have to apologize for not having reported in a couple of days. lots going on. hope to catch up tomorrow or Saturday.
ready to head to turkey after seeing all of the great dancers at the Sultan's Feast tonight at the World Showplace. it was a very special bonus. there were 60 dancers (the fire of anatolia, men and women, hot, hot, hot!) and there were only 70 people at the dinner. we actually missed illuminations, but it was worth it (you won't hear me saying that often). the dance group is scheduled to appear before 40,000 people at Madison Square Garden next week (sold out!!!) and we got our own private show. fabulous!
wednesday we did the mystic forest therapy at saratoga springs which consisted of a massage and reflexology. have to go back soon. i was a puddle when it was all done. the facilities are nice, though i didn't really think they were that special. but there was a
dvc discount and i felt great afterward so I can't complain.
we skipped ohana. ended up eating around the world. faves included the carbonara at italy and the lamb sirloin slider at new zealand. did maelstrom, which is one of my favorite rides. it may be the norwegians (i even stay for the film; love it!). then we did the dvc member update at saratoga springs and toured the models. love the grand villa! i could live there if our dog and cats could come, too. met a lesbian couple from maine. decided with the current dvc special we may add another 200 points (we'll talk about it seriously when we get back home and away from the disney magic).
we decided to try to catch wishes and illuminations in the same evening on video. success! mike recorded wishes in the square in front of the train station (and a correction, only half of the platform was closed). we took the monorail to epcot (leaving magic kingdom for the TTC our train had some mechanical issues that actually required a workman being under our car and banging on something. that was unnerving, but the wait was short, and he waved at us when he realized we all could look down and see him).
watched illuminations wednesday from canada. mike got a great video using a mini tripod on a post right in front of the entrance to o canada! afterwards, had dinner at Big River Grille & Brewing Works on the Boardwalk. the food was okay (imagine Ruby Tuesday's). We learned that our server used to be Pocahontas (although in keeping with the magic she insisted that there is only one Pocahontas and she was merely a helper).
Afterwards we went to Atlantic City Dance Hall. There weren't many people, but it was rocking anyway. Since there's no cover and the VJ is really hip, I don't understand why this isn't more popular (we should make plans to take it over one night). we stumbled back to BCV about 1:30.
Thursday morning we did the Odyssey Cooking School - Japanese. Learned to roll sushi, prepare soups and make green tea mousse. then we ate it all ... lots of fun! the chef was the sous chef at Japan in World Showcase. the host was the chef de cuisine from animal kingdom. got diplomas at the end. spent most of the day back at the villa, then did the turkish thing, which may have been a life-changing experience (could have been the tights). Must ... visit ... turkey ... soon.
will start posting photos to photobucket this weekend (there are lots of some things, like the dancers).
