imbe@aol.com
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 22, 2001
- Messages
- 371
This was our only 'late' morning of the trip - much to Debbie's dismay! <g> Since the purpose of this trip (besides spending time with friends!) was the Food & Wine Festival, we wanted to start with World Showcase. That doesn't open until 11, so Debbie lucked out .. this morning <eg>
We all sat around, had breakfast from the concierge, and chatted just as fast as we could, trying to fill each other in on all those little sorts of details that don't make it to list mail! LOL It was just so cool to finally get to see Debbie again, and to be getting to really know Julie! I kept looking at her thinking .. "no, she is SO NOT a burly girlie!! LOL and she is SO NICE!! I can't believe we're all finally here"!! *I* felt there was an immediate connection between all of us, I really did. That's *such* a nice feeling too!
Right before 11, Dave & I headed off to WS. (Julie & Debbie followed shortly) We walked from the Swan - takes about 15-20 minutes I guess, and it's really not a bad walk (unless you're wearing heels!
and headed the England way - I was saving France as our first stop with the girlies. I really didn't want to start eating TOO much without them <g> but I couldn't resist a stop at Southeast Asia I had the "Torn Chicken with Cabbage Slaw" - very good! This was a nice sized (for me) portion of good, crunchy slaw, with pieces of shredded chicken breast, in a light, vinagrette sauce, and a bit of crushed peanut on top. I didn't care for the wine offerings here, so I walked across the way to New Zealond, and got a glass of the Brancott Chardonnay. Not too 'heavy', could've been a bit more 'buttery, oaky', but all in all, tasty, and it went well with the chicken. Tempted as I was to have some lamb chops from N.Z. too, I resisted! LOL
After eating, we continued walking .. it wasn't too hard for Dave to resist trying the offerings <g> He's a pretty basic eater, as I've told you all before many times! LOL and not adventurous when it comes to food. When we came upon Canada, I *had* to have just one more sample before they came <g>, and so I got the Cheddar Cheese Soup - it was creamy, cheesey and delicious as always! I had a sample of the Chateau des Charmes Estate Pinot Noir with my soup, and it was surprisingly good! I'm not normally a big fan of wines from this region, as I think they tend to be too sweet for me .. like the Ice wines for example, but this Pinot Noir wasn't.
I may as well say now that I could have stopped at almost every single booth there and eaten! LOL And *my* stomach was bidding me to do just that! but .. I wanted to savour the experience with everyone all together, so I exercised what little willpower I have <g> and passed on things this go 'round...sort of! LOL Dave thought the Australia booth looked interesting, so he ordered the Spicy Shrimp on the Barbie, and what a GREAT choice it was!! Yum! One of the best of the dishes from the whole trip! A couple of nice sized shrimp, grilled just right, with a slightly smokey flavor, a ribbon of sauces drizzled over them, and resting on a piece of grilled pita bread. A must do in my opinion! I ended up getting my own, and also had a Hardy's Nottage Hill Shiraz to go with it. I like Shiraz's, but this one was just "ok" - it didn't gag me! LOL but wasn't a favorite either.
By this time, we connected via cell phone with the other girlies and headed back towards the International Gateway to meet up with them. Once together, we officially started the Festival. The weather was picture perfect, the company was too .. just one of those "God, I am so glad to be alive and to be here!!!!!!!!!!!!" type of days!! We did take some pics of this .. of all of it, but I still need to get them to YGP - remind me tonight! LOL
France was the first stop, for some Burgundy Escargot for me - good, as always, though I liked it better in years past, when it was served in the little pastry shell. This year, it's served on Melba toast, and it's a different texture. Of course, Debbie had great fun telling me that in TX, they kill those slug things with Ortho you know! LOL!!! Dave got some of the Alsatian Onion Tart - Debbie and I wanted him to try it, so *we* could see if it *really* had just a hint of onion as we'd heard. Glad he tried it and not us! LOL 'cause it had a TON of onion, and neither of us like that. No one had any wine here - it's what they serve all the time (I believe...) and we wanted our first 'group drink' to be champagne, so we could toast! So we moved down to the permanent stand there, but .. no special ones, just the normal champagne that's available all the time. It'll do! LOL and we had a nice toast, to the trip, to each other, and to you girlies who couldn't make it this year! ::sniff::
We stopped at one of the wine seminar/display area things, and browsed there a while. (Ultimately, we ended up missing the seminars I wanted to do again this year! LOL Don't know how, but we did! ) Lots of the festival wines, and some from the special events, are for sale there, though beware - they will not ship these back to your room, and in MD, it's not legal to have them shipped home either
Since it had been all of ... maybe 15 min or so since the last pit stop, I was wanting more food! LOL and Morocco/Mediterranean was up next. The Amazir Rouge that they always have there in Morocco is one of my favorite WDW wines, so everyone got a glass of that, striking a pose in front of 'my' Morocco! LOL And everyone got a bite to eat too - I had the Vegetable Couscous, another favorite of mine - it sounds boring, but it's very tasty, because I'm *pretty sure* that the veggies are cooked in chicken broth, giving them, combined with the couscous, a nice taste. Everyone else tried the Beef Shish Ka Bob, and liked that as well. Both things were a good sized portion too.
We passed Japan by for the time being - practically had to put blinders on Debbie so she wouldn't go in the store! <eg> We all like the country, but figured we'd hit it later. Going past the Chili/Argentina stand, I *had* to stop and try the Creamy Baked Chickpea and Crispy Bacon Pie - OMG .. THE best food I had at the WS Festival! It could've been a tad crispier, but still, that didn't take away from the taste. It was spiced perfectly! The bacon was thick cut .. more like Canadian bacon imho, but yummy! Everyone else sort of made gagging noises while I ate this! LOL but .. more for me, that's all!
It might not sound like we were actually "doing" a lot here, and I suppose we weren't yet. But we were having a great time just talking, laughing, and being there!
We *finally* came 'round to the Champagne/Sparkling Wine booth - this is in a different location than last year. Rather disappointing too, that they had different selections than in '01 too - we had 2 really nice champagnes here last year! (Lucky for us, we thought to buy those BEFORE we came this year, so we didn't miss out! ;o) This year, we all got a glass of the Champagne Pommery Brut Royal to try. It was fine - not great, but drinkable. I think we had another toast of some sort at this point too <eg> ... though drinking your way around the world *does* tend to cloud the memory a bit at times!
When we came up to Italy, we all skipped the food offerings. As much as I LOVE the real Italy and the food from there, I gotta say, I think the Festival's Italy cuisine selection was lousy! You can get what's offered there at the most basic of Italian restaurants anywhere - I just think they should've showcased a few of the hundreds of fabulous dishes native to Italy, instead of the very Americanized fare they had. I did get some wine though
A not bad Pinot Grigio by Placido. Could've been a touch drier for my taste, but .. it made a nice chaser for the champagne <G>
When we got to Germany, we were off in search of something for a girlie friend back home, who'd put in a request. That's when we found out that any packages containing any sort of food are no longer being shipped back to the hotel. That's news to me, since my July '02 trip. Kind of a pain, especially since it's not the wisest thing to do .. carrying delicate cookies or candy or something around with ya while you're sippin', ya know? LOL So we figured we'd hit it before we left (which we did)
NOW we were coming up to some REALLY interesting food (go ahead Debbie .. make your comments <eg>) ... Andalucia, Spain. Since even before the trip, Debbie was commenting on the "Octopus and Purple Potato Salad" LOL Of course, Dave, Julie and Debbie all knew that I'D be the one to try it - I think the three of them would probably rather eat .. rat poison or something! LOL And try it I did .. and I LIKED IT!! I've had octopus before, cold, and this was an interesting dish. This had the consistency of shrimp, and just a light vinegar type dressing on it - if any of those chickens <g> had been willing to try it, with their eyes closed, they would've thought that they *were* eating shrimp! I don't *think* we had any wine here ... or if we did, I don't remember (another theme that continues later ..<g>)
Also, I have to say .. I LOVE the look of this area!!! I love the lights strung across the 'street' - I hope they keep those! I think .. especially at night .. that it gives a very cozy type of feeling to the area. I also really liked the structures themselves, and found the olive oil exhibit there interesting. Not anything I didn't already know really, but still, I enjoyed it - I think we all did.
When we came upon the Cape Region of South Africa next, I persuaded .. I *think* just Debbie, to try the Cape Indaba Merlot - The wine was really nice! Enough body to make it interesting (an admirable quality in any person, place or thing! <eg>) yet not too heavy. We poked around in this exhibit a bit too, then picked up the pace a bit and continued around.
At some point, we ran into the Character bus - I always love this! We all do! LOL It just brings out the kid in you when you see them all piling off there! We stopped for some pics, with Minnie, and a few others too, *then* kept walking..
I'd remembered reading about something I wanted to try in Ireland, so that was the next pit stop. The Potato and Dubliner Cheese Root Vegetable Cake ... and I was kinda disappointed with this. I like all the ingredients, but to me, it had absolutely NO spices or seasonings at all. I've been to Ireland, and despite what you may have heard, I found some very good dishes there! Oh well .. I was getting full anyway! LOL Well ... full until we came to the Taste of California booth .... that Goat Cheese Polenta with Sundried Tomato sounded too good to pass up - ya never know .. what if they'd run out of it another day? <g> It *was* good, though I think my own is better! LOL Maybe I just couldn't fit any more in!
Actually, I was getting to the point of no more stopping to taste the food at all this day- I HAD to stop eating, or I was going to be full for our Ca. Grill dinner later! LOL So we kept going to Canada, where we timed it just right to see "O'Canada" - Dave's favorite, and one that I think we all liked too!
One thing we're sorry we didn't get to try was the Gator Medallions from FL's booth - they're listed on the program, but not available I've had them before here at home, and liked them a lot! and *they* were something the others were actually :::gasp::: willing to try! <eg>
By the time we got back around to England, I wanted to sit and rest a bit, so Julie, Debbie and Dave all went in the tea store, while I parked it on a bench! LOL I *tried* to enter the store, but a "thoughtful" (not!) family had decided to park themselves at the entrance and NOT move, and I didn't have the energy at that point to argue! LOL A few minutes later, the girlies and Dave came and dragged me in back to see the British Invasion play. I hope no one gets offended here, but I'm not much of a Beatles fan - I know, I'm probably one of very few in the world! LOL I don't *hate* the music, it's just .. not me.
After a little while there, we realized we needed to head back to the hotel for a bit of r&r, and to get ready for dinner, so we walked back.
We all sat around, had breakfast from the concierge, and chatted just as fast as we could, trying to fill each other in on all those little sorts of details that don't make it to list mail! LOL It was just so cool to finally get to see Debbie again, and to be getting to really know Julie! I kept looking at her thinking .. "no, she is SO NOT a burly girlie!! LOL and she is SO NICE!! I can't believe we're all finally here"!! *I* felt there was an immediate connection between all of us, I really did. That's *such* a nice feeling too!
Right before 11, Dave & I headed off to WS. (Julie & Debbie followed shortly) We walked from the Swan - takes about 15-20 minutes I guess, and it's really not a bad walk (unless you're wearing heels!
and headed the England way - I was saving France as our first stop with the girlies. I really didn't want to start eating TOO much without them <g> but I couldn't resist a stop at Southeast Asia I had the "Torn Chicken with Cabbage Slaw" - very good! This was a nice sized (for me) portion of good, crunchy slaw, with pieces of shredded chicken breast, in a light, vinagrette sauce, and a bit of crushed peanut on top. I didn't care for the wine offerings here, so I walked across the way to New Zealond, and got a glass of the Brancott Chardonnay. Not too 'heavy', could've been a bit more 'buttery, oaky', but all in all, tasty, and it went well with the chicken. Tempted as I was to have some lamb chops from N.Z. too, I resisted! LOLAfter eating, we continued walking .. it wasn't too hard for Dave to resist trying the offerings <g> He's a pretty basic eater, as I've told you all before many times! LOL and not adventurous when it comes to food. When we came upon Canada, I *had* to have just one more sample before they came <g>, and so I got the Cheddar Cheese Soup - it was creamy, cheesey and delicious as always! I had a sample of the Chateau des Charmes Estate Pinot Noir with my soup, and it was surprisingly good! I'm not normally a big fan of wines from this region, as I think they tend to be too sweet for me .. like the Ice wines for example, but this Pinot Noir wasn't.
I may as well say now that I could have stopped at almost every single booth there and eaten! LOL And *my* stomach was bidding me to do just that! but .. I wanted to savour the experience with everyone all together, so I exercised what little willpower I have <g> and passed on things this go 'round...sort of! LOL Dave thought the Australia booth looked interesting, so he ordered the Spicy Shrimp on the Barbie, and what a GREAT choice it was!! Yum! One of the best of the dishes from the whole trip! A couple of nice sized shrimp, grilled just right, with a slightly smokey flavor, a ribbon of sauces drizzled over them, and resting on a piece of grilled pita bread. A must do in my opinion! I ended up getting my own, and also had a Hardy's Nottage Hill Shiraz to go with it. I like Shiraz's, but this one was just "ok" - it didn't gag me! LOL but wasn't a favorite either.
By this time, we connected via cell phone with the other girlies and headed back towards the International Gateway to meet up with them. Once together, we officially started the Festival. The weather was picture perfect, the company was too .. just one of those "God, I am so glad to be alive and to be here!!!!!!!!!!!!" type of days!! We did take some pics of this .. of all of it, but I still need to get them to YGP - remind me tonight! LOL
France was the first stop, for some Burgundy Escargot for me - good, as always, though I liked it better in years past, when it was served in the little pastry shell. This year, it's served on Melba toast, and it's a different texture. Of course, Debbie had great fun telling me that in TX, they kill those slug things with Ortho you know! LOL!!! Dave got some of the Alsatian Onion Tart - Debbie and I wanted him to try it, so *we* could see if it *really* had just a hint of onion as we'd heard. Glad he tried it and not us! LOL 'cause it had a TON of onion, and neither of us like that. No one had any wine here - it's what they serve all the time (I believe...) and we wanted our first 'group drink' to be champagne, so we could toast! So we moved down to the permanent stand there, but .. no special ones, just the normal champagne that's available all the time. It'll do! LOL and we had a nice toast, to the trip, to each other, and to you girlies who couldn't make it this year! ::sniff::
We stopped at one of the wine seminar/display area things, and browsed there a while. (Ultimately, we ended up missing the seminars I wanted to do again this year! LOL Don't know how, but we did! ) Lots of the festival wines, and some from the special events, are for sale there, though beware - they will not ship these back to your room, and in MD, it's not legal to have them shipped home either
Since it had been all of ... maybe 15 min or so since the last pit stop, I was wanting more food! LOL and Morocco/Mediterranean was up next. The Amazir Rouge that they always have there in Morocco is one of my favorite WDW wines, so everyone got a glass of that, striking a pose in front of 'my' Morocco! LOL And everyone got a bite to eat too - I had the Vegetable Couscous, another favorite of mine - it sounds boring, but it's very tasty, because I'm *pretty sure* that the veggies are cooked in chicken broth, giving them, combined with the couscous, a nice taste. Everyone else tried the Beef Shish Ka Bob, and liked that as well. Both things were a good sized portion too.
We passed Japan by for the time being - practically had to put blinders on Debbie so she wouldn't go in the store! <eg> We all like the country, but figured we'd hit it later. Going past the Chili/Argentina stand, I *had* to stop and try the Creamy Baked Chickpea and Crispy Bacon Pie - OMG .. THE best food I had at the WS Festival! It could've been a tad crispier, but still, that didn't take away from the taste. It was spiced perfectly! The bacon was thick cut .. more like Canadian bacon imho, but yummy! Everyone else sort of made gagging noises while I ate this! LOL but .. more for me, that's all!
It might not sound like we were actually "doing" a lot here, and I suppose we weren't yet. But we were having a great time just talking, laughing, and being there!
We *finally* came 'round to the Champagne/Sparkling Wine booth - this is in a different location than last year. Rather disappointing too, that they had different selections than in '01 too - we had 2 really nice champagnes here last year! (Lucky for us, we thought to buy those BEFORE we came this year, so we didn't miss out! ;o) This year, we all got a glass of the Champagne Pommery Brut Royal to try. It was fine - not great, but drinkable. I think we had another toast of some sort at this point too <eg> ... though drinking your way around the world *does* tend to cloud the memory a bit at times!
When we came up to Italy, we all skipped the food offerings. As much as I LOVE the real Italy and the food from there, I gotta say, I think the Festival's Italy cuisine selection was lousy! You can get what's offered there at the most basic of Italian restaurants anywhere - I just think they should've showcased a few of the hundreds of fabulous dishes native to Italy, instead of the very Americanized fare they had. I did get some wine though
A not bad Pinot Grigio by Placido. Could've been a touch drier for my taste, but .. it made a nice chaser for the champagne <G>When we got to Germany, we were off in search of something for a girlie friend back home, who'd put in a request. That's when we found out that any packages containing any sort of food are no longer being shipped back to the hotel. That's news to me, since my July '02 trip. Kind of a pain, especially since it's not the wisest thing to do .. carrying delicate cookies or candy or something around with ya while you're sippin', ya know? LOL So we figured we'd hit it before we left (which we did)
NOW we were coming up to some REALLY interesting food (go ahead Debbie .. make your comments <eg>) ... Andalucia, Spain. Since even before the trip, Debbie was commenting on the "Octopus and Purple Potato Salad" LOL Of course, Dave, Julie and Debbie all knew that I'D be the one to try it - I think the three of them would probably rather eat .. rat poison or something! LOL And try it I did .. and I LIKED IT!! I've had octopus before, cold, and this was an interesting dish. This had the consistency of shrimp, and just a light vinegar type dressing on it - if any of those chickens <g> had been willing to try it, with their eyes closed, they would've thought that they *were* eating shrimp! I don't *think* we had any wine here ... or if we did, I don't remember (another theme that continues later ..<g>)
Also, I have to say .. I LOVE the look of this area!!! I love the lights strung across the 'street' - I hope they keep those! I think .. especially at night .. that it gives a very cozy type of feeling to the area. I also really liked the structures themselves, and found the olive oil exhibit there interesting. Not anything I didn't already know really, but still, I enjoyed it - I think we all did.
When we came upon the Cape Region of South Africa next, I persuaded .. I *think* just Debbie, to try the Cape Indaba Merlot - The wine was really nice! Enough body to make it interesting (an admirable quality in any person, place or thing! <eg>) yet not too heavy. We poked around in this exhibit a bit too, then picked up the pace a bit and continued around.
At some point, we ran into the Character bus - I always love this! We all do! LOL It just brings out the kid in you when you see them all piling off there! We stopped for some pics, with Minnie, and a few others too, *then* kept walking..
I'd remembered reading about something I wanted to try in Ireland, so that was the next pit stop. The Potato and Dubliner Cheese Root Vegetable Cake ... and I was kinda disappointed with this. I like all the ingredients, but to me, it had absolutely NO spices or seasonings at all. I've been to Ireland, and despite what you may have heard, I found some very good dishes there! Oh well .. I was getting full anyway! LOL Well ... full until we came to the Taste of California booth .... that Goat Cheese Polenta with Sundried Tomato sounded too good to pass up - ya never know .. what if they'd run out of it another day? <g> It *was* good, though I think my own is better! LOL Maybe I just couldn't fit any more in!
Actually, I was getting to the point of no more stopping to taste the food at all this day- I HAD to stop eating, or I was going to be full for our Ca. Grill dinner later! LOL So we kept going to Canada, where we timed it just right to see "O'Canada" - Dave's favorite, and one that I think we all liked too!
One thing we're sorry we didn't get to try was the Gator Medallions from FL's booth - they're listed on the program, but not available
I've had them before here at home, and liked them a lot! and *they* were something the others were actually :::gasp::: willing to try! <eg> By the time we got back around to England, I wanted to sit and rest a bit, so Julie, Debbie and Dave all went in the tea store, while I parked it on a bench! LOL I *tried* to enter the store, but a "thoughtful" (not!) family had decided to park themselves at the entrance and NOT move, and I didn't have the energy at that point to argue! LOL A few minutes later, the girlies and Dave came and dragged me in back to see the British Invasion play. I hope no one gets offended here, but I'm not much of a Beatles fan - I know, I'm probably one of very few in the world! LOL I don't *hate* the music, it's just .. not me.
After a little while there, we realized we needed to head back to the hotel for a bit of r&r, and to get ready for dinner, so we walked back.
