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Orlando Dec 2009 – Day 6

It’s Wednesday morning here and the wind has really begun to get up.  It’s still very warm though and Paul has had a swim.  All weather reports are saying that we are heading for a tornado tonight with torrential rain.  It should all happen overnight though and be clear for tomorrow morning so fingers crossed!  We’ve been here for these severe weather conditions before so we’re not at all worried.

Yesterday we went into Epcot.  It was definitely the hottest day so far and getting more humid.  We got to the park at about lunchtime and immediately walked onto Spaceship Earth.  No words were exchanged, no question to the other of “shall we ride this?” we just both instinctively walked up the ramp without question!!  Are we getting stuck in a rut here??  The ride was the usual – what can I say?  My fave bit, the sleeping monk was still asleep and the burning smell was still cleverly contained in the correct area!  We did spot a hidden Mickey in the Renaissance area on the artists pallet though Paul knew where to look from his hidden Mickey book.  We compiled our video at the end and Paul has emailed it to himself to forward to those who want to see it. 

After this we went into Innovations where Paul rode a Segway.  He had done it before a couple of weeks ago and reckoned that it was easier second time.  He certainly didn’t kangaroo it at all.  I took some pics which one day Paul will post I am sure!!  We also went to see the Raytheon ride.  We tried out the seats but both found them way too clostrophobic.  I understand that Dave actually rode this a few weeks ago so way to go Dave – you’re way braver then me!  Both from the ride itself aspect and also from working for Raytheon; seeing them in action at work I’m not sure I’d trust anything they engineer.  It’s so comforting to know these people are writing our border control software – NOT!   Anyway, I digress.  Just before exiting Innovations we picked up our Kim Possible ticket and headed straight over to the World showcase.  We got the boat over to Germany as we had decided to have lunch in China.  Reading that back the geography sounds bizarre – only in Disney huh?!  At China we had orange chicken and steamed rice.  It was not overly hot (like all the food here) and was pretty medeocre.  We managed to sit outside though and saw lots of people completing the China Kim Possible mission.  After lunch we headed to Norway to begin our Kim Possible mission.  We could choose Norway or Mexico and decided to stick to Norway as we were there already.  (for anyone reading this who is now lost I shall explain – Kim Possible is a cartoon secret agent character.  You are given a mobile phone which interacts with various objects around the country of your mission and you are agents helping Kim solve a crime.  The phone gives you step by step instructions and clues that you have to solve to move onto the next place where it interacts – almost like a treasure hunt I guess.  At various points things happen – signs change to give you information, smoke signals from chimneys, and even a picture is taken and put on the front of a magazine and uploaded to the phone.  It’s all pretty simple as its designed for kids but the technology is superb).  So, back to the plot.  We helped Kim stop an art theft in Norway.  There were a lot of people doing the mission – way more then I had seen before.  We completed it pretty quickly in about 30 mins and decided not to do another that day.  Whilst in Norway we wanted to ride Maelstrom but it had a 30 minute queue so we gave it a miss.  We walked around the World Showcase, stopping a France to get a free sample of the new Guerlain perfume and onto the UK where we knew we could get a decent cuppa.  Father Christmas was in the UK (Santa was in the US and Pierre Noel in France etc) and it was the old traditional Father Christmas wearing green before Coke got hold of him!  We sat on a bench and drank our tea as he sang and entertained the crowd with stories of english traditions – for example, did you know that we invented the christmas card?  The first one was sent in the UK in the 1800’s.  The time was getting to about half 4 and we didn’t want a late one as we were heading out to La Nouba later.  Being the second consecutive park day we needed to take to easy as well as we’re not as young as we used to be.  We decided to ride the Land as it had no wait time at all.  I spotted a hidden mickey in the first fish tank on the left – this time with no book or prompting!  After this we decide to head for home.

We came straight home and got in about 6.  Paul was going to have a swim but ended up not doing!  We did some research online about laptops and macbooks as I have decided to buy my own (today we are heading to Best Buy to check them out) and watched some TV before getting ready to go out.  We left about 8ish which got us to La Nouba at about 8:40 – just right.  We took our seats which had an excellent view.  The Grand Chappiteau was quite empty with lots of spare seating.  Paul found the seats a bit uncomfortable he said but the show was still very good.  It’s one of the best Cirque shows as it goes from act to act with no fillers and also has no interval like European shows.   There were a couple of errors in it (we know it so well they are easy to spot!).  One girl dropped her diablo and amazingly the strong man missed his window in the bit where they trampoline up the side of the building.  He was ok though and I bet no one else really spotted it as he recovered well with another bounce!  We came out of La Nouba and headed straight home – getting here for about half 11.  We were shattered and headed straight for bed.

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Orlando Dec 2009 – Day 5

Today is a cloudy one but still very warm although there is a chance of rain later into this evening.

We have changed our itinerary a little as the good weather is all at the beginning of the week so we have shuffled all our park visits over the next couple of days to make the most of the sunshine.  Yesterday we sat around the pool until after lunch.  We were heading to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and as we would stay for Fantasmic at 8pm we didn’t want to get there too early.  It was warm and sunny and really nice out back.  The buzzards were circling and I swear I hear the wild boars from the swamp area.

We eventually left the house about half past 1 and decided we would go to Animal Kingdom first to go and see the Festival of the Lion King show.  It has to be one of the best shows with the tumble monkeys, the fire dancer, the acrobats and not forgetting Timon and Pumba!!  We got seats in the Lion section at the back but had a really good view.  We caught the 2:30 show so came out about 3pm.  We left Animal Kingdom straight away and went for a quick food stop at McDonald’s.  Paul is quite taken with the third pounders they do out here!

We got into MGM, sorry the Hollywood Studios (it will always be MGM to us) at just after 4pm.  There was a HSM show just about to start so we waited to see the start of that.  We couldn’t stay for it all as we wanted to go into the 5pm American Idol Experience.  The 3 contestants we saw were Morgan, a 15 year old girl who looked about 30!!!, Angela, a 35 year old woman who looked about 45!!!! and Nick an 18 year old who actually looked his age.  Nick was part of a chior group who had been performing at the Epcot carol evening and had his entire choir and their families in the audience.  He was also from Pennsylvania and the entire state seem to be in Florida at the moment so he had way more audience support that the others.  Since the winner is voted by the audience it was no surprise that Nick won a place in the daily final.  The English judge playing the Simon Cowell role was as insulting as ever telling the 15 year old who stumbled during her performance that he hoped she got a pitch pipe for Christmas!  Mind you, she was pitchy (to quote Randy Jackson).

After Idol we made our way towards the Osborne Family spectacle of lights.  We saw this last year and thought it was fab.  We had coffee and a cookie on the way as the lights get switched on at 6pm.  Just before the big switch on it started snowing all down the street (not real snow of course as this is Florida and it was 20 degrees!!).  At 6pm all 10 million lights went on.  Apparently many of the items such as the 70ft tree and the huge carousel of angels are actually from the Osbornes house (a reminder for anyone who doesn’t remember from last year this is nothing to do with Sharon and Ozzy but was a family from Arkansas who decorated their house each year).  The guy even bought the 2 houses either side if his so he could decorate with even more lights (money no object for him we can only assume!).  There was a sign up saying that there were 36 hidden Mickeys in the lights.  This is one of the first times we’ve seen Disney officially acknowledge the hidden Mickeys.  We wandered through hidden Mickey spotting and counted about 21 – not bad for a first pass.  Paul managed to get some photos of the lights and hopefully we can post some pics here soon.

We then wandered out of the street of lights and headed over to the great movie ride.  It was the usual Gangster routine but we still love the movie montage at the end – I could watch that over and over.  We came out of the ride and decided to head straight up to the Fantasmic auditorium as it often gets full an hour before the show.  It was about 7:15 and as we headed up the ramp after the Tower of Terror we hit a queue of people.  There had been an earlier show as there are now 2 to help ease the crowds and it seemed as though that was still being emptied out.  We queued for about 20 mins or so and eventually got seats quite near the entrance (which we want for a quick get away at the end).  By the time we had sat down the announcement came on that the show was in 15 mins.  The view we had was really good and the evening temperature was still at about 18 degrees so we didn’t need anything more than our hoodies.

We managed to get a really good get away after the show and headed straight for the exit.  We had to wait on the tram for a couple of minutes but all in all exited in record time.  We got in the car and came straight home getting in around 9pm.  We watched Harry Hill on ITV player as there was nothing on TV here!

We’re off to Epcot now…..

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Orlando Dec 2009 – Day 4

Well today is a very warm one as was yeterday.  The weather is getting better and better each day, although that is set to end about Thursday when it will rain and get colder again.  It’s Monday morning and as work emails fly into both mine and Paul’s mailboxes we sit in the sun by the pool and couldn’t care less!!  Paul has actually been in for a swim – the water is nice and warm.

Yesterday I left you as we headed out to Downtown Disney.  It was after 11 when we went out and very warm, enough to wear shorts and t-shirts.  We parked outside Cirque du Soleil and picked up our tickets for Thursday from the box office.  We also took a look around the shop.  They have some fab things, especially the venetian masks, but they are really pricey.  I had my photo taken wearing one instead of purchasing!

We wandered down to the balloon as this was the first thing we wanted to do.  There was a fairly big queue but we decided to go for it.  The original estimate was 30 minutes but it was actually an hour.  Good job it was a nice day really!  It took a while as the loads had been reduced to 10 passengers since there was some wind.  After weatching it go up and down endless times it was finally our turn.  Paul had been in it before in his previous trip so at least knew he had no problem with the height.  Our ascent was smooth enough and after 2.5 minutes we were at 400 feet.  The views accross Disney were excellent being a clear day and you can see all the parks.  The only thing you can’t see is Cinderalla’s castle as it is hidden behind the Contempory Resort hotel.  No one was allowed to walk around, we had to stay in our positions but we manged to get a good view ok.  After 5 minutes we began our descent.  We were told we would sway quite a lot and it could be bumpy but it felt fine.  We had seen from the ground the balloon sway a lot and figured it must feel a bit scary but it actually feels much less severe when in it than when observing it!  We landed absolutely fine.

We got off and decided to walk around to Market place to go in the Disney store.  We walked through Pleasure Island and as we went past the Irish pub we both smelt the chips and said we really fancied some.  So, we took a quick pit stop, sitting outside in the sun drinking root beer and munching on a bowl of chips.  I took the opportunity to give mum a quick call too.

After the unplanned pit stop (it was not on our strict itinerary but we coped – just about :-)) we continued over to marketplace.  We made a quick stop in the lego shop to see how the new technoloigy works; you hold a box to a camera and screen and it shows you holding the box with a virtual image of what can be made from the  bits inside – very neat really!  We then went into the Disney store which was quite busy.  The bibidy bobidy boutique was a popular as ever with little girls coming out all made up with scraped back sparkly hair (I so want to do it!).  Paul bought some key rings and I bought a Tinkerbell notebook.

After this we decided to get a water taxi back to the other side so made our way to the dock area.  It was only a couple of minutes wait before we boarded the boat.  We got off by the House of Blues and headed back to the car.  We had thought about doing the Diana exhibition but decided to give it a miss.  We headed into the Yacht club hotel as I wanted to look in the shop there.  We were slightly interrogated by the Security Guard who wanted to know what we were visiting so we lied and said we were hiring a boat!  In the shop I got some Tinkerbell Christmas cards and a silver Cinderalla’s coach charm from a new designer range.  We were only there about 20 minutes so if the guard saw us leave then he would have thought we had a really short boat ride, that or he thought his last hour on duty went real quick!!

 After the Yacht club we headed to the Animal Kingdom Lodge.  It has been extended with a new area called Kidani Village that has not only rooms but a reserve area with animals that you can view and even feed.  We managed to get past security this time with a story about wanting to check out the restaurant and parked up.  (There are so many things you can do at Disney for free that Paul should write a book but the problem is that if everyone knows they will be swamped and may be taken away so we are keeping them to ourselves!)  We made our way to the reserve viewing area.  It is an outside platform with wooden rocking chairs overlooking a grassy reserve area with trees.  The Ranger was just driving around putting food out so our timing was great.  We saw all the Giraffes come for feeding and wathced them graze.  Their food was placed on the ground so they had to really bend to reach it.  They even have to spread their front legs to get down as their knees don’t bend properly.  One clever Gafflee figured that if he took a branch from the feeding pile and walked over to a palm tree he could wedge the branch he was eating in the palm tree fronds (the old brances that have been cut off in previous seasons on the tree trunk).  Very ingenious I thought and figured he was a very bright Gafflee until he took his second branch to another tree that was not a Palm and hence had a straight, smotth trunk.  We watched him as he tried to hook his branch several times and each time it just fell to the floor.  There were other animals in the reserve too; we saw emu, zebra, antelope and wilderbeast.   It was nice and warm in the sun and we sat there for some time watching them.

We eventaully headed home about 5pm and as it was still warm sat out back.  Paul took a dip in the pool and I dangled my feet in.  We had a cuppa and watched some TV and decided to go out to eat about 7pm.  Longhorn was on the itinerary and as it was Sunday we thought it could be busy so tried to call ahead.  For some reason the phone was not connecting so in the end we had to just go.   When we got there it was not that busy at all so we reckon the Thanksgiving weekenders must all have headed home – we hope so and that we we have a quiet week ahead!

We both had the 7oz filet and it was really succulent.  Service was a little too quick though as mains arrived before we had finished our salads.  The food was good and we supped root beer to accompany it.  After we finished we decided to go into Target to get some washing powder and some more bagals.  Being able to shop at 8 or 9pm on a Sunday, or whenever you feel you need something really, is one of the great things about this place and what sucks about the UK!

We came home earlier than previous nights with no fireworks and got in about 9pm.  We were tired so it was nice to relax.

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Orlando Dec 2009 – Day 3

So, its a cool Sunday morning here now but we are expecting it to warm up later to the mid 70’s which will be really nice.

I last left you on Friday evening before we were heading out for dinner and to watch the fireworks.  We knew it would ge very cold so took 4 layers to wrap up in after dinner.  We went to Applebees and had chicken and rice bowls.  I had the orange chicken and Paul the Teryaki chicken.  We asked the chef to pick out the broccoli too 🙂  Neither of us were that hungry so we didn’t finish them but even so we decided to have the dessert shooters.  They are glass shot glasses with sundae’s in them.  I had chocolate and Paul had hot fudge.  Both were very nice but rich and a bit sickly so a shot glass is more then enough.  After dinner we made a quick pit stop at Publix as we had no milk we drove over to the Polynesian.   It was very quiet on the beach and VERY cold.  There was plenty of seats available so we settled down on a hammock just before 10pm.  Wishes was good and the hotel now play the Wishes music louder so you can hear it as you watch. 

We left straight after the fireworks very cold and very tired and made it to bed by about half 11. 

SATURDAY 28th.

Paul was up and about around half 7 I think but I had a lie in for another hour.  We had bagels for breakfast with peanut butter and grape jelly (not combined – though that’s a great American tradition!).  We were in no hurry to rush out so chilled out watching TV and sitting by the pool.  We had a visit from George too.  We eventually headed out about 11am.  The plan was to go to the top end of I-Drive to some of the outlet shops and TJ Maxx.  On the way Paul decided to stop at the Flea Market located in the old Dolly Parton building.  I was very dubious but soon ate humble pie when I saw a stall selling some great fake Tiffany silver jewellery.  I bought a ring and also found a fake LV scarf a little later on.  Many of the stalls were vacant and Paul said there was a lot less there than when he visited a few weeks ago. 

I-Drive was fairly busy and after a nice Starbucks drive through we parked and headed into Nine West.  Amazingly I could not find anything I wanted to buy.  Next we went into Calvin Klein.  The prices in there were really good and many things were 50% off.  There was a fab leather jacket I loved but sadly they dod not have it in my size.  Paul managed to get some jeans and a wash bag and I got a pink sweater.

After this we went over to TJ Maxx.  I thought the selection of stock was quite poor and especially in my size the rails were sadly lacking.  I tried on loads of jeans as was after some new skinny jeans to tuck into boots after Ruth stole mine!  I managed to get some and some leggings.  Paul wanted a belt but could not find one he liked.

Universal City Walk was next, specifically Hart and Huntingdon to book our next tattoos.  Paul is getting an Ambigram on his left forearm and I am getting a pheonix on my right thigh.  Our artist Rob was in the shop so we managed to speak to him directly.  We booked in for Thursday at 2pm and filled in and signed all the paperwork. 

The weather now was really warm – it was about half 2 so we sat outside with some drinks and enjoyed the sun for about an hour or so.  We were getting hungry so decided to go to TGI’s for an early dinner ahead of the Disney Pirate firework cruise we had in store that evening.  We went to the one on I-Drive which had seating outside so we opted for that as it was still nice and warm.  I had Jack Daniels chicken and Paul had a Jack Daniels burger.  The food was good though Paul was slightly disappointed as they had run out of root beer.  The sun was starting to set at about 5pm so we finsihed up and came home. 

After watching Legally Blonde on TV we set about getting all our layers again ready for the Pirate Firework cruise.  We left the house about 8pm and made our way over to the Contemporary Resort where the cruise sailed from.  We had to be there for 8:45 and as we got out to the dock at 8:35 there was no one to be seen at all and no signs.  With only a few minutes left we started to wonder what was going on so headed back to reception to ask.  Apparantly the meeting point is in the hotel upstairs so we went up and check in at the desk.  We were the last party to arrive apparantly.  There were about 100 people there – some kids and adults in pirate costumes which made us think we should have worn ours!  There were pirate mannequins as well as Mr Smee and Captain Hook characters.  There were 2 other characters doing the organising; pirates called Patch.  There were snacks and drinks available – pretzels, peanuts, cookies, cotton candy (candy floss to the Brits) as well as soft drinks and hot drinks.  We had some and sat down.  We got talking to a family from Idaho on their first visit to WDW.  They asked if we had a boy or a girl and looked bemused as we answered neither!  Paul explained we were the big kids ourselves which made them smile.  We left the hotel about 20 past 9 and made our way to the docks.  There were 2 boats sailing with open bench style seating.  We sailed straight to the front of the Magic Kingdom area with some jokes and trivia on the way.  Patch also read out all group names and we had to say where we were from and say hi to everybody – very Disney!  There was a very loud and annoying drunken American woman who seemed insistant on entertaining the entire boat though like I said it was defintely more annoying than entertaining.  There were a couple of kids sat in front of us one of whom had obvously just had a new camera.  He took pictures literally every few seconds with the flash but being night time not one of them turned out at all!  Still, he was happy bless him!!  We were on the far side of the boat to watch the fireworks which meant that some of the really high up ones were hard to see as the boat had a canopy roof.  It was still a good show though and actually was not as cold as the previous night at all.  After the fireworks we set sail back and had more trivia.  The kids all got prizes for getting questions correct.  We got off the boat about half 10 and got in the car to some straight home.  A cuppa and bed was about all we were fit for so that was another day over.

This morning as we watch Richie Rich and I type this we are going to have bagals again for breakfast then head over to Downown Disney.   You can read what we get up to real soon….

 

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Orlando December 2009 – its been a while but I’m back!

Here we are again in the Sunshine state.  It’s been a while – almost a year in fact.  I won’t go into the reasons why as none of them are good so let’s focus on being here.

We flew out of Manchester on Thursday 26th after a night in the airport Hilton hotel.  After a cooked breakfast in the airport and the purchase of some special edition Dior lipgloss (Dior bling!) we boarded and took to our seats – and I mean OUR seats as we had 6A and 6K.  Despite some posh old lady wanting Pauls seat (she had 8A but with her dodgy eyesite insisted it was 6A) we settled in and supped the usual complimentary beverages.  Though Paul switched to fizzy water not champers for some reason.  The flight had a couple of bumpy spots at the first drinks service, in the  middle and before landing though the captain never switched on the seat belt sign.  The food on board was pretty poor so we were glad we’d had our fry up’s beforehand.  I did have some very nice butternut squash and sweet potato soup though.

Duty free purchases were more Dior (their range is called Dior Addict which is sooo appropriate for me) in the form of some plumping lip gloss and a Links friendship bracelet that I’ve been after for a while.

Films on board included Night at the Museum 2 – which is better that the first in my opinion, Adventureland – which Paul thought was rubbish and Transformers, Rise of the Fallen that Paul also reckoned was rubbish!!

Before landing we had the usual sandwiches and scones or Brownies.  We got to the gate at about 7:45GMT so 2:45EST.  We got through Imigration, baggage collection and customs really quickly and within 30 minutes were at the Avis desk getting the hire car……a Ford Focus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  My exclamation marks will be meanigful to any work colleagues who may read this.

We were both hungry as the sandwiches were not that filling so stopped at TGI’s on the 192 for dinner at about half 4.  I had chicken caeser salad and Paul had a Jack Daniels burger.  The food was good as ever.  We then headed to the house which we both commented that after 3 years still looks in very good nick.

We unpacked and set about writing our itinerary as we had not done so before we left.  Yet again its pretty jam packed with all the fave’s on there but rather than detail it all here you can read what happens after each day or so in this blog.

After watching some TV and printing off some tickets and details we had brought with us we hit the sack about 9pm.

FRIDAY 27th

We did consider heading out to the shops at 5am since we would be on UK time and could easily manage this.  Today is Black Friday and for anyone who doesn’t know about that then go and google it!  It’s the day after Thanks Giving  and has the greatest deals and savings that can be found.  Pretty much all shops open at 5am with limited numbers on most deals.  Best Buy for example had a 46 inch Samsung LED TV, usual price $2699 on offer today at $1599 but only 8 are available at each store.  All Black Friday deals are today only and most stores have things called door busters which again are limited stock sale items.

We ended up heading out about 8am but of course had to go to Downtown Disney McD’s for our obligatory first day brekky!  After this we headed straight to the Florida Mall as the Disney shops were still not open.  The car park looked heaving but we managed to get a space just outside the Florida hotel so headed into the Mall that way.  There were some disappointments in that Sephora have ceased to stock Decleor so I couldn’t get me eye cream and also that the Apple store were limiting the number of customers inside and had a queue outside.  Paul did not want to queue so didn’t get his Apple fix.  He did lurk outside for a few minutes to get a free wifi fix though!  Apple too had some good deals on ipods and macbooks etc.  The Mall istelf was busy but not so much so that you couldn’t get around, it certainly seemed better than the car park indicated.  There were some bargains to be had and I started my purchases at a very busy but firm favourite, Nine West.  I got some great high heeled trouser shoes at an extra 30% of the sale price bringing them to about 50 bucks.  After this we went into Yankee candle and spent AGES sniffing loads of candles.  I opted to buy tarts (wickless meltable patties) as I have an electric tart burner and they will be much better weight wise in my case than the jar candles.  I did get a special edition jar – Mrs Claus’s cookies and after spending over $30 got two more jars for just 10 bucks so still ended up with heavy carriage!  Paul looked in the game store as he is considering a DSi.  There is a bundle on offer at $170 but he is going to think about it.  Macy’s was next where I picked up a doorbuster deal on a DKNY jumper at $27.  At Aveda we got some shampoo etc and a quick stop at Trade Secret saw me get a manicure kit and a bronze coloured nail vanish.  We then went into Dillards where I got my Prescriptives face serum and eye cream and a fab DKNY cream leather handbag that was half price at $125.  I got some more bad news at the Prescriptives stand when I was told that the range was being completely discontinued worldwide!!  We made our way to the menswear section and Paul decided to do some serious shopping.  He got some real bargains – tracky bottoms at 13 bucks (with no cuffed ankles), a RL Polo shirt at $25, a RL black cotton sweater at $35 and 2 Mark Ecko tops at about 30 bucks each.  One is a Star Wars T shirt – nice and geeky :-).  It was now about 1pm and we were getting peckish so headed back towards the food court.  On the way I managed to get the Aldo boots I had been after in the UK but were all sold out.  I had to pay full price but at least I got the ones I wanted.

The food court was manic, this is clearly where all the people were, so we decided to leave and find somewhere else for lunch.  The weather outside was really nice.  Sunny and warm so we wanted to find somewhere to eat where we could sit outside.  We pondered and decided to try Downtown Disney but upon getting to car park it was clear this was a BAD idea.  Having followed several cars SLOWLY around for what seemed like an eternity we left – somewhat fractious!!  In the end we plumped for McDonalds as it at least had seating outside.

We headed for home at about 3pm stopping at Super Target on the way.  We bought every “Santa’s Treats” votive they had – 13 in all and some milk and kitchen roll.

We got home about 4pm and have since sat by the pool supping tea and pounding the keyboards on our laptops.  So, that brings me to the present moment so I will close for now.  We plan on going to Applebees for dinner and then over to watch the Wishes fireworks from the beach at the Polynesian later.  It is getting quite chilly so jumpers and coats will be required.  I’ll write tomorrow on how we got on but for now it’s farewell.

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Orlando January 2009 – Update 4

So, Thursday evening was the Elvis tribute – what can I say?!
It was at an English run and styled bar called ‘The Stadium’ which was a sports bar with various UK and US sports matches being shown on plasma screens. We found a big table for all of us as the place was quite busy. The clientele seemed to be middle to latter aged brits, which was hardly surprising. After ordering our food and drinks we spotted Elvis. He was not a young ‘Blue Hawaii’ Elvis by any means. More a latter day, post cheeseburger Elvis!! He came over to introduce himself to our table and introduced himself as Jack. We instantly all knew he must be Jack Smink (We all remembered him as Jack Spink to be honest but as we got his website address later we realised it was Smink). The reason we all knew of him instantly was that for a couple of years in 2006/7 there used to be a huge inflatable Elvis down the 192 advertising Jack. We all used to see it and laugh and even considered seeing Jack before!!

The food was good – big portions and some good UK grub too such as bangers and mash as well as some US favourites. It was reasonably priced too.
As we ate, Elvis began his set. He did many classics but seemed to favour the up tempo numbers. He also did many tracks we didn’t actually recognise. He wandered around the bar as he sang and played up to the adoration he got from some of the clientele!! He spotted that Paul was not an Elvis fan at all and kept making a point of it to Paul’s disgust. He equally spotted then Paul’s mum and aunt were fans and even gave Auntie Anne one of his scarves (covered in his sweat – NICE!). He also got them both up for a photo with him that I will try to get posted on this blog.

For anyone remotely interested his website is wwww.jacksmink.com

Oh yes, the other very funny thing was that he had Minder who followed him around the bar as he sang. The guy was pushing 60 with Elvis style hair, jeans and a black leather jacket – think of a 60 year old Fonz and you may have it!!
He seemed more reminiscent of an insane fan than a Minder but he looked as though he could have been a rough customer if you did take him on. Quite what he was protecting Jack, sorry Elvis, from I have no idea!!!

We left the bar at about half 10 and he was still going strong!!

DAY 9 – Friday

I awoke still full of cold and bunged up!
The weather was still wet and temperatures cool but we had breakfast and headed off to Disney’s Wilderness Lodge for our horse trail riding. We had booked a 1pm slot but needed to get there early to get the bus out to the stables so arrived at the Lodge entrance at about 11:30am. We parked the car and as we headed to the bus station we saw the horse trail check-in hut. We completed our waivers (only Uncle Dave and I were riding) to say that we could be paralysed or die (NICE!) and opted for protective headgear, which is strangely optional. Since we were early but it was quiet they said we could go out straight away. We didn’t have to get a bus anywhere so this must have been a different stable to those we have been to last time we visited.

Dave and I were issued our hats (mine was a child’s as I have a ridiculously small head) and our horses were led out. Dave was to ride Romeo and I had Molly. We were on a raised platform to aid the mounting process and both got on ok. We were tethered to the fence as the instructor checked out positions – she seemed happy. We were told to ride Western style, so the reins were held one handed which is odd for me. We were also taught to ‘steer’ with reins only not legs as I had been taught as a child. The Western saddles were very comfortable though. There was only Dave and I riding so the entire stable staff decided to come out too – there were 5 of them! As we set off it stared to rain quite heavily. We opted to still go as we had several layers on and I was even wearing Paul’s coat!! Pics will be posted here later!

The rain quickly eased and we warmed up riding. The trail was very wet and Molly certainly didn’t seem to want to get her feet wet, bless her. We were told to stay on the right side of the path so I had to keep pulling her back to the water unfortunately. Bet she hated me! We had also been told not to let the horses eat the foliage. Molly tried once but I soon stopped her and showed her who was boss – bet she hated me even more then!! I did pat her and talk to her loads though as she was a good girl for me. The ride was really nice as the skies cleared and we meandered through the woods. Dave really enjoyed it too. We seemed to get back to the stables in no time at all but had been out for 50 minutes. As we got back Molly decided she had an itchy rear end and proceeded to rub and scratch on the fence!!

We dismounted ok, handed back our hats and said our goodbyes. We both then hobbled down the path as our legs adjusted!!

The others were nowhere to be seen but after about 5 minutes I spotted Paul’s car turning in. They had been to get us hot drinks as they thought we would come back cold. Actually we were quite warm but the drinks were welcome all the same.

We left Wilderness Lodge and Paul and I had decided to go for lunch at Downtown Disney and then to the Cinema. We had lunch at the new T Rex restaurant. It is similar in style to Rainforest Café but with a dinosaur theme as you would guess. It was quite big inside with tables crammed in; it was quite busy too. The prices we high for the kind of food offered and having 2 burgers and 2 soft drinks cost nearly 35 bucks – that’s expensive. There was a kind of show every 20 mins where the dinosaurs inside moved, the ceiling had fire and a storm projected on it and the whole thing had a corresponding soundtrack. It was ok but not worth the money in my opinion and I doubt we’ll go again.

We came out and headed over for the 2:45pm showing of ‘Paul Blart – Mall Cop’. We had seen the trailer at home and knew it stared Kevin James (Doug from King of Queens – very funny). The film was really good though the kids behind kicking and clambering all over the seats did spoil it a bit!

We headed straight home to wash and care for out tattoos once more before getting ready for our final evening and final dinner. We had decided to go to Kobe one last time. The food was as good as ever, I had my usual succulent and juicy filet and Paul had a mountain of shrimp, ordering double shrimp with a side of shrimp!!!

We came straight home for about half 9 whilst the folks stopped off at Wall Greens for some pills that can’t be got at home.

DAY 10 – Saturday

Well it’s the final day and today we have to go home sadly.
It’s been a great week and everyone seemed to really enjoy it.

We have packed and got everything into the suitcases ok including the new duvet set we bought!! The temperatures are still cool though the skies are clear and the sun is shining. We have tidied the house and packed the owners closet and are watching TV and writing this blog before we set of for the airport about 3pm local time. The flight is on time, we have checked in on line so all is well.

I will add my final thoughts when I am back in the UK to finish off the trip a usual.

Until then I am offski.

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Orlando January 2009 – Update 3

DAY 6 – Tuesday

We finally set off just after 1pm for the Mall at Millennia. It was quiet and we parked in our usual spot outside Neiman Marcus. Sadly, there was no designer shoe sale on 🙁
We looked around the ground floor firstly stopping at Swarovski (no Tinkerbell – they were limited edition so I think I’ve lost my chance to get one now). They had some cute teddy bears with pink balloons but they were $95 and for their size (and the naff exchange rate) this was way too much. We looked in L’Occitane but no deals there either and a couple of shoe stores; Aldo and Charles David. Although I found styles I liked there was nothing I was willing to pay the ticket price for! We then went into the Apple store and into Macy’s for me to get my Clinique. The Assistant tried to open me a Macy’s account so I could get a 15% discount but we needed passport details. Whilst we could scarily remember the number and expiry date we couldn’t remember the actual issue date so they wouldn’t open the account. After this we headed upstairs to the food court for a coffee at Starbucks.

We then went into Tiffany’s where I bought a bracelet. After this we spent what seemed like ages in the Sony store and finally a stop off at Jimmy Choo. They had styles I liked in the sale but not in my size so no designer shoes were purchased at all this trip – gutted!

We left Millennia and went over to the ‘Off Broadway’ shoe store. I managed to get some white mules – not designer but nice all the same. They can be left out here at the Villa. We headed home about 5pm to get ready for the evening.

This was the night of the ‘surprise’ for Paul’s folks. We do a surprise event each trip (although they’re getting harder to think of now). We set out about 7pm and headed to Disney (the scenic route to throw them off the scent). As we went into the Magic Kingdom Resort area we asked the folks where they wanted to go and then chose the Contemporary Resort. The monorail services all the hotels so we could park at anyone of them. As we went into the hotel and up to the monorail their initial pleasure at guessing the correct hotel soon turned back to confusion 🙂 We got off the monorail at the Polynesian where we met up with one of Paul’s work team who was here on vacation with his wife. We went to the beach to watch the Wishes fireworks in MK (this is the best free view of them there is). This was not the real surprise as we have done this before. Afterwards we went inside to the Ohana restaurant – this was the real surprise. This is a Hawaiian resort and restaurant as the name suggest. Ohana serves traditional food family style (that means you don’t order they just bring everything to your table) with entertainment laid on. The food was really nice and consisted of pineapple and coconut bread, salad with a really nice honey mustard dressing, chicken wings in a bar-b-q sauce, port dumplings with various dips, steak, shrimp, turkey and pork kebabs and noodles. You could have as much as you could eat and soft drinks were also included in the price. After all of this a coconut and pineapple bread and butter pudding with caramel sauce and ice cream was served. The whole evening including an 18% gratuity cost $37 per head which was well worth it. The views over the lake and MK castle were great too. The entertainment consisted of a Hawaiian guy singing and giving out Hawaiian leis, getting the kids to play maraca’s (which were really loud when played right behind you head by about 50 kids!!), getting the kids to take part in a coconut rolling race and teaching anyone who wanted to join in how to hula. We joined in from our seats and this earned us our leis!

After dinner we had to get a bus back to the Contemporary as for some reason the monorail had stopped running. The bus was full of deep-south Americans with the tell tale drawl! We had a quick look around the Contemporary before going home so got in well after 11pm.

DAY 7 – Wednesday

Today was another park day so we were up at 9am to head into Disney at about 10.15. We did the usual car sharing to get the free parking on our annual passes again.
We firstly went into Animal Kingdom. There is not that much we like to do in this park but there are a couple of really good shows we like so did them back to back. These were the Finding Nemo musical and the Festival of the Lion King. Both were as good as ever and we came out of AK at about 2pm. The weather was really hot and more humid than it had been and the park was reasonably busy.

We then went over to the Hollywood studios. We started off by getting some Fairfax fries, as we were all hungry. We sat on a bench whilst we ate and lapped up the warm sun. After this we decided to ride the Great Movie ride. It’s a classic!
After this the folks decided they wanted to go and see the Lights, Motors, Action show but Paul and I wanted to go and see the American Idol experience. The grand opening of this attraction is not until 14th Feb but as with most Disney attractions there is a soft opening whilst it is refined so all shows were open with open seating. We went into the 4pm show and the whole theatre looked excellent, just like the TV show. There was a warm up guy to get the crowd going and then Ryan Seacrest comes up on the big screen. Other past Idols also appear on the screen throughout the show and are filmed and timed to interact with the host and singers. The performers are all park visitors but have been through previous auditions. If you want to be a performer you need to register at the beginning of the day and be seen by 2 sets of Disney park producers before being selected for the on stage shows. In our show there were 3 performers, 2 women and a guy. They were all very unlikely looking American Idols but all performed well. There was a show host and 3 judges just like the real show and one judge was even a nasty Brit!! We didn’t recognise the judges or host but apparently they are all B-list type stars. The whole thing followed the format of the TV show exactly. The whole thing lasted about half an hour and at the end we the audience got to vote for the winner who would go into a grand finale at 7pm with all the other show winners throughout the day. The winner of the grand finale gets a golden ticket which entitles the bearer to go the front of the line at any American Idol Audition anywhere in the country.

When we came out we stopped for a coffee before going to see the Indiana Jones stunt show – another classic that was as good as ever. After this the folks decided they had had enough and left but Paul and I wanted to stay for the American Idol finale.

The show started at 7pm and was exactly as before but had the 5 winners from throughout the day. The host and judges were different however, although we still didn’t recognise any of them! The first performer was a 14 year old girl – she was ok but not brilliant and one of the judges told her so! There was a also a British performer who sang really well but we thought it a waste as non US nationals are not allowed to enter American Idol. There was also a Puerto Rican who sang La Bamba superbly and a bit of a geeky guy who was compared to Clay Aitken and the female winner of our earlier show. The show was really good again and we all got to vote again. The final 2 were the Puerto Rican and the geeky guy and the Puerto Rican snatched it. He was really good and was a worthy winner. His family had been going wild all through the show so celebrated big style as he won.

As we exited about 7:45pm I was asked to complete a survey about the show – this is the feedback that goes towards the refinement for the grand opening. I had nothing bad to say really as it was exactly what I expected and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

After we left the park we went for quick bite to eat at Dennys. It was cheap and cheerful as ever! Since I have seemed to pick up a stinking cold I went straight to bed when I got in at about half 9.

DAY 8 – Thursday

I slept on and off given my cold and Paul was up with a bad stomach in the night too.
We got up about 9 and I was more bunged up than ever! I have Sudafed and pain killers but felt rough pretty much all day.
We left the house about 11 to head over to Universal Studios City Walk (this is the shops and restaurant area outside the park). Our secret destination was Hart and Huntington, which if you don’t know is a famous tattoo shop. Paul and I have been thinking about getting inked for a while and had finally agreed on our artwork and met the artist and booked them earlier in the holiday. We had signed the waivers and paid $150 non-refundable deposit each so there was no going back! We arrived at noon feeling nervous. Robert was our artist and he cleaned up his area before showing me my pic. I wanted to go first to get it done!! I had chosen a moon goddess picture which is apparently what my name means. He had drawn it up for me and reduced the size so as it was not too big and it was time for the stencil placement. I chose my back right hip area and he put the stencil on. It looked cool in the mirror so we began! I lay full-length face down and was quite comfortable. As the needle began the pain was ok. Very bearable. The outline was to be in black and my tat was quite intricate. I have to say that some of the lines got quite painful and it definitely depended on the area of my back as to when the pain got quite bad. I managed to zone out and lie really still and my artist said I was doing great, he new I was a first timer too! The outline seemed to be done really quickly and Paul took some pics along the way that may well be posted here. The colouring then began. The pain again was variable, sometimes it felt like nothing at all, not sure if this was my endorphins kicking in or just me zoning out. The colouring is more of a burning sensation but was ok. My whole tat took about an hour and a half. It’s small but very intricate so the artist found it difficult he said. He has made a really good job of it though and I love it. After a pic he bandaged me up. This has to be left on for about 4 hours then it should never be covered again like this. It has to be washed with anti-bacterial soap twice daily and then lotion applied. All this has to be done for about 2 weeks until it scabs over and heals.

It was now Paul’s turn. He had decided on a Scorpio symbol (his star sign). His was to be on his right arm and was going to take way less time than mine. He opted for it to be in black and red only. I took pics of him too.

We were both very happy with the results and gave our artist a gratuity! Prices by the way were $250 for mine and $150 for Paul’s. ($150 is the minimum price anyway).

The weather was thoroughly grim all day with high winds and torrential rain so we picked a good day to be inside. We left the shop and came home for about half 3. I have written this blog and we have watch “Cash Cab” on TV. It’s a kind of ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ based in a yellow cab in NY. People get in thinking it’s a normal NY cab then get told they’re in the cash cab. They have the length of their journey to answer questions and win cash. If the get 3 wrong answers they get thrown out with nothing regardless of where they are. If they reach their destination with less than 3 wrong answers they win the cash – or get the chance to answer a double or quits question. You can phone a friend or ask a passer by for one question.

Its now 6pm and time for me to remove my bandage.
Tonight we are off to an Elvis tribute dinner show!!!!
I’ll be sure to write about it in the next update…..

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Orlando January 2009 – Update 2

DAY 4 – Sunday

So we headed out on Sunday at about midday. We went straight to Disney and parked at the Boardwalk hotel. Parking at the Swan where we were headed is $10 but at the Boardwalk is free and as they are next door so being a nice day we figured the walk would do us good. There was actually a boat running across the lake so we decided to get on that instead. The weather was fab and we sat down at the Kabana at the Swan at about 1:15pm. Our Server was Rachel who upon recognising our accents told us about her boyfriend who was from Norwich. The food was as good as ever and everyone thought it was a great place to sit outside and while away the hours over a nice lunch.

We left the Swan and walked back through Boardwalk, looking in the shops on the way. (I almost bough another Tink T-shirt but decided against it – I did however get inspiration for words to put on my design-a-tee)
We had decided to go to another Target store to get a few bits. Paul’s mum wanted to get some baby things for Jayne (my sister-in-law who as you have probably guessed is expecting). We wandered through the store and despite not wanting anything specific managed to spend over $100! We got some Blu Rays as they were on offer – we got Eagle Eye, Transformers and Ghost Town. I also managed to get a denim skirt a the perfect length that I’ve been after for ages (not too short but not too long!)
By the time we came out of Target it was after 5pm. That just shows you how easily you can lose an entire day out here. It’s ok for us as we’re always here and like to chill out sometimes but for anyone on their ‘once in a lifetime’ trip; beware!

We came home and sat outside, as it was still warm enough. I manicured my nails out in the setting sun and we read mags and chatted. We had decided not to go out for dinner but to get take out. The folks opted for Chinese whilst Paul and I had a selection of Applebees appetizers.

As we sat out by the pool in the dark we began stargazing. We had the debate about whether you could see the international space station or if the bright star is Venus. There was also a very unusual star that none of us recognised. It twinkled and shone like you wouldn’t believe.

Since it was still early we put on a DVD – National Treasure. Love that film!
It was gone half 11 when we headed off to bed.

DAY 5 – Monday

On Monday we were up at 9am to go to Disney. We had bagels for brekkie and all got out of the house by about half 10. Since the whole party of 6 of us were going we needed to take 2 cars and Paul and I had to be one in each so as we could use our annual passes to get free parking (it’s a saving of 12 bucks so well worth it).

We began at Epcot which seemed really empty. Although as we walked past Spaceship Earth it had a really long queue. We have NEVER had to queue for this so decided to come back to it. We naturally had a look at our ‘leave a legacy’ pic on the way in and then went over to the Innoventions hall. We had decided to try out a new attraction; a kind of treasure hunt around the world showcase. It is called Kim Possible who is a US cartoon secret Agent character for kids. The idea is that you get a ‘communicator’ (which is a mobile phone) and that it will give you clues. You have to follow them and solve the crime!! We registered and were told that our start time was midday at Norway. Since it was only 11:30 we rode the Mexico and Norway rides on the way (both had no queues). As we exited the Maelstrom ride at Norway and walked through the shop there was some perfume items on sale and the guy that created them was there. His name was Geis. He had pics of him at the Golden globe ceremony with Hale Berry and Celine Dion and reckoned all the stars love his perfume. He gave us a hand massage with his hand cream and sprayed the perfume. It has a clean, fresh fragrance but sadly none of us bought any!

We then picked up our ‘communicators’ at midday and listened to our mission assignment. We were sent to China where our mission was to rescue a stolen jade monkey statue. It was good as we never really explore the countries in great detail and this meant we really got to go through China and see stuff we never would have. As we solved the clues and found the places we were led to as you hit ‘ok’ on the phone it obviously registers with some receiver at that place to give you your next clue. It is well worth doing, good for both adults and kids and keeps you amused for about an hour, maybe more.
Whilst in the Chinese shop I bought a Chinese silk blouse – in pink obviously!!

After this fun that definitely amused us all we went to America for lunch. Paul and I were not that hungry so decided to wait until we got into Magic Kingdom where we could get some Fairfax fries. We left the world showcase getting the boat back to the other side. As we left Epcot the queue at Spaceship earth had gone so we rode that on the way out.

We decided to get the monorail over to MK. Although you do have to change at the ticket centre. MK was much busier than Epcot.
When we got into MK we got straight on the steam train to Mickey’s Toon Town Fair which is the other side of the park. Paul and I got our fries and we all had a drink. The sun was beginning to go down but it was still very warm and great to just sit out and people watch!
As we walked through Fantasyland the ride queues were all quite long for Small World, Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh etc and our fave Philharmagic is closed for refurb 🙁

We headed to the Haunted Mansion where Paul rode with Uncle Dave. I am still being a wuss and refusing to ride, despite the fact that I know the ride itself is not scary at all, the entrance plunges you into complete darkness and often the cast member touches people which completely freaks me out!!
After that we went over to Pirates of the Caribbean which had no queues thankfully.
We then got on the steam train once more rather than walking around the park!
In Tomorrowland Paul persuaded his mum and dad to record a ‘Dancing Heads’ video. Some may remember Paul and I doing jingle bells (just scroll down this blog for a reminder!). Viva Las Vegas was the chosen tune and the result was just as amusing!
After this we rode the Carousal of Progress (which broke down half way through as some guy tried to exit whilst it was in motion – dork!) and then the TTA. The TTA closes soon and it is rumoured it may never re-open – GUTTED. That means we can’t take my mum on it in May. And we will miss it loads as we always ride it.

It was now getting cold and was already dark as it was about 7ish. Everyone had had enough and no one really wanted to hang around for another hour to wait to see the wishes fireworks so we left. The Spectromagic parade had just started so we had to fight our way through the watching crowds.

We managed to get ‘up front’ seats on the Monorail for Paul’s family. There is only space for 4 and as we have done it before we let them have a go. This is one of the things that people often don’t know about. You have to ask, so if you get to a monorail and no-one is already ‘up front’ then ask the cast member if you can do it. You not only get to sit with the driver and get a fab view but you get given a souvenir card to say you have done it.

We got back to the car and decided to go to Chili’s on way home for dinner. None of us have been before but we looked at the menu on-line (yep the i-phone again!) and it looked like good family food. It was really good and the surroundings were cool too.

Even at the slower pace in the park we were shattered so opted for an early night I was tucked up in bed by 10pm!!

Today is Tuesday and after a lie-in and chill out by the pool writing this blog we are going to the Mall at Millenia. Since this is the home of Tiffany’s and the Jimmy Choo store – get that plastic at the ready!!

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Orlando January 2009 – Update 1

So, here we are again. It’s only a few weeks since we were last here but you won’t hear me complaining. We travelled to Manchester on Wednesday (21st) for an overnight stay in the Hilton as we were on the early flight out on the 22nd – 10:25am.
As we arrived at the airport it seemed very quiet, check-in had no queues at all. Upon asking the check-in Agent if the flight was full as it seemed quiet she snapped back to us that everyone else had checked in already and the flight was very busy. She was really quite rude in her attitude so later on when I was given a survey card on the flight I was sure to comment on the check-in Agent!
Manchester Airport is still under refurbishment but most shops are open with new ones opening all the time. Paul wanted to get a spare battery for his new HD video camera, which he did, quite easily in Dixons. I wanted to check out the new Lacoste perfume and in doing so an Assistant pointed out a special edition Lacoste perfume that is part of the traveller collection, only available at travel outlets. It smelled really nice so I bought some.
We headed to the lounge, which is a shared one at Manchester and pretty naff (again something I pointed out on my comment card) for about 15 minutes before boarding was called. We were back in Virgin Upper class – THANK GOODNESS!! So could board straight away. We had our fave seats too, the front 2 6a and 6k.
The flight was scheduled to be just over 8.5 hours which was good, previously flights had been 9.5 hours but the winds had ceased and a clear path across the Atlantic presented itself. We were however, late pushing back as the jetty got stuck to the plane and would not come off!! According to the Captain’s announcement it took engineers with hammers to get it off!!
Eventually we pushed back about half an hour late.
The flight was very smooth, the seats excellent and event the food was good. We had tomato soup, chicken tikka massala and bread and butter pudding with champagne cream – yum! The films weren’t bad either so as well as my usual puzzler, brain training and ipod I watched ‘how to lose friends and alienate people’. It was ok but could have been finnier. Paul watched this and Beverly Hills Chihuahua as well.
We landed at about 2:30 local time. We got off quickly to an empty immigration hall. After the Agent had finally logged into his computer (which he struggled with!) we were through. The system has changed again with all fingers and thumbs now being scanned on both hands. The cases came off quickly (love that priority baggage!) and we were out of the airport in half an hour. We had booked a small compact car as they are cheap but the Alamo Agent kept on trying to get us to upgrade. After several ‘no thank you’s’ from us he finally offered us a deal too good to decline so we opted for a convertible!! We left the airport and headed straight over to the Villa. Paul’s folks were already here although not home when we arrived. We unpacked and freshened up as we had all decide to go to Applebees for dinner. Applebees was fairly busy at 8pm but we got a table straight away. The food was ok as ever and we then headed straight home. Given the time difference we were exhausted and went to bed about 9pm local time.

DAY 2 – FRIDAY
We all awoke early as was expected and Paul and I stuck to our usual routine of McD’s breakfast at Downtown Disney. It was reasonably quiet as it was still early and although fairly cold (12C) there was no wind and clear sky’s so in the sun it felt quite pleasant. We wandered around Downtown and went into the new ‘design a tee’ store. The idea (as the name suggests) is to design your own personalized t-shirt. Apparently, any wording you put on is moderated – yes I did think about it!!!
The designs were actually very limited. You had to have a character design in the middle with wording (very limited on characters) underneath. Since neither of us could think of anything amusing (that would not have been thrown out by the moderators – Walt would have turned in his grave about what we wanted to call Mickey) we bought nothing, although enjoyed playing for a good half an hour!!
We bought some sweets for the trip and finally left Downtown just after lunchtime.
We needed to find a UPS store to ship important docs to Annette who had been robbed in Jamaica!! After this we decided to go to the Florida Mall to get the bits I needed to buy – well there’s always something! It was not very busy and we parked right outside Dillards.
I managed to have a good spending spree which is a great way to start the holiday!
I got 3 pairs of shoes and some make-up & skin care products. The first 2 pairs of shoes were from Steve Madden where the deal was buy one and get the second 90% off. So by buying a pair at $90 I got the second pair at $8. Splitting the cost meant I had 2 great pairs of going out shoes (that Ruth will envy) for about £35 each. The final pair were from 9-West and were only $30 so deffo cheaper than I could have got anywhere at home. The make-up and skin care products were from Sephora. I was after a new Lippy that was advertised in a magazine I had read – a Geurlain one. In the store the Assistant wanted to know the colour number and I only had the name so Paul’s i-phone came into its own. A quick google and the number was found – sadly the store didn’t stock it though!! I found an alternative Givenchy one in the end.
After the FL Mall I wanted to go to Best Buy. YES, I wanted to, weird huh? Paul made me repeat this statement over and over!!! (for those in the dark its an electronics store and Paul’s fave – usually the equivalent torture for me that he endures in my shoe stores) We got some new earphones for my i-pod and some screen covers for Paul’s i-phone.
After this we headed over to Universal city walk. We needed to research and book a special event for Paul and I, but the details cannot be published here until the event itself! We successfully sorted it and headed for home about 5pm.
That evening we had all agreed to go to Longhorn for dinner. We called ahead as we knew it would be busy and sat down to eat about 8:30pm. We had a very weird server who we had seen before on previous visits. He thinks he is being helpful I am sure but seems to just confuse everyone! The steak was ok but everything was over seasoned and salty. Shame, as I love Longhorn usually.
We came straight home, exhausted once more and after a cup of tea went to bed about 11pm.

DAY 3 – Saturday

We were up slightly later and had breakfast at home. The weather was definitely getting warmer although cloudier. After reading some emails (how sad are we?) we decide to head out about midday. We had decided to got to Wall Mart and Target to see what bargains we could get!! We bought useful products for home that are always so much better out here than you could ever get at home. We got Joy Mangano huggable hangers (actually you can get these on QVC at home), a bath mat and some bed linen. The latter we managed to get an 8ft by 9ft comforter (duvet to us Brits) for $70. You cannot get anything that size at home and even half the size is twice the price. God Bless the USA!! J I also got a couple of Tinker Bell t-shirts and a cardigan.

After the shopping we had a bite to eat and headed up I-Drive. We had the roof down posing as was befitting of us!! It was cool but we whacked the heating up to compensate. Weirdly, whilst in a car park we had 2 people asking us what we thought of our new Sebring. Paul helpfully told one of them that with the roof down the boot space was very limited. She looked blankly at him so he showed her, only then did it click that to her it was the trunk and she had no idea what a boot was (other then something you wear on your foot)!

We also booked dinner at Kobe’s (Japanese steak hose and Paul’s fave) for 8pm. When the email confirmation came through (good old i-phone again) we realised it was the wrong restaurant! We booked the correct one but couldn’t get an answer from the first to cancel – oops. We did kept trying though and later on managed to cancel ok.

At the top end of I-Drive we went to TK Maxx and the 9-West outlet. I got a couple of pairs of jeans (one really cute with Tweety Pie on the behind!) and a Michael Kors bag but to Paul’s surprise came out of 9-Eest empty handed.

We drove around with the roof down a bit more before heading home about 5pm again. Before going out for dinner we watched Jeopardy. It reminded us of Ellen’s Universe of Energy at Epcot which we will miss this time as it’s closed for refurb.
After competing in testing out general knowledge we went for dinner. Kobe is a traditional Japanese steak house with the hibachi grill where the chef entertains as well as cooking great food right in front of you. Tables are for 10 so we had a family of 4 with us. The food was great as ever and the filet tender and cooked to perfection.
The chef was Mitsubishi but we saw Toyota at the next table!!
Anne and Dave (Paul’s Aunt and Uncle) almost lost their eyebrows in the fire but the kids of the American family found it highly amusing. It transpired the boy was there for his 9th birthday and after signing happy birthday he shared his cake with us.
After dinner the others went to a coffee shop but I needed to come home and drink some peppermint tea as I always over eat at Kobe’s and need to settle my stomach before bed. Exhausted once more (doing very little is so tiring!) we went to bed at about half 10.

It is now Sunday. The weather is fab – 80C. Warm, sunny and very clear. We are all off to the Swan for lunch so until next time…..