It's a Jolly Holiday with Katiebell and Brrt!

[Katiebell]

We headed off to World Showcase, to Canada:

Brrt grew up in Detroit, but his mom is from Ontario. Epcot's Canada is really beautiful with a waterfall, gardens, totem poles, and mountains:

We checked in for our lunch at Le Cellier. The maple leaf motif was used throughout the restaurant:

Brrt was hungry for lunch:

Canada is the home of hockey, donuts...and beer. So, you know, when in Rome... I had a Molson, Brrt had a Labatt. We ordered the cheddar cheese soup -- just one cup to share, not a bowl. It is delicious, but really, really rich, and I can't imagine eating a whole bowl of it. The waiter brought an assortment of bread, and we dipped it in the soup, kind of like a cheese fondue:

The party at the next table was on the deluxe plan, and the lady there ordered the soup as her appetizer, but couldn't finish it. She told me that yes, the deluxe plan is just too much food.

We both ordered the mushroom fillet -- Brrt asked for medium rare with the cream cheese mashed potatoes, and I ordered medium with the mushroom risotto, and they were both perfect. I have a great pic of Brrt with the "I'm in steak heaven" expression on his face, but I promised him I wouldn't post it, so you will just have to use your imagination

I ordered the maple creme brulee for dessert, which was great and very Canadian, but Brrt ordered cherry sorbet, three scoops that came with some kind of crispy lacy cookie...and it was knock-your-socks-off to die for:

He was very, very generous and shared some with me I am a happy, lucky girl:

Next installment: Exploring Morocco

 

[JoBird]

Wow- those pics are amazing- look at how blue the sky was for that day!!!!!

LeCellier is my favorite all time restaurant- we're eating there on Halloween night- our last night there. I can't wait to have the Creme Brulee- my fave dessert!

Good report, KB!

Jo

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Glad to hear that le cellier renewed your faith in Disney restaurants. I love that place too. Especially that cheese soup and those breads they serve are to-die-for too!

 

[Katiebell]

Sounds like you had a terrible waiter at Chefs. At least the food was good. I'm so glad that you went to Le Cellier and I can't wait for your review! I am trying to decide between Chefs and Le Cellier for lunch at Epcot and I like to hear others experiences at both restaurants

Food was good at both, but Le Cellier wins the cage match

Wow- those pics are amazing- look at how blue the sky was for that day!!!!!

LeCellier is my favorite all time restaurant- we're eating there on Halloween night- our last night there. I can't wait to have the Creme Brulee- my fave dessert!

Good report, KB!

Jo

Glad you are enjoying the report, Jo! I adore creme brulee, but really made it a point to order different things as much as I could. I did get the milk chocolate creme brulee at the F&W booth in France...oh wow... (why don't they have a "yummy" smiley on here?) If you like cherries, though...try to talk someone at your table into ordering that sorbet. Then try to talk them into sharing with you

Glad to hear that le cellier renewed your faith in Disney restaurants. I love that place too. Especially that cheese soup and those breads they serve are to-die-for too!

Yep, LC is now on our "must do" list on future trips -- IF we can get an ADR! I called at 180 + 10 days to make our reservations, gave the CM 3 days we'd be at Epcot and asked for any time available for LC at lunch or dinner, and there was only a couple of lunch times open...

ok, on to the rest of World Showcase...

 

[Katiebell]

Had to get walking again to work off that fabulous lunch so we walked to Morocco:

Morocco at Epcot is unique in the World Showcase countries because it was actually sponsored by the country of Morocco, not just a company. The mosaic tile work is very intricate, and true to Islamic religious beliefs about the content of art, there are no depictions of people. There is supposed to be a free 45 minute walking tour you can ask about, Treasures of Morocco -- we wanted to check into that, but the [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Gallery of Arts and History was closed for refurb, so we'll check on that next time. But we had fun poking around the marketplace:

We even got a quick glimpse of the rich and famous:

Next Episode: ...and Lands Beyond...
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[JoBird]

Yay Morocco! I think it's so neat- way in the back-
the pics are beautiful!
And OMG- the crowds were almost non existant in that pic!

Yay!

Jo

 

[Katiebell]

We missed so much in the World Showcase our first day, being in our sleep-deprived exhausted haze. So much to do and see and explore, so we made up for lost time!

So, next was Japan:

Got the passport signed:

Checked out the shops:

I collect lucky cats like these -- Brrt bought some special origami paper to fold into lucky cats to add to my collection:

Brrt tasted sake; I don't like it, so I had a little cup of plum wine. Then Brrt discovered some truly scary snacks -- dried crab or squid or cuttlefish, eek!

No, we did not taste them! We headed to the American pavillion -- you know, America, where the food isn't scary. We eat normal things like hot dogs. And Cheetos. And Cool Whip. And Jello. And...uh...well...yeah, I guess some "normal" American food is a little bit scary

Tune in next for: Who Knew You Could Walk Around the World?

 

[Katiebell]

We pretty much blitzed through America (I know, I know, we probably didn't give it enough of a chance, but we LIVE here and wanted to see the rest of the world!) We got the passport signed by a sweet girl in Colonial garb, and we did stop to watch the performance of the Fife and Drum Corps:

After they led us all in a stirring rendition of "God Bless America", they lined up in formation to march off. Inspired by my tummy still full of delicious Le Cellier food and my love of ice hockey, I started to belt out, "Oh Canada, our home and native land..." But then Brrt gave me the look -- you know, that look -- so I hushed up quick. Good thing, because I don't know the rest of the words to "Oh Canada". Oh well, I thought it was funny. Juvenile, maybe, but funny

Next was Italy:

Then Germany:

There is a statue of St. George slaying the dragon in front of the glockenspiel clock tower:

Behind that is Biergarten (oom-pah, oom-pah, oom-pah-pah), which is on our list to try for next visit -- we heard the dinner show is a lot of fun. We stopped at Sommerfest for a couple of cold beers, since the day was -- you guessed it -- hot and humid.

We went back to China for a bit to shop and snap pics:

Passport signed in Morocco, America, Italy, Germany, and China? Check.

Back to Morocco to share a counter service meal for dinner -- hummus, tabbouleh, chicken, lamb, yum Then back to France -- gotta get the passport signed!

Next episode: I See London, I See France...

 

[Katiebell]

Ah...France...

OK, we did a LOT of walking today...and shared one CS meal for dinner, that had just one tiny little piece of baklava, just a bite for each of us...so...what's France without a little pastry for dessert?

Oh man, oh man...gotta walk THIS off now!

Course by course, one by one
'Til you shout, "Enough! I'm done!"
Then we'll sing you off to sleep as you digest
Tonight you'll prop your feet up
But for now, let's eat up
Be our guest!
Be our guest!
Be our guest!
Please, be our guest!

Next: Finishing the Day in the UK

 

[Katiebell]

Yay Morocco! I think it's so neat- way in the back-
the pics are beautiful!
And OMG- the crowds were almost non existant in that pic!

Yay!

Jo

I just love Epcot (as you can probably tell!) The details in all of the pavilions, the art and music and architecture and food, and meeting the CM's from the different countries...it's all so interesting and new. The crowds were very, very, light most of the time -- even though the restaurants were crammed full because of free dining. But that's winding down, so it should be really good for your upcoming trip My turn to be jealous of you! I want to go back to the magic so bad, but we need to pay off some bills before we can start saving for our next trip, so that will be a while *sigh*

 

[Diamondintheruff]

O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North, strong and free!
From far and wide, O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free !
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Did you need it in French as well?

 

[Katiebell]

Did you need it in French as well?

Yay!!! Thanks! Now I can sing along at a hockey game!

I did look up the lyrics, and found them on Wikipedia, in English, French and Inuktitut, too...although I doubt I could pronounce any of it...

Uu Kanata!
Nangmini nunavut!
Piqujatii nalattiaqpavut.
Angiglivalliajuti,
Sanngijulutillu.
Nangiqpugu, Uu Kanata
Mianiripluti.
Uu Kanata! nunatsia!
Nangiqpugu mianiripluti,
Uu Kanata, salagijauquna!

Brrt is half Canadian, so he should appreciate that

 

[seacrestpromo]

Great TR KB - keep it up! - Sea

 

[Katiebell]

Great TR KB - keep it up! - Sea

Hi Sea, good to see you! Welcome aboard...por favor, mantén las manos, brazos, pies y piernas dentro del vehículo en todo momento!

 

[Brrt]

Heh, Katie knows I tried to memorize the manos y brazos spiel almost the whole trip. She's amazing...

 

[Brrt]

Seacrest--FYI, love the avatar! I recognized it right away, go figure .

 

[Katiebell]

Heh, Katie knows I tried to memorize the manos y brazos spiel almost the whole trip. She's amazing...

Hiya Brrt! It's fun to relive our vacation

 

[Katiebell]

All right, wrapping up our second day, we went to the UK...

Went into the toy store where the Kidcot stop was to get the passport signed. I realized, this isn't going to be all that exciting for DS the language nut -- the CM's in Canada and America both signed in English (although the Canadian CM did write "Bonjour"), and now this would be a third signature in English. However...the CM in the UK was from Northern Ireland, so she wrote in Gaelic -- how cool is that? Our favorite non-Disney vacation ever was a trip to Ireland in 2005, and we'd love to go back, so we chatted with her for a few minutes.

I got to be Alice briefly:

Brrt wanted to go to the Rose & Crown Pub for a Strongbow (hard cider):

but we heard the familiar strains of "Penny Lane" so he indulged me (I am a major Beatles fan! ) and we went outside and caught part of the British Invasion show:

Then to the Rose & Crown for that Strongbow, and by then it was getting pretty dark. On our way out of Epcot, we stopped in Canada and saw part of the Off Kilter show:

These guys were really good, reminded us of a band that plays at Celtic fairs in our area, the Wicked Tinkers. Guys in kilts playing rock on bagpipes -- yeah, great way to end the evening

Tomorrow's episode: "Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy."

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Great TR Katie ~ Looking forward to more!

 

[Katiebell]

Great TR Katie ~ Looking forward to more!

Glad you are enjoying it! And now for someplace besides Epcot ...