So when I last left you, it was time to head in to the peacefulness of the World Showcase. I never imagined that I would spend almost 9 hours there!
I started in Mexico for two reasons....it was the closest country lol, and The Ditch!! I had read so much about this on the boards that I needed to try it out for myself. I strolled through the pavilion (beautiful, by the way) and did a little shopping. And then headed to the ditch. It was pretty crowded so I found a spot at the bar; I didnt really need a menu because I knew I wanted a blood orange margarita and the crab tostadas.
The crab tostadas were out of this world, and I'm working on trying to recreate them at home. The margarita was also really good, but a word to the wise - this is a strong margarita, it took me three countries and a relaxing movie to recover!!! This may be why I don't have many pictures of my first few countries. I just remember talking to my mom on the phone and telling her I was drunk at Disney! oops! lol
Anyway, after Mexico comes Norway and there was only one thing I really wanted to do there - Kringla og Cafe! I'm not a big coconut fan so schoolbread was out....but I really wanted to try a cloudberry horn.
This thing did not disappoint! It was wonderful and might be my new favorite snack at the World! I passed by Maelstrom, really because I didn't want to sit through the Norway movie at the end! hahaha
Next came China. I was really excited to see Reflections of China for two reasons: 1) I'd never seen it before, and 2) I needed a cool place to recover from my margarita. I honestly must have been a sight while waiting on the benches to go into the theater. And then I walked in and there was no seats!!! I almost walked right out, but decided that the floor would probably be an acceptable place to rest. A few other people were also comfortably resting, and about halfway through, I was feeling well enough to stand up and enjoy the 360 degree view. By the end, I had gotten my second wind and was good to go! After the movie, I wandered around looking at all the zodiac figurines and took some time to take some photopass pictures. Afterwards, I asked the photographer were to find Mulan, and she told me to turn around.
Oh, there she is, pretty much right behind me! Hmmm...maybe I was still a little intoxicated. Anyway, I met Mulan and she was awesome! Here are some random, somewhat intoxicated pictures from China.
The rat, my Chinese zodiac symbol
Then it was on to Germany. I stopped to check out the Snow White topiaries
The real Snow White was nearby, but like every other time I saw her during the trip, her line was huge! I decided to pass her by. Here are some randoms in Germany.
In Germany, I also decided to try the wine walk. For those of you who haven't done it, you get to try two samples of wine in Germany, Italy, and France. I love wine, so this sounded perfect!! I forgot to take a picture of my German wines, but they were both sweet white wines. They were both good, but the dryer of the two was a little better.
I did a little shopping, convinced myself not to buy any candy, and then continued on to Italy! I normally don't really enjoy Italy that much, but the extra flowers added for the festival made it really beautiful. Here is a picture looking across the lagoon
And a few of the pavilion
I continuted my wine walk here, and these were my two favorites of the trip. The white is a pinot grigio and it was really good, not too sweet just the way I like my wine. The red was a sparkling wine called Rosa Regale. I've heard alot about it on the Dis, and it didn't disappoint. It was awesome!! Italy definitely had the best wines of the day.
Wines still in hand, I made my way to the American Adventure. I know alot of people love this pavilion, but I can't really get in to it. I've never seen the Voices of Liberty, and the last time I went to the show, my brother and I both fell asleep. Maybe one day I'll enjoy it, but not today. I also checked to see if there were any random characters out, but no luck. I took a few topiary pics of some faves, and then continued on.
So to recap....so far I've hit 6 countries
Food = crab tostadas, cloudberry horn
Drinks = killer margarita and four samples of wine
Summary = I'm feelin pretty good!!!
having also just come back from my first ever solo trip (and a second one booked for next year) I know where you are coming from, it's such a liberating feeling isn't it being able to do exactly what you want when you want.
I'd love to be able to go solo! 
I'm currently living in Chestnut Hill, so that's pretty close!! If you ever have the chance to go solo, do it! even if it's for a day when you're down there with family! It's such a great experience!
