Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friends - A Coast to Coast Adventure

[dolphingirl47]

Day 7

I had a lovely leisurely start to the morning. I did not wake up until 9:30 and then got showered and dressed. I could not hear any movement outside so I stayed in the bedroom and read for a bit. It was lovely to have some downtime. Once I heard movement in the kitchen, I decided to surface. Sue had started to make breakfast. We had chicken sausage, scrambled eggs, sourdough toast and cantaloupe melon. She also made some coffee with her Nespresso machine and this was when I was well and truly hooked.

We had a lovely relaxing day. Ken and Sue had asked me if there was something specific I wanted to do, but I was more than happy to just hang out and relax. We watched Despicable Me and Frozen at some stage during the day and I used the downtime to catch up online. Sue had made sure that she had some Orange Cream Soda in the house and we each enjoyed a bottle of this. I did some laundry as I somehow managed to get a stain on my Cinderella dress and then we headed off for an early dinner.

Dinner that night was a new experience for me, but a very enjoyable one. Ken and Sue had suggested a Korean Barbecue called Cham Sut Gol in Garden Grove. I had Korean food previously and really enjoyed it, but the concept of a Korean Barbecue was new to me. Ken and Sue explained that you cook your own meat at the table and there are various side dishes. This sounded good to me. Considering that we were quite early, there were already quite a few people there. We were shown to a table and offered a soup. I went with the egg pot soup, which was delicious. Our server heated the grill in our table and took our meat order. We went with beef brisket, bulgogi and pork chop to start us off. The pork chop came with a separate marinate to dip the meat into. We also were brought a number of side dishes and dipping sauces. I liked the rice paper squares in which we could wrap the cooked meat and also a cold noodle dish, but mainly I just stuck with the meat. The beef brisket was very thinly cut and utterly delicious. I also really liked the bulgogi. For the second go around, we had some pork belly, beef belly and spicy pork. The beef belly reminded me of the beef bacon you can get in Dubai and was not my thing. The rest of it I enjoyed though. Once we had finished with the meat, we went to get some ice cream. They had a freezer at the back where you can help yourself to some ice cream. I went with green tea ice cream, which was very nice.






After dinner, Ken and Sue dropped me off at the Paradise Pier Hotel. We said goodbye and I went to check in. I then headed over to Bell Services, who called across to the Disneyland Hotel regarding my luggage. Their guys were all tied up, but promised that they would bring my luggage over in about 30 minutes. I was fine with this. Bell Services at Paradise Pier told me that they would call me once the luggage had arrived. I headed up to the room. I had booked a standard view, but could see the back of California Adventure. There was a road and some palm trees in the way, but I still enjoyed the view.









I got settled in and shortly afterwards Bell Services called to let me know that my luggage had arrived. I headed down to collect it and then read for a bit. I had planned to check if I could see World of Color from my room, but my eyes kept falling shut. Even though I had a nice lazy day, I was really tired. So I gave in and got ready for bed.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Interesting update Corinna. How nice they cooked breakfast. It is not common in the UK to eat cooked breakfast but you would not expect most meat like chicken. So this is a surprise to me! The most we do is an English cooked breakfast which is sausage, egg, bacon and baked beans and toast. Mostly we are cereal and boiled egg folk! We make toast soldiers and dip them in. Or we go sweet like waffles/pancakes bagels with jam.

How nice to watch those movies. It's nice to have a relaxing day! What gracious hosts again getting in orange soda. I too am a fan.

How interesting your dinner! Korean! I have not had this either in barbebque or non. It sounds very nice. If you are a lover of meat like us! I bet the flavours were very nice. Have you eaten in a steak restaurant in Amsterdam? Those Argentian steak houses. My word that meat is beyond amazing.

How cute that plushy beach ball on the bed at Paradise Pier! Nice to get a bit of view when you expected zero!

 

[dolphingirl47]

you would not expect most meat like chicken.

My local ASDA does chicken sausages as well. They are meant to be healthier. They are actually pretty nice, but I still refer traditional pork sausages.

The most we do is an English cooked breakfast which is sausage, egg, bacon and baked beans and toast.

When I am home on a Sunday, I do make a cooked breakfast. I usually make sausages, eggs, fried bread and hashbrowns. Sometimes I add some pancetta or even a small steak.

It's nice to have a relaxing day!

It was definitely needed.

Korean! I have not had this either in barbebque or non. It sounds very nice.

Where I grew up, we had a number of Korean restaurants and I always enjoyed the food. There they cooked the food for you though. I loved our dinner at the Korean barbecue.

Have you eaten in a steak restaurant in Amsterdam? Those Argentian steak houses.

Not in Amsterdam, but I grew up in Frankfurt and there are a couple of nice Argentinian steak houses there.

Corinna

 

[tiggrbaby]

What a nice relaxing day! The restaurant looked like a lot of fun. I have to agree with Paula that the beach ball pillow is cute!

 

[jedijill]

What a great party and weekend with your friends! It is nice to get out of the Disney bubble a little too.

Jill in CO

 

[Pinkocto]

I was four updates behind, i know I won't remember everything I wanted to comment on but I'm going to try.

Firstly, that was very rude of the CM at the power walk to question your abilities, that would have upset me greatly.

Glad they were able to provide a smoothie without banana. Did you get your massage later?

The Halloween party looked fabulous! I was very upset I waited too long to get a ticket and then it was sold out. I made my way out of the park after the party started and was very impressed with the projections on Mainstreet.

How lovely to spend the weekend with Sue and Ken. Sounds like some delicious meals were had and great company enjoyed. Love your sparkly nails glad you found most of what was on your shopping list. Too bad about the H2O shampoo though.

The orchid show looked beautiful. I love flowers of all kinds.

At first I wasn't too crazy about PP but it grew on me. I would be happy to go back to any of the DL hotels. That was great about them taking care of your bag.

 

[franandaj]

What a nice day hanging out with Sue and Ken. I love when we have breakfast at home, sometimes even more than breakfast out.

Lovely that you hung out and watched movies and just caught up online. Sounds like a very relaxing day. I would love to hit a Korean Barbeque. It's been so long since I tried that many years ago. Fran is reluctant to try new places, but I think she would really like this.

 

[dolphingirl47]

What a nice relaxing day! The restaurant looked like a lot of fun.

It was a lovely day and I loved our dinner. This is something I would never get Graham to agree to so it was nice to get to do this kind of thing.

I have to agree with Paula that the beach ball pillow is cute!

I loved the pillow, but like the pillows on DCL, they come with dire warnings about the cost of them and this always makes me nervous.

It is nice to get out of the Disney bubble a little too.

Yes, it is and later in the trip, I ran out of steam as far as the parks are concerned.

Firstly, that was very rude of the CM at the power walk to question your abilities, that would have upset me greatly.

It is not the first time I have heard this kind of thing. People are just clueless. It just makes me all the more determined to proof them wrong. I wonder what kind of reaction I will get when, all going well, I will do my first 5K race at Disneyland Paris. People who know me have been really supportive and are in no doubt that I can pull this off.

Did you get your massage later?

No and I was good with this.

The Halloween party looked fabulous!

It was.

I was very upset I waited too long to get a ticket and then it was sold out.

It was such a shame that you missed out, but at least you got to do MNSSHP.

I made my way out of the park after the party started and was very impressed with the projections on Mainstreet.

This really blew me away.

How lovely to spend the weekend with Sue and Ken.

It was. They are like family to me.

Sounds like some delicious meals were had and great company enjoyed.

Yes, it was an all round perfect weekend.

Too bad about the H2O shampoo though.

I did get some later in the trip and I have already found out that it is relatively widely available in China, Hong Kong and Singapore.

At first I wasn't too crazy about PP but it grew on me.

For me, it was love at first sight.

What a nice day hanging out with Sue and Ken.

It was really enjoyable.

I love when we have breakfast at home, sometimes even more than breakfast out.

I do, too. I try to cook breakfast whenever I am at home on a Sunday.

Lovely that you hung out and watched movies and just caught up online.

I like doing this at home, too.

Sounds like a very relaxing day.

It was.

I would love to hit a Korean Barbeque. It's been so long since I tried that many years ago. Fran is reluctant to try new places, but I think she would really like this.

Maybe we need to pencil this in for a girls' night out the next time I am over. We can send Ken and Graham to get a steak and a beer somewhere and we can go to the Korean Barbeque. Unfortunately this will be a bit later than I had planned. I have just updated my pre-trip report as things are definitely happening.

Corinna

 

[PrincessInOz]

Relaxing day. What a yum looking Korean BBQ.
And yay for being back in the Disney bubble.

 

[dolphingirl47]

What a yum looking Korean BBQ.

I really enjoyed this.

And yay for being back in the Disney bubble.

It was nice to be back at Disneyland although I did really enjoy the weekend.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Day 8

When I woke up this morning, I was well rested. I needed to be as well as this was promising to be a very busy day. I got up and ready and then headed over to the Disneyland Hotel for the Royal Gathering for DVC members. I had always missed it for one reason or another so I was keen to finally attend this. I got there a little ahead of time and they had not opened the room yet. I went to sit down nearby and they opened up shortly afterwards. There was coffee, tea, juice and water and various pastries. They even had flavoured syrups to go with the coffee. I helped myself to some coffee with hazelnut syrup and a couple of pastries and then found somewhere to sit. The turnout was pretty good, but it seemed be mainly people who lived fairly locally and most with them had their home resort at Grand Californian with a few at Aulani. This was a very different experience for me. Normally when I have attended things like this, we had people from all over the place. I ended up sitting with two ladies that live just down the road from Disneyland and try to attend every Monday.

Once everybody had settled down, the host showed us a slideshow about the special things going on for the Diamond anniversary. Then it was time for some games. I volunteered for the first one for our team. This was a twist on charades. The host had a number of cards with Disney characters and in the first round we had to describe them without mentioning the character itself. Our teams had to guess as many as possible within the time specified. In that round, we drew. For the next round, the time available was shortened and we were only allowed to use one word to describe the character. For the third round, the time was shortened again and this time, we had to act out the hints. Unfortunately my counterpart did a better job with this then I did, but it was still a lot of fun. We still got a luggage tag each for being good sports. There was also another game after this where the room was divided into three groups and had to take turns to answer multiple choice questions. This was pretty fun to watch. There was also a raffle that unfortunately I did not win and then Mickey came to pose for photos. I went to meet Mickey and then I got another coffee to go before leaving. On the way out, we were given some baseball caps and a pin.





On the way out, I wanted to take care of one other thing. I was still in search of the H2O+ shampoo and I knew that they have this in the hotel gift shops. Unfortunately they did not have the H2O+ Spa shampoo at the Disneyland Hotel so I left empty-handed. I decided to take the monorail into the park. It was still quite early and the monorail station was not busy. I decided to ask if it was possible to ride with the pilot and that I was happy to wait for the next monorail. This was one of my last bucket list items as far as Disneyland is concerned. I was told to see the cast member near the end of the platform and he told me that there was one spare seat if I was willing to join another family. I could not stop smiling. I am so glad that I finally got to do this.





Once I arrived at Tomorrowland, I decided to check out if Thor was out meeting people that day. He was not, but I was told that Captain America would be out later. I was not all that bothered about meeting him as I had previously met him on the Disney Magic. I am not really into the Marvel franchise, but if Thor would have been out and about and the line had not been too long, I would have stopped for a photo. In the end I never did meet Thor. For the time being, I pushed on towards Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. This was a walk on and I ended up doing this ride three times in a row. I then headed over towards Fantasyland. I did Alice in Wonderland, which had a 15 minute wait. This time I could really appreciate all the clever new stuff they had added. I then moved on to a ride I had not done in years: Mr Toads Wild Ride. I did really enjoy this, but was surprised how dark this is considering that this a Disney ride. I then moved on to something altogether sweeter and fluffier: the Storybook Canal Boats. Since I had been at Disneyland in November 2014, they added a Frozen scene. I wanted to see this. I enjoyed the ride.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I still had not got around to checking out Matterhorn after its makeover so this was next on my list. The line did not look too bad, but I remembered that I had read in a recent trip report that there is a single rider line for Matterhorn. So I went straight to the entrance and was sent down a separate line. Pretty much as soon as I got there, I was directed straight to a bobsleigh. The experience is still rather bumpy and uncomfortable, but I love the yeti and the new special effects. I backtracked slightly to get some photos at the Matterhorn Diamond anniversary photo spot and then I headed towards the exit.













I had plans that did not involve any parks for the afternoon. First of all I had some shopping to take care of. It was our friend Ken’s birthday on the Wednesday and that evening would be the last time I would see Sue on this trip. He had really liked my watch, which is a Fossil watch. As I was not allowed to pay for anything while I stayed with them, I decided to get him a nice birthday present. I went to the Fossil store at Downtown Disney and managed to find a nice watch for him. I then went via the gift shop at the Grand Californian and there I managed to get the H2O+ Spa shampoo. I got 4 bottles and had them sent over to Paradise Pier. In the end I could just have taken them with me as I ended up heading straight back to Paradise Pier anyway.

I quickly got freshened up and picked up a few presents that I had brought for Alison. I also packed a dress to get changed into later. Then I headed out towards the bus stop. When I originally looked into this, it appeared that the closest bus stop was quite a distance away, but when I double checked Google Maps while I was in my room, it transpired that there was actually a bus stop pretty much around the corner. I texted Alison that I was about to set off and the started to walk towards the bus stop. I got lucky. The buses normally run every 30 minutes and according to the time table, I had just missed one. However, the previous bus was running late and I ended up waiting only a few minutes. The bus service seems to be pretty well used and I ended up standing for the first few stops. However, once we had left the Anaheim city limits, the bus started to empty out a little and I was able to get a seat. I texted backwards and forwards with Alison for a bit and caught back up with stuff online and time flew. Soon I had arrived at my destination. Alison arrived shortly afterwards to pick me up from near the bus stop at her end.

When we got to her house, I finally managed to meet Fran. I am glad that we finally managed to meet in real life. I also met the cats. One of my colleagues had given me a cat toy to take and this was a huge success. We all sat down to have lunch. While I was on the way over, Alison texted me that she was going to pick up some food from Del Taco on the way and asked if I wanted some. Up to this point I had not even realized that all the food I had that day was two mini pastries at the DVC Royal Gathering. I had been too busy having fun to think about lunch. So I texted her back that any things with beef would be very welcome. She brought me back a couple of beef tacos and they went down very well. For fast food they were really nice.

After lunch, I played with the cats a little and then I was given the guided tour. The house is amazing and I loved all the Disney memorabilia. We spent the rest of the afternoon chatting and I got plenty of kitty cuddles. I love cats, but was never able to have one of my own so I was in my element. At one stage we had a little pre-dinner drink. Alison knows that I love Rosa Regale sparkling wine. She had a bottle of this, which she opened and we enjoyed. At some stage I got changed into a dress and we headed off for dinner.

Our destination for the evening was The Melting Pot in Irvine. I had wanted to eat at one of their restaurants for years. Fondue is very popular in Germany and when I still lived there, I would have this pretty regularly. Unfortunately Graham does not share my enthusiasm for this. Therefore the opportunity to eat at The Melting Pot had never occurred. I mentioned this on a trip report I followed that featured a dinner at The Melting Pot and the idea was born that we should have a girls’ night out there during my solo trip. Fortunately everybody was up for this and with a bit of rearranging stuff, we managed to find at date on which all of us were available.

We got there nice and early, but everybody arrived at pretty much the same time. We were shown to our table and were left to peruse the menu. We all ordered a drink, but mine never materialized. I was pretty happy with just water as I had already had a drink that afternoon. We all decided on the 4 course dinner. As there were 5 of us, we had two cook tops to play with. So we were able to choose two different cheese fondues. We went with the French Onion Gruyere, which consisted ofthe classic Alpine cheese blend melted into a combination of beef broth and caramelized onions and the Classic Alpine, which consisted ofaged Gruyere, Raclette and Fontina cheeses blended with white wine and fresh garlic and finished with a dash of nutmeg. The fondues were served with bread and vegetables for dipping. I loved both of them. We then had to choose an individual salad course and I went with the Caesar salad, which was very nice. We then chose our individual main courses, but had to agree on two cooking styles. I went with The Classic, which consisted of Certified Angus Beef sirloin, Memphis-style BBQ pork medallion, Pacific white shrimp, herb-crusted all-natural breast of chicken and teriyaki-marinated sirloin. This was a perfect mix of different flavours. For the cooking styles, we had decided on the seasoned court bouillon and the Bourguignonne style, which is oil and also came with tempura and sesame batters. This is the style that I was used to from Germany and this was my favourite. We also got some bowls with vegetables to add to our meat. I thoroughly enjoyed this. For dessert we were able to choose two different chocolate fondues. We went with milk chocolate with peanut butter for one cooktop and milk chocolate with Baileys for the other. We got fresh strawberries, blondies, pineapple, marshmallow treats, pound cake and brownies to dip into the chocolate mixture. Normally they also bring banana, but as both Jennifer and I are allergic to this, we asked for this to be left off. This was a beautiful evening and was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. The food was delicious and the company was great.











Unfortunately it was also a bit of a sad evening as this was the last time on this trip that I would see Sue and Alison. Jennifer and I would meet up again two days later for Mickey’s Halloween Party. However, there was one thing that made the goodbyes a lot easier. Sue and Alison were plotting to meet up. The fact that two people who have a very special place in my heart would do stuff together really gave me a warm feeling. We said our goodbyes and then Alison and Fran gave me a lift back to my hotel. We chatted on the way and all too soon, it was time for more goodbyes. This had been a long and very enjoyable day. As soon as I got back to my room, I got ready for bed and then went to sleep.

 

[franandaj]

That was such a great day! As sit here in bed snuggling with my kitties watching the rain, I'm thinking how nice a cheese fondue would taste! Hopefully we can do something similar again in the future!

 

[dolphingirl47]

That was such a great day!

It really was.

As sit here in bed snuggling with my kitties watching the rain, I'm thinking how nice a cheese fondue would taste!

It would be very welcome here, too. We even had some snow yesterday. Still, I have to make do with slow cooker pork chops, which are also nice comfort food.

Hopefully we can do something similar again in the future!

I really hope so.

Corinna

 

[jedijill]

You got a lot of the classic rides in! Glad you found your shampoo. Yay for meeting Alison and Fran and the kitties!

I love The Melting Pot and I never get to go as its not someplace I will go alone. It's such a fun place!

Jill in CO

 

[franandaj]

I love The Melting Pot and I never get to go as its not someplace I will go alone. It's such a fun place!

Do you get a night with a dinner when you fly through to Australia? Wanna go that night?

 

[jedijill]

Do you get a night with a dinner when you fly through to Australia? Wanna go that night?

I get in super late on the 10th and Super Shuttle is picking me up at 6:20pm on Friday the 11th. I would love to go if I can get back to the Grand by then. If not, we can do it next trip!

Jill in CO

 

[dolphingirl47]

You got a lot of the classic rides in!

I did great that day especially as I had less than half a day.

Glad you found your shampoo.

I was glad, too. I seem to have found a suitable replacement in the UK now, but I will still stock up whenever I can.

Yay for meeting Alison and Fran and the kitties!

I had an amazing afternoon visiting.

I love The Melting Pot and I never get to go as its not someplace I will go alone. It's such a fun place!

This was my first experience and I loved it.

Corinna

 

[PrincessInOz]

YAY for meeting up with Fran and Alison. And that meal at the Melting Pot has me salivating over here. I can taste that cheese and the meats!!!
Sad that you didn't get to catch up with them again. But I guess there's always the next time.

 

[dolphingirl47]

YAY for meeting up with Fran and Alison. And that meal at the Melting Pot has me salivating over here. I can taste that cheese and the meats!!!
Sad that you didn't get to catch up with them again. But I guess there's always the next time.

I was really blessed this trip and managed to meet up with most people multiple times. There definitely will be a next time, but I will have to wait until 2017 for this.

Corinna