Travel – Page 18

Disney World 2016 Day 1

February 10, 2016 by Alicia Leave a Comment

Tuesday morning (Feb 2) was our first full day in Florida after arriving Monday evening. We took the 8:20 bus to Disney from our hotel location. From the transportation area we needed to catch another bus to Magic Kingdom. We arrived at 8:55, 5 min before the park opened which was perfect. We got our passes and headed into the park.

We walked into the park and turned left. Brian noted that we (us humans) are so programmed to turn right first, so he chose to go left and it was a great idea as no one was really around that side of the park yet. We were the first ones on the Pirates of the Caribbean and Splash Mountain rides. Then we headed to the mountain roller coaster next to splash mountain. I was a bit nervous waiting as I couldn’t even remember the last time I was on a roller coaster. I don’t go on the upside down ones, but will go on some others. This one wasn’t a huge stomach dropping roller coaster and once I let myself relax a bit and not worry I was able to enjoy it.

Interesting tid bit: I was so nervous and stressed before the ride and afterwards, I think it finally clicked, I am on vacation and I felt so much better throughout the rest of the day.

We then took a raft over to Huck Fin’s island. Explored the area and came back.

Next we headed to Haunted Mansion, which had a bit of a line. While in line, we decided where to book lunch. Thank goodness for Wifi everywhere! I was last at Disney World when I was 13 years old so a lot has changed in 12 years with technology.

Before lunch, we had a bit of time and decided to head into the It’s a Small World ride. From my last visit I remembered briefly going on Splash Mountain and Haunted Mansion, but I probably remember the It’s the Small World ride the most because my dad video taped it back in the day and we used to actually watch our home videos. [Now we need to work on converting them from mini video tapes, but that’s a different story. ]

For lunch, I read online prior to going on our trip that it is nice to get out of the park and eat at the Disney resorts. They were definitely right. Since it was just the two of us, it was fun to splurge a bit. Prices were pretty reasonable, we were just hungry and both got appetizers, entrees and dessert. After lots of walking in the morning, my turkey sandwich on sunflower bread was amazing, as was the fall harvest salad and the most amazing chocolate dessert. Highly recommend the Disney’s Grand Floridian Cafe.

After lunch we headed back on the monorail and then boarded the train in the park to get off at Fantasy Land. We waited in a very long line for the seven dwarfs roller coaster which also wasn’t too bad. Then we headed to Tomorrowland. Brian wanted to go on Space Mountain which had a huge line so instead we first went on the People Mover. That was cool to get a glimpse of all of Tomorrowland. Then we headed to the Monsters Inc laugh academy followed by a Lilo and Stitch show.

From there we headed to the speedway and drove some cars, which was rather difficult since we got cars with steering wheels on the left and pedals on the left. Good thing the cars were on tracks. Lol

After that, Brian waited in the Space Mountain line while I walked around. I ended up catching the end of a show going on at Cinderella’s castle.

Then they had a dance parade which was fun and Brian ended up getting off the ride when the dance parade ended and we eventually found each other in front of Cinderella’s castle.

We headed back to the mountain roller coaster which was about a 30 min wait. Going on it in the dark was definitely a bit more scary but I survived. By then it was 7pm. We explored the Swiss Family Robinson tree house and then decided to get some fries to tie us over to hang out until the 8pm fireworks. I explored the massive gift shop thinking about a few gifts I want to get but didn’t buy anything yet. Then it was time for the quick show before the fireworks and fireworks to end the evening.

We took a ferry to the transportation area and then got an Uber back as it was easier than trying to remember when our bus was coming. (We actually learned on Day 2 that our bus doesn’t come to the transportation area that we were at, but rather to Epcot, good thing we didn’t look for it)

It was a long day as we got back at 9pm. I usually don’t eat so late but we didn’t have dinner, so I ate a bit of the food we bought. We had a full kitchen at our hotel/condo. After eating, we changed for the pool and enjoyed the hot tub for a while and swam in the pool briefly and then back to the hot tub before heading back to the room and calling it a night. Woo..what a busy day. Our feet were tired. My fitbit said I walked 19K steps! Look for day 2 at Disney coming soon.

Back from Vacation: MIMM #57

February 8, 2016 by Alicia 1 Comment

How are we at Monday already and how is it the second week of February?! When you are on vacation you really lose track on what day it is. So here we are back to Monday and back to reality for me, which is really not so marvelous. We did have a great time at Disney and Universal though. After wanting to go to Disney for the last 3 years or so, it was nice to finally get my wish. Though I have been to Disney 2 other times, when I was 6 and 13 years old, I don’t have many memories of those trips, except for watching the home videos on repeat. Plus Harry Potter world at Universal didn’t exist back then, so I really wanted to see that and it didn’t disappoint.

I will recap our vacation in more detail on another day, but for today here is a little sneak peak in pictures.

disney world toy story — the characters didn’t know what to think of my yoga

magic kingdom disney world — Magic Kingdom

Diagon alley harry potter — Olivander’s wand shop

We got home Sunday afternoon and headed to the grocery store to stock up for the week. We caught the half time show for the Superbowl and I prepared some food for the week. I went to the gym this morning, time to get back at it with a better schedule again and clean up my eating after vacation.

Bermuda: Day 4 and 5

September 25, 2015 by Alicia Leave a Comment

This is the last recap of our Bermuda trip.

On Thursday morning, I wasn’t feeling that great. I was up half the night because I was so hot and had a headache. After taking some tylenol, I eventually fell back to sleep around 6am and Brian and I stayed in bed until 9. We took it easy and we weren’t in the sun too much on Thursday which helped me. After a lazy morning, we headed to the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute. This was another museum type place and it was very interesting. We learned about the invasive lion fish. We took a simulated dive and stepped into a shark cage that rattled as if you were being attacked by a shark. The only pictures I took in the whole place, as I really was just soaking in all the information and staying in the present moment, was a couple of the amazing shell collection.

I think we spent about 2 hours going through the whole museum and then we enjoyed lunch at the restaurant they had.

We then headed back to the apartment, resting and taking a short nap, which I really needed. Eventually we got up and put on our swimsuits and headed down to Elbow Beach, this time to swim. However it was a bit cloudy and breezy so it felt perfect on the beach, but cold in the water. I mostly stayed on the sand but went in the water once.

For dinner, we picked up some snacks from the gas station and ate what we had in our mini fridge. We watched a movie while eating and then read in bed for a while. I was excited to finish another book, doing better on reading more this year.

Friday was our last day on the island. I started out feeling better than Thursday and definitely slept better. We packed our bags and headed down to our beach one last time. The morning was a bit cool but as the sun rose, it got warmer. It was certainly peaceful. I love just listening to the sound of the waves crashing in.

We headed back up the 125 steps from the beach for the last time and then showered and got ready to leave at noon.

We dropped off our scooter and then our host kindly drove us to the airport. I was so glad to have about 6 days disconnected from everything and just spending time with Brian. I loved exploring the island and I think we got to see quite a lot for 5 days with also having lots of down time to relax. Maybe you just have lots of down time when you don’t spend it all browsing the internet… I was sad to go, but I was also ready to get back to my regular routine, minus work would be nice, but at least I still had two more days to sleep in and relax. Of course I spent a lot of that time lying around. When we got home Friday evening, I had a fever and stomach bug, and basically slept on the couch until we headed to bed at 9. Brian had to go back to work so he left Saturday morning and other than a trip to the grocery store, because I had no food in my fridge, I stayed in on Saturday and felt much better by Sunday at least, but still took it easy.

What I Ate in Bermuda: WIAW #17

September 23, 2015 by Alicia Leave a Comment

When we decided to head to Bermuda for vacation this year, all I could think about was the beach. Being that we were headed to an island, I expected food to be pricey and I was definitely right. We had a strange eating schedule while we were there as we slept until 8am most days and eventually got moving to head out the door at 10am. We usually ate 2 big meals and the rest of our food was snack type foods. I brought quick oats with me and made myself oatmeal in a mug each morning. Besides that we snacked on ham, cheese and crackers and fruit that we bought at the grocery store on our second day. We also used the grill we had twice, once with kabobs and another time with sausage (forgot to take pictures as I had to eat quickly before the ants got to my food). Even though the grocery store food was expensive too (think $10 for a box of cereal or $17 for a jar of organic peanut butter), it was cheaper than dining out which usually ran about $100 for one meal for two people. That was with 2 main courses, an appetizer or two and 1 drink. Go big or go home right?! This was our one vacation of the year and we hadn’t been on a one week trip together since the Bahamas in October 2013 so it was much needed. Luckily Brian was treating me to these lovely meals, but if you ask him, he was treating himself and I just happened to be along for the ride. Either way, it was delicious food and I even stepped out of my comfort zone a few times.

We arrived in Bermuda on Sunday afternoon, though by the time we made it through customs and found our ride it was about dinner time in Bermuda (they are an hour ahead of East coast time). Our host brought us to a gas station where they had a salad bar and chinese food bar. We got that and snacks for our dinner for the first night.

We stayed in a bedroom off of the house of our host. We had a bedroom and bathroom, mini fridge and microwave. It was basically the size of a hotel room, but the bathroom was pretty big which I liked and the rate seemed to be cheaper than a hotel around the island.

On Monday, our first stop for the day was the Fantasy and Crystal Caves. When we got there, we noticed they had a little cafe so we got some brunch. I was actually craving eggs…so I got the Fantasy breakfast which came with toast, eggs and bacon.

After lots of walking through caves and the zoo, we headed into the city, Hamilton. We walked around looking for a sushi place for Brian, but when we passed The Pickled Onion and I read avocado spring rolls on their menu, I was sold. The first of many $100 meals. We also didn’t realize they include a 17% tip in the check so the guy was probably really happy when he noticed he got almost a $40 tip…oops.

I ordered the avocado spring rolls and the super food salad. Both were delicious, even though they also served my meal backwards, giving me the salad then my appetizer of the spring rolls, but didn’t matter to me.

Since we had a late lunch, that was like our dinner too. We did decide to head out later in the evening to walk down the street to the Henry VIII restaurant for dessert and drinks, or rather 2 desserts and 1 drink. I stuck with water, but throughout the week tasted all of the drinks Brian ordered at different meals. He loves the faces I make…

Brian ordered creme brulee and I got the flourless chocolate cake. Brian ate the ice cream since I can’t have ice cream, but I did have a taste of it. The flourless chocolate cake was good, but not as good as the one I had at Glow Retreat.

Tuesday we headed to the grocery store in the morning and snacked throughout the morning before heading out to a restaurant at Elbow Beach, Mickey’s for lunch. It was a beautiful day sitting at a table right on the beach. After trying a bite of Brian’s fish he ordered at the Pickled Onion the previous day, I was thinking I should order fish, maybe it wouldn’t kill me. I usually don’t eat any seafood except for fish and chips, but I went a bit out of my comfort zone and saw a fish sandwich with avocado on the menu. Add avocado to almost anything and you have me! So I ordered the fish sandwich with a side salad.

Brian also ordered a classic mojito and I think we have decided if I were to order a drink a mojito would probably be the winner because it isn’t overly sweet and I love mint, so I had a few sips of that. I still did not like the drink enough to order my own. We also shared an orange mousse dessert which I forgot to get a photo of. It was gone in .25 seconds anyway.

That evening we made kabobs on the grill that we got from the grocery store and then enjoyed reading on the patio overlooking the ocean until it got too dark to read. If you ever eat outside in Bermuda, I advise eating as fast as you can and bringing plates inside right away to wash because I then had a plate full of ants to wash…the ants were EVERYWHERE.

Wednesday we mostly snacked in the morning and then we stopped by a farm and Brian picked up some chicken sausage to grill for a late lunch when we returned from our outing. I had a taste, but also ate some ham and cheese and pistachios. For dinner, we went out to dine at the lighthouse down the road, highly recommended to us from our host. We definitely went big here! Brian got two appetizers, soup and tomato mozzarella caprese. I got the thai spring rolls.

For the main course, Brian ordered a lamb dish and I got a steak over arugula with veggies. I wasn’t even that hungry, but that steak was soo good. I felt so full that evening!

Thursday I wasn’t feeling that great but I still ate my oatmeal in the morning and then I just ordered a light salad for lunch. We spent the morning at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute which had a restaurant attached so after walking the exhibits, we ate there. When they say iceburg lettuce salad on the menu, they aren’t kidding, a head of iceburg lettuce, but it was perfectly light for me.

Brian finally got his sushi at this restaurant and I even tried some fish eggs and a bit of crab and salmon, but still not really a fan of it.

We laid around in the afternoon, literally, we napped for a bit and then headed to Elbow Beach around dinner time. We needed to fill up our scooter to return it Friday so we stopped at the gas station on the way back and I got some snacks and Brian got more chinese food for dinner.

Friday, our last day! We only had the morning so I had the last bit of my oatmeal and some cereal I brought and then we spent our last morning on the beach for an hour before freshening up and packing. We snacked on the rest of our fruit and cheese and then we ate at the airport before our flight. I had a light chicken ceasar salad, while Brian enjoyed a club wrap and the smaller version of the swizzle drink. I wasn’t all that hungry and I actually came home with a stomach bug which I guess I started to feel on Thursday, but it really hit me on Friday. I was happy we were heading home and I still had the weekend to recover, sleep and not think about work yet.

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