dream’s inaugural voyage collection and had 40% off. We also bought some Cruise edition Vinylmations. There is a whole set of 12 or more but we just got 2: one of Captain Mickey and one of the ships livery. We considered the Chinese zodiac ones but decided against it. We are not about to become avid collectors but may get a few pertinent and meaningful ones as we go along.
So, back to journal (it’s Thursday am remember?). The 528 was quiet despite in being rush hour and we made really good time. Since it was early enough when we got back to the Orlando area we stopped at the World’s Biggest McDonalds for breakfast. Our plan was to go to the Premium Outlets (Previously Prime) at the top of I-Drive and got there by 9:45. Stores opened at 10am so we walked to the far end to kill some time. We bought some candles from the Yankee outlet and Paul tried to get some replacement foam pads for his earphones from Bose. The store didn’t have any but confirmed they do sell them so he can try elsewhere or online. We looked in Juicy and Neiman Marcus Last Call but there were no more purchases. The shops were really quiet. Not sure if that was because it was early or merely the time of year. Either way it was nice.
After the shops we went over to Saratoga Springs. It was a really hot again and a glorious day. We collected our membership cards, helped ourselves to a cookie and went to take a look at the model units. First we looked at the Aulani villas, the new unit in Hawaii now selling as DVC villas. Then we looked at the Animal Kingdom villas. Both were stunning. Fab décor, great amenities, huge whirlpool tubs, really comfortable and very inviting. We definitely think we will use some of our points for a stay in May.
We left Saratoga Springs and made our way to Downtown Disney, Westside. First stop was the silver shop where I managed to get a really nice amethyst ring. A little pricey but a really nice piece; very simple solitaire bezel set oval stone in silver. After this we wandered past the candy store, briefly stopping to watch the cast member making chocolate covered pretzel sticks, and into the store that sells Vinylmation. We looked at some awesome special editions, hand painted large pieces for $1,200 as well as some weird sets, like a sushi set! We did buy our zodiac editions; they were better than the Chinese zodiac ones so not getting those was a good decision!
It was now about 2pm so we decided to make our way to Bahama Bay to check in. After unpacking we headed over to the clubhouse to get some lunch. Since we had planned dinner at Longhorn we didn’t want too much so shared a portion of cheesy bacon fries. It was still a pretty big portion but they were yummy. We checked our email, having been at sea for 4 days before making our way back to our own verandah where I wrote yesterday’s blog entry.
After hours of typing we got ready and went to Longhorn. It was quite busy so we had a 20-minute wait. Thankfully this time they didn’t forget us and we sat down to eat around 6:30pm. We had our usual Flo’s Fillet and Paul tried the new bourbon glaze that was advertised. It was way more oniony than the TGI Jack Daniel’s glaze but he said it was OK. After dinner we went over to Target to get a few groceries then came home and watched an episode of Hawaii-5-O with a nice cup of tea.
Friday morning saw a bit of a lie-in but we were up and about for about 10am. We had considered going east to a mall called Waterford Lakes as it had a Bose store for Paul to look for his earphone pads but since I still had so much blog to write we decided to sit outside and chillax. It was a much cooler day and very cloudy but warm enough to be outside as our verandah is nicely sheltered. We eventually went out about lunchtime after posting the cruise blog. Our first stop was the Center State bank (on 27 by the Polo park). We wanted to open a checking account since it was recommended for offering free banking without a minimum balance. The bank requires you to own property in Florida and since our DVC membership comprises a formal ownership deed this allowed us to open an account. The process took about half an hour and we still have to email over the formal deed once we have paid up with DVC and receive the paperwork but we have 90 days to do this. Once we got out of the bank we went over to Animal Kingdom (our new home ?). Showing our membership card gets us in so easily with a great welcome and greeting. We firstly went to Jambo House, the original Lodge. We looked around the shop, which is really big and bought a couple of cushions that say “once upon a time, happy ever after” and “never grow up”. We then went out back to the viewing outlook but other than birds nothing was really near. We saw some Zebra and Wildebeest in the distance and Paul got some pics. There were 2 viewing areas with one being behind the pool area. This had some nice hot tubs and secluded seating areas. We then went over to Kidani Village and got a cup of tea each to drink as we sat in the rocking chairs at the overlook area. The Giraffes were around and there does seem to be better viewing from Kidani. We took a look in the shop on the way out and Paul bought a DVC members only pin whilst I bought a pink DVC members t-shirt with Tinkerbell embroidered on it. Sadly, this has turned out to be a little big so I need to try and swap it tomorrow. I also got some African made stone animals; a Hippo and a Rhino, which will go really nicely with my wooden Giraffe and Elephant back home.
We stayed at AK until about 5pm before heading over to Kobe for dinner. We shared a meal again but as well as the shrimp and fillet had some teriyaki chicken. The food was as good as ever and our chef had some new tricks like ‘lava from the volcano’ which was the sauce spitting our of the onion volcano. We didn’t really talk to our tablemates again which consisted of a family of mum, dad, 2 kids and grand parents then one other couple.
We finished at Kobe around 6:30 and after a stop for gas went over to the Polynesian to watch the Wishes fireworks from the beach. It was cool but not too cold and we perched on sun beds. The film on the beach was “Tangled” and there was a dad with his 2 kids next to us who was struggling to get them to sit and wait for the fireworks as all they wanted was to go and watch Rapunzel! We saw, and heard, a couple of Pirate firework cruise boats out on the lake. Wishes was good and half way through I swear I saw an Alligator swimming past in the lake. Paul saw something too but thought that folks swam in the lake. After the fireworks we checked the signs which do say ‘no swimming’ so I am still convinced it was a gator.
We came straight back after the fireworks and after a welcome cuppa we did most of our packing. We had bought out 3 suitcases (one inside another on the way out) so have plenty of space and should be able to even out the weight.
It is now nearly midnight. Paul is in the tub whilst I finish up this last blog update before we head back to Blighty tomorrow ? ?
Well hello again, it’s been a while. We are now back on dry land (suffering with sea legs a tad) and sitting out the back of our Bahama Bay apartment. Good news is the bed is bigger in the deluxe. It is peaceful again and very sunny as I type at just after 4pm. I think I must have about 3 days to catch up on so this could take a while. You might want to put the kettle on, treat yourself to a biscuit as well and settle in…
…so, some pertinent updates for you to begin with. Firstly, the Vinylmation Mickey came back all signed and is AWESOME. They have made such a good job of it we were both in wonder. It will be displayed well away from Norah as it is (to quote a famous credit card ad) priceless! Secondly, the cruise itself was also awesome. Probably the best Cruise we have done. Definitely not too overbearing on the Disney although it was busy with 4000 passengers. The time flew and we didn’t even get to do everything we wanted but have vowed we will definitely do it again. Very probably we will book in Jan next year and try to get the same deal we did this time. Finally, before I go back to Monday afternoon, we are now members of the Disney Vacation Club. We have pondered if for some time but there was an on board offer so we took the plunge and signed up. I’ll not go into the details of how it all works and what that means in this blog.
So, where did I leave you? Monday lunchtime I believe as we were getting off the boat to take a wander around Nassau. It was a pleasant day, a little cloudy but warm enough and no sign of the forecasted rain. We looked in a few shops and in ‘Diamonds International’ I tried on a canary yellow diamond ring, which was a snip at $600,000!! I also was interested in some Amolite pieces but the prices were not even comparable to what I can buy from jewellery channels on TV, and it’s the same branded stone. We tried to barter and get a deal but the shops didn’t seem to want our business. Maybe they get enough sales from all the tourists but they seemed happy to let us walk away. I also looked at the Larimar (the stone of the Caribbean) but that too was way more then back home. So, after a couple of hours we got back on board with our dollars in our pocket. On board we went up to deck 11 to get a hot dog and fries and a drink. We sat in the quiet cove (which is mis sold as a live guitarist ruins the peace) before heading back to our room to watch the Princess and the Frog.
Dinner was at the Enchanted Garden restaurant which we were told was based on the gardens of Versailles although it was a tad tacky for our liking. The food was ok and after appetizers of soup and salad I had the roast chicken with sweet potatoes and Paul had prime rib. There was no entertainment in this restaurant and the evening was slightly marred by the entire table (10 of them) of children behind us that were very boisterous and loud. Our fellow table guests were not best pleased either.
After dinner we went to the theatre for the evening’s show that was “Villains Tonight”. It was a stage production with Hades (the ruler of the underworld from the film Hercules) trying to ensure he was still evil enough (having been defeated by Hercules) by enlisting the help of his friends such as Ursula,The Evil Queen, Maleficent, Jafar and Scar. It was not as good as the first night’s show but still good. Afterwards we went back into Pink and had a champagne cocktail then watched a family Disney quiz show before bed.
Tuesday began as all cruise days with breakfast being delivered to our room and consumed on our balcony. We were docked at Castaway Cay (pronounced ‘key’ by Disney for some reason) which is their private Island. It has clearly been well “designed” and was quite idyllic. We got off the boat about mid morning and wandered along the pathways to the beach areas taking photos. At lunchtime we stopped for the on-shore BBQ food which was really good. The weather was amazing, so amazing that I have burned arms to show for it. There were plenty of activities for families to do including lots of the usual water sports as well as bike rides and a water slide called Pelican Plunge.
There were bars and shops as well so we each bought a souvenir t-shirt and had an official photo taken as a memento. We walked all the way down to Serenity Bay, which is the adults’ only beach. We had a paddle in the turquoise blue ocean and then sat in beach chairs with our feet in the sea as the waves lapped. To be absolutely honest, the water was freezing but the scene was certainly paradise. We had decided to get back to the boat for about 2:30 for a ship tour so got the tram all the way back to the boat. We were cutting it fine time wise and then struggled to find the bar the tour start from so ended up missing it. Instead we went to a presentation on the making of the Disney Dream (our boat). I’d got myself a frozen Piña Colada with lashings of rum to sip on so was happy enough 🙂 After this we stayed in the same lounge to here the DVC presentation and as you have already read, they did a good sales job on us! We left there having made an appointment for 9:30pm and went back to our room to get ready for dinner.
Tonight’s dinner was Pirates night and we were in the Royal Palace restaurant. The restaurant was really nice with particularly cute Cinderella Coach breadbaskets. The menu was Mickey and Pirate themed with a Caribbean flavour. I had a Pineapple appetizer whilst Paul opted for the pork dumplings. I then had a jerk chicken salad before a main course of sirloin steak. Paul went for the shrimp and scallop linguini, asking Sean (our server) to de-shell his shrimp. Deserts were rum soaked sponge, yummy. In our cabin we had each been given a bandana and some families had really gone to town with the dressing up. After dinner we went to the theatre, we were late out so had no time for a pre dinner drink. The show was Ronn Lucas, the ventriloquist we had seen on the first night. His main show did not differ much sadly so we saw a lot of the same. He was funny though and is definitely very talented. After he finished we darted to our DVC meeting and were “sold to” by Rob, a very typical American salesman from NJ whose wife was called Cindy. We asked all our questions and got our info but did not want to sign there and the as we still wanted to think about it and work some numbers. He really wanted the sale but we said we may well be back. We were with him an hour which meant we had to run up to deck 11 afterwards as this was fireworks night. DCL is the only ship allowed to set off fireworks at sea from on board. They are called Buccaneer Blast:-
They were excellent, obviously smaller scale as they we set of from the ships funnels, but still excellent. Afterwards there was a show on the deck stage with Captain Jack Sparrow and various Pirate dancers. It was really mild out on deck with no wind and plenty warm enough with just a light cardie. Once the show was over we headed for bed. There was a 3D showing of the 4th Pirates movie in the cinema that we considered but tiredness over ruled.
Wednesday was our sea day so we had a little more of a lie in before breakfast was delivered at about 9:30. Having looked at our planner (called the Personal Navigator as opposed to RC’s Cruise Compass) there was a lot we wanted to do including the ship tour we had missed the day before and various quizzes. Before all of this however, and having done some sums, we called up Rob and made an 11:15 appointment to give him the good news. We couldn’t sign up there and then as paperwork needed t be drawn up but we paid or closing costs and agreed to come back and sign at 2:30pm. We left with a few freebies such as baseball caps, a bag and a really nice wooden box. We grabbed some lunch before we met for the ship tour at 1pm. It was hosted by Lauren; a Brit from Basingstoke. She was new to it (this only being her second tour) but was very good. Her grammar was a little lacking in places (lots of ‘them features’ and ‘them characters’ with seemingly no knowledge the word ‘those’ even existed) but she was enthusiastic and friendly. We learned all sorts of facts from this and the previous days presentation including:
(OK, I’ll be honest, I had to stop here and go for dinner and being really tired after an early start I couldn’t do anymore before bed. So, it’s now Friday morning but I have made a commitment to finish this!)
The ships colour scheme of black, yellow, white and red are the colours of Mickey Mouse
Painting the hull of the ship pure black was a little too imposing so Disney wanted a very dark navy blue. After searching unsuccessfully a meeting was called with several top Disney bigwigs and one of them was a lady in navy trousers; the exact colour they wanted, so they took her trousers and had paint made the same colour. They then named it Monica blue in her honour!
Disney had to get special permission from the Coast Guard to have yellow lifeboats instead of fluorescent orange as was the law. They had to prove their colour was just as noticeable but eventually were granted permission.
Magic and Wonder hold 2000 passengers, the Dream and Fantasy hold 4000
The Magic and Wonder only have “When You Wish Upon A Star” as their horn sound but the Dream has several. On You Tube you can find a video of the ‘battle of the horns’ when The Magic and Dream met each other at Castaway Cay. We’ve watched it and it is so cool.
The tour took us into Remy, one of the restaurants you can pay to eat in. It is $75 a head and French themed. It is based on the film Ratatouille and has a glass model of Remy worth over $45,000 as well as a private dining room that looks exactly like the one in the film. It also has little stools at each table for a lady to put her handbag on so it never has to touch the floor. We also looked at the Bar areas. We had already seen Pink, the champagne bar, but there are about 3 or 4 other bars one of which is called the Skyline. The views from this bar are all LCD screens showing an evening view of a major city. The view looks lifelike with moving cars, flashing lights and waves on the water. Every 15 minutes pixie dust covers the screens and they change to another city. There are about 4 in all so guests can drink for an hour or so and get to see all revolutions. I told you earlier this cruise was neat and way more than just Mickey and his friends. Some if the features and technology are really clever and that’s the Disney we love.
The tour took about an hour and finished in the grand atrium where there is a bronze statue of Admiral Donald. Each ship has a statue: the Magic has Captain Mickey, the Wonder has Ariel and the new Fantasy will have Mademoiselle Minnie. Apparently she has been in over 75 cartoons with Mickey but has never starred in her own feature so the fact she now has her own ship that is bigger than Mickey’s is well deserved according to all the crew.
After the tour concluded we were just in time to see the Princess parade in the Atrium. Cinderella, Snow White, Aurora, Tiana and Belle all floated down the grand staircase and then pranced around signing autographs for the kids. We got a few pics, especially of “Cinders” with “Cinders”. It was now time to go and sign our DVC deeds so we made our way to the office. The whole process took about 20 minutes or so but by 3pm on Wednesday 1st Feb 2012 we were members of the family. Now wherever we go in DVC areas we are greeted with “Welcome Home”. Since the membership gets us some discounts on property (including Raglan Road the Irish Pub at Pleasure Island) we were told we could pick up our membership cards at Saratoga Springs when we disembarked so we could start enjoying our membership immediately.
We had missed one of the trivia quizzes but headed up to another one in the 687 lounge; so named as that was the hull number of our ship as she was built (it is bad luck to refer to a ship by name before it is completed). The quiz was about the Fantasy and as we had learned a lot on our tour and presentation we got quite a lot correct. We were late starting though so couldn’t win as we hadn’t answered all questions.
After a quick look at our Castaway Cay photos in Shutters we got a place on the atrium balcony to see the “See Ya Real soon” show. It turned out not to be a show, just Mickey and friends signing autographs. Since we still had about an hour before dinner we decided to complete the ‘Midship Detective Agency’ assignment. This is another really cool Disney feature. Each ‘detective’ (young or old and trust me there were several adults having more fun with this than the kids) has a key card that is registered to a screen with your detective number. You then need to seek out the enchanted artworks and solve clues. Enchanted artwork are interactive pictures (LCD screens in reality) but again really cleverly done as framed art. You hold your key card to the screen and your clue could be found in some way such as popping the on screen balloons by pointing your card at them, removing metal objects as your card became a magnet and brushing dust away to reveal stuff. All this was done by merely holding a piece of card about 18 inches from the screen – really neat! We solved our crime, that of the missing artwork and it turned out to be Ymza from the Emperor’s New Groove. The other really cool thing is that if you take another assignment you’ll get different clues for a different crime and criminal. We saw our tablemates on their 3rd assignment.
This took us nicely up to getting ready for dinner and we both felt that for a sea day it had absolutely flown by. Not only this but we could have done more and were both a little disappointed that we didn’t ride the Aquaduck but we’ve decided that it’s a reason that we have to come back.
Dinner was in the Royal Palace again and the menu was easily the best all cruise. Paul had 2 steaming bowls of Belle’s French Onion soup whilst I had some sliced duck and then the garlic escargot which were fab. Main course for me was the lamb and Paul had the Beef with Lobster although he didn’t realize it was a lobster medallion and so left it, much to the disgust of fellow diners and serving staff! Desert was an amazing Grand Marnier Soufflé with Crème Anglaise and Paul also had tasters of the others including a peanut butter chocolate mousse that was really nice. Like I said this was definitely the best meal. We gave our tips to our staff (not paying the prepaid full amount) and made our way to the theatre for the final show. The show was called Believe and was the story of a man who didn’t believe in magic but his daughter wanted him to. After finding the Genie he went on a journey with various characters to make him believe. There were plenty of Disney classics like Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Lion King, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast along the way so we sang and clapped to our faves. This was the best show of the cruise and we both loved it.
After the show we needed to get some packing done so went back to our room and stuffed it all in our cases, remembering to keep out the next day’s clothes and filling in our comment form. We did take a stroll up to the Outlook bar, the highest point on the ship, but it was closed so we headed down to deck. Paul grabbed a coke and I had a hot chocolate and we went back to bed.
Thursday was an early start; up at 7 for disembarkation. Paul went for breakfast in the dining room but I skipped that. We were all ready to get off by 8am and the atmosphere was very different to RC. There was no push to get out of the stateroom, no sitting around in lounges and no time to disembark. We headed up to mid ship and merely wandered off. No line, no fuss, just shook the Captain’s hand and got off. We have no idea why RC make such a meal of disembarkation and seemingly cause more trouble as a ‘free for all’ by Disney worked way better. We found our cases, had a short wait in line for customs and were in our car and on the road by 8:30am which was amazing (and unheard of with RC).
I’m gonna stop now and get this posted for ya (you’ve probably drowned in tea and put on half a stone from all the biscuits). I’ll complete the ‘back on land’ stuff in the next post.
It’s now Monday morning and we have just had breakfast. A toasted English muffin with grape jelly, a selection of pastries, some juice and a nice cup of tea. We docked about about an hour ago here at Nassau and watched from our balcony as we came in, turned around and docked. It seems like a nice day, although there is a chance of rain in the forecast. We plan to head off for a wander about town once I’ve updated you all on the last day or two.
So, where did I leave you? Saturday night I believe as we headed out to Kobe for dinner. We go there about 5:30 and having made a reservation online were seated within 5 minutes or so. We had two groups of 4 at our table; the first a group of middle aged women seemingly doing Disney and the second a family with parents, adult child and respective partner. We didn’t chat amongst the table to be honest so I can tell you no more about them than that. It was absolutely freezing in Kobe; the whole table ended up donning cardies and jackets. Our chef was Kenny and the food and show was as good as ever. Paul had the shrimp and I had the fillet. The beef was as tender and flavoursome as ever and given we had only had a pastry for lunch we ate a lot; even half the rice bowl! A couple of guests had teriyaki chicken which Paul wants to try next time to see how that flavour compares. We finished up by just after 6:30 and the plan was to go to the beach at the Polynesian to watch the Wishes fireworks. Since we had time to spare we took a scenic route to Disney to ‘sit our dinner down’! We had coats etc in the car as the temperature does drop at night. The car park at the Polynesian was absolutely heaving. We had no idea why but we drove around and around to look for a space. After about 10 minutes we eventually found one and parked. We never did find out why it was so busy, there was no evident signs about an event or anything, strange. There were a few people on the beach and the movie playing was “Cars”. We got a bed to sit on (dusted it down with a towel as there was sand everywhere) and perched. The music was difficult to hear from the speakers but the fireworks were good. The night was very still so the after smoke hung in the air a lot. You a could still see but it became very smoky/cloudy. We made our way home for about 8:45. We did some packing and prep for our cruise but had an early night as we were both shattered.
We were up at 8am on Sunday as we had a 10am checkout. We asked about a top floor room for our reservation later in the week but were told we’d been upgraded to a deluxe suite which is ground floor only so we opted to stay with that and check out the deluxe difference!
We had decided to go to Premium Outlets before making our way down to Port Canaveral and since we knew we had early seating on board, decided on brunch as our best option so headed straight for the food court. We had wanted Charlie’s Steakery Philly Cheese Steaks but when we got there Charlie’s had gone! The other choices weren’t great so we end up with Chinese! It was ok though and did the job.
We had 2 hours before we knew we had to leave so scooted around the shops that we liked. Paul bought a t shirt from Marc Ecko and saw some new polo shirts that he is hoping will be discounted when we are back here in May. We also bought some stuff in the Disney Character Warehouse. Paul got a cool rain pac-a-mac that was on offer, I got a Pirates t-shirt (there is a pirate night on board), we bought some magnets to decorate our stateroom door (as yet still in situ and not been thieved!) and a couple of beach towels that were buy on get one free, so at 10 bucks seemed ideal for a cruise. We reckon we got about $25 worth of savings again, we’re deffo good at this savings lark. I did search for some crop jeans but couldn’t find any at all :-(.
We left Premium at half twelve and got on the 528 to Port Canaveral. It was a gorgeous day. Cooler at 70 degrees but still nice and sunny. We saw several Disney cruise Line coaches on the road and made good time arriving at the port about 1:30. We had pre-booked a check in time of 2pm so all was good. We had considered parking at the Park and Cruise which was cheaper that the port itself but it was a long way out so we opted to pay the extra for the convenience, especially when lugging cases etc. We dropped our cases with the porter and parked in the multi story. There was a gangway into the terminal building and it was very quiet. Boarding had commenced about midday so a lot of passengers were already on board; you could even see folks in the aqueduct. Check in was quick, Paul had completed most things online so it was pretty much a case of getting our key. We were then straight on board for just after 2pm where every family or party is announced on board!
We made our way to our state room to drop off our hand luggage bags (we had packed our evening change of clothes and toiletries just in case the suitcases didn’t get to us in time). The state room is very nice with a sofa area and balcony. The bathrooms are typical cruise ship small but we do have a tub: the worlds smallest tub mind and Paul is practising contortionism as he bathes. We then went exploring the ship staring with handing in our Vinylmation and pens at guest services. After a shaky start the Italian cast member soon knew what we meant and it was absolutely no problem so we will get our signed piece back in our state room on the last day – how cool is that? We then went to Cabanas, the buffet restaurant, as we were a bit peckish and had chip butties. Afterwards we wandered out on the pool deck and into the over 18’s area to get some peace. There were a few kids that kept wandering through so if that continues I feel a complaint coming on! I had a frozen piña colada and Paul had a coke as we sat in the sun and Paul phoned home. We also took a look at the restaurants we’d be eating in. We move between 3 but our serving staff moves with us. Tonight we are at “Animator’s Palate” so we found our table number and had a look around. We are at a table for 8 so we’ll find out later who we are dining with.
The muster drill was planned for 3:45 so we left this area about then and made our way to our muster point K. There is no need to wear the life jackets but the check in and line up is the same as RC. It took about half an hour and afterwards it was the sail away party on deck. We went to take a look and saw the characters and dancers etc. we were each given streamers to wave by a crew member. There was a keen wind on deck and it was very busy so we came to or room to get ready and sail away. The ships horn as we left port is in the tune of “When You Wish Upon A Star”. The ‘bing bong’ for an announcement is the same. I like the little things like that and so far do prefer this to RC.
We got ready and then went for our dinner (our cases had arrived by the way) at 5:45. The waiting staff at “Animator’s Palate” all had shirts with character sketches all over them and the restaurant had screens all around and was decorated with artwork and figurines. As we ate the screens showed Crush (the turtle from “Finding Nemo”) talking to us and there we’re quizzes in the form of fish making shapes of characters that we had to guess. The coolest thing of all though was when Crush had a conversation directly with some diners at tables right by the screens. We tried to spot the guy or cameras but couldn’t.
Our fellow diners were all couples older than us. There were a quiet couple who were first timers like us and the others were gold members consisting of a couple from California and a couple originally from NY state who had retired to Orlando. We talked with them a lot as they were opposite us. They were retired teachers and each worked part time at Disney. He was on the gate at Epcot and we never did quite catch what she did ;-). They travelled a lot too and their retirement sounded idyllic to us. They were a really nice couple and we were envious of their lifestyle. Dinner was 4 courses. Paul started with a mushroom risotto but I skipped appetizers. We then both had the baked potato and cheese soup with bacon bits. It was really nice although each course did seem to arrive with a skin on it as though it had been sitting for a while. As we talked to the couple opposite they said that their favourite cruise line was Carnival which surprised us. We thought this was a bit if a party chavvy boat but they say the food is the best. They actually said that Disney food is the worst although the Disney entertainment on board is easily the best. For main course we chose the Angus beef, cut to order. It was very tender and tasty. I did swap out my wasabi mash for a baked potato but Paul said the wasabi mash was really nice. For desert Paul had the cookies and cream sundae and I had the chocolate brownie cheesecake. Soda is free on board so coke and sprite kept coming to wash it all down. There was some more entertainment from Crush with dancing and a turtle pledge so all in all dinner was pretty good.
We left the dining room at about 7:30 and the show was at 8:30. Doors did not open until 8 so we looked around the ship. Donald Duck was in the atrium and the photo place had a cool twist. Each guest has an allocated photo album where any shots that have been taken are put so no trawling through everyone’s pics and at least no one can man handle your pics. Mind you, it means you can’t laugh at others expense!
We got seats on the front row of the dress circle in the theatre although it was tight I space and Paul’s legs didn’t quite fit! The was some pre show fun in the shape of screens showing the audience with Disney characters super imposed sitting amongst them and also a pre show interview with kids as they came into the theatre. The show was the “Golden Mickeys” which was a tribute to great films and music with awards for friendship, love, hero’s etc. it was a mix of on screen and on stage with excerpts from The Lion King, Mulan, Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast, Tangled, Tarzan and The Hunchback of Notre Dame to name but a few. In true Disney style it was excellent.
After the show we made our way to the Pink bar. It is designed to look like a pink champagne glass with bubbles all around. It is adults only so again we could get some peace. We had a champagne cocktail and chat to the bar tender, a young Slovenian girl. She had plenty to say so we whiled away 40 minutes or so. We had considered going to a show called Mirror Mirror but she said it was for kids so instead we went to another adult lounge to watch Ronn Lucas, a ventriloquist. He has been on TV loads, including the UK where he appeared on “A Night At The London Paladium” in front of the queen. His show was hilarious and we sipped cocktails as we watched; Paul with a mojito and me with a chocolate martini. The show ended just before 11 and as we were tired we opted for bed. I slept really well, comfy bed and pillows but Paul said he was a bit restless. It is quite noisy though with a fair amount of banging and clattering going on.
So, we’re back to this morning and now we’re all showered and this is typed we are off to explore Nassau.
Yippee I hear you cry; a blog to read at last! I’ll get on with it then and our journey begins with a very long flight from Manchester: 9 hours 40 mins in total. We were about an hour late leaving too as there had been a delay to the incoming flight. It’s was actually the Gatwick flight (as always) but they seemed to swap our planes so we can’t seem to avoid the dreaded Gatwick curse no matter how we try. The flight was ok. The new Premium seats are comfy enough and after no queue at check in we managed to get moved to the front row with oodles of leg room. This also meant we got stand alone foot stools which were pretty cool too. The cabin was half empty and the crew we really good (a tad northern so there were lots of “love”, “darlin” and “duck” as they addressed us but definitely very friendly and helpful). The food was a bit grim. We are not used to the tightly packed tray of square plastic containers and foil covered muck, and missed our china plated course by course service. There was a very nice Lilly O’Brian’s desert though and some cheese and crackers to fill up on. Afternoon tea was cheese and onion finger sandwiches and a scone. Not a warmed scone with your choice of fruit or plain but a cold dry one so Paul proceeded to pick out his fruit as I picked the onion from my sandwiches. Have we become too fussy and spoiled do you think??
The flight itself was relatively smooth. Landing was bumpy but other than that no seat belt signs. Paul amused himself with a very macabre foreign film (The Skin I Live In) that we were amazed was shown on a flight. I did lots of puzzles, read lots of magazines and had a snooze I must confess.
We landed at about 3:30 local time and made it off the plane, through security and into our hire car in under an hour. Virgin do excel at priority baggage it had to be said. The airport was very quiet. We made our way directly to the Mall at Millenia, parked outside Neiman Marcus (creatures of habit that we are) and headed to Tiffany’s. We did stop briefly at Jimmy Choo and the Sony store en route. We picked up my bracelets (plain silver with an open heart and starfish charm on them) then had a brief look in L’Occitane and Swarovski before heading back to the car. It was rush hour traffic so I4 was heaving as made our way back to the 192 and into TGI’s for some food. Paul had Jack Daniels sesame chicken bites and I had Jack Daniels chicken breast. Great food as ever and needed after the inflight servings. We made a final stop at Publix for some essentials before checking into the Bahama Bay resort.
Our apartment is good. Great location over looking the lake, quiet and sunny outlook and given the price (35 quid a night) awesome value. The ordinary double bed was a bit of a shame as we like a king and the child upstairs is annoying as he/she runs up and down their apartment. The wifi is slow and the tub is small but despite those niggles it’s extremely pleasant as I sit on our balcony and type this.
Today we we up about 8. I think Paul was earlier so I made the most of having all of the double bed. We left about 9:15 and went for breakfast at the McDonalds on Osceola Parkway in Disney. Even at that time in the morning as the sun shone down on us it was really warm. We ate brecky in t-shirts outside in January. As Paul tweeted this morning, this is why we’d rather be in Florida at this time of year than Blighty.
After breakfast we made our way to Downtown Disney, Marketplace. It was really warm and sunny. We wandered around the shops and made a few purchases (well it is me after all). I got a top (blue with red lip shapes on it) and a case for my camera (so that Paul could have my existing one). It was actually an iPhone case but fits my camera perfectly and being purple with Tinkerbell on it is right up my street. Being an iPhone case it came with a hard shell for the iPhone so Paul now proudly displays the WDW Cinderella castle on the back of his phone.
We also bought a large white Mickey Vinylmation that we intend to get signed by the characters on our cruise. Apparently you can give any item to a cast member to get signed so we’ll find out later if that’s true. If not then look on eBay for the Vinylmation ;-).
Paul also bought a Disney book with photography ideas and we each bought an insulated mug for our morning tea on the way to work. Our purchases allowed us to get some items on offer so we now also own a Disney tote bag and a fleece throw with the castle on it.
We left Downtown and headed over to the Florida Mall. The traffic was pretty good so we made good time. The Mall was reasonably quiet. Local weekend folk but nothing too busy. Purchases included some Pandora beads for my bracelet (which retail at the same amount in dollars as pounds back home), some nail products (incl a purple lacquer), some Yankee candles (gingerbread mmmmm), a Tinkerbell shower gel and body lotion set (from the Disney store) and a very cool PanAm flight bag, authentic as carried by those in the recent TV show. We also got the ‘Sharpies’ for the character sigs I mentioned. All this expense better not be in vein. We managed to use vouchers and save about $50 in all as well as getting some freebies incl shampoo and lipgloss samples.
We returned to the apartment about 4pm and had a cuppa on the balcony. We are now going to freshen up before going to Kobe for dinner. We are going to meal share as the supplement still makes it cheaper. We are coupon and savings aficionado’s now!!
So, important things first. Who has been fired from celeb Apprentice? Wednesday night was Jennie Finch (I think that’s her surname). She was a US Olympic softball player anyway. A very pretty blonde but like Nadia Comaneci these top class athletes who I saw as so disciplined and so competitive really cannot take the cut throat world of business. Last night saw the demise of Vinny Pastore, an actor from the Sopranos. After a very explosive episode between him and Piers Morgan the men’s team lost for the first time. Many of the yanks are against Piers. They see him as too aggressive but Donald and Ivanca seem to like him. As does our very own Lennox Lewis who defended Piers in the boardroom. Maybe it’s the way he calmly denied calling Vinny a fat Italian, pointing out he had called him a VERY fat Italian!! Piers was looking odds on to be fired but Vinny actually quit in the end. Piers needs to build some bridges with his team. The women’s team all loathe him also, though he did congratulate them on their win and was very gracious in defeat.
Ok so onto other matters. We got up on Thursday to another great day weather wise and sat on our veranda to have a light breakfast. We then went out for lunch to a restaurant we had found the previous night on an after dinner drive. It was right on the beach front in a very nice area although the breeze from the sea there was a little cool. Paul opted for another all day breakfast and I had a tuna sandwich and some chips. We watched kids build sandcastles and brave adults partake in water sports.
After lunch we headed to the Fiesa. This is an international festival of sand sculptures that is created each year and open from late April thru to October. It is officially considered completed in June and up to then the sculptors are still building but it was certainly pretty much finished when we looked around. It was 8 euros each to get in and I can honestly say it was amazing. It was pretty big and the sight of wall to wall sand as far as the eye can see was quite spectacular. The theme this year was animals which range from a chimp band to elephants, bugs, pigs, lions, dolphins and turtles to name but a few. Of course we took pics for you that will be online at the weekend so not long to wait now! After we looked all around, which took about an hour, we sat outside for a drink in the sunshine.
After we left the grown up sand castles we made our way to Alcantariha. We were headed for the capella dos ossos or chapel of bones. There are a few in this area. Essentially, when they built churches on the grounds of cemeteries they would build a chapel lined with the bones and skulls that were dug up. It is seen as a mark of respect to the dead. We found the sign for the chapel and parked up. As we opened the door to go in it was tiny but in no way disappointing. It was a sight to behold; walls and ceiling completely covered in bones and skulls – it was amazing. I guess morbidly fascinating is the phrase but we both agreed it was awesome. Yep, more pics of this to come….
After this we decided to amble back to the villa and sit out again but took a scenic route stopping at Algar Seco on the way. This is a pretty Coastal point with a chapel (no bones) and a great view of the cliffs and surrounding area. We did briefly consider visiting Cliff Richard’s vineyard but decided against it!
We got back to the villa after 5 and sat outside to relax. We had decided to head out for dinner at about half 6 and went to the restaurant on the strip we had enjoyed on Tuesday night; the restaurant Costa Rica. We sat and watched the world go by (well the Chavs go by anyway) and partook of our usual chicken and chips and omelette and chips. The food was good again. After dinner we went for a drive to digest our food. Some of the local roads are almost dirt tracks and after a while this is where we found ourselves. It was dusk and we were heading down a very dingy track that looked more and more dodgy as it went on. We passed a lovely homeless area with wino’s sat around and some plain but dodgy looking buildings. We kept going until we found ourselves… On the beach!! Having just about managed to turn the punto around with a few wheel spins in the sand we had to go all the way back the way we came. It was getting dark and the sat nav had no idea where we were. We were not on a road but in the middle if nowhere seemingly. There’s never a dull moment on holiday with us! We eventually got back to where we started and the sat nav picked us up and put us on the road home – phew! We got home after 9 and you already know about celeb Apprentice.
Today we did our usual lazy morning and headed out after lunch. We decided to head east (we’ve explored the west extensively) and had a couple of shopping malls and another copella dos ossos on our itinerary. The first shopping mall we stopped at was Forum shops in Faro. It was quite small with interesting brands such as United Colours of Bennetton and C&A. Plus lots of unrecognisable ones. It had a food court so we stopped for a quick burger. We left there and made our way to the centre of Faro. It’s a grotty city with more than it’s fair share of beggars, dingy derelict buildings and narrow cobbled streets. Trusty sat nav got us to our chapel and after a couple of circuits we found a parking space. The church itself was very ornate, typical of catholic I expect, and at the front there was a pathway to the bones chapel. It was bigger than yesterdays but not as good. A lot of the skulls were broken and it seemed untended which defeated it’s stated objective of respecting the dead. There were a lot of tourists there and we were glad we had found yesterday’s chapel as it was much better.
We left Faro on the motorway towards Spain. We contemplated crossing the border but decided against it in the end. Instead we made our way to Quinta do Largo. This was a really posh resort area, exactly what I expected of the Algarve. We think this is where we considered staying. We looked at two 5 star resorts online but one was very near the airport runway so we discounted it. This place was near the airport so could well have been it. If so, we made the wrong choice – this place was gorgeous. We found the shops, an outdoor very posh mall with designer labels! It was very small but I bought a DKNY bag from a boutique shop like Minnies that Sam runs in TOWIE.
After this we headed for the Algarve shopping, the mall we had been to on Monday. I want to get a ring from Pandora that matched some earrings I already have. The server struggled a little with her English but we got there and after failing to up sell me the earrings (that I already have) and he necklace, I left with my ring.
Since it was tea time and neither of us really wanted to head out again we figured we’d get some food while we were there. We were not overly hungry either so we went for a pizza hut meal deal of 2 slices plus a drink for 4 euros 50. Bargain! We ate outside before making our way back to the villa.
We are now watching Point Break as I type this. Tonight we shall watch another celeb apprentice and pack our cases. We leave at 8am in the morning and will be back in Blighty for about 1pm. After unpacking it will be the F1 Turkish qualies to watch and a relaxing weekend ahead of work on Monday. And on that slightly depressing note I will close.
I left you on Monday evening and it is now Wednesday evening so I have another 48 hours to fill you in on. I best get typing then.
After I posted on Monday we decided to go out and get some moody evening photos of the sun setting over the sea. Just before we did the maintenance man arrived to fix the wifi. He swapped the router out and showed us the flashing lights and indeed we were connected to the Internet…..for all of about 30 minutes. Knowing the location of the router however has enabled network guru that is Paul Brennan to fix it himself. The hotel has a DNS issue that needs sorting as Paul chatted to Sharon (our rep) about earlier today when she called to check on our wifi progress!!
Anyway, we did venture out in the end and got some great shots by the sea. I found the compositions and Paul did the techy bit to get the perfect shot. Sadly we have no way of downloading them here so you will have to wait to see them.
We returned to the villa to watch part 2 of celebrity apprentice USA. Sadly Nadia Comeneci fell foul of Donald when she failed to fight her corner.
We awoke on Tuesday morning to a glorious day. Warm Sunshine and a blue sky with wispy clouds. We sat outside basking in the sun and headed out about 11am. The plan was to go to the beach and find a nice bar/restaurant for lunch. We parked up and wandered down to the beach. Paul had seen a recommended place on trip advisor and felt sure he could find it. To do so this included a long walk across the beach and the sand is far from soft underfoot. It was littered with broken shells that were not comfortable inside your sandals I can tell you. Needless to say we didn’t find the place so headed back up to road level (being Coastal and hilly the beach is a long way down) and walked along the front. It was windy but still warm. We then made our way down the escalators (yes, you read that right) to beach level again and found a secluded place in the sun where we decide to stop. Pretty much everyone speaks really good English and the whole place seems geared up for Brits so not surprisingly Paul had a full English breakfast and I opted for a jacket potato with tuna. The food was really nice and we sat in the warm sun for a good hour or so. I had purchased a hat along the way as the sun gets in my eyes so sat there in my old man’s style trilby.
When we moved on we had decided to go and find the lighthouses that were at the tip of Lagos. It was about a 45 minute drive to get to the Marina where we stopped briefly and then about 10 mins to the coast where there was a very small, uninspiring gated lighthouse building. It was all locked up however there were lots of people there all seemingly heading around the back. We did the same and found ourselves at the top of the Coastal cliffs looking down into some caves. There were pathways and even steps all the way down to sea level and there were some amazing views (yep, you guessed it, photos to follow – sorry). Paul did his Edmund Hillary impression and scaled the tallest peak, which seemed to concern a middle aged couple next to me but we had seen several people climb it so it was reasonably safe. Paul did say it was a little blowy up there though which made him slightly uneasy.
We returned to our trusty punto and headed back. We wanted to take a Coastal road but Tom Tom said no! So it was back down the motorway and came back. By this time it was around 5:30 so we had a breather, got spruced up and went out to get some dinner. Paul had spotted a restaurant he wanted to try on the chavvy strip so we managed to park and wandered down. It was the restaurant costa rica and we got an outside table on the path edge and watched the world go by. I ordered melon and Parma ham to start and Paul had the French onion soup. I then opted for grilled chicken and chips and Paul had omelette with sautéed potatoes. We finished this off with a pancake with cream, ice cream and chocolate sauce. The food really was nice and it was a great dinner, they would have been handsomely tipped if it hadn’t been for their attempt to diddle us at the end. They gave us change for 50 euros when we had given them 60. Wrong people to try and swindle as we have our wits about us. Of course it may have been a genuine mistake you may think us way too cynical!
We came home and watched episode 3 of celebrity apprentice USA and this time Gene Simmons was out. Donald gave him every opportunity to stay and offered him another contestant on a plate to be fired but Gene defied him (and defied all logic it has to be said) and committed boardroom suicide.
Other notable tv highlights at the stage are French x-factor and a variation of millionaire called high pressure where contestants have to answer and if they win they stay on and if not they are replaced by another contestant who takes over the winnings so far and carries on. Paul and I answered more questions correctly than most contestants even with them being in Portuguese. We did use the trusty iPhone translator app once or twice admittedly.
This morning was another hot sunny one and again we lazed around the villa until after 12. We had decided to go the the zoo marine park which is not overly big the afternoon would be enough. It was 25 euros each to get in and was pretty empty. This whole place is dead this week which I really like but Paul wants a few more folks apparently. The first show was the sea lion show at 1:45 so we made our way to some good seats. The warm up act was a weird looking pirate who got 4 male members of the audience out front and got them playing air drums, air guitar, air bass and even and air vocalist. A couple of them were clearly Brits but the star of the show was a foreign guy who went all out to perform for the crowd and was awarded a big stuffed polar bear for his efforts. Upon seeing that I urged Paul to make a pratt of himself but to no avail 😉
The show was a little dated (this whole area seems stuck in the 90’s) and needed a script update but the sea lions and grey seals were cute. I was slightly disturbed that the show included a piece with the actors wielding clubs when grey seals were around and also a scene where the “baddy” character shot a sea lion who then proceeded to play dead but it all ended on a typical PC note where the treasure they had been hunting was life itself and Michael Jackson’s “heal the world” played out.
After this we had an hour before the dolphin show so went to get some food. We had grotty cheeseburgers but it did the job. We then wandered to the turtles and onto the alligators and the crocodile. The keepers were feeding the croc, named Jando, and at one point the croc spun round and scared the living daylights out of us all. He was certainly quick and we were able to get really close. The gators were all spark out in the sun.
We then went into the dolphin show which included a synchronised swimming team display. An odd choice and more cellulite than you see on your average swimmer but mildly entertaining all the same. There were about a dozen dolphins who did the usual stuff; pushing trainers along, waving tails, jumping and a section where 2 toddlers were pulled along in a boat. We had seen the toddlers be selected pre-show. A little blond girl clearly keen and a young Portuguese looking boy who seemed far from keen but his parents were not taking no for an answer! I forgot to mention that pre-show entertainment was the previous pirate geezer this time appearing as a clown. It was not as good as the air band and there were no stuffed polar bears on offer. There was however a popcorn seller so we did buy a cone and it was really nice popcorn.
We exited the show at about 3:45 and wandered around in the sun for a while until the sea lion feeding at 4pm. There was also an underground viewing area where you could see clearly into the tanks and we watched the seals and sea lions for a while.
We then made our way to the aquarium where we saw a wicked octopus, a cool starfish and a pretty big tiger shark. We then made our way to the sting ray pool and stroked the rays, exiting with slimy fingers!!
There was not a lot else to do so we left and came back to the villa. We sat outside for a while deliberating dinner. Neither of us were overly hungry and didn’t want to get all dolled up to go out so headed back to the main strip once more. We ambled along and eventually settled on Chinese which was really nice. I had chicken and sweetcorn soup to start and Paul had chilli prawns. I then had sweet and sour chicken with noodles and Paul went for prawns in black bean sauce with egg fried rice. It was really cheap at 22 euros total.
We came straight back to the villa as we were both tired and that is where you find us now. I think Paul is pretty fed up with the limited uk channels so I’ll sign off for now so we can use the iPad to watch the next instalment of celebrity apprentice USA.
Hello readers, we are sat on our veranda in the Algarve, it’s a pleasant evening after a rainy couple of days. It’s day two here so I’ll go back almost 48 hours and fill you in.
At 2:45am on Sunday morning Paul’s alarm went off and he headed for a bath. Ah, the bliss of the bed to myself. I dozed back off until his dulcet tones sounded. Oh crap, I have to get up at this ungodly hour as well don’t I? Our flight was from Birmingham at 06:30 so we got ready and went to the airport. Being a package tour and a short haul flight there was no upper class, business or favourable check-in and we had to queue with everyone else at the Monarch check-in desk. Service was slow but eventually we were called forward. Again a consequence of package deals is no self seat allocation ahead of travel but upon asking there were still extra leg room seats available so we paid the £38 and opted for that.
The flight was fairly uneventful though looking around it seemed very much like a Derby and Joan convention. We were definitely about the youngest bar a couple of grandchildren that had been dragged along by the elderly contingent. We landed about 9am (still on UK time being Portugal) and were bus’d to the the terminal. Another queue at immigration and then onto get the bags which came off relatively quickly. It was then over to Hertz to get the car. It seemed relatively quiet so I waited outside and Paul went in. Whilst he was queuing we had our first downpour, so being the true Brit I sat under my brolly. It took ages for Paul to emerge again, I was convinced there had been a problem that he was dealing with in true Paul style, but no, it was just very slow. We made our way to our allocated Fiat Punto (nice (sorry Iain)). With the trusty iPhone sat nav we decided to head for the hotel and see if we could check in, albeit early.
The journey was not what we had expected, the area was a little grotty and run down in places. At one point I looked at a billboard suddenly to find myself thrown forwards as Paul completed an emergency stop. A light at a crossing had turned red which we have since worked out seems to happen if we approach too fast (yes it has happened with enough frequency to ascertain that!). It took around 30 mins but trusty Tom Tom got us to our hotel – Grande Real Santa Eulalia. It’s a 5 star gated hotel and spa complex with cobbled roadways. Our package entitled us to a guaranteed room upgrade allocated upon arrival which proved tricky with the check-in girl’s poor grasp of English but with a little persistence she checked with a colleague and our studio apartment was duly upgraded to a 1 bedroomed apartment. We then got a cool trip in a golf buggy to our designated apartment with the bell boy. (It’s a bit of a golfers paradise out here). Our apartment is nice enough though both of us feel it is not worthy of 5 stars. We have stayed in much nicer places that are way more luxurious. I think it’s on a par with the Cala Vinas and that’s only 4 star.
We unpacked and decided to head straight out as we were both starving. It was now about half 11 so we figured we were about right for lunch. We started to explore the hotel and made our way to the sea front where there was a cafe. It was windy and raining (my brolly had been used a few times by now) but there was a few people out and about and the cafe was quite full. We opted for hot dogs and coke (very USA) which turned up in seconds and the hot dogs contained not only sausage but ham and French fry crisps! An odd concoction but tasty all the same.
After lunch we decided to go an explore Albufeira, an interesting place akin to Magaluf! I thought the Algarve was posh – I was wrong. It has many similarities to Majorca but mostly the bad bits! We tried to drive as close the the beach as we could but some areas were pedestrianised. The standard of driving is appalling by the way, they pull out on you, drive too close up behind and dart about like maniacs.
We then went to Vilamora marina, quite a nice stop to be honest. We walked past the shops, restaurants and even a champagne bar. There were some impressive boats and there were vendors of both boats and accessories for them – including hot tubs to have aboard! By this time it was getting on for 3pm and having been up for 12 hours we were both shattered so came back to the ranch for a rest. Paul watched tv as he dozed and I got my head down curled up with a blanket.
We got up about 7pm and needed to eat so headed out once more. We wanted to check out the places of interest for later in the week so found the sea life park and the shopping centre. Since the shopping centre had a food court we went there for dinner. McDonalds was the selected choice and the nice chap spoke very good English. I had a cheeseburger happy meal and Paul had a chicken sandwich meal. We each had an apple pie for dessert – we’re on holiday so dinner must include a dessert right? We came straight home and watched the first episode of an American celebrity apprentice which includes Piers Morgan, Gene Simmonds, Lenox Lewis and other b list celebs I am struggling to name. The first to go was a former playmate of the year called Tiffany. Donald Trump was disappointed she had not called in a favour from Hugh in order to win the task!
At this point I must spare a thought and a prayer for the sad loss of Sir Henry Cooper. God rest his soul.
We headed for bed about 11pm and after a bed stripping and re-making exercise after finding a spider in mine!!!!! got some sleep.
We awoke today about 9am. The beds are very uncomfortable and too hard. Paul took a call from our rep so de sided to complain about this and the fact that the wifi does not work properly. Not sure if anything will happen but we’ll see. The rep has just called again actually and aside from Paul chatting about our day and the weather it seems she may get someone to call round about the wifi!
At this point I spare no thought or prayer for Osama Bin Laden but it has to be said we are having a lot of breaking news this trip. What is next I ask…
So, back to this morning. Breakfast was toast, fake croissants, crisps and biscuits. The maid got a tad tetchy just after 11 as we were still in but we had a nice gentle morning. We then headed out to the shops making our way to Portimao first. I managed to get a cardie and a top from H&M and we also bought some sweets and 2 mugs (the cups are too small for a good old English cuppa!). We stopped for a Sprite and as the sun shone through the clouds it was very pleasant and warm.
Afterwards we drove out to Alvor. A beach resort. It was windy and wet so there was no bathers but we got some snaps. I think you may have to wait until our return for the pics to be uploaded though – sorry folks.
We then made our way to the Algarve shopping centre. The one where we had dined last night. I needed to get some bare minerals make up from Sephora and thankfully even in this country of darker skinned folk they had my porcelain colour! We had seen the previous evening a nice looking steak house in the shopping centre and had planned our day such that we ended up here for an early tea. We went in and asked if we could sit anywhere, discovering immediately that no English was spoken. After hand gestures of eating and pointing to tables we sat down. There was an english translation on the menu but even so ordering was impossible. The Fillet steak seemed to be an issue that we didn’t understand. We think it was that it was cooked at the table but after several failed conversations Paul decided to use his iPhone translator. We ended up ordering sirloin as fillet didn’t actually seem to be served. The translator gave us steak and chips as well as the useful “medium” and “well done” phrases. Paul was slightly concerned he may be giving praise to his steak rather than asking for it’s cooking time but all seemed ok.
Coke as a beverage is understood the world over so that bit was ok! After what seemed to be an eternity 2 bowls turned up with cremated steak in each. Also present was a slice of lemon and a lot of olives! Subsequently 2 bowls of chips arrived served with a slice of orange and another substance that neither of us ever worked out what it was. It was the consistency of breadcrumbs with green spices and a taste reminiscent of sage and onion stuffing (but not as nice). By this point a new waitress had arrived on shift with a better grasp of English so despite having translations at the ready we requested salt, mustard and ketchup with ease. The translation of ketchup is actually ketchup so that may have helped slightly.
The steak was tough as old boots and had a horrible twang that we attributed to the olives. Both were extremely highly praised (very well done if that went over any heads). After transferring just the meat and chips to a plate it looked almost edible so we hacked our way through and ate. Needless to say we don’t recommend the place.
We headed straight back after dinner and that’s where you find us now. We’ve had a mug of tea and as it’s now 8pm it’s starting to get chilly so I will head inside and sign off for now.
Well here it is, my final posting of this trip. I don’t know about you folks but its gone well quick for us with this final week flying by.
We’re all checked in and bags dropped off at the Downtown Disney check-in service and now back at the villa for the final couple of hours tidying round (and saying our goodbyes to it :-(). We’ve packed all 3 cases (incl. the broken one) and each weighed in heavy but under our upper class allowance thankfully. Just hope now we don’t get stopped by UK customs as we have a lot of luggage – must be all those prezzies we’ve bought y’all 😉
So yesterday, we went out quite late after doing some work stuff (trying to get back into it :-() and headed to Wall Mart. We’ve not been to one this trip and needed to stock up on cheap pills! We went to the one up the 27 and got our pills, some Xmas cards and some cool Xmas signs for the house back home. After self serve check out we decided to go next door to Chili’s for lunch. Since this would be our food for the day we needed a decent meal to help us get around Disney at our pace! There was an offer on for 20 bucks to share a starter and get a main dish each so we opted for that starting with the tortilla chips and salsa dip (I’m sure these used to be brought to the table free before) followed by chicken fajita’s. The food was good and was just what we needed to fill us up.
We left Chili’s and made our way to the Stein Mart store. It was not what either of us expected. Full of old folks and old fashioned like a 1970’s C&A! It did have good brands at cheap prices though. It was not a huge store so we left fairly quickly and got on the road to Disney. Whilst Mickey’s very merry Christmas party officially starts at 7pm guests can get in as early as 4pm and we’d decided about 6pm was good for us. We’d looked at the sample plan in Chili’s and there was an offer to watch the fireworks from the Tomorrow Land terrace with a buffet included. It said go to the restaurant for reservations but we thought we’d call and see. We did so but it was all fully booked; still, something for us to try and get for next time.
It was a cold evening so as we parked at Disney (seemingly way back) we added all our layers. The courtesy tram to the ticketing and transportation centre was freezing and we hoped that the park with all its people would be warmer. We decided to get the monorail to the park entrance….Por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas.
There is also a ‘Tronorail’ running at the mo – a Tron painted monorail train but it was running on the other line.
We got into the park just before 6pm (timed to perfection by us as always). Since the Carousel of Progress is always closed during these evening special events but we were still officially in the daytime hours, we thought we’d go and see if it was running. It was and I was delighted. I adore this ride! It needs a little updating in places now but I merrily sang along as always.
After this we made our way to the TTA Peoplemover. The train ride that goes around Tomorrow Land and through shops and rides such as Buzz Lightyear’s Space Rangers and Space Mountain. Space Mountain was closed for re-furb this time last year but its now re-opened with jazzy music added. We saw the cars flying round in the dark and heard the screams of the riders.
After this we went over to Fantasy Land and stopped in one of the café’s for our complimentary cocoa and cookies. We needed a warm up after the train ride. As we went in there was a Mickey Mouse outline on the floor done in water – not just the round head and ears symbol either, a proper Mickey with detail. We reckon the cast members must have a stencil or something. When we finished our cocoa it had all but dried up.
We then went into Small World where the queuing system has changed and the exit is now the entry! And then to Philharmagic; Paul’s all time fave ride. We walked straight into a loading show with no wait at all. The smell of the cherry pie was good and this show still amazes new audiences as well as entertaining old hands like us over and over.
As we then walked through the Park we saw the 7 dwarfs at a photo spot and got a quick pic ourselves. We saw Hook and Smee later too.
Paul also loves the Haunted Mansion ride but ever since the guy touched me in the dark room at the start I’ve hated it and refused to ride. This time Paul persuaded me with a promise to protect me in the first room. I also had my lighy-up Tinkerbell on so had my own light source around me to help too. The complete darkness was not for long and my Tink certainly helped me see. The actual ride itself is really clever with some great special effects.
When we came out the parade so was in full swing so getting about the park is difficult. We found a quiet bridge where we could stand and watch (video posted for you to enjoy too). The park was fairly busy with what seemed like an inordinate amount of mobility scooters and pushchairs.
As the parade ended we made our way through the crowds over to Pirates of the Caribbean. Again there was no queue and we got straight on (despite folks struggling with the boarding system big time!) After we exited we figured we’d get one more Philharmagic show in before the 9:30pm fireworks so headed on over. We were in the waiting area at 5 to 9 as the cast member announced there was a technical fault. About half those waiting opted to leave but we said we’d give it 10 mins. Literally, within a couple of minutes the doors opened so we were ok. Paul always likes to do this show twice!
We exited at about 9:15 – perfect timing to go and get out spot for the fireworks.
As soon as the fireworks ended we left the park. We managed to get straight on a tram and into the monorail station without too many crowds. We had just missed a monorail train so waited a couple of mins for the next but got on ok….Por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas.
We were back in the car by 10pm. It was getting quite cold now but we’d been ok in the park; in and out of rides.
We did a bit of packing when we got in and emptied the owners’ closet (in case we get charged for disposal of items by the new owners). With all 3 cases we should have no problems getting stuff home.
Well, that’s about it…oh yeah, I forgot to post that we managed to get an old 1912 Penny in our change one day. It’s worth about $1.65 as it’s really battered but mint it could be worth 100’s! Either way, it’s nearly 100 years old and is rare because of some Titanic association that we can’t quite work out. We’ll deffo keep it as a collectors piece.
So, this really is it. We leave the villa in about an hour. Drop the car off and head for the lounge hoping for a smooth flight with no delays. In the words of Mickey himself…see ya real soon!
It’s Thursday lunchtime and it’s a cool one here (though nothing compared to good ole blighty right now). It’s our penultimate day and we don’t want to come home – we’ve had a great time. Today we are off for some lunch and then onto Stein Mart, a store that’s been advertised a lot on TV so we thought we’d check it out. We only want something quick and easy to do this afternoon as at about 6pm we are off to Magic Kingdom for Mickey’s Christmas Party – yippppeeeeee!!
I think I left you at the end of Tuesday after a really tiring but fab day at Universal so you need to hear about yesterday. We were up and out by about 1pm and got to Altemonte quite quickly down I4 though the Altemonte area itself was heaving with traffic. The mall car park was pretty full too but we managed to park outside Dillards. We headed straight to the food court as we’d not had brekky. Paul opted for Mandarin Express, the chinese and I had a good old-fashioned big mac meal.
After this we made our way into Dillards on the upper floor, which was menswear. Nothing was on offer much anymore and we don’t pay full prices 😉 so we moved on. We did look at the suitcases in there as there was a sale on. The assistant told us that all were discounted so we looked at a $300 dollar spinner that was coming in at just $150. We thought about it and said we would come back.
This mall is quite small but we looked in the Apple store, a few shoe shops and got the remainder of our crimbo prezzies, which was the objective. I also got a really nifty limited edition Coach make up case with cosmetics included that was on offer at Estee Lauder.
We made our way around ending up back in Dillards. I looked at a DKNY watch but it was plastic and not real ceramic so I passed. We decided we would get the case so went and bought that. As it happens we’ve been emailed this morning that we have $175 form Virgin so at least it’s covered but it show there is no way we would have got the $300 Samsonite paid for. It’s appalling customer service.
We left Altemonte and decided to go to the Florida Mall as Paul needed to get a new pre-paid Visa card (he needs this to buy from US I-tunes). We started by looking in Saks and Nordstrom at the ceramic watches. In Nordstrom they had the perfect DKNY one that came in cheaper than some of the other brands so Paul bought it for me as my crimble prezzie. That means I can’t wear it yet as it has to go off to Santa 😉
Paul then got his credit card – after a good 15 minute wait as the folks in front were trying to get tickets via Ticketmaster and we all know rubbish they are. We then went to Starbucks and sat upstairs watching the world go by.
Paul still needed some work shirts. He’s been unable to find them discounted in Dillards so was wondering where to go. He looked at H&M and Old Navy but I had the bright idea of going to JC Penny. We made our way round and they had just what he needed. Long armed cotton work shirts at 20 bucks each – perfick! He got a few in white and blue and we looked at some other fab clothing items…you’ll see a particularly fetching white linen jacket below 🙂 This is Paul’s Miami Vice look and at just 60 bucks was a bargain don’t you think ?
We left the mall at about 7pm and wanted to go to the Polynesian resort hotel to see the Wishes fireworks as we had not done this all holiday. It was a chilly night and we’d not come prepared for this so were not sure if we’d freeze to death. I had ¾ sleeves and sandals on!! When we got out of the car it felt cold, especially when the wind blew. Then Paul had a bright idea – we’d wear his new work shirts. For him this was ok, he had a white shirt on with jeans that looked good but for me…can you imagine? I looked like some kind of mad scientist in an oversized lab coat!! Still, it actually did the trick as I wrapped up in it. We got a hot choc from the café to hold and sip and made our way out at 5 to 8. We got a beach bed to sit on and kept ourselves back in a secluded place so the wind didn’t really get to us. It was a clear night so the show was great and we could hear the accompanying music too.
Paul 'Don Johnson'
We came home after a quick stop at Wallgreens for some Hawaiian sweet rolls for tea!! We were not overly hungry so munched on these and crisps. We watched more Family Guy, including a special that Paul had downloaded, which was particularly funny (it was the Quantum Leap, parallel universe one) and then the Apprentice. We were both happy to see Laura leave and Lord Shugs made the right decision.
There you are then, all up to date again… only one more posting to go probably 🙁
