I have very little to report on our trip this week as work has been stupidly intense and I’ve been down south for most of the week having to actually pretend I know what I’m doing.
Instead, I can share some stuff on Emily’s trip that started last Thursday. She flew Aer Lingus taking just under nine hours. She may be just short of 30 but yes I did spend a good amount of time in my hotel room tracking her flight until it landed.
After some kerfuffle with her Revolut card not working they took a Lyft from MCO to the All Stars in what was incredible heat.
They are delighted with their room, which is right by the bus stop and pool.
Friday was a special day being her boyfriend’s first ever experience of WDW and let’s just summarise things by saying he was absolutely blown away with the scale, quality and magic of it all.
Magic Kingdom was very quiet all day with the longest wait being 25 minutes for Haunted Mansion. They rope-dropped Tron and were one of the first to ride.
They had one of those special days with everything just going perfectly it seems.
Breakfast was from Sleepy Hollow..
Tiana was ridden, ticking off another first for them both.
After a stop at the Poly for some drinks on the beach, when Mikey nearly cried at the loveliness of it all they headed out to Olive Garden for tea.
22,000 steps, lots of rides and lovely food all made for a day that could not have gone any better they say.
The next day, yesterday, was Typhoon Lagoon and then Sickies for tea but I don’t have any photos or details of that yet as they are still asleep. 🙂
After almost a year of planning and counting down I am just so delighted that things have been so perfect so far. Living vicariously through Emily’s trip will hopefully cushion the blow of not being there for the next fortnight as I battle through the tribulations of working for a living.
In news closer to home, Louise is currently suffering from a perforated and infected ear drum which is incredibly painful. She is on the relevant meds of course, but let’s hope that doesn’t cause her any serious issues when we fly in 30 days. As someone who suffered very badly with ear pain on almost every flight when I was younger, I know just how unbearable that can be.
This bonus pseudo-trip report is your lot for this week. Depending on what Emily posts in the group chat in the coming days there may be some more next week!
Thanks for all the interest and feedback on the “big plan” post last week. As much as I really appreciate those who persisted with the non-Disney content I have been posting, it’s clear from the views and visitor numbers last week that most of you really have more interest in WDW, which I am totally on board with!
For those who asked about Emily’s trip, if you want to follow along with her, your best bet would be to follow her on Instagram here. She will without doubt be posting there throughout. She leaves on Thursday. She also does some blogging if you wanted to follow that too.
I was due to take her to the airport but as it often does, work has gotten in the way of things I want to do, insisting I am down south on that day, so she has a friend taking her instead. Sure she’s 29, sure she’s been to WDW countless times, sure she lived there, but there is still some low level of worry when waving your offspring off to travel that distance.
After all the fun and games of the planning, based on having secured everything with low deposits, we are now at the stage where the pain hits and to quote a WDW vlogger, “and now it’s time to pay the price”.
I have just paid off all the balances, including the theme park tickets, villa and car. I’m not gonna lie, parting with that level of pound notes hurts no matter what the reason. Still, of all things I could spend money on this is one of the better ones. On the plus side, it’s a real sign that this trip is almost here.
It may shock you to learn that nothing has changed in the plan since last week. We are probably getting too close now for that to happen. In a couple of weeks, I have two meals to book at Citywalk (they only seem to offer slots a month in advance). Those will be Toothsome and Cowfish.
I still have low-level anxiety/PTSD from our more recent WDW trips as the state of the parks in terms of crowds, wait times and general post-pandemic recovery are fresh in my mind. I don’t know if this is reality but the park activity I see on social media seems to vary between “there is literally only me in this theme park today” to “do not even try to enter Orlando as it is full”.
With a better “FastPass” system in place, I am hoping things will be better. We are also visiting outside of any UK school holidays and when I look at the various crowd-level tools online most seem to be scoring most of our time there around the 6 out of 10 mark with slightly busier times predicted towards the end of our trip as we get close to Halloween (the day itself, not the season which starts in early August at WDW of course).
With lower crowd levels the quandary of course is should I book the multi-pass thing three days in advance (being off-site scum) or wait and see how the park looks that morning? I suspect I shall play it safe and book it for our first MK day to remove any stress/waiting on that special first day and then see how it goes. The natural exception to that, I think, will be Hollywood Studios, and I’ll probably cave and book the multi-pass for that park without hesitation, having had horrifying experiences there on the last couple of trips.
For anyone who has been and done it with the new system, I would be keen to hear feedback and experiences of the new thing.
I am girding my loins now for the final push at work. I’ve got a daunting couple of weeks with many things in the diary that I would rather not do (I refer you to the section above about these trips costing a lot of money to understand why I have to do them), but if my many years on this spinning rock have taught me anything it is that I will always be fatter than I want to be and everything passes. Typically even the most horrifying things in your future are survivable.
I am being over dramatic as my “things” are just a couple of days at Head Office next week and then a work conference/event the weekend after. I am not pulling babies from burning buildings but imposter syndrome is a bugger.
This time next week it’ll be a month until we go and just another milestone on the countdown ticked off. Of course, that just means I have five weeks to lose four stone. Seems doable?
With all that sunbathing nonsense out of the way, let’s get down to the serious business of getting ready for a holiday I think we can all understand and get behind.
We are just 44 days away from our Orlando theme park bonanza folks and whilst you’ve all been snoozing/trudging through endless blogs about sand and food, I’ve been busy planning our October trip.
There’s a lot to get through and rather than be sensible and eek that content out over the next few weeks, I’ll no doubt just shoot my shot this week and worry about next week when I’m staring at the blank page in a week’s time.
The first thing to report is that whilst we were all “at” Delray Beach, once again, Bob Iger has taken on board my feedback from this blog and scrapped Genie+. Good lad Bob, but you missed the bit about not charging for this stuff on top of the sky-high theme park tickets, but we’ll take a win where we can get it.
I approve of the change in general but of course, it came with some baggage.
Why does it cost money?
Why are off-site guests penalised? (I know the answer and I only care as we’ll be off-site this time)
Why are International visitors massively penalised unless you spend enough time reading WDW internet content to come across the fairly simple workaround? The workaround of setting the country of your address in the app to the US is so easily preventable that I strongly suspect Disney has left that in intentionally to mitigate a problem they couldn’t solve properly. (Isn’t the issue something about card payments for non-US folks?) My day job involves developing stuff for online products and it smells of a handy “oops we didn’t realise that was possible”. I applaud it.
Being weeks behind the release of this change I won’t go on about it anymore as I’m sure every angle has already been covered. I look forward to being able to secure some rides before we arrive in the parks again.
Moving on to our personal plan, one of the first things I did after getting home from our Delray trip was upgrade to Premium. I think it was about £150 each to do so and having experienced the economy seats, we were keen not to again, especially with two small kids who we will definitely want to go to sleep on the way back. The slightly enhanced room in Premium will be worth that investment and, much to my surprise (I am blissfully unaware lots of the time) until Rebecca told me, that entitles us to Lounge access and a free breakfast at Manchester airport so we’ve already made some of the £150 each back. Add the same sort of thing on the return journey and we’ll be close to a profit.
I’m under no illusions that we’ll be lying down in some sort of Business Class bed-seat, as we sat just behind the magic curtain of Premium on our last trip with TUI and could see the forbidden fruits clearly, but we’ll take the larger seat, slightly better food, more luggage allowance and hopefully getting our cases off more quickly.
This past week has been ADR time and as ever, the success has not been as complete as I may have liked. Overall though, I’ve done OK. Of course, I had sworn that we would eat off-site almost all the time and I have then caved and made more ADRs than I first intended, but we will still be dining off-site a fair bit.
With a two-year-old with us, all dining plans live and die with him, so there are a fair few early meal slots booked and only the odd late one, where that was the only availability, which will be in the lap of the toddler Gods.
To once again demonstrate my masterful planning skills, with the plan pretty much locked and loaded, including our ADRs, a last-minute decision to add in a trip to Universal just last week may have flummoxed other less awesome planners, but no. A ten-minute conversation with Rebecca, whilst staring at the plan, along with some swift internet interrogation saw us expertly evaluate options and then move stuff around with minimal disruption, ADR cancellation or pain. If only I were this good at my day job.
So let’s take a trot through our plans, shall we? I will say that after a few trips where we have not done a great deal and bored you to death with beaches and pools, this trip is hard-core, jam-packed and will probably kill us. Being (even if I say so myself) an elite-level WDW trip planner I recognise and embrace this and should we need to amend stuff on the hoof due to exhaustion and/or killing each other with our bare hands, then I shall rise to that challenge with ease. This is nobody’s first rodeo and we go into the plan with eyes wide open and loins girded.
Day One
As you now know we fly Premium out of Manchester with TUI on October 15th. Airport parking has been secured (which is getting a bit pricey these days I must say) and we are scheduled to be wheels up at 11.25 so we should be in the air at around 1pm if things go to form.
We arrive in Melbourne mid-afternoon and have a suitable vehicle awaiting us courtesy of Discount Florida Car Hire again. An unwelcome but necessary 90 minutes in the car should see us pull up outside our favourite villa on Amelia Downs Trail in Kissimmee and we shall unpack, do a shop and eat no doubt. The boys will be in the pool if they are still awake I’m sure.
Day Two
It goes without saying that this is a Magic Kingdom day. Who knows what time Dougie might be awake so it could be a short or long one. Eating wise, we have gone for an old favourite and a regular tactic on our first park day in Whispering Canyon Cafe at 5.20, as it seems these days that all the shenanigans and fun are back after their suspension for the pandemic and for Tom’s benefit they still offer unlimited refills on milkshakes so he intends to bankrupt them. I suspect we’ll be done at that point and will head home.
Day Three
A rest day but with a twist. On recent theme park trips, we have done Typhoon Lagoon on day two which works really well, offering rest for the oldies and slides and stuff for the youngsters. We will eat off-site that evening at Sickies on the 192.
Day Four
Unusually it is Animal Kingdom today. Typically we would visit the parks in the correct order, which is the order in which they opened, and today would be Epcot, but for reasons I cannot now remember we will be at DAK, for what might be our one and only day here. The second day had to be sacrificed recently to squeeze the two Universal parks in.
Day Five
A rest day, and we plan to spend it at the villa and most likely at the large resort pool on offer. We may go for a sit-down breakfast at a new place I have seen online called @The Diner. Then we will do our best to be hungry again for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory at LBV.
Day Six
Ah Epcot, there you are. This will be our Future World day and after some skilful manoeuvres on my part with ADR bookings, I managed to secure us the “hen’s teeth” booking of Space 220 for lunch. Freddie is incredibly keen to go here so that was pleasing.
Then in the evening Rebecca and Tom will activate their built-in babysitters and allow us to watch the boys whilst they head up to experience Halloween Horror Nights at Universal. We will probably drive us all up there and drop them off and then Louise and I will eat with the boys on City Walk, maybe Toothsome. Rebecca and Tom will get a Lyft back home when they are done.
Day Seven
Hollywood Studios, our nemesis from recent trips, delivering THE worst theme park experience from a “getting on things” perspective consistently, driven by the recently deceased Genie+ nonsense. We hope things will be better now. Knowing from past experiences that whenever we want to do Fantasmic it will be rained off, we have taken the earliest opportunity possible to book a Fantasmic Dining Package, choosing the SciFi Diner for lunch.
Day Eight
A much-needed pool day again. We may again avail ourselves of a sit-down breakfast and possibly return to a real favourite of ours in Hash House A Go Go. Then after some serious lying down in the sun, we shall visit The Outback and I will without doubt have a large steak. It takes some real skills to make yourself hungry enough to dine out twice in one day but it is a challenge we intend to rise to.
Day Nine
We head to Universal and a one-night stay at Royal Pacific to get the Front Of Line access. We shall get there as early as possible, check in and head over to IOA first (I think). With this being very fresh into the plan, there are no firm dining plans for that evening but City Walk is our lobster so that will get firmed up shortly.
Day Ten
Universal Studios of course. And should stamina and timings permit, then we will return to Teak Neighbourhood Grill for dinner. It’s been a while since we dined here. I think our last visit was on the trip amid all the Covid restrictions and the experience wasn’t perfect. The menu looks great and hopefully, everything is back as it should be with the service so it’s definitely worth another try.
Day Eleven
Epcot again today with a likely focus on World Showcase. A huge stroke of fortune came our way in the shape of the Eat To The Beat concert series. A few months ago when the lineup was announced it was the usual mix of the odd famous person or band amidst a load of artists we at least had no idea about. Anyway, it turned out that during our trip, Hanson would be performing. We saw them recently supporting Busted and have liked them ever since the one song everyone knows them for back in the 90’s. So I have booked lunch at Garden Grill as part of the Eat To The Beat package which secures us a seat in their 5.30 show.
I wanted to get us into Beaches and Cream for our evening meal and did so but the only slot available by the time I’d sorted the Garden Grill booking was at 9.15pm. We will just see how everyone is doing by that time and play it by ear. I think leaving Epcot in the early evening for a Boardwalk stroll will be on the cards either way. There’s a Banana Bread Espresso Martini at The Boardwalk Bellevue Lounge that I have my eye on.
Day Twelve
Day two at Hollywood Studios and lunch is to be at the Rodeo Roundup place in Toy Story Land.
Thanks to Disney Food Blog for that photo
Nothing is booked for tea/dinner so we may head off-site and try to help the budget by going to Olive Garden. If energy permits, then we might head to Disney Springs for a stroll and with a following wind, one of the Espresso Martinis from Wine Bar George.
Day Thirteen
With one day left on our three-day Universal tickets, we will use that up today at Volcano Bay. A first for Louise and I and I suspect this will be a welcome break from the parks and a chance to rest up a little bit for those who want to.
Dinner is pencilled in for Cowfish at City Walk.
Day Fourteen
The emotional last full day and of course that means Magic Kingdom for the farewell lap of honour. Having, much to our surprise, thoroughly enjoyed our unplanned visit there on our last trip to the parks, I have booked us in at The Liberty Tree for a 5.40pm ADR.
Fireworks and tears will be experienced as we leave the park for the final time.
Day Fifteen
The usual mix of packing, a visit to Disney Springs, some food, perhaps at The Polite Pig and then the longer-than-usual drive back to the airport. We don’t fly until 7pm so that should work out OK.
So there you have it. It’s a humdinger and no doubt some of that won’t happen, but he who dares wins. As ever, the thinking is that despite the last few decades telling me otherwise, who knows if and when any of us may get to return.
In other news, Emily and her boyfriend go to WDW on September 12th for a long-awaited trip they booked well before we booked ours. It is Mikey’s first visit and they are both ridiculously excited. They are staying at the All-Stars and flying Aer Lingus. I can’t wait to hear all about it. You can’t beat a first-time visit, especially when an experienced guide is with you to show you the ropes.
At least today there won’t be any going to the beach and I’m sure we’re all agreed that this is a good thing.
Instead, you get the riveting, very badly remembered travel home day. For those still here, I salute you.
We were awake at 6.30am after a poor night’s sleep. We dozed and rested for a little while before getting up to undertake the unpleasant task of packing. It took about an hour or so and then we showered. We left the room just after 10am with the weather outside already hot enough to make the recent shower irrelevant.
We loaded up the jeep and headed for a gas station. I filled up and got us some “breakfast” from the mini-mart inside. It was a high-class establishment as most “mom and pop” gas stations tend to be in the US. Breakfast took the form of a Starbucks iced coffee thing in a bottle and some sugary cake-based thing.
We endured the I95 for the final time this trip and it was a long and brutal two hours. Thankfully with none of the horrendous weather we endured on the way down (doesn’t that seem a lifetime ago?).
I’d set the sat nav for a mall in Melbourne that was not far from the airport as our last-minute gift shopping had become even more last minute. It was lunch time by the time we arrived so I was delighted to see….
It was pretty quiet and we were seated immediately. We wanted to go out with a bang and a need for some larger clothes so we started with the Bloomin’ Onion.
and the bread of course.
It was glorious.
To follow, I had Sirloin and Ribs and a Jacket Spud that bore little resemblance to the rock hard taste taste-free entities I endure at home.
Louise had Fillet
It was all gloriously tasty and I really enjoyed everything about it. The bill was $110 including tip.
We drove to the mall entrance and began the dash for suitable gifts.
We got Emily a couple of band T-shirts from this place…a sort of Hot Topic lite…
And my Dad would have been looking down approvingly as we secured presents for Rebecca, Tom, Freddie and Dougie in….
We got the grown-ups matching Nike caps for their October Disney trip and the boys a personalised cap each sporting a Batman logo.
Here they are a few days later, at my Mum’s house, having just received them.
We did the correct thing as Grandparents and also bought a “shit ton” of US sweets and candy too of course.
With our shopping done, we headed back to the car, topped up with fuel again and headed for the airport. Again, Melbourne proved to be a simple delight for car drop-off and check in. Security too came with none of the drama and queuing MCO is infamous for. As a testament to our “leave it to the last minute” approach to gift shopping we then got my Mum a fridge magnet in the airport gift shop (she collects them!).
We got a drink and sat and waited for a bit.
We watched an incoming set of passengers from a newly arrived plane wander in through that corridor. I’m sure airports do it on purpose. The last thing I want to see when waiting to fly home is a load of folks just about to start their holiday!
We wandered the short distance down to the gate and waited to board.
My notes stop here and I have very little recollection of the flight which is a slight concern. It can’t have contained anything unpleasant or I would have remembered, I’m sure. I do recall that our extra legroom seats in a row of three actually had a third person on it, which was unfortunate.
We ate, watched things and got progressively more tired as sleep was clearly impossible in what felt like a cramped environment.
Upon landing, and having trudged the long distance from plane to passport checks, as ever the automatic passport gates refused to accept my face and I had to go and see a human. Our cases took too long to come off and the drive back around the M60 and up the M61 after a Florida trip lived up to being one of the most depressing things known to man. Soon we were home.
We loved Delray. It was exactly what we were looking for and my low-level fears of it being a bit “Daytona” or “Blackpool-y” (apologies to residents of both) were unfounded. The beach was gorgeous and the eateries and evening options were plentiful. Our hotel was perfect and lovely and we would go to Delray and that hotel again for sure.
We flew TUI for the first time and it was very good. The plane and flight were fine. The 3-3-3 config isn’t ideal for those travelling as a couple of course but the seats, entertainment options and service were all absolutely fine.
Melbourne Airport is a delight though. It’s much smaller scale than MCO means you avoid many of the issues found there, namely that double bag drop nonsense, long security and immigration queues and the long schelps from monorails to terminals and car hire places. We would and indeed are doing TUI again in October.
I appreciate the (lack of appeal) this kind of holiday may have from a reading about it point of view and I almost did not do a trip report, but I figured it was worth doing just for me to look back on in the future and if a few of you tagged along then, thank you and I hope it was not too tedious.
Planning and prep for October is underway and next week I can begin to let you know my plans, concerns and ambitions. See you then?
Hey, we’re almost there. We are on our last full day so you just have today and next week to endure before we can get back to slightly less boring content about the build-up and countdown to our more trip report friendly October theme park bonanza. You’ve come this far, it would be a shame not to stick it out to the end, right? RIGHT???
As much as you are bored of reading about it, I suspect we too were almost beached out by now as our start was slow, with a lie-in and then a beachbound brunch at Boheme.
We both had a blurry stuffed baguette, an iced mocha and an OJ.
$60 lighter we undertook the remaining steps to the beach in what were new levels of heat today. We grabbed some beds using the last of our bulk-bought days (who says beach holidays require no planning?) and an essential umbrella and, well you know the rest.
As this will be our last beach day for who knows how long, have several photos.
By early afternoon we needed drinks so I hauled myself into an upright position and made the trek to the nearest shop. With a big sweat on when I got back, I ventured into the sea and we both had a swim for half an hour or so. Hectic today isn’t it?
As the afternoon progressed we were surrounded by shite music from all sides, with various people nearby assuming we wanted to listen to their music. If only someone had invented a device that allowed people to listen to music without inflicting it on others.
These were the worst offenders.
This group arrived late afternoon and seemed to be a rag-tag collection of about ten man-boys, definitely too old to be listening to gansta rap and making gang signs at each new member of the group as they arrived. The testosterone levels and the use of the word “bro” were intolerable and immeasurable.
Their musical taste or lack of it was the final straw and we left the beach at 5pm. We enjoyed the stroll back to the hotel in that glorious golden hour sun and heat, knowing we would not see its like again for some time.
Whilst readying happened, I booked that Mexican place again for 8pm and our Lyft took us there in a very nice Volvo X90. We opted to eat outside, again not knowing when we may next be able to do so.
For reasons I cannot fathom I chose to capture that very attractive bin.
We went full Magaluf and ordered a jug of Sangria which was delightful. Of course, we ordered the Nachos too.
Our server was excellent. He advised us just to have the Nachos and then see if we could manage an entree just as we were about to order them. I know we can put food away but he was right, we were full after the Nachos. He could easily have let us order entrees and increase his tip. As a reward for him and us, we did order the Churros which were outstanding. Again, he stopped us ordering two desserts as he knew the size!
I don’t know why everything was blurry this evening to be honest.
The bill was around $90 with a good tip included. We strolled Atlantic Avenue starting our traditional last-minute search for gifts. The heat and “closeness” tonight was off the scale and we were both dripping with sweat, which was attractive. The feeling of an incoming thunderstorm was obvious but it never materialised, it just got hotter and hotter.
The level crossing right through Atlantic Avenue had us wait whilst possibly the longest train on earth went through.
We stopped for one drink at the hotel we’d watched the guitarist at the other night and then walked up to the Yacht Club again for another karaoke night. Several drinks were had which no doubt led to Louise getting up to sing in public for the first time in over 20 years. She made me delete the video the next day.
We left at 12, ready for bed, but not really ready to leave this lovely place.
Today’s post is for the 99% of my readers who are fed up with reading about lying on a beach and eating food. Yes, today we did something different, so buckle up for more excitement than the D23 announcements. Maybe.
We awoke with no plans, but the fact that we were too sunburned to subject our bodies to more sun forced our hands to look for a plan B. I did some googling and before too long found a suitably affordable and local activity and booked it.
We were headed for a two-hour catamaran tour around West Palm Beach. It was $50 each and came with a lot of good reviews. It didn’t start until the afternoon so we positioned ourselves in some shade around the pool for a couple of hours, and the weather was hot!!
We got ourselves ready and left around 1pm. We endured the I95 to West Palm Beach and parked in the recommended car park on the tour’s website. It was a ten minute walk down to the port/harbour/docks (I don’t know nautical stuff) and the place oozed money.
Just so you know, there will be a lot of photos of boats and houses.
Our mode of transport would be more our style/wealth bracket.
We checked in and waited about ten minutes before boarding. We cleverly found some seats in the shade to escape the unrelenting sun, but soon realised that when we set off the boat turned round and we were exposed and were both buckets of sweat within seconds.
The tour takes you along the coast of West Palm Beach island to witness some incredible monuments to wealth.
The crew do a great job of narrating the properties. Of course, it could all be made up but we saw houses owned or previously owned by the likes of Andre Agassi, Sly Stallone, Tommy Hilfiger, Vera Wang and many others that I have since forgotten. Some of the history was fascinating and the amount of dollars involved even more so.
We passed a marina/yacht club where we were told that membership was only possible for those owning a property on the island valued at more than $60m and a golf club with a membership fee of $250,000 a year.
What you need outside a $100m house of course is a boat of similar value.
There was a real variety of properties, with some smaller, cute ones too.
They were much more affordable!!
This is probably one of the most beautiful and wealthy places on the planet.
This was Sly Stallone’s and apparently it’s the one he films his reality show in.
We saw a Bond-related yacht.
Then we pulled away from the coast and took in some of the open water.
After a while we started to see some of the more industrial parts of the port.
Before quickly returning to the wealth and this was, we were told, the largest and most expensive sail boat (may not be the correct term) on the planet.
We were told how much it costs just to moor a boat in these parts and safe to say, if we sold our house and a couple of kidneys we may be able to do so for a week. It’s not cheap to be very rich.
For the last 45 minutes or so Louise was really struggling with the heat. It was brutal. We got drinks of course but the sweat was incessant and as we headed back to where we started, we were very much looking forward to some shade and air con.
We disembarked at 4pm, Louise sat in the shade and I walked back for the car and then returned to collect her.
We absolutely loved the tour and if we were to do this kind of trip again I think we’d look to do more of this kind of thing. I know anyone reading this will probably endorse those thoughts.
The I95 got us back to Delray around 5pm and we had very welcome showers and I watched some TV whilst Louise got ready. I booked what turned out to be our favourite eatery of the trip, the Mexican Roccas Tacos for 7.45 and our Lyft picked us up at 7.15. Our driver was Luigi and he was, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind me saying, a nut case. He was a real character and made the short drive very entertaining. He had lived in the UK for a while and hated it. He now lived in Delray managing the eight properties his parents owned and doing some Lyft driving when he got bored.
We were seated immediately.
Once again we had our Guac made table side….
I had a beer and in a strange turn of events, driven by too much sun, Louise had a diet coke.
Louise ordered from the specials and it was an incredible Beef Fajitas that looked like this. I cannot describe how tasty that bowl of brown stuff was.
I had Steak Tacos and they were also incredible.
I think we both agreed this was our best meal of the trip. It was $113 including tip.
We were very ready for bed at this time and we ordered a Lyft. It turned out that our driver home recognised us, as he was the driver that almost killed Louise by setting off with her halfway in the car. He was still apologetic.
I cannot suggest a plausible reason for it, but somehow we did not feel too hungry this morning. I resisted the urge to call 911, as clearly this constituted some kind of medical emergency, instead, I chose to believe the frankly ridiculous theory that we’d eaten quite an amount of food recently and that may be the root cause. So, and I know this will shock you, we skipped a meal and set off for the beach breakfast-less.
We mounted our sunbeds around 10.30 and enjoyed the lack of wind. Let’s face don’t we all when that is the case.
It was, as you can perhaps appreciate from that photo, a scorcher.
We did some proper lying down until about 12.30, at which time our rediscovered appetites forced us over the road to Lune Rosa to rectify that situation. Luna Rosa is one of the oldest eateries in Delray I think. It has some Brown Derby vibes going on as it is quite old school with lots of dark woods and photos of famous folks on the walls.
We ordered –
A Chicken Walnut Salad for me.
No breakfast and then a salad for lunch could be seen to be some kind of cry for help in my case, but I still wasn’t feeling too hungry.
Louise ordered an Egg and Ham Croissant from the specials board.
They were both excellent, and with soft drinks, such as the iced coffee below the bill came to $60.
We strolled the 50 yards or so back to the beach and did some more lying down.
Once I had observed the universally accepted amount of time after eating to avoid immediate death, I ventured into the sea. It was incredibly warm and clear today and there was none of the nut shrivelling tip-toeing into the water than can often be the case with a sea.
Mid-afternoon there was drama. I say drama, but it’s relative to the complete lack of activity at all other times of course.
We saw lots of people leaving the sea in a hurry and then a group of folks all watching the same dark object move about under the water.
Not being able to muster the energy to leave my bed to investigate further, I just zoomed the camera in a bit and took a lot of photos, so I appreciate that my reporting of this event will not be troubling the Pulitzer committee.
After a while the small crowd dispersed and people ventured back into the water. There was no conclusive declaration of it being a shark, but this was pretty much at the same time as the shark attacks off another Florida coast so it may have been.
At around 5pm we decided to call an end to all this not doing anything and with Louise feeling a bit drained/weird (too much sun maybe?) we headed for home. Leisurely showers and readying happened before deciding that we couldn’t be bothered to head into the main Delray area, so we just strolled the short distance to Luna Rosa again. We were glad we did. Having had breakfast and lunch here already, adding the dinner option too proved to be a smart move.
Bread service with the most garlic we’ve ever consumed.
We then went with the Antipasto Platter. We opted for that rather than the Propasto Platter. Ba Dum Tish.
This was fantastic and I complemented it with a Chocolate Martini.
Louise had red wine and we moved on to –
Steak for me.
Pasta with Broccoli and Sausage in Truffle Oil for Louise.
Both dishes were superb. Louise was still not feeling hungry so did not finish and her lack of energy and feeling a bit “weird” persisted from earlier. So there would be no late drinking/partying tonight, unlike all the other nights when we were in bed before midnight.
Back at the hotel, I made a quick trip to Walgreens in the Jeep for some itch/bite stuff to attend to some wounds we had. We were still in bed by 10pm and I read for a few minutes before welcoming sleep.
My notes tell me I had a bad night’s sleep, and I attributed it to eating too much too close to bedtime. On reflection, it may have been the size of the bill what did it!
With that unsettled night it was 10.30 before we were up and about and we brunched at Boheme Bistro. It being steps from our hotel and on the way to the beach was granting it a lot of our business this trip.
We chose to sit outside and after ordering we Facetimed Rebecca and had a chat for a bit. We were still doing that when our food arrived which resulted in me forgetting to take photos before the eating began.
A large Stuffed Baguette for was mine, which is not a new thing for me.
And that empty plate once contained Louise’s Eggs Benedict.
We encountered a few spots of rain whilst we ate, but it was that kind of hot where that was quite welcome. Thankfully, it was just those few spots and we didn’t need to move inside.
Once down at the beach, we were relieved and delighted to see the umbrellas up, despite there being a decent wind.
We assumed the position under overcast skies. It was of course still delightfully hot.
Mid-afternoon I went for a wander to get us some drinks and another lot of sun cream and besides that, we did literally nothing. The weather brightened too.
The ability to do nothing for hours on end is a non-negotiable skill for these types of holidays. I am very happy to do very little as I so sledom get that chance back home. We endured until around 5.30, strolled back to the hotel and readied ourselves for more eating and drinking.
Tonight we would stray from Atlantic Avenue and indeed Delray by driving out to Bocca and….
It took about 20 minutes to do so, and the I95 retained its crown as the worst road I’ve driven on in the US.
There was no wait to be seated and we kicked off with the bread service.
My diet coke arrived with some of the machine inside it, so I was brought another.
You may have guessed that we of course ordered the Nachos to share here for our entree, with beef added.
They were very good but not as good as those we have had at the Cheesecake Factory in Lake Buena Vista. Despite it being the same chain, experiences and dishes can differ greatly.
We forced ourselves to a dessert, sharing a Cookie Dough and Pecan slice.
It was glorious but it could not be finished.
I forgot to note the cost of this meal but I am confident to say it was a lot more acceptable than the one last night.
We drove home, went straight to bed and watched TV for a bit before enduring another unsettled night.
We rose earlier today. I am not looking for applause, just stating a fact!
I enjoyed some cereal in the room before heading down to a very windy and wild, yet still incredibly hot, beach. A description that has often been applied to me too.
That wind meant that once again, umbrellas were not permitted and we would be subjected the skin scorching rays.
The beach was busy again today, with the weekend folks cramping our style.
Without the comfort and protection of the shade I felt a little unsettled and unable to fully relax. Towels once again were draped over the bits of me most likely to be torched.
We did some people-watching, whilst enduring the 70’s classic rock playlist being enforced on anyone in the vicinity of the southern belles on the beds next to us. I had to disagree with Free that it was Alright Now.
As lunch time rolled around we decided to head over the road to get some food and respite from the sun, eating this time at Boston’s.
I had Chicken Tacos.
Chicken Sandwich for Louise.
A diet coke each and the bill was $45. The food was decent but nothing to write home, or indeed here, about.
As we returned to the beach, a large group of young teens was having a beach party/picnic in front of our beds. It turned out to be the joint 17th birthday party of twins.
It was fascinating watching the group dynamics of a species I know very little about. I did spot and feel incredibly sorry for one young girl who seemed to be on the edge of everything and hardly spoke to anyone. There were of course the Queen Bee popular girls with their entourages, who followed the Queen’s every step and word and the jocks who played “ball” and jumped around all six packs and hairlines. Ah to be young? No thanks.
They were all very well behaved though and when they packed up they all did their bit, cleared all their rubbish/trash and were complimented by the Daisy Dukes next to us on their behaviour.
With the windy weather, the sea was very rough today but I did venture in for a while. I was immediately battered, knocked down and generally abused by the waves so I did not stay in for long.
Late afternoon, after the teen party had left, they were replaced by three mid to late twenty males with one female in a bikini that would barely be sufficient to floss your teeth with. She was “with” one of the males, which was made clear by him refusing to let go of her for more than three seconds. The two third wheels (is that mathematically possible?) had a jock off (I said jock) playing football and running into the sea before they all settled down on their towels. Almost immediately a freak wave came all the way up the beach, completely submerging them, their towels and their phones in freezing-cold water. I have never seen four people jump so high so quickly.
Today seemed to be all about people watching and avoiding third-degree burns.
We left the beach around 5.30 and back at the hotel I did a washer load in the laundry which was just a couple of doors down from our room.
After showers and readying we were in a Lyft heading for town around 8pm. We were dining at Tramonti this evening. We had spotted it across the road when we ate at the Mexican and saw that it was very popular and looked lovely. It would turn out to be an expensive, but delicious decision.
We were seated in a booth at the rear of the restaurant and were immediately given iced water, bread and a torch to read the menu. You know it’s going to be a dear do when different servers look after the water and bread.
Louise ordered the first of what would be two half bottles of wine and I had an Espresso Martini.
To start I had a “baked cheese thing”.
Louise had “a Garlic mushroom thing”
My entree was a “Mushroom pasta thing”
Louise had a “Cannelloni Cheese thing”
All the food was so delicious and the standard of service was outstanding. All in, with the wine, martinis and food it came to a ludicrous $270 including tip. Far too much for one meal for two people of course. Well, it is if you aren’t rich like us. Still, we enjoyed it and we were on holiday so the odd silly indulgence is OK I suppose.
We walked up to the Yacht Club to witness what turned out to be a truly terrible band.
We didn’t stay long due to that and we were in a Lyft home by 11 after one drink.
Another lie in!? Disgraceful scenes for someone holidaying in Florida I know, but with only more lying about to do as and when we got up, why the hell not I say.
It was approaching 11am when we were up, showered and dressed. We headed down to the beach this time taking with us the beach chairs which were kindly and handily provided by the hotel. With it being only half a day on the beach by this stage we didn’t want to use up one of our pre-purchased bed days.
It was a windy one , so windy in fact that the umbrellas were not allowed to be up, making our decision to bring our own chairs even more wise.
We took up a spot quite close to the water’s edge and got battered by the breeze.
We had to retreat several times back up the beach as the water came further and further in but the breeze and cloud cover made the lack of a brolly and shade almost bearable. Nothing says “Brit abroad” more than sitting on the beach with a towel over your burnt bits to avoid further damage!
Lunch was a Publix Picnic and the beach was pretty busy today, despite the wind, with it being a weekend. Most folks were behind us, so the following photo is a little misleading!
The sea, as you can see, was pretty rough today and we saw quite a few folks underestimate it and get taken out. We decided not to test our luck. We stayed until about 3pm, at which time the need for some shade became undeniable so we headed back to the pool at the hotel for a bit.
I secured the only remaining beds by the pool today, but to be fair there were only about eight in total. Louise had returned to the room to shower the sand off her before taking up position by the pool. For someone who loves a beach holiday, her aversion to sand and the sea are confusing.
Upon her return, she decided, against my better judgement that we should sacrifice the last beds I had secured and move to the other pool, so we did. It was just a few minutes later that we returned, tails between our legs, hoping to still find our beds available as the other pool was “full”. Luckily they were and even more luckily I decided not to say out loud that I was once again correct.
We left the pool around 5.30 for showers and stuff. I watched some TV whilst Louise finished getting ready before getting into our Lyft around 8pm and heading for the bright lights of Delray. Tonight’s driver was great. Whilst we waited for the drawbridge to go up and down to let some super yacht through, he was telling us about how Delray has changed over the years. Apparently, back in the 70s, it was a very rough and dangerous place with high crime rates and lots of violence. Then in 80’s, a number of “mafia types” from Miami moved in, hoping to avoid all the killing and stuff in Miami. Their money transformed the place and then in the last 15 years or so tourism arrived in earnest and that brought more money and now it is a highly sought-after place to live. He did say that the mafia types have “mostly” gone now!
Tonight we were eating at Amar, which is a Lebanese place. Atlantic Avenue was weekend busy again and as we approached the podium, what looked to be the manager was on the phone bollocking a customer who was calling to cancel their reservation for that evening. He ended the call, took our details (we had booked) and just turned and walked away. We assumed we should follow him. Not a great start.
Once seated, our server appeared who seemed very stressed and the place was indeed rammed and incredibly loud. We were brought some bread….
We invested in a bottle of wine and ordered starters of Lebanese Moussaka and Hummus.
Both were delicious although we were surprised that the Moussaka was served cold. True to form, we quickly accepted when we were asked if we wanted more pitta for the Hummus. They never bring enough! It was clearly freshly made and it was incredible.
We ordered Shish Chicken and a Kebab for mains which were both awesome too.
The place had emptied a little by now so the noise was more tolerable and our server more relaxed. We celebrated by enjoying a rare dessert. Any place that serves Baklava is going to get me eating it.
It was coming up to 10pm now and we got the distinct impression they wanted to close up and we had very quickly become one of the last tables still eating. We paid the $168 bill and left, having enjoyed the food but probably suffered due to the busy nature of a Saturday night.
Right across the road from Amar was the oldest hotel in Delray. Of a weekend, on their porch they had musical entertainment so we wandered across the road and loitered for a few minutes hoping somebody would bugger off and free up a table. Amazingly they did and we swooped.
I went to the bar for some drinks, which was slightly delayed as the barman was having to deal with a customer wanting to close their tab, but the barman had seemingly lost his credit card, which was retained as their “tab”. The customer was delighted as I’m sure you can imagine. Slightly nervous to leave my card with him, I took our first round of two back to the table and enjoyed an excellent classical guitarist.
As the night drew to an end, a British couple a few tables away left in the most blingy golf cart I had ever seen. It even had a custom seat for their poodle which had been asleep under a chair for the evening. Clearly, these were locals and not tourist oiks like us.
We left around 11.15 and got a Lyft back to the hotel for some more sleep.
I spent most of the morning in bed doing something I very rarely do.
Having a lie-in.
It was 10.30 before I was up and about but hey, we had nowhere to be. I had some breakfast and watched some telly whilst Louise slept on. Once she arose she wanted to go out for breakfast. Clearly, as I had already had mine I would just get a drink or something at Boheme Bistro.
I don’t know how to explain why the waitress brought me this to be honest….
It was definite brunch/early lunch territory so Louise went for a BLT.
Eating Hobbit style, with a middle breakfast, might just be the lifestyle I’ve been looking for.
Leaving $60 including tip, we set off back to the hotel to take up our positions by the pool. It was rammed today, with two other people crowding us.
Louise ignored the “you have to wait for an hour after eating before going in the pool” rule….
I cowered in the shade as certain body parts were still a little well done. We only had to move beds once today to chase the shade, but I did have to make several dashes back to the room for reasons I won’t go into, but I was very glad we were not at the beach today. Nobody wants *that* in the water.
With little else to report other than more of the same for the rest of the day, Louise went back to the room around 5.30 to start getting ready and I stayed out by the pool for a bit reading.
I showered and readied around 6.30 and we nipped out to Publix for “bits”.
We dropped the car off back at the hotel and ordered a Lyft. Stand by, because after a lot of nothing happening, there is about to be some mild drama.
We were picked up in a HUGE Toyota Sequoia by a lovely female driver. Delray was rammed, being the start of the weekend, and once she got us within striking distance of our restaurant of choice, we jumped out of the car in the middle of backed-up traffic and jogged unathletically across the road to avoid death.
We walked the remaining distance to Rocco’s Tacos and approached the podium. Upon hearing my accent the young girl trying to sort us a table asked which part of London I was from. Vocally, Dick Van Dyke I am not. I rolled my eyes and explained roughly where we lived and she explained that she lived in Cambridge when she was very young as her Dad was in the Air Force, stationed in the UK.
Pleasant chat over, she asked for my mobile number so she could text me. I thought that was a little bold with Louise stood next to me, but after a few awkward moments, it turns out she meant when the table was ready.
We started walking to the bar, and I did one of 300 daily pocket pats, ensuring I had my car keys, phone, etc. A sudden sickness came over me as I felt the emptiness of one pocket. Looking paler than milk I realised I had left my phone in the Lyft!
We ran outside, knowing she had long gone and with panic raging, I grabbed Louise’s phone and tried to call mine. It would not connect.
I tried to log into my Lyft account on Louise’s phone so that I could message the driver, but that wasn’t possible as it sent a verification code to my phone!
I logged into my iCloud on Louise’s phone and could see my phone moving, so it was definitely in the car, but that was driving away from Delray.
With my mind swimming with the horrors of dealing with losing my phone whilst away, I sent the sound alarm thing to my phone many times. I then tried calling it via every method available, Messenger, WhatsApp and the like. Finally, what felt like a thousand minutes later, the driver picked up. She had heard me pinging it and realised what had happened. She very kindly agreed to bring it back to Delray once she had finished her current drop-off.
I cannot describe the feeling of relief.
We stood outside the restaurant for about 20 minutes, having gone back inside to tell them that there was no point texting me yet and I explained why.
Eventually, she pulled up and I could have dragged her through the passenger window and kissed her. Instead, I gave her the maximum tip the app would allow which was the better option for everyone all things considered..
With my sheen of sweat now subsiding, we claimed our table and sat down to eat. This was the second time that I have left my phone in a taxi whilst overseas and I can only blame the poor pocketage on my very attractive holiday shorts.
We started with some chips and Guac. Enough to sink a battleship.
We ordered a Margharita each.
and ordered the same entree….a salad….
Honest! It was called a Taco Salad Bowl and it was awesome. This was our best meal so far, perhaps enhanced by the surge of adrenaline still pumping through my body, but we paid the $120 including tip happily and left.
We strolled down to Johnny Brown’s, a bar that always seemed to have live music on. It was absolutely packed. It was a literal fight to get a drink and we somehow bagged a table right outside the restrooms. Maybe that was why.
We’ve had better views.
The band were decent but the thought of another trip to the bar and the feeling that we were getting eaten alive by something drove us to seek another venue.
We ended up in the Yacht Club again where another band was playing. This place was much less crowded and civilized and we had a few drinks here whilst listening to the band, who, again were pretty good. Unlike my photography.
We jumped in a Lyft home around midnight and bed swallowed us up as eagerly as I had that Taco Salad earlier.
A good night’s sleep was ended around 6.30am. Rebecca phoned us around 7am to let us know Dougie and Tom had spent the night in A&E, as Dougie was having some serious breathing issues. At the risk of getting political, they left after five hours still not having seen a doctor and there was no realistic chance they would at any point. Go vote on July 4th! Someone else needs a go now.
We got up and had breakfast in our room and then I made the seven-step journey to the pool to “secure” some beds.
Being the only person at the pool, that was not too hard.
We spent most of the day in the shade due to being burned to a crisp from yesterday on the beach. We moved to different beds three times throughout the day to follow the shade!
We spent a good amount of time in the pool, cooling off and chatting. At some point, I made the long seven-step journey back to the room to get our sandwiches and crisps for lunch.
Mid-afternoon, I captured my impressive exercise stats for the day so far.
You know it’s hot when the locals can’t place all their feet on the hot floor.
At around 3.30 we decided to go for a drive to nowhere in particular. We were hot and if I’m honest I just fancied taking our lovely car out for a spin.
We got dressed and pointed the Jeep south on the A1A. Within a minute or so, as we left the area around Atlantic Avenue we started to see some of the most incredible houses we had ever laid eyes on. Louise, frankly, did a poor job of capturing them.
Delray has some proper wealth in and around it for sure. We drove south for about an hour, just soaking in the sights and at that point made the decision to drive on down to Hollywood, outside of Miami. Why?
Well, back in 1980 when all this Florida madness started for me, we stayed in Hollywood. As most of you will know, the story is that we went to AT Mays Travel Agents in Bolton, as we usually did to book our Spanish holiday and due to a dollar rate of around $2.20 to the pound, they told us we could go to Miami for less money than Spain. The rest is, as they say, history.
It felt silly to be staying so close this time without going to have a look, not that I had any real memories of the trip, which was now 43 years ago! But having lost my Dad recently, I felt the need to go and see where it all started I suppose.
With only 25 miles left on the Sat Nav to get to Hollywood, I wondered why it said we wouldn’t be there for 50 minutes. Well, the bobbins traffic in and around Fort Lauderdale soon explained that. It took all of those 50 minutes, but we were definitely in the “we’ve come too far to not complete this” territory now.
I had no clue where we stayed in 1980, and earlier in the pool when talking to Louise about it, from nowhere the name The Diplomat came to me. I was very spooked when I later looked at Google maps before setting off to see a hotel with that name in Hollywood literally be the first thing I saw when I zoomed in. This was weird.
Now, as we were finally driving along the “front” looking at all the hotels, not too surprisingly nothing really rang a bell. We did go past The Diplomat but it looked huge and it didn’t feel like the place we were at, but in 43 years they could have rebuilt the whole town of course.
When I messaged my Mum and Brother later that evening he seemed to think it was called Hotel Miami and there was one called that too, but it was closed now.
Louise needed the loo before we set off for home, so we stopped off at the nearest place likely to have one so that she could release her very own Whopper.
Whilst she did that I got us both an iced coffee to go and as I sat and waited my phone buzzed with a news alert that Donald Trump had been found guilty in his trial. This was also a bit weird as when we walked back to the car we saw that we were directly across from this.
Today felt a bit surreal all round.
We set the Sat Nav for home, this time using the I-95 rather than the A1A so the time was roughly halved. We found CNN on Sirius Radio and listened to the fallout from the Trump trial as we drove back. Again, the I-95 was busy and stressful.
Thankfully we eventually pulled off it onto the A1A again and tried to snap some more fancy houses on the way back into Delray.
We showered and got ready with a Lyft picking us up at around 9pm
and we headed for Vic & Angelos, an Italian.
We ordered a bottle of Montepulciano and some starters.
Mine was an Eggplant Lasagne thing.
Louise’s Meatball obsession continued.
We both had the same Entree. Nonna’s Sunday Gravy.
You may notice it involved another huge Meatball.
We were defeated and could not finish as of course we had also devoured the bread service.
As we were eating outside on the pavement, we were entertained by a lady pulling up and then reversing straight into a very fancy Range Rover parked behind her. She jumped out and we both thought she’d been drinking. A passerby took some photos of her and her car and they exchanged some strong words. She ended up not leaving a note and driving away. I don’t think there was any damage to be fair.
I didn’t note the price of the meal but I’d wager at $150ish due to the wine.
We strolled up Atlantic Avenue looking for somewhere to get a drink. At our age we want somewhere with something going on, but that’s not too busy and noisy. It’s tragic I know.
Right at the far end of Atlantic Avenue is the Yacht Club, a small bar that tonight had some Karaoke on. As there were no more bars if we walked any further, we decided to go in and to be fair it was good fun.
We had a couple of drinks and watched some “mixed” performances. These included an out-of-time Elvis, a crooner who may have been over 100 years old and a yacht rock guy.
We left at 12 and took a Lyft home where bed was immediate.
Sure, I’d been awake for 22 hours, but that didn’t prevent my body from waking me up at 3am. Rather than wet the bed I got up for a wee and then thankfully returned to sleep until around 5.30am.
Louise slept on a bit so I spent that time dealing with some work stuff (hey, you don’t get to be paid millions a year and then have a holiday without doing work stuff…and the same applies when you get paid buttons too it seems).
When Louise was up we finished the unpacking, I made a coffee and whilst Louise got ready I wrote up my notes for the long travel day yesterday, narrowly avoiding PTSD when it came to the drive from the airport.
We were still ready and out of the door by 8am and we strolled down towards the beach and decided upon Luna Rosa for some breakfast.
We both ordered the same thing: Iced coffee and eggs Benedict on avocado and toast. I have never been so hipster in my life!
This was the view from our table.
I think it’s a sign of having had a good holiday when looking back at photos like these causes you physical pain and a deep longing to be back there.
Yes, it was delicious.
After leaving $70 including tip we crossed the road to the beach.
It was still pretty empty at this time and we had our pick of beds.
We oiled up and lay down. We both ventured into the sea for a bit. It was not cold and very calm and clear, and you had to go a long way out to get out of your depth. It was lovely.
Knowing a chap would be coming by soon to collect payment for the bed and brolly hire I feared that I may need some cash, so I had a wander to find an ATM machine. This turned into quite the hike as the nearest one was a fifteen-minute “stroll” up Atlantic Avenue. By Jingo it was hot.
As gruelling as that walk was, it was good to have a look around and get our bearings for where eateries and bars were located.
On the walk back to the beach I called into our room for a tactical wee and to pick up some water. We got a very sad message from an upset Emily that one of her rats, Jim had sadly passed. He was old in rat terms so it wasn’t unexpected but they mean the world to Emily and losing a pet is always tough.
Back at the beach, the bed man came and I need not have worried about payment. He had a card machine linked to his phone and we negotiated a discounted rate for buying multiple days.
We read, dozed and rested for a while longer before needing some lunch around 12.30. Today was to be a big food day it seems!
We wandered up Atlantic Avenue and chose Boheme Bistro based almost entirely on its proximity to the beach.
Louise had a Chicken Caesar Salad.
I had a Turkey Baguette.
Diet cokes and a wine and it cost us $80 including tip.
Louise nipped back to the room which was just around the corner for a loo stop and I went back to the beach.
On the beds next to us (at the beach, not in our room!) were two young college girls. Their conversation was loud enough to hear in Orlando and it was a terrifying “Mean Girls” experience that made me very glad I was old.
We rested some more and then Facetimed my Mum for a bit.
We left the beach at 5.30 after a hard day. A five-minute walk saw us back at the hotel, where we jumped into the jeep and found the local Publix to do some stocking up. Cereal, milk, some sandwiches for lunch tomorrow, (this eating out three times a day was not sustainable) natural yoghurt for Louise who had of course burned herself in the sun today and some water. A terrifying $90.
Back “home”, we showered and I booked us a table at The Office for 9.30. We ordered a Lyft at 9pm and we were picked up moments later.
I had a Giant Pretzel, but I’m not one to brag.
Louise had meatballs adorned with some green crap.
Our entrees were….
A Short Rib Sandwich for me. It was awesome. That white dip is melted marshmallow!
Louise had The Office Burger
With wines for Louise and an Espresso Martini for me, all this came to $145 including a healthy tip.
We were knackered and full so a Lyft was ordered to take us to bed. I jumped in the back seat with Louise a step or two behind me on the other side of the car and he started to set off with her only half in. There was much shouting of “woah, stop, hang on etc” and thankfully no harm was done. I think he apologised for every second of the short journey home.
We were home and in bed by 10.45, deep in a food coma.
Things did not get off to a great start. The night before our flight I received a message from Tui saying that our In-Flight Entertainment would not be working, but fear not, we could claim £30 compensation…EACH….if we wished.
Louise was less than pleased. As a nervous flyer, this distraction is key to her surviving a flight. Trying very hard not to let this darken our mood we pressed on with final preparations and went to bed around 11.30.
I set my alarm for 4.30am, but Louise was up and about well before that ensuring that I was too. I had not had the greatest of sleeps. I found myself anxiously pondering all the things I had not done, feeling massively underprepared for this trip for some reason.
With the broken IFE thing on my mind I put my ear bud things on to charge for an hour before we left just in case I might need them. I had discovered late last night that inexplicably, despite owning about 723 of them, I could not find any UK to US power adapters. This had also kept me awake and with my last search now also fruitless I was resigned to buying a couple at the airport at vast expense. We had a 4 way extension each packed in the luggage so two would be enough.
There was a sweat-inducing fifteen minutes of weighing cases and redistributing weight (TUI only give you 20kg each and I was trying to get both cases around that figure) and Ryan had to step up and take three pairs of Louise’s shoes to get us under 40kg combined.
We said our goodbyes to Emily and Mikey, inflicted the dogs upon them and left the house our customary fifteen minutes behind schedule at 6.15. It took fifty minutes to get to Manchester airport which wasn’t too bad considering it was mid-week rush hour around the M60.
Upon arrival at the airport we parked in our customary T2 West, having to drive all the way up to level 7 to find a spot my car might fit into. Once at TUI’s desks there were kiosks to use to avoid the (small) queue but they involved having a boarding card already. I had checked in online and I know I downloaded/saved them somewhere, but could I find them now? Nope. So we trudged over to the desks and after a few minutes we were checked in by a surly young chap who’s attitude was inexplicable. Despite me entering our US address on the TUI website, he still insisted on not only entering it again, but he would not trust me to read it to him, no, he had to see it himself on my phone, having googled it. Weird.
Security was a “walk on” to use theme park parlance. I don’t know if they have new equipment and/or processes but nothing needed to come out of bags and we retained our shoes. We walked through the scanner and we were done in under two minutes. Such an improvement on recent trips.
We were drawn automatically to our usual breakfast joint of San Carlos and again it was really quiet. Ever since Covid we have had to queue here for quite some time to get a table, but today it was half full and we were seated immediately by the window.
What a view.
As I fired my camera up for these first pictures I discovered some pictures taken by Freddie last Christmas. I had handed him my camera and told him to capture the day. There were some belters.
We had a good chuckle over those whilst we looked at the menu. As we waited for our food (and you may not believe this), we saw a few small flurries of snow outside the window…in May. Honest!
We were so distracted (and out of practice) that I only remembered to take food photos after we’d started eating. I had the Bacon and Egg on Sourdough….
and Louise a full English of sorts…
We both had tea and Louise added a Mimosa. It was £43.
We wandered the duty-free spraying ourselves with every sample on offer. How lovely we must have smelled. Tragically, Louise could not find the one she felt compelled to buy.
I got a US adapter from Boots and then a few minutes later I got another from WH Smith.
For those of you paying attention, towards the end of our last trip in November, with about two days to go Louise spent almost $200 on a new pair of sunglasses. Yeah, I know.
Still, with us having two trips booked for this year, they would get some use.
She had lost them. So now we found ourselves shopping for some more. Safe to say they did not cost almost $200 this time.
We moved on to the book shop where Louise bought one she wouldn’t touch for the entire trip and then we had a coffee, waiting for the gate info to appear. We moved to the gate at 10.30 and waited for everyone else to queue up to board before we did so last.
We Facetimed Rebecca whilst boarding happened and I squoze in (or is it out?) a last minute pre-flight wee.
A couple of weeks ago, I had changed our seats to row 10 as I noticed that of the three seats in that row, none were taken, whereas our selected seats had us and someone else in them. My plan worked and it turned out that we had that row of three just to us and along with them being extra leg room we also had extra width too, which despite my pre-holiday diet was very welcome.
Much to our delight, and the cabin crew’s surprise, the IFE was working. We pushed back bang on time and took off at 11.50 through some pretty bumpy clouds.
Drinks were served and I watched three episodes of Two and A Half Men that I had only watched a few hundred times before.
The food was perfectly edible and not as blurry as it looks when it came.
That’s better. I devoured everything and anything else put in front of me. For some reason, I am always inexplicably ravenous on a flight.
We tinkered with the very cool dimmable windows for a bit.
I read for a bit and stared at the map too.
Louise bought some Back Opium (the perfume, not narcotics) and some Pringles. I was more pleased with one of those as you can imagine.
I watched two episodes of The Middle and some Big Bang Theory. By this point we were ninety minutes out and for the rest of the flight we listened to the family behind us argue constantly until landing.
Landing at Melbourne is a test of nerve for a nervy flyer like Louise as it is all sea until almost the last minute but the pilot managed and we landed on time. After the Premium elite de-planed we were the first of the plebs off, being in row 10. It’s just a short walk to the one and only baggage carousel and we had a bit of a wait for our cases being one of the last into immigration. The wait was only ten minutes though.
Another few steps to the car hire desks and with most Tui folks I guess being on packages, the majority went out to the coaches leaving the car hire queue non-existent and I was served immediately. I was just about to be handed the keys to some SUV when a manager walked behind my server and said “We have a Jeep Wrangler, if Sir would prefer?”
Well “Sir” did prefer and we walked over to the car park to be delighted by it. Here it is a short time in the future at our hotel.
We were delighted to be hit by that Florida heat as we left the building. It felt nice to be home.
Very pleased with the car and the ease of which we had got from the plane to it (Melbourne is very straightforward and easy compared to MCO), we spent a few minutes getting sorted in the car, connecting my phone to Car Play and setting the sat nav off and then we were away. The estimated journey time was two hours, which seemed odd as when I’d looked at it back home it had been ninety minutes but we would soon discover why.
For now, the mood was glorious and as I connected to one of my Spotify playlists, Happiness by McFly came on, and full of the “just arrived” joy, a lovely car and excellent weather we drove along on a cloud of loveliness and indeed Happiness.
It took a little while to make it out of Melbourne and onto the I95 (this road is horrible and makes the I4 look like a dream) and begin our long journey down south. The sat nav said go straight on for 120 miles, so we did.
The first hour was without incident and we were making good progress. Then, quickly, the rain came. We could see the other side of the I95 backed up coming towards us and above that queue a horrible grey hazy mess of stuff that did not look good.
What followed was one of the most stressful and unenjoyable forty minutes of my life, and I’ve had an office job since I was 17! These were some of the worst conditions I have ever driven in, and I’ve been through a good few Flordia downpours in a car.
This was literally the calm before the storm.
Once the rain started, I didn’t blink for forty minutes. My nails were dug deep into the steering wheel and if Louise spoke to me I could not afford the loss of concentration to even listen. I was glued to the two red dots in front of me that I hoped were a vehicle.
It felt endless and every time I thought it couldn’t get worse, it did. The wipers were just spreading water around the windscreen and we did not go above 20mph for a long time. What a storm!
We finally got some respite with about twenty miles to go and I could exhale at last. When we finally did arrive at our hotel it felt like every minute of the more than two hours it took us to get there.
We checked in around 7.20pm and after a little bit of unpacking and organising we were out looking for food.
This was the huge church right across from the hotel entrance.
We stood here waiting for our recently ordered Lyft. I had fired up the map and simply chosen the closest eatery to our hotel.
This was a huge source of shame when our driver turned up, circled the block and dropped us off at the Delray Hideaway about 17 seconds later. Look, we had no idea of the geography and we were tired! I tipped well enough to make it an apology.
Delray Hideaway was, it seems, the locals place, that not many tourists seemed to get to, judging by the stares as we entered. It was very “basic” but the food was decent, quickly delivered and the service was good. We declined to play the bingo that was just about to start.
We had some Mozzarella sticks to start.
I had the Chicken Sandwich
and Louise the French Dip.
With a couple of wines and beers it was $90 including tip.
Despite having been awake for far too long by now we had a short stroll around the place to get our bearings.
Even down to the beach which was a five minute stroll from our hotel.
On our way back, we spotted some lovely local homes.
Back at the hotel we found the second pool…..
and the whole place looked lovely in the dark.
Sadly we did not take photos of the room before we messed it up with some of our stuff but here you go….
Lounge
Dining Area (we did not use this)
Kitchen
Bathroom
For some reason, probably due to the mess we’d already made, I did not photograph the bedroom.
We fell into bed at 9.30 pm US time, 2.30am Uk time, having now been awake for 22 hours. The joys of travel day.
As predicted it’s been a busy old week, with work scaling new heights in ways to keep me occupied for more hours than it should. Battered, bruised and breathless I fell over the finishing line on Friday. My task now is to try and come down from the adrenaline and stress of work life so that I can actually relax and enjoy not working for a bit. Look, I know I’m not pulling babies from burning buildings but it has its moments.
As a parting gift, the UK graced us with 48 hours of continuous pouring rain, just to confirm that our decision to go somewhere else for a bit was correct. Also, how cold has it been? It’s ridiculous for late May.
Having eliminated the pouring water inside the house last week, this week it was (mainly) outside. The biggest challenge has been convincing the dogs to actually step foot outside to do their business. Hey and guess what? We have another leak. Whilst Emily was showering on Friday I could hear a dripping noise and yep water was coming down through the kitchen ceiling and probably has been for a while from time to time as there is a faint brown patch around that area. This house hates me. Well, that can wait till we get back and Emily can use our shower until then and the plumber can return, no doubt to cut more holes into this money pit.
Louise finished on Thursday and has been in prep mode since then. There will not be a shop unvisited before departure and somewhere in between all that and me doing two Pink gigs this weekend, we’ll leave the house at some point early on Tuesday with a couple of cases full of what we need, purely down to Louise getting us all packed on Saturday. The bank holiday Monday is well-timed.
Today I have to break my golden rule of never going to the tip at weekend as needs must so we do not leave Emily with a house full of rubbish that has somehow appeared asa result of holiday prep. No I don’t understand that either.
I should probably report in with you all on the weight loss front. It’s been a fairly strict and well-behaved four weeks and depending on what mood the scales are in of a morning it looks like I have shed something like 8 to 10 pounds. It sounds like a good effort but the injustice of that small number compared to the huge effort and time taken is heartbreaking. It also brings home how horrendous I must have looked at my heaviest as even in my new svelte form I will still be scaring folks on the beach.
Let’s see how the calorie sponge that is my body responds to ten days of holiday eating and you can all make your own bets as to whether all of that goes back on.
So we leave on Tuesday morning, so you can expect the usual “I’m at the airport” post on Facebook just to make you all feel happy for me. Right?
Anyway, we have a busy day ahead so I must leave you. As ever, feel free to follow the trip “live-ish” on the Mkingdon Facebook page and you can all look forward to another trip report about sitting in the sun most days followed by what we had for tea (dinner). You lucky, lucky folks.
When it comes to Disney, especially with a trip on the cards, there is little I like to do more than to think about scenarios that may or may not happen that will have hardly any impact on my life in the long term. Things like not getting specific ADRs or the parks being too busy or that those FOMO perks that Disney gives to on-site guests will make our off-site trip a disaster. It’s all part of the fun. For example, it seems off-site scum can only start to book their Genie+ Lightning Lanes from park opening, not 7am like the honoured on-site types. A bit petty Disney if you ask me. If you’re going to do this, then you need to come up with some affordable accommodation options for larger parties.
The only thing I enjoy more is whinging about Genie+ but I guess I’m not alone there.
Another fun part of this countdown process is to make completely unsubstantiated guesses based on zero knowledge about what Disney may or may not do in the future.
Take for example….
Soon, in Summer 2024, the new version of Splash Mountain will open. Tiana’s ride (not the official title) will be welcome for a couple of reasons.
Having such a major ride down for so long just means there are fewer things to spread the people around and all the other attractions get busier. (This is the entire issue with Hollywood Studios right now. Not enough things for too many people to do, but that’s a whole other blog post.)
It may draw some folks away from the likes of Seven Dwarves at rope drop and give other folks a fairer chance to ride it without paying extra or waiting for 90 minutes.
Emily and I were pondering if Tiana’s ride would be added to the list of individual lightning lane attractions in Magic Kingdom. There is much to think about.
It seems that MK is currently the only park with more than one such attraction…
Epcot – Guardians
Hollywood Studios – Rise of the Resistance
Animal Kingdom – Flights of Passage
Magic Kingdom – Tron and Seven Dwarves
So adding a third would be bordering on a piss take in my view. The options seem to be to take that piss and add a third which would be punitive and very unpopular, leave Tiana’s ride as Splash was, as part of the (still paid for and shite) Genie+ service, or add it to the Individual LL list and drop one of the others.
Personally, I think they will leave Tiana as Splash was. If they were to make it one of the two, then which of the existing ones would they drop?
Tron is too new surely and Seven Dwarves is one of the most popular and slowest loading rides on property, so that could just be carnage.
As ever, this thought process will be a complete waste of time because the last time I correctly predicted what Disney would do next I had a fringe.
I’d be interested in your views of course.
Speaking of change and new rides. Due to some clickbait-style headline writing by some other Disney-related blog (not that you read any others of course), there were a couple of minutes late last week when it seemed like Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin was going to be replaced by a Wreck-It Ralph attraction. A quick scan of the article once they had my very valuable click, confirmed that this was in Tokyo. Let’s hope that nonsense idea never darkens Florida’s door.
The other thing I have done in the last few days is begin to firm up some dining plans. We are months from ADR booking but I did try out the new system where you can put in a range of dates for a restaurant and see all the ADRs available. That is excellent!
My strategy for our eating on this trip is to focus on off-site places as much as possible with just a smattering of on-site ADRs. Sure, cost is a consideration. Feeding six folks multiple times a day on property is a pricey hobby, but we also love a lot of off-site places.
So I am adding an eatery of choice for each day and if it so happens that on one of those days we don’t want to leave the parks or that doesn’t fit with our plans, we will just try to find somewhere there and then via the app. We do want to try and get ADRs for a few such as Garden Grill, Rodeo Roundup, Space 220 (yeah right) and probably one character meal.
On that note, has anyone done BR77 Steakhouse on the 192. It’s a Brazillian Steakhouse type place it seems and I was thinking of giving it a try. Other than that, our list is the usual suspects.
All of this theme park talk ignores the fact that we are now just four weeks away from our absolutely no theme park trip at the end of May, to Delray Beach. When we called in to see my Mum last week she asked if we had the cases out yet. Even for me, five weeks out was a bit early, but it won’t be long.
The only prep required now for that one is to get some bloody weight off. My “Fat Elvis” period has been dragging on for a while now and it seems these days the only thing that can motivate me to get some lard off is a trip overseas. Let’s see how that goes over the coming weeks. The hardest part for me is starting. Once I begin to see any sort of result, I can stick at it, but as the years go by, it just becomes harder and harder to get the ball rolling.
If only everything in life were as easy as getting fat.
If ever there was a week to undermine any activity from the UK Tourist Board, then this must have been it. I don’t know about your neck of the woods, but the weather here was beyond atrocious and only increased my desire and anticipation to be somewhere warm. Insult was added to injury as we supposed to entering the time of year when you may feel justified in believing that the worst of the bleak winter is over.
What feels like 412th named storm of recent times battered us with sideways rain and annoyingly strong winds meaning that I was outside at the back of the house on multiple occasions, tethering down garden furniture that we’ve had for three years and hardly used because the weather here is always so shit.
There is a part of me that is beginning to think I have personally angered the weather gods, as even when we have managed to escape to Florida in recent times, we have enjoyed less than stellar conditions there too.
I am sure that is all about to change when we land in Melbourne at the end of May. It’s been some time since we were in Florida in their summer time, so I am very much up for a bit of sunburn and moaning about it being too hot.
Having had that whinge, as I write this I am sat with the conservatory door open with dry conditions outside. However, this is very much the exception.
You might point out that we have moved to the edge of the Lancashire moors and we need to expect biblical weather more often than not, but I don’t think we are alone in experiencing this nonsense. Speaking of which it is now over three years since we moved to this house. I’m sure for anyone who cares and/or remembers, it feels like time has whizzed by since my weekly posts were mainly moaning about solicitors and the snail-like progress of our move.
Anyway, the UK’s insistence on having bobbins weather is certainly increasing our desire not to be here and it is heightening our anticipation for our sun, sea and sand holiday in about six weeks time.
Looking ahead to that next trip in May, you may sympathise that it feels odd not to have anything of note to plan. What sort of holiday is that right? The uplifting effect of having a holiday booked is increased when there is pleasant stuff to plan and arrange. I think we all know that.
Well, with some determination, some planning activities can be found. I don’t know if anyone else uses this feature or whether I am just the last person on the planet to do so, but I’ve been using the Want To Go thing on Google maps to identify potential eateries (what else) around Delray Beach.
Highlighted on the below is our accommodation, and all the little red pins are restaurants that look of interest that I have added to my “want to go” list.
We probably won’t get to them all but it doesn’t hurt to have options right?
I am very encouraged that many of those places on this eatery-filled boulevard have great reviews and for foodies (fatties) like us, this is a utopian situation. Selecting our restaurant of choice shall be the main activity of our inactive days on the beach or by the pool.
I have invested in a small Amazon Fire tablet to feed my holiday time need to read. In November, we had to do several shopping trips as I kept running out of reading material, so now with my little electronic friend, I shall have an endless supply of holiday page-turners.
Before we do leave I think I’ll also have a look for some places of interest within driving distance, mainly as I don’t want to have paid for a hire car to not use it! The area is new to use so it would be good to explore the likes of West Palm Beach and maybe even as far afield as Miami could be worth a day trip. I quite fancy going to visit Hollywood (not the one in California) as that is where we stayed on our very first trip to the States in 1980. I haven’t changed a bit since then so I am sure it hasn’t either.
The end of this trip, an extended trip at that and one besmirched by shite weather for the majority of it. That’s all relative of course as we would not have been lying outside in our shorts back home at this time, but you go to Florida so you can.
Anyway, this last day started like most of the others with an awakening around 7am. For some reason I noted that I frequented the “bathroom” a good few times this morning. Maybe a delayed reaction to the gallons of Espresso Martinis on this holiday?
We did the dreaded packing and were out of the room by 10.40 with the car pointed at Disney Springs for one last visit. We parked in Lime and left all the bags in the car, in which was the camera, so I only have a few phone shots for you today.
Despite thinking we had finished gift shopping we were still looking for ways to spoil the grandkids, so we found ourselves in the Harley Davidson shop debating whether to spend a silly amount of money on a leather jacket for Freddie. In the end, we decided against it as he would grow out of it in about six minutes.
We wandered into World of Disney, still desperate to hand over more dollars and having done that we needed some lunch. Today would be the day we finally tried the Polite Pig.
It was only 11.30 but packing had meant no breakfast and hey, we were still on holiday.
We got a platter for two and it was absolutely delicious. As you can see it wasn’t a huge amount of food for two people but maybe that is just us fat knackers. It was $55ish. I hadn’t realised this was a counter service place rather than being served at your table so I share that in case you didn’t either.
With that devoured, we headed over to Starbucks and got a couple of coffees and something sweet in the form of a cookie and a blueberry scone. We found a bench to eat them on whilst “enjoying” what seemed to be a school band on the stage.
You can enjoy them too….
I think the term, “bless them” covers that sufficiently. As a very average musician myself I tip my hat to these youngsters and their abilities that already outstrip mine.
Once they were finished we found a little wall to sit on and people watch for a few minutes soaking up the last bits of warmth before making the final walk back to the car. We filled it up at the Gas station opposite the Springs for $28 and set off towards MCO. Terminal C still has the feeling of not quite being open. Everything feels empty, which is no bad thing.
We were too early to check in, so after a painless car drop-off and standing in the queue for too long, it finally opened at 2pm. Security also was a bit shit but we finally made it through and made our way to Gate 238 by 3pm.
As ever my notes dry up here. I did note that we were sat in the extra legroom seats, near the emergency exit and therefore had one of the flight crew sitting opposite us for take-off and at times during the flight. She was lovely and really helped Louise who as you may know is a nervous flyer. She explained every noise, bump and wobble and was generally just excellent.
As is customary on a return to the UK, you have to be reminded what a mess things are by waiting over 90 (yes, 90) minutes to have the cases appear on the carousel. Every time!
We finally got our luggage, walked to the car and made our way back to reality.
So it’s time to sum up this one. In summary, here are my takes if anyone cares.
I know I’ve moaned about the weather throughout this trip and I have been justified in doing so. It did not ruin the holiday for us but it certainly affected it. It made us extend the trip if nothing else.
Aer Lingus took us there and back and were absolutely fine. There were no issues, edible food and despite being in economy, albeit with extra legroom on the way back, comfortable enough. We find their entertainment choice a bit dated/limited, but in the scheme of things, you just need that big tube thing with wings to get you there and back safely and economically and they do the job very well.
The Drury Plaza Hotel is excellent. It is new so all the facilities are just that. The rooms are large and spacious and most with nice views. It has so many extra perks compared to other hotels and if you can get the free parking offer (I think via Travel Republic, if it still exists) that will save you a lot too. Free breakfast, the early evening kickback (which we never used) free coffee in the lobby, buses to the parks, early entry and a superb location make it a no-brainer. We will definitely consider it when we want to do a similar trip in the future.
Recently, we seem to have created a new kind of Florida trip. New for us anyway. This adults only, no parks, doing what would be a holiday to the Med but in Florida thing, and it really works for us.
We’ve loved this trip and similar previous ones and we will do it again. It gives us all the familiar Florida stuff we love –
Guaranteed quality of food and accommodation
Endless options for dining and drinks at Disney Springs and the resorts
Not having to figure out a new place with only a precious few days to spend there.
None of the stress, planning and crowds involved with going to the parks
I know for many, that endless discovery of new places is exactly what is sought but with holiday time being so precious (and expensive) this works for us. I would thoroughly recommend it. We did not miss the parks at all; honestly, it was as if they did not exist.
I should say, there is no falling out of love with the parks. We will be back soon enough for a full-on theme park commando dawn till dusk ride fest. It was just not on the agenda for this trip.
We thought going to Florida would guarantee the weather too but we’ve just had some really crappy luck there. Our stay at Daytona last May was badly affected by unusually terrible weather so if and when we ever return we surely are due some proper old-school Florida sun.
Don’t get me wrong we adore going to Florida with as many family members as we can muster and we will definitely do that again ASAP, but the freedom of being just the two of us makes it what we hoped and that is a stress-free relaxing break. I think I have had more alcohol on this trip than in the last ten years, but variety is the spice of life as they say and a little bit of excess in moderation doesn’t hurt.
Thanks again for enduring, especially this one which was literally us sitting by a pool or moaning that we couldn’t, followed by an evening meal and maybe some drinks. For those who did endure, thank you.
Dig in folks, we are now at the “last full day”. Once we get this one out of the way there’s just the brief and sulky travel day to endure and then we can all move on with our lives.
After a late and boozy night, there was no rush at all to get up this morning. My dislike of the weather continued as it looked to be cloudy AF (I am down with kids) again.
It was a solo breakfast once more this morning but I did take a hungover Louise some coffee and sweet things on my return.
With no sun to speak of, we jumped in the car and headed up the I4 to City Walk to do some final gift shopping. We parked up and headed on in.
We initially stopped off in the gift shop at Bubba Gump’s. Louise bought too much stuff. It wasn’t a financial concern, well it was a bit, but I was very worried about our lack of luggage space for the return leg. We were pretty much at our limit on the way out and we had already accumulated many gifts to return with.
We strolled on and did a full loop around the water.
We stopped in most of the shops along the way and did manage to get everyone who merited one, a present.
Having spent a handful of calories walking, the sensible thing to do would be to nip into Toothsome for a Freak Shake, so we did.
I had the Red Velvet and Louise the Espresso Buzz. They were glorious of course and being stupid we kept the plastic cup things and somehow managed to bring them back across the Atlantic so they could sit in our cupboard never to be used again.
We completed our loop, stopping in more shops and Bubba Gumps again to use their restroom on our way back to the car. The forecast said there may be some sun to come so we were headed back to the pool all full of hope and expectation.
Naturally, pretty much as soon as we lay down by the pool the drizzle started.
You can have that footshot for free.
We moved under cover on the patio area and hoped to wait out the fleeting shower. It did not fleet and just got worse so we eventually gave up and returned to the room. We read and rested for a bit before getting ready to go out for dinner (tea).
Our destination was Olive Garden just around the corner and we got there around 8pm. We were seated immediately.
You will know what happened first.
We both opted for the Tour Of Italy…
We both had Diet Coke too, having had enough of alcohol last night.
The bill was a very reasonable $70 including a good tip and after what had been some rocky ground here since Covid this felt like a return to form for Olive Garden and I was glad we hadn’t given up on it.
We went straight back to the hotel, having neither the desire nor stamina to do any drinking or revelling this evening. We watched The Hunger Games in bed and went to sleep around 11pm. Hardly a glorious finale to our trip but it’s what we felt like doing and isn’t that what holidays are all about?
Fear not faithful readers, we are approaching the end of this seemingly endless Groundhog Day trip and then you will surely be spared any further trip reportage from me for some time. Right?
I was awake at 6.30am. This was intentional as there was a football match back in the UK that I wanted to watch. Not too surprisingly the TV in our room did not carry the required channels to watch it, so I had to resort to watching it on my phone instead. Having watched an acceptable draw, I ventured down to breakfast alone at 9.45. Louise could not muster the enthusiasm to do so this morning, so after eating I brought her a muffin and a coffee because I am a model husband.
With days fast running out, we went to the pool despite the cloudy weather. It was warm enough and certainly warmer than it would be when we would get home in a few short days so we endured.
I think I must have nodded off at one point because when I opened my eyes Louise’s sunbed was empty and I eventually saw her on the other side of the pool, chasing the intermittent sun.
We got our customary snacks and Lays for lunch again and continued to do nothing until around 4pm.
For reasons I now cannot remember I had decided that this evening we would be eating at Saltgrass Steakhouse at Lake Buena Vista, so after showers, we drove the short distance.
After enjoying them so much at Sickies once we saw the Pickles and Peppers on the menu they were bound to be our appetiser.
They were large and very nice, as, increasingly was I. We also had a bread service and a salad before our mains arrived.
I figured, if you are coming to a steak house then it would be silly not to so I ordered, possibly the largest steak I had ever eaten.
It was a 22oz Porterhouse and it was awesome.
Louise had a Chicken Sandwich. After all these years, even Louise forgets to not go near her food until the photo has been taken!
I didn’t make a note of the bill, but I think it was decent value all things considered. This being our first time here, I would say it is worth a try. It is a no-frills affair and seemingly very popular with locals which is usually a good sign.
We left around 7.45 and dropped the car off back at the hotel. A Lyft took five minutes to arrive and it transported us to The Boardwalk. It took an age. The traffic past Disney Springs was ridiculous. What should have been a sub-ten-minute journey took over twenty.
I feared that Jellyrolls, our destination, would be full by now, but we managed to snag the last table and it was right by the stage. This can be a worry if you are not a fan of audience participation but we were not troubled tonight.
As ever the performers were great despite not being any of our favourites. We had a couple of requests played, Teenage Dirtbag and That Thing You Do (again).
We had a few rounds of drinks. You know you’ve been to Jellyrolls a lot when the waitress comes to your table and says “the usual?”. I think we probably funded her mortgage for the month during this trip.
I think we left around 12.30 and ordered our Lyft home. We were picked up by “Flash”. I may be cynical but that was probably not his real name. Regardless he was a superstar. We had a lovely chat all the way home about his home of Jamaica and all sorts of random things. What a lovely man.
We said goodbye and I probably over-tipped him before falling into bed around 1am.
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