Something Wicked this MAY Comes! 18 nights @ RPR & SFR. An April/May 2025 TR

[schumigirl]

Thanks!


We liked Angel, I often wondered if he’d ended up at one of the other hotel bars.

So true, we have always found most bar staff to be amazing and it`s nice when they move you can find them again!!

I sound like a stalker there, but you know what I mean lol.....

 

[schumigirl]

OMGosh, some people do feel very entitled, don't they!!! That is discouraging news that there are more and more of those wagons in Universal. Maybe Universal will ban them if they get a lot of negative feedback. We will be sure to do that if we see them next trip. I never understood why some people (without kids) feel that they need all that "stuff" with them in the parks?

Do We did this ride 5 times each time we walked straight on, more or less and after our front row special, we got the back row for all the other rides.


About the velocacoaster? This ride still scares me to death. I would probably faint at the top of that drop! And you rode it 5 times in a row! That is impressive (and a little scary to me

I doubt they`ll ban them, it`ll take someone getting hurt by one of them which I`d never wish on anyone of course befre they ever did anything about them, but they are a pest when folks don`t look where they`re going with them especially the ones they pull behind them!

I used to wonder what folks put in those huge rucksacks some folks dragged around with them, looked as though they were hiking for a month, seems they`ve swapped to wagons!

Oh it is the best coaster around! It is so smooth though so it`s easy to do repeat rides on it. I do think you should give it a go.......

 

[schumigirl]

We got to our suite and it was so lovely and cool, we did snooze but only for an hour or so and we woke up to discover it was raining and had been heavy, thunder and lightning would follow later, probably around the time we would be leaving, typical.

We both had a glass of wine as we got ready to go out, then we headed down to the lobby and Tom ordered our Uber and it was here in a few moments, but the rain was now very threatening and we cold hear the rumbles of thunder, if we did get a storm we`d have a lovely view of it from Bar Helios!

We do arrive very early deliberately so we can have a wander and take in the views from the hotel and we weren`t disappointed.

Before we went outside we met Jason the F&B manager who had been so kind to us last week, he thanked me for the email I had sent him last week, really just to let him know how much we appreciated everything, it was nice to see him again and we had a lovely chat with him and the manager of Flora Taverna came over too, we had met her last week too, nice lady.

Outside was a little breezy as we had more rain coming, it was so humid but we did venture out and there was no one around at all for the first few minutes. ​

For those that have never been before, the bridge you can see is actually in the park, it is incredibly close to the hotel and you get a fabulous view of the hotel from it. ​

We had been joined by several other people now out here although it wouldn`t be for long as there were spots of rain beginning to sprinkle on us a little, but the lady that offered to take our picture took about 20 from different angles which was very kind of her and we did reciprocate and took several of her as she was on her own but we soon took refuge inside to avoid being soaked.

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The quick service in Helios is very small but functional, it has everything you would need for breakfasts, snacks and desserts and some of them look absolutely gorgeous!!
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If we weren`t heading for dinner we would have indulged for sure in one of these delightful looking treats!​

Yes, it is small but everything looked very fresh and we spoke to a guest who said the staff were incredibly helpful as her child had an allergy and he TM made sure she found the specific info for her before she purchased anything, good to hear.

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We had a quick wander over to Flora Taverna to see our buddy Casey, just to say hello and he said Demi was looking forward to seeing us tonight and we were definitely looking forward to seeing her too and everyone up in Bar Helios too.

It is really pretty in here.

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We got off the elevator and turned to the window not park facing and you do get a lovely view over the other side of Orlando, it is very pretty at night when everything is lit up, especially the Orlando Eye.

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Maybe not the prettiest of views but when you are in the pool area, you don`t notice anything except the greenery around you, they have designed it really well.

Our table would only be a few minutes so we snapped a couple of pictures while we waited and two of the ladies who greet you thanked us so much for the chocolate, Fernando shares it out evenly so it doesn`t all disappear in a few evenings!!

The views are exceptional, no doubt about it and you can see a good part of the park from here, not Monsters or much of Potter except the entrance but what you can see is really interesting and the darker it gets, the better it looks although the glare from the window does affect night time pictures, so they`re not always as good as they should be.

You can also see the extra land they have to work with on both sides of the park, can`t wait till they announce whatever it is!!!

Dinner coming right up

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[schumigirl]

We love Bar Helios!!!

It is light, bright and airy and when the sun goes down it becomes cosy and intimate somehow, they have managed to design the perfect mix of atmospheres up here.

Demi immediately gave us a hug when we came in and we were so happy to see her, again we have known her for such a long time way before Sapphire was built and both she and Casey worked in Islands restaurant at RP, so we are very comfortable in each others company, Fernando always makes sure she is the one looking after us when we visit here.

She said Fernando would be up soon, he was doing some paperwork, she had disappeared to get our first drinks when I noticed a new man wandering around, not a waiter from the way he was dressed but I had no clue who he was, we`d find out though.

My first drink tonight and one I would re-order later was the Trojan Horse which I asked for it to be extra spicy, it had Patrón Silver, Domaine De Canton, Reàl Red Pepper, Monin Cantaloupe and a sprinkle lime juice, I think I had discovered my ultimate favourite cocktail in Bar Helios.



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Tom opted for Pandora`s Box which I was surprised at again as it was vodka based but he wanted to try something different which included a new one on me with Golden raisin-infused Grey Goose, Belle de Brillet Pear, clarified lemon juice, Fino Sherry. I thought it had two olives in it, but it was grapes.​

While I loved my drink and Tom did enjoy the one he chose, I`m not sure he would order it again, he still prefers rum or Tequila based cocktails, we are identical in so many ways!

Fernando appeared about now and came straight over to give us a huge welcome, we absolutely adore Fernando and so happy to see how much he is loving bringing a new place to life again.

He also called over who we found out was his new right hand man, another Jason who is just lovely and originally came from Oxford via New York so his accent was interesting, but what a lovely man who thanked us on behalf of his wife who had enjoyed some of the chocolate too, another fan of UK chocolate. We chatted some more and Fernando said they would join us later for some tastings, well, we looked forward to that!!!

Where we always seem to sit is ideal as we can have a chat to staff we know as they pass on both sides and as we knew a lot of them it was nice for us to catch up or any of them and Fernando to stop on the way past, yes, these were perfect seats.

And of course everyone can see this amazing scene when you looked above the bar. ​

Decisions, decisions, the menu is gorgeous and we were being spoiled for choice as to what to order and trying to try new things as well as wanting to repeat dishes we had last week!!! Demi laughed as she came back twice and we were still deciding.

Eventually Tom chose the Crunchy Crab Cake which was set upon a lemon prosecco sauce and a touch of caviar, it looked and sounded gorgeous. Again, I was a little surprised as although Tom likes lemon things, they`re not his favourite in a sauce, I only make my lemon chicken for one as he is not a fan, but he will devour the lemon syllabub I make lol....

I will say he loved this dish and the caviar was nice too. ​

I knew one of the dishes I was going to have as I had noticed it and almost ordered it last week, Georges Bank Sea Scallop crudo which was detailed with a sour orange vinaigrette which was sweeter than it sounded, it was gorgeous, Persian cucumber, Aleppo and I asked for the pistachio crumble to be omitted. I`m not allergic to nuts, I just prefer not to have them in a dish.

This dish was perfection!!!

If you don`t like raw seafood it`s not for you, but if you do, oh lord you are in for a treat, but I felt like a greedy person as I cold have eaten about four of these, it was so nice and the presentation was beautiful too. ​

Miguel who is the Executive Chef for Helios, who we first met last week, came over to check on us and see what we thought so far, as he could see empty plates that could have been licked clean, he laughed and said he guessed we`d enjoyed both dishes!!!! I think that was a given.

He is so nice and very calm, everyone says he never gets shouty the way some tv chefs are, I couldn`t be doing with someone shouty like that so it was good to hear everyone thought he was wonderful.

We were in no rush for our next two options, it was just nice chatting to everyone we knew so well and getting to know the new Jason too, this place has it all and the views around us were just the cherry on top.

I by now was ready for a second cocktail and I did want another Trojan Horse as it had been so lovely, so Demi brought the young lady over who made the drinks, I forget her name but it was nice to meet her and again she said she had heard so much about this Carole and Tom and it was so nice to meet us finally!!!

Always gives me pause for a second or two when someone says they`ve heard about us, but it was always positive thankfully!!!!

Tom decided to try the Wagyu Beef Sliders which came on lovely buns with a spiced mayo, cheddar, griddled onions and arugula and yes, they were also amazing. The beef was incredible and larger than expected, not sure why I thought they`d be smaller. ​

Right about now there is a blank space where my dish is supposed to be, I couldn`t resist ordering the Beef Skewer again, it had been delightful and the most tender beef which went so well with the Chimichurri and garlic sauces, but it seems we never took a picture.

But, again, it was divine!

I think we were distracted by chatting!!! The lovely Moncif finally made it over to say hello, he had been busy elsewhere and had only managed to wave at us, but again, someone we`ve known a long time from Strong Water Bar and another really good guy.

We had a bit of a break before dessert, Fernando wanted Tom to try one of the desserts that were a speciality of the house, not the Shattered Rose that is quite the spectacle to see with the flower prepared to shatter over the dessert in front of you, but Under Smoke which was a chocolate mousse, chocolate soil and caramel, but it did come under the glass dome and yes it was smoked.

When the lid was lifted and "smoke" was dispersed, it was a very pretty looking dish and Tom loved it, the mousse was light and decadent at the same time so of course I had to try it.

It wasn`t for me, which is the polite way of saying I really didn`t like it. You can have it unsmoked for want of a better word, but it`s supposed to be enhanced by doing that.

It is also very filling and he didn`t finish this tonight.

Tropical Summer is my dessert up here, oh lordy it is perfection on a plate with the most indulget Vanilla bean crème, refreshing mango sorbet with passion fruit all set upon an oat crumble which is more like a graham cracker cheesecake base.

This is stunning and Tom did help a little with mine as we were quite full from dinner tonight.

We had a wander out on the balcony for a little air, the views are incredible, no doubt about that and seeing the park lit up after dark is beautiful.

They still weren`t doing the full water show tonight but we did see some of it including the one jet that shoots up the height of the hotel, very impressive and well thought out. Bar Helios is the perfect place to enjoy this water show for sure.

We came back inside in nice time for Fernando and Jason to join us for a rum tasting and we did look forward to this.

We always bring Fernando two bottles of Scottish Rum, trying to find different and unique varieties is something that keeps Tom busy and he enjoys finding something they will all enjoy. So, although technically Bar Helios isn`t a rum bar the way Strong Water was, we still keep the tradition going.

They appeared with a load of glasses and blocks of ice if we so desired, some rum is enhanced by ice, sometimes not, but it`s nice to have the option.

The Edinburgh Rum above was one we had been keen to try, the one below, the Lowland Rum sounded interesting as it was blended through seaweed rather unusually. We`d had gin local to us that was filtered through seaweed and it was, er, different, definitely needed a good mixer, but still nice.

We had a fun time exploring the rums and laughed a lot too and it was nice catching up with Fernando and getting to know Justin too, Demi of course knows rums and was happily included in the tasting too.

The Lowland Rum was not my favourite, but Jason said he was going to work on something special with it for our next visit which was next Thursday, he is a man who definitely knows what goes with what and we already looked forward to his creation.

The Edinburgh Rum was heavenly.....it was like toffee and caramel had come together and created this beautiful aromatic and sweet libation. And this was everyone`s favourite of the evening, so much so it was half way down before we left!! Guess we`ll get more of that for him in the future.

Fernando has shared some unusual rums with us over the years too, some that other guests had gifted him with and he delights in sharing it with guests, one of the more unique ones was from India, that was different.

So this was a fun evening all round, we`d had such beautiful food, drinks and enjoyed the company of some of our favourite people and new friends too.

It was almost midnight now and it always takes us (me) forever to say goodnight to everyone, Tom calls it my Frank Sinatra goodbye tour as I go round everyone, well it would be rude not to










Eventually we made it downstairs and our Uber was going to be 20 minutes rather unusually so we wandered outside again and enjoyed a bit of the view with no-one else around.

The lobby was deserted at this time of the evening, it is a small lobby for such a hotel, but it is nice seeing it empty for a change.

We walked outside as our Uber arrived and it was a very nice lady who was a local, something strange in itself and we chatted all the way home, but to be honest I was shattered now, it was just after midnight so we were straight to bed.

This had been such a lovely day and tonight had been exceptional, we love Orlando and all it has to offer, but the people we have met and got to know over the years genuinely make the trips extra special, we feel so lucky to have got to know so many lovely folks.

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[angryduck71]

Yay! I have a reservation for Davy and me for Bar Helios at 8 pm on our arrival night to Helios. He has no idea what the park looks like. Thought this would be a good first time look! I'm getting some ideas on what to order from your reviews....

I may have to get that Bride pillow too.... I am going to buy so much stuff this trip. lol

Davy has written a book called "Robin Hood versus King Arthur". He read a lot of books about the two and knows everything about the original source materials. But, he waited to watch movies until after. He started off with the King Arthur stuff. Anyway, I was just talking to him this weekend about Kevin Costner's HORRIBLE accent but how the supporting cast (especially Alan Rickman) was stellar. But that, really, Cary Elwes was just PERFECTION in Men in Tights. One of these days, he'll get around to watching those.

Dueling Dragons was Davy's favorite in the park too -- he was really sad they took it away. I rode it once and almost hurled. But, still sad for you guys and Davy that it is gone. I do love Hagrid's......

 

[schumigirl]

FRIDAY MAY 9TH





Again, we had planned to sleep later this morning, but I was awake around 6ish and crept through to the sitting room so sleeping beauty could snooze for a little bit longer. We were meeting some folks for breakfast this morning so we could take it easy and were in no rush to do anything.

I adore watching the sunrise over RP from our sitting area in Sapphire Falls and it was beautiful this morning as always, pictures never seem to do sunrises justice here.











I did manage to get down and do a load of laundry, washed and dried before breakfast which is always nice to get it out of the way, I hoped this would be the last wash before we got home and I rewashed everything again anyway!

I think Sapphire is the nicest of all the hotels, probably even nicer than RPR, the grounds are beautiful and lovely to walk around just for a wander. The lagoon is very pretty and the boat dock sits in the middle and from our room we can when the boat is due usually, it only takes a few minutes to get down from our suite if we needed to catch a boat.

In stark contrast to Helios Grand and the compact lobby there, the Sapphire lobby is one of the bigger ones, it`s almost cavernous in appearance but it is very pretty and like all the hotels they have their own aroma and it is a beautiful scent as you wander around the lobby area.

Strong Water Bar is a place you cannot ignore as it is set right in the lobby and it is very pretty, it only opens from 4pm but it has proved to be one of the most popular places within Universal Orlando.

Chef Carlos has been there since it opened and has created some amazing recipes over the years, I think in that time there has only been one dish we weren`t overly keen on, but everything he comes up with is usually beautiful.

It`s strange seeing some new TM`s here and a new manager, but there are several still here that have worked here for years which is nice for us long term guests.

One of the most famous features of Sapphire is the stunning staircase again central to the lobby area, it is beautiful and certainly one of the most photographed staircases around.

One of the prettiest views around above, the lagoon is very peaceful to sit and watch from anywhere and there are plenty of seats near the window, even when the huge Christmas tree is up, they keep the seating for the most part.

It was almost time for breakfast so we headed down to Amatista which is on the lowest level of the hotel and one of it`s highlights is the lovely views you have from some of the tables and it is one of the brightest of restaurants with a huge expanse of glass surrounding it.

We like Amatista for breakfast and when they do celebration brunches as they do on Thanksgiving or Mother`s Day, but for dinner and I`m not quite sure why, but it`s always a let down and the food hasn`t been overly exciting for a long time. It`s a hit or a miss and for us last few visits it`s not been the best.

I like this little area, it leads out to the boat dock and walking path too, it also takes you round to where the buses are if you wanted to go to Citywalk or to Epic Universe and it`s a favoured place coming back in from the hea when that aircon hits you!!!

The bottom of the staircase is very cute with aged barrels and carts that would carry ingredients used to make rum in a faraway place. Occasionally they would use this area for small events if businesses so desired. I think I`ve only seen a mini event here twice over the years.

Breakfast in Amatista coming next
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[schumigirl]

Yay! I have a reservation for Davy and me for Bar Helios at 8 pm on our arrival night to Helios. He has no idea what the park looks like. Thought this would be a good first time look! I'm getting some ideas on what to order from your reviews....

I may have to get that Bride pillow too.... I am going to buy so much stuff this trip. lol

Davy has written a book called "Robin Hood versus King Arthur". He read a lot of books about the two and knows everything about the original source materials. But, he waited to watch movies until after. He started off with the King Arthur stuff. Anyway, I was just talking to him this weekend about Kevin Costner's HORRIBLE accent but how the supporting cast (especially Alan Rickman) was stellar. But that, really, Cary Elwes was just PERFECTION in Men in Tights. One of these days, he'll get around to watching those.

Dueling Dragons was Davy's favorite in the park too -- he was really sad they took it away. I rode it once and almost hurled. But, still sad for you guys and Davy that it is gone. I do love Hagrid's......

Fantastic!!! I do hope you love Bar Helios and yes, you`ll love the views!! The menu is exceptional, everything we have tasted has been beautiful!!

lol....that pillow has pride of place in one of our sofa`s by the windows in the kitchen, so everyone sees it, nicknamed the spooky cushion by my friend`s granddaughter Elise, she does not like it, but she`s 10!!

Oh wow, fascinating he has written such a book Alice, good for him!! I love the Kevin Costner movie Prince of Thieves, he is dreadful in it and yes the accent is patchy at best.....but Alan Rickman I love how he only accepted the part if he could play it his way and ad-lib as he saw fit, he was stupendous in it and the only reason we ever watch it.

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Men in Tights is very funny, it`s been a long time since we watched it, so popped it on a few nights ago, ok it`s not a classic, but we did laugh!

Hagrid`s is excellent for sure, but oh lordy Duelling Dragons was a bomb of a coaster!! Both sides were so much fun, I could ride it four or five times in a row with no issues, Kyle`s highest ride count was about 26 times in one afternoon! We went back to the hotel and him and two other folks from the hotel that were there with him just went around and around!

Getting closer every day

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Catching up again!

Add me to those who are complimenting your dress in St. Augustine — it really suited you

Bar Helios seems like an instant success! Love the food and drinks do seem amazing

Our first trip to Epic won’t be until next year. I’m that some of the amazing Dark Universe merch is still available. I’m not sure why, but I seem to love The Creature from the Black Lagoon

Now you’re going to make me cry — we lost such an amazing talent in Alan Rickman

Sapphire is a lovely resort, as is RPR — and I’m really enjoying your visit to Helios. I think that will quickly become a favorite

No wonder you keep falling into bed; you are having a fantastic visit with so many great meet ups

It’s seeming like a classic and spectacular trip!

 

[schumigirl]

We had arranged to meet the team at 8.30, C appeared first and we headed in as the other two would be down momentarily, we were delighted to see Jimmy was looking after us this morning, he is a superstar in Amatista, lovely man who takes immense pride in looking after people very well.

And never forgets a name!! We tell everyone and always have done, to call us by our first names instead of Mr & Mrs, Jimmy however insists on calling me Miss Carole, which I`m ok with if it makes him comfortable.

The restaurant is not too busy and we get a nice table, our other two hosts appear and it is so nice to be able to sit down with all three of them for a leisurely breakfast. We are lucky to spend a lot of time with the team over our trips and this is the first time for many years Marian was missing, but she had a huge promotion and was in Texas now, so P had replaced her and we liked him a lot!!

Again, we were all chatting for so long none of us had ordered, we eventually checked out the menu and we all decided what we were having, but did order teas, coffee and juices.

The breakfast menu at Amatista is lovely, the buffet is very good and we usually enjoy it at least once a visit, but we also enjoy the regular menu too.

The Chef came out to say hello, we had met him a couple of times before with Marian, one the nicest men and such a gentleman too, so between him and Jimmy, we were spoiled today.

He also brought us out a little taster before our breakfasts arrived, it was a mini pancake with a cranberry compote on top and it was absolutely delicious, we all enjoyed it and thanked the chef for taking the time to do it for us and come out and say hi again.
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Getting to know P more was lovely, A & C we had known for a long time, C used to work in Concierge as a supervisor and it was lovely to see she had joined this team, they are a lovely group and we really enjoy spending time with them all.

Our breakfasts arrived and I had opted for the salmon avocado toast minus the eggs and it looked beautiful, the smoked salmon here is very nice, even if it`s not Scottish ​

Tom mistakenly ordered too much!!!!

This is the guy who eats a bowl of cereal most mornings for breakfast, here in Florida it`s usually two little croissants, but he asked for 2 eggs and the sausages not realising it came with a huge portion of homestyle potatoes and toast too!!!

He felt greedy when he saw what was on his plate! ​

C ordered, with plans to share with P, the open faced breakfast arepa which was a large looking dish which came with scrambled eggs, onions, chorizo, diced potato, avocado, roasted poblano sauce, tomato, arugula and topped with queso fresco, it looked lovely!! ​

Now, the dish I will order on our next visit for sure is the Island`s Eggs Benedict! This was P`s breakfast and it had poached eggs which I love, grilled shaved ham, tostones, chipotle hollandaise sauce, queso fresco and a baby kale salad, I did wish I had ordered this!! ​

A had ordered the same as me but with the eggs, again, smoked salmon, arugula, tomato and queso fresco, she also got blue cheese crumbles which is something I don`t understand lol....blue cheese is something neither Tom or I enjoy in any form, nope, we do love a good cheese, just not blue cheese. ​

We had a lovely few hours together and we certainly appreciated them all taking a morning to spend with us, we get on so well with them and they are the nicest people that are so easy to spend time with, we laugh a lot and share so many stories with each other, so yes, we had a lovely morning.

Jimmy volunteered to take our pictures, bless him, he must have taken about 20 of us from every angle! ​

Eventually the guys had to go back to do what they do best and we thanked them once again for a lovely breakfast and for the time too, we see them a lot over our trips and they check in constantly which is lovely, we are so lucky to know them so well, I keep saying it, but they are the nicest people

I still think Amatista is decent for breakfast and any special brunches they offer, but it`s not somewhere I`d recommend for dinner, it lacks something and not a place we`ll be rushing back to for dinner.

We headed back up to our suite briefly then headed out, we planned to do a little shopping, dinner and a quiet, movie watching evening ahead for us.




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[schumigirl]

Catching up again!

Add me to those who are complimenting your dress in St. Augustine — it really suited you

Bar Helios seems like an instant success! Love the food and drinks do seem amazing

Our first trip to Epic won’t be until next year. I’m that some of the amazing Dark Universe merch is still available. I’m not sure why, but I seem to love The Creature from the Black Lagoon

Now you’re going to make me cry — we lost such an amazing talent in Alan Rickman

Sapphire is a lovely resort, as is RPR — and I’m really enjoying your visit to Helios. I think that will quickly become a favorite

No wonder you keep falling into bed; you are having a fantastic visit with so many great meet ups

It’s seeming like a classic and spectacular trip!

Maria, apologies for the late reply! Kyle was off work using up vacation days this week, so we`ve spent a bit of time with him last couple of days, always fun!! Had a friend over this afternoon too and we talked the ears off each other lol....

Thank you, I`ll take the compliment

You will love Bar Helios when you do go next year it`s classy and just about darn perfect and yes the merchandise is very nice, I`m sure lots will still be available and some new stuff too!!! I`ve never been a fan of the CftBL but you won`t be disappointed in products you`ll see there.

Alan Rickman is a lost talent for sure, it`s such a shame most folk only think of him as Snape, he was so much more before that too

I do believe we`re spoiled for choice with hotels now, something for everyone for sure.

We love meeting up with friends old and new in Orlando, we`ve been so lucky over the years with folks.

Thank you, we were having the best time

 

[schumigirl]

It takes about 20 minutes to get to the Florida Mall from Sapphire Falls, I always say it`s not our favourite mall, but it`s not too bad, much better than it used to be several years ago, however there are a few stores here we like that you don`t find in Mall at Millenia.​

They have a decent food court here with a variety of options including some nice healthier options one being a sandwich place we have tried before and if we were hungry we would have shared one today. I`m sure we will eat there again another time, but they also have the usual choices including Five Guys and Charley`s.

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There is a family joke about this place from many years ago when Kyle was looking to buy his Tag Heuer watch, we were just looking around, I will say he did NOT buy anything from this place he did buy the watch from the Tag Heuer store in the Mall at Millenia....but, this place had different owners then and every time we pass we are reminded of the weird actions of the sales team of the time!!

So, we took this and sent it to Kyle, he would have a wry smile on his face when he saw it but I think the current owner was a little bemused as to why Tom was behaving a little odd!!
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The mall is much lighter and brighter than it used to be, so we do kind of enjoy wandering around and stopping in a few stores now and again, this was quite new or at least we had never noticed before, a TSA Pre Check enrollment desk. I guess they must do quite well to have it here in the mall, although the time we were here, we never saw a soul near it.

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Tesla`s are ugly.

Ugliest cars on the road and I will argue that point until I ultimately win that one as I am right .....I always feel as if WW3 is on the way when I see one and cannot work out the attraction.

This model especially freaks me out and as I was being quite honest about my views, the salesman approached us and then swiftly retreated when he realised he was on a hiding to nothing with us!!

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On the way out we planned an excursion into Yankee Candle, or as Tom calls it....please take my money!!! I do like candles around the house and YC do them better, well, maybe not as good as they used to be but still better than most and American stores get the newer scents before we do, so as I am easily tempted, this could be expensive!!

However first I wanted to look for a hat, we had a wedding beginning of June, one of our joint godchildren were getting married and we were so excited to see it, however fate stepped in and we ended up missing it due to Tom taking ill, but as of right now we were expecting to go. ​

My outfit was a steel grey blue, more light grey though, but I wanted a contrast with a hat or fascinator in a vibrant colour as the happy couple asked we all wear something bright and colourful, Macy`s had nothing I liked, but Dillards had a few and I was torn between both of these.

So I bought both ​

The pink one I would keep until I needed it, I love hats and think we should wear them more often but I`d wear the blue one for the wedding in June. Tom wasn`t sure about that one, but it grew on him however he wasn`t thrilled when he saw the size of the hat boxes!!!!

Once we left Dillards I could see Tom openly thinking about luggage, I still thought we`d be kinda ok, maybe....








But, as a compromise I didn`t buy as much in YC as I`d normally purchase, there were some hard choices in there, but I narrowed it down to four large candles and some tea lights, see, I can be good at times

We came home and one of the managers we know saw us in the lobby and laughed at the hat boxes and stirred the pot a little mentioning excess luggage.....yeah thanks Justin!!!!

We both felt sleepy this afternoon and it was only around 2pm, so we snoozed and you know when you go into full blown sleep and could sleep for the next 24 hours, that was us today.

Tom woke me up and said it was 3.15 and I swear I had no clue where I was at this point....








It was not a pretty sight!!!

But, we got up I hit the shower and a good hot shower did refresh me.

One of my friends does cold water swimming and is a huge advocate of turning on the shower and let the cold water hit you for a few minutes before turning it to hot, yes she`s a little out there and has an ice tub in her garden for when she can`t get down to the sea, not for me and I kind of don`t understand that part of her, but she believes it helps her mental well being too, whatever works.

Cool cat wandering the lobby, well, you have to get your picture taken with such a fun guy or gal of course ​

We went in to Strong Water and it was deserted, completely deserted which is very unusual even this early especially for a Friday, usually those a seats fill up quicker than you can blink, but we headed to our favourite table and Mikey came over and asked if we would try a couple of his creations in a little bit, we said of course, always happy to try new drinks in here.

There were still a few old faces in today which was good to see and Christian waved over when he saw us at our table, such a great guy.

​

Tom ordered a Blackberry Daiquiri for a change and I had something Christian made up for me that I completely forget what it was, but they were both lovely!

Mikey brought over the first cocktail for us to sample and it was just ok, very strong lemonade flavour....would I order it, is always the question they ask, I don`t think so. Tom liked it a little more than I did, it was very refreshing though but not for me.

We did plan to only have one drink here, but again Mikey asked if I would try another cocktail, I forget (again) what it was, but it was bloomin nice, very margarita like.

We were heading over to RP but as we were leaving Christian called us over, he first said thanks for the chocolate, this was the first we had seen him since we handed it in, glad he enjoyed it....then he said, you know if you want I can make you a Carole`s Punch at some point....wow, really!!!!

They used to make a shrub just for that cocktail, but he had worked on a version as folks were still asking for it, so I said yep, would love that and although we hadn`t decided where to eat tonight, we did want to venture into Citywalk and have dinner there, somewhere. But, we told Christian we would be back later for that Carole`s Punch.

The Club Lounge was fairly quiet tonight and again, I felt bad as a man said he had seen us before, he recognised and remembered the accent and someone had told him how long we stayed which is why he recalled us, I admit I didn`t recognise him and neither did Tom, he did say it was several years ago he had last seen us, so maybe I shouldn`t have felt bad.

We had a couple of glasses of wine tonight and chatted to some folks sitting at the next table to us, they asked a lot of questions, but not the nosey kind of questions, just general what do you think of this type of thing, nice family.

We never touched any food even for a sample, we were saving ourselves for dinner later.

Tonight we got to chat to one of the other new supervisors Val for a decent amount of time, nice lady who like most people had an interesting back story and I do think most people have some kind of interesting story to share.

Around 6.45 we were watching the weather and the rain was pouring down and we heard thunder, so no Citywalk tonight for us. The trouble is when the weather comes in, restaurants onsite fill up, so we called over to Strong Water and we managed to get a table for 7.30, he said it wasn`t too busy but booking was still advisable, we`d eat well tonight.

So, we walked back over and the weather just got worse by the time we got to SW and so dark outside!! We felt bad as it was a Gradventure night, one of the reasons we were staying onsite tonight due to traffic restrictions on the roads all around the hotels and parks, all those poor kids would be drenched!!

Alexis, another long term employee was looking after us tonight, he is lovely and we were about to order some drinks when Christian reminded me about Carole`s Punch, yep, that sounded good tonight so we both got one and when they arrived they looked almost identical to the original one`s Anthony created way back when!

Yes, I am still honoured to have had a cocktail named after me and had been on the menu for two years.

It was pretty darn good considering the house made shrub was missing, it was still as fruity and as potent as the earlier creation was, I thanked him for making it up and did plan to have another one tonight.

This was an interesting one below, another of their new creations, one of the teams had been in earlier doing a taste test on some new ceviches and cocktails and this one sounded lovely, so he brought it over for us to try and it was like Christmas in a glass, beautiful drink and I thought I had written down the ingredients, but apparently not.

It was beautiful, I think we "shared" this one

Righ about now we began to realise we were starving, it had been a long time since breakfast so we ordered the Griot which is a Marinated and fried pork chunks dish served with sweet plantains, pikliz and a spicy chimichurri sauce.

Sitting in Strong Water is always lovely, the staff are incredible and the ones that know us always pass by to say hello and Sattina at that point popped over to say hi, the bar wasn`t too busy so she could manage it. Some times the bar is so busy they don`t have a minute, but always good to see her and catch up again.

Friday night is the guitar guy who is not our favourite to listen to, he can be incredibly loud and you can barely hear yourself think so we tend to avoid Friday night`s, but tonight he was at a lower level and was quite pleasant to listen to.

We had just ordered that dish to share when Chef Carlos came out to see us, Alexis had told him we were in, this guy is amazing, I think he misses his buddy Fernando and the other guys, but loves his job and we always enjoy chatting to him. He has the type of sense of humour we like and is honest as the day is long.

He asked what we were having, Tom said we had just ordered the Griot but were going to have a couple more dishes, he took our menu`s off us and said you don`t need that, I`ll send a dish out that was the special of the day, I said I didn`t think we could finish it as they are always so large...he said, bah....I`ll do it for one and strode off before we could say anything else......but we knew it would be gorgeous!!

The Griot came out first and this is one of our favourite dishes in here, especially with the sweet plantains, it is perfection on a plate, so full of flavour and the piquant sauce just adds to the flavours.

Then Chef appeared with the special of the day which was a sous vide pork tenderloin dish with rice, beans and more sweet plantain.....we looked at the large portion and said that`s not for one.....he laughed and sped off again insisting we enjoy it!!!

I claim not to like beans and I really don`t, but I did like the ones on the plate tonight, I didn`t eat a lot of them, but they were ok, however the pork was incredible, I don`t think I`ve ever had pork as tender as this one, and I include my own in that conclusion!!!

He did come out to check we had clean plates which we almost did, only some rice and beans were left, but we had cleared the pork and scraped as much of the sauce as we could, so one side of the plate was almost clean!!

We thanked our lovely Carlos again for such a wonderful meal, he had knocked it out the park again and we wouldn`t be needing a snack later for sure. He did ask if we wanted any dessert, but we had no room whatsoever, I was glad he asked as he usually just sends something out and although we always enjoy it, it can be too much!!! But his food is so good.

Mikey then decided to compete with Christian and make a Carole`s Punch himself. I hate when someone asks which one is better, especially when they`re both looking at you expectantly as you decided!!

I had to say, Christian`s was better, by quite a bit as it was sweeter but still quite potent, more the way it was designed. I said sorry to Mikey and he was fine although he did do the fake annoyed face

It was getting busier now, but nowhere near as busy as it usually is on a Friday evening.

At this point the new manager came over and introduced himself to us, I had noticed him several times over our visits so far but we had never spoken, I think Fernando is a hard act to follow.

It was around 9.30 and we said our goodnights to most of the team and we went back to our suite, we had been given a movie night voucher to use, so the rest of our evening was going to be snuggled on the sofa with a glass of wine watching some movie or other. The weather just hadn`t let up so no Citywalk tonight for us.

I forget which movie we did choose but we left the drapes open to watch the rain and in case there was anymore lightning, we opened a bottle of wine and rather greedily did put out some chips to snack on, we weren`t hungry, it was just nibbling for nibbling`s sake, but nice all the same.

I think we headed to bed around 12.30am and another lazy day was planned for tomorrow. ​

 

[disneyseniors]

View attachment 984429




We had arranged to meet the team at 8.30, C appeared first and we headed in as the other two would be down momentarily, we were delighted to see Jimmy was looking after us this morning, he is a superstar in Amatista, lovely man who takes immense pride in looking after people very well.

And never forgets a name!! We tell everyone and always have done, to call us by our first names instead of Mr & Mrs, Jimmy however insists on calling me Miss Carole, which I`m ok with if it makes him comfortable.

The restaurant is not too busy and we get a nice table, our other two hosts appear and it is so nice to be able to sit down with all three of them for a leisurely breakfast. We are lucky to spend a lot of time with the team over our trips and this is the first time for many years Marian was missing, but she had a huge promotion and was in Texas now, so P had replaced her and we liked him a lot!!

Again, we were all chatting for so long none of us had ordered, we eventually checked out the menu and we all decided what we were having, but did order teas, coffee and juices.

The breakfast menu at Amatista is lovely, the buffet is very good and we usually enjoy it at least once a visit, but we also enjoy the regular menu too.

The Chef came out to say hello, we had met him a couple of times before with Marian, one the nicest men and such a gentleman too, so between him and Jimmy, we were spoiled today.

He also brought us out a little taster before our breakfasts arrived, it was a mini pancake with a cranberry compote on top and it was absolutely delicious, we all enjoyed it and thanked the chef for taking the time to do it for us and come out and say hi again.
​

Getting to know P more was lovely, A & C we had known for a long time, C used to work in Concierge as a supervisor and it was lovely to see she had joined this team, they are a lovely group and we really enjoy spending time with them all.

Our breakfasts arrived and I had opted for the salmon avocado toast minus the eggs and it looked beautiful, the smoked salmon here is very nice, even if it`s not Scottish ​

Tom mistakenly ordered too much!!!!

This is the guy who eats a bowl of cereal most mornings for breakfast, here in Florida it`s usually two little croissants, but he asked for 2 eggs and the sausages not realising it came with a huge portion of homestyle potatoes and toast too!!!

He felt greedy when he saw what was on his plate! ​

C ordered, with plans to share with P, the open faced breakfast arepa which was a large looking dish which came with scrambled eggs, onions, chorizo, diced potato, avocado, roasted poblano sauce, tomato, arugula and topped with queso fresco, it looked lovely!! ​

Now, the dish I will order on our next visit for sure is the Island`s Eggs Benedict! This was P`s breakfast and it had poached eggs which I love, grilled shaved ham, tostones, chipotle hollandaise sauce, queso fresco and a baby kale salad, I did wish I had ordered this!! ​

A had ordered the same as me but with the eggs, again, smoked salmon, arugula, tomato and queso fresco, she also got blue cheese crumbles which is something I don`t understand lol....blue cheese is something neither Tom or I enjoy in any form, nope, we do love a good cheese, just not blue cheese. ​

We had a lovely few hours together and we certainly appreciated them all taking a morning to spend with us, we get on so well with them and they are the nicest people that are so easy to spend time with, we laugh a lot and share so many stories with each other, so yes, we had a lovely morning.

Jimmy volunteered to take our pictures, bless him, he must have taken about 20 of us from every angle! ​

Eventually the guys had to go back to do what they do best and we thanked them once again for a lovely breakfast and for the time too, we see them a lot over our trips and they check in constantly which is lovely, we are so lucky to know them so well, I keep saying it, but they are the nicest people

I still think Amatista is decent for breakfast and any special brunches they offer, but it`s not somewhere I`d recommend for dinner, it lacks something and not a place we`ll be rushing back to for dinner.

We headed back up to our suite briefly then headed out, we planned to do a little shopping, dinner and a quiet, movie watching evening ahead for us.




View attachment 984597​

Jimmy however insists on calling me Miss Carole, which I`m ok with if it makes him comfortable.

It's a Southern thing to call ladies Miss. I always liked it and thought it was quaint!

He also brought us out a little taster before our breakfasts arrived, it was a mini pancake with a cranberry compote on top and it was absolutely delicious,

Now that pancake looks fantastic! I love pancakes anyway they come, but that one I will have to give a try for breakfast! All of the dishes looked delicious.

You have met so many lovely people over the years and it's great that you can visit with them while at Universal. I know they must look forward to it too. And the photo was very nice. I never did mention that the shorter haircut really suits you and looks great. I like mine being shorter too and am in need of a good cut soon

 

[schumigirl]

It's a Southern thing to call ladies Miss. I always liked it and thought it was quaint!

Now that pancake looks fantastic! I love pancakes anyway they come, but that one I will have to give a try for breakfast! All of the dishes looked delicious.

You have met so many lovely people over the years and it's great that you can visit with them while at Universal. I know they must look forward to it too. And the photo was very nice. I never did mention that the shorter haircut really suits you and looks great. I like mine being shorter too and am in need of a good cut soon

Oh I do like being called Miss Carole, or, and I know some folks hate it and I get it, but I do like "ma`am" too.

First time someone called me ma`am was a police officer we were chatting to in a restaurant many years ago, yes, I liked it!!! We don`t really use that word over here unless it`s regarding The Queen!!!

That pancake is not on the menu, it was just a little taster from the chef, but I do think they excel for breakfasts in Amatista.

Thank you, I do like a compliment lol......I am so glad I changed stylists last year, best decision ever as my hair was that same length for too long, it was time for a change, so much easier to do and faster too! Nothing quite like a nice salon appointment, a few hours of pampering does us the world of good!

Yes, we have been very lucky with folks we have met over the years, for the most part

 

[disneyseniors]

Oh I do like being called Miss Carole, or, and I know some folks hate it and I get it, but I do like "ma`am" too.

First time someone called me ma`am was a police officer we were chatting to in a restaurant many years ago, yes, I liked it!!! We don`t really use that word over here unless it`s regarding The Queen!!!

That pancake is not on the menu, it was just a little taster from the chef, but I do think they excel for breakfasts in Amatista.

Thank you, I do like a compliment lol......I am so glad I changed stylists last year, best decision ever as my hair was that same length for too long, it was time for a change, so much easier to do and faster too! Nothing quite like a nice salon appointment, a few hours of pampering does us the world of good!

Yes, we have been very lucky with folks we have met over the years, for the most part

About the "Miss" thing. When the kids were little and in grade school in Tennessee, they called all their teachers by their first name with a Miss in front of it. It was Miss Emily, Miss Jane, etc. It was a sign of respect. It was always yes Ma'am and yes Sir to any adult. When we moved up to the North, the kids couldn't believe how the kids acted and some were rude to their teachers. I will tell you about that sometime, as it is something not to be talked about on here. (are you interest ed now??) Oh I forgot to mention. All grownups were called Sir and Miss or some formal name and only Miss Jane if the person was ok with that.

 

[schumigirl]

SATURDAY MAY 10TH





We slept like tops as we usually do, however I woke at 5.30 sneezing, not quite sure why, but it`s certainly a different way to wake up, but it wasn`t just a one off sneeze, nope it was a proper full on sneeze fest that someone seemed to be sleeping through!! I`m sure he was pretending so I would not expect him to get up!!

It was still pitch black outside so I trundled through to the sofa and thought I might lay down and see if I could get back to sleep but no, the sneezes didn`t stop, so I got my ipad out and they did eventually subside, horribile way to wake up.

But, I was awake so I passed the time sending emails and noticed I had one from our friends Anna and Charles, they said they may be over our way today and might meet up with us tonight here in the hotel if they weren`t too whooped. They were planning a day in the parks till around 7ish then back to Sapphire where they had a room, they said they wouldn`t feel like going out for dinner so I had suggested getting some food delivered from room service or SW but she replied back asking if we minded getting food from Dutch Trading, they like it and don`t stay very often so what could I say except, yeah sounds good.

The things we do for friends!!!!

After an hour or so I went to waken Tom and let him know our new and not improved plans for dinner lol....nah, he`s not bothered where we eat and it would be nice to catch up with both of them and hear about their trip, especially the Universal part. They had been staying in Miami for a week, they love it there for the dancing and nightlife and are rarely home before 3am apparently when they visit! Far too energetic for us.

I woke Tom and told him of our new plans for tonight, he was happy we were having an evening in and using that lovely dining table, even if we were using take out containers!

We showered and walked over to RP for breakfast, it wasn`t too busy but busier than it had been, we picked a few of our usual items, chatted to the staff and headed back over to Sapphire for the car, we were heading up to Winter Garden for a wander around the Farmer`s Market.

We always get stopped at these lights, I think there may have been once or twice we got through, but more often than not we`re stopped, but you do get to see how much Universal has grown over the last years. ​

It takes about 25 minutes to get to Winter Garden from Sapphire, and parking is plentiful, so many places you can park including the main street too which is so convenient but today we parked in a lot that was about a 30 second walk to the WG sign.

I got out the car and sniffed....I said to Tom, I can smell laundry powder, it was so strong.....he said turn around lol....there was a huge launderette behind us! Yep, of course I can smell laundry powder! ​

Winter Garden is lovely, similar to Mount Dora it feels so quiet despite it being quite busy, the whole area is just so peaceful and so pretty.
​

There is a pretty central area that runs between both roads has several seating areas including a lovely water feature that has some double swing seats that you can just sit and pass unlimited amounts of time people watching and enjoying the heat but under some very handy shade too.

We weren`t sure if it was our imagination or if it was getting drastically warmer than it had been, we already thought this had been the hottest May we had experienced so far.

​

The market is laid out in different areas of the town and it has a vast selection of stalls, definitely something for everyone and so many talented people who do all sorts of craft projects the you have all the food options, fruit and veg market and specialist food stalls.

This one is our favourite, all spicy sauces and rubs, but we (I) were very good and didn`t buy anything at all today, but I wish we had, as this guy`s stuff is amazing. ​

And not something you see everyday, well certainly not in the UK a man walking his feathered friend as if it was the most normal thing in the world! ​

We had been told of how good The Hungry Bison was here but the portions are always huge and maybe just too much for lunch, but one day we will visit, maybe we`ll drive up one evening as it looks even prettier we`re told and that central area comes alive when it`s dark. ​

Plant St Market is home to the Crooked Can Brewery and also home to many food options all of which are very tempting. I`m not a beer drinker so we have never bought any beers from here, we did sample some of their products at Jake`s Beer Festival last year, they do make decent drinks though.

​

There are plenty of folks buying their wares and it is incredibly popular, locals think the absolute world of this place and we have lost count of how many have recommended it to us.
​

We didn`t have anything here today, we had BBQ food last time and it was lovely, but we weren`t really hungry right now, so we headed ack out to the market and back to our car.

If we thought a man walking his pet bird was odd.....we hadn`t seen anything yet!!!

Meet Rosie........​

I`m going to guess he is a regular in Winter Garden and he certainly raised a few eybrows walking around with his little friend.

Rosie did seem very tame, but no way in this endless universe would we go near it and pet it the way some kids were doing......




​

Nope, would never happen, I`m sure it`s tame but I`d never take a chance as that thing could bite you in a second, so we turned down the chance to meet Rosie up close and personal!

We wandered back to the car and headed back to Orlando where we would decide where to have lunch on the way back down.




​

 

[schumigirl]

About the "Miss" thing. When the kids were little and in grade school in Tennessee, they called all their teachers by their first name with a Miss in front of it. It was Miss Emily, Miss Jane, etc. It was a sign of respect. It was always yes Ma'am and yes Sir to any adult. When we moved up to the North, the kids couldn't believe how the kids acted and some were rude to their teachers. I will tell you about that sometime, as it is something not to be talked about on here. (are you interest ed now??) Oh I forgot to mention. All grownups were called Sir and Miss or some formal name and only Miss Jane if the person was ok with that.

Oh, always interested Ruth!!!

We grew up calling all our neighbours Mr or Mrs, I remember meeting some of them as and adult and one always kept telling me to call her "Betty" instead of Mrs Cameron, I just couldn`t!!! By contrast all Kyle`s friends called us by our first name, but some got confused as I worked in the school for a time when he was younger and they had to call me Mrs when I was working.

Times have changed so much, but I still believe most kids/people are polite and do respect others, it`s the opposite ones that always seem to make the headlines though!

 

[iona]

We grew up calling all our neighbours Mr or Mrs, I remember meeting some of them as and adult and one always kept telling me to call her "Betty" instead of Mrs Cameron, I just couldn`t!!!

All my mum’s close friends were known as “Aunt xxx” when I was growing up. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I realised that I actually was related to one of them (albeit she’s my mum’s cousin so technically not a real aunt)!

 

[schumigirl]

On the way home we got a txt from Anna who said they`d be with us around 8.30ish as they were finishing their day in the Studios and was that too late to eat, we said no that`s fine, we thought then we might go into Citywalk for a couple of hours around 5ish then and pass some time there.

If the weather played along of course!

All the way down we talked about different options for lunch and ended up choosing NYPD Pizza, one of our favourite cheap and very cheerful places for lunch.

It`s located down Universal Blvd and sits in a lovely little area that has some other options too including Beth`s Burgers and The Diner, so we had a few to choose from however Tom fancied a pizza so it was an easy choice.

We pass the new hotels and I do admit to not liking the budget ones at all, I do think they look better at night, but they don`t appeal to us to want to stay there, but, several folks we know have stayed in one or the other and did enjoy their stay, ideal for one or two nights seems to be their response when asked how it was. ​

NYPD is not a fancy place but it is frequented by plenty of emergency services staff, always a good sign if police officers are regulars in our book. ​

I rarely if ever look at a menu here, I`m dull as dishwater with pizza and tend to stick to the same one all the time, bbq sauce base, chicken, pineapple and jalapeno and for some reason this one came with onion which I didn`t ask for, I picked them off though, no fuss.

Although before I tucked in, she came back looking a little alarmed and offered to take it away and get a new one, I said it was fine as it wasn`t an allergy, so a rather relieved young lady retreated with a sigh. I think she must have realised it had onion on it after she dropped it off. ​

Then, Mr "I fancy a pizza" ordered......

A sandwich

Hot Italian Combo for him today which had a good portion of pepperoni, salami, ham, provolone with lettuce, tomato,onion and pepperoncinis all served with a small pot of Italian dressing on the side.

My husband loves sandwiches and this is a huge sandwich!​

For the first time ever, we took half the sandwich home with us, something we never do, but Tom was thinking he didn`t really fancy mac n cheese for dinner tonight (sorry Anna) so he was pre-empting needing something a little more!!

We paid and headed home and again spotted another new Universal board just before the entrance to the parking garage, it looks better all lit up at night, but new signs have popped up everywhere around all Universal areas. ​

Well, the best laid plans

We got back into our room and it looked like it was going to rain, the weather was going to let us down again for Citywalk, so we chilled for an hour or so, wrote some emails and chatted to Kyle when he got home from running, UK time this morning and we had a lovely chat!

By the time we came off Facetime it was fully raining and going to be on for a time, so we went where it was dry, warm and we could get a glass of wine, yep, RP Club Lounge.

I knew what tonight`s offering was, mac n cheese with chicken tenders lol....mac n cheese seemed to be haunting Tom today!

Tonight they had done it more baked with a crispy breadcrumb topping, it looked nice but it`s not as good as it looks, but it is a very popular evening with the tenders.

I secretly think Tom was hoping there was a nice dish he could fill up on tonight, just not mac n cheese!
​

We did manage a couple of glasses of fizzy though and yes, it was still raining outside and (sorry) but we did give Charles and Anna a thought about now, she hates rain and right about now they were wandering around The Studios!

I admit I did send them a meme about getting drenched and it was a very sarcastic response I got back, as expected ​

You know when time passes and you don`t realise how long you`ve been sitting talking!

Between chatting to the TM`s and a couple of very nice people, we did sit longer than planned, but since we had no Citywalk and it would be about an hour before we ate, it was quite nice knowing we had nowhere to go for a time.

We knew we had to move when they brought desserts out, but we did take some away with us, the NY Cheesecake was very light and Tom and Charles said the little chocolate bites were very nice too. ​

We eventually left the lounge and walked back over to Sapphire and the rain was still on, we imagined our friends would shower and change before coming over to us, they were in a pool view room in Guest House 3 so only a few minutes walk to us.

We opened the door and the lights were on, we hadn`t left them on this afternoon as we forgot, but sitting on the table was a bottle of red wine and 2 glasses???

Usually when we get a gift from anyone on the staff, there is a card to go with it, but with this bottle, there was nothing, so we don`t know who it was from, but it was a very kind thought from whoever took the time to send it.

We had already opened a bottle earlier for tonight, so now we had another, doesn`t go wrong for sure!! And I did remember to borrow a couple of glasses as there would be four of us. ​

Around 8.45 our guests arrived, freshly showered and ready for food, although a glass of wine first was appreciated.

We have known Anna and Charles for about 35 years, and we had never been in Orlando at the same time, they prefer July and August and then come back for New Years after Christmas with their family so this was a nice suprise when they told us they`d be here at the same time. It was only for one night as they were heading to Vegas tomorrow then onto Colorado where her brother lives.

Anna and I sat on the sofa while the men went to get food and we had a good old chin wag and I was happy to hear they did like Sapphire, they usually stay at Portofino when they are here so this was a little different for them.

Our husbands were quite a time, I expected they had gone into SW for a quick drink, but, nope they had gone for a little extra for dinner and I was so glad to see it!!

Tom had his half sandwich from lunch, we had some gorgeous chicken which is beautiful, it is very tender and full of flavour and they enjoyed the large portion of mac n cheese that came with it and they also had The Cuban Sandwich to share.
​

And the reason they were longer than we thought, Tom decided to go to Aventura and get........

PIZZA!!!!

This felt like a feast now, I didn`t touch the sandwiches and stuck to the pizza and a small piece of chicken, the others had a mix of everything then we shared the mini desserts and it was lovely, we sat around the table nibbling and chatting into the late evening!!
And yes, there was a lot of wine enjoyed tonight

All four of us are wine drinkers and they had also brought a bottle along with them so it was one of those evenings that was just so much fun and did feel like home from home at this point.

They headed back to their room around 1am, their flight to Vegas wasn`t till 11am I think, so no need to get up too early with it being an internal flight.

We tidied up, bagged and tied all the food boxes up to make sure there were no food aromas left in the room, took them down to one of bins then we headed to bed too, I was really tired now so I was glad I didn`t have far to wander to my bed.

Yes, once again I was asleep before my head hit the pillow!!!
​

 

[schumigirl]

All my mum’s close friends were known as “Aunt xxx” when I was growing up. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I realised that I actually was related to one of them (albeit she’s my mum’s cousin so technically not a real aunt)!

Gosh yes, I called mum`s cousins aunty or uncle too, I don`t remember if I called any of her friends that, I don`t think I did, but yes, I`d forgotten it was common to do that.

Most of my best friends kids and some of my Godchildren call me aunt, and their kids certainly do now. You made me think though, one of my friend`s granddaughter Elise calls me Aunty, I think that`ll change as she gets older though, I hope not as I do like it, but she`s 10 going on 40 so yes, changes ahead!!!

One of my godchildren is now 40, she is the eldest of them all and I know when she wants something, she starts her txts or conversations with "Aunty" in a cute way lol......

 

[schumigirl]

SUNDAY MAY 11TH





Well, my second Mother`s Day of the year and it was another lovely morning ahead.

I was up with the larks despite feeling a little tired after our late night as I wanted to check how Kyle did this morning. He and few others in one of his running groups were running a half marathon and I knew he was then getting home, showered and back out for lunch and and afternoon out with friends, so no time to chat today, which is nice, I`d rather he was out having fun than chatting to us.

I found the website with the results and he did amazingly well!!! He got another PB and we were again so proud of him, I could barely run the length of myself so to see how far these guys run and are barely out of breath bewilders me!!!

I sent him a quick congratulations email then got ready to go over for breakfast.

We originally had no plans today, I had tried to book the Mother`s Day Brunch at Amatista but the times we wanted it was full, I didn`t fancy eating at 11am or the last seating of the day, so we thought we`d just grab something wherever we fancied later, I`d already celebrated our Mother`s Day back in March so I wasn`t too bothered, but I did like that Brunch.

We got to RP and they were doing "MOM"OSAS in the lounge, Tom and I both had naked momosas, pure prosecco, why ruin a nice drink with fruit juice!!!

One lady gave a "woohoooo" when she came into the lounge and saw the prosecco.....we had a high five together and we both noticed a rather disapproving look from one particular couple......oops.

They had made a nice little display for today and it was appreciated by all the mum`s in the lounge this morning.

We did enjoy a couple of glasses, well, when they top you up, it`s really rude to say no

However we did drag ourselves away after a simple breakfast, we wanted to have a quick visit to IOA and the beautiful Christmas Store, we had seen a few things the other day and one was pajamas, but they didn`t have the size I wanted, but the lady who worked there said they`d let me know when they got the size, I said we`d pop in and pick them up this morning. And Tom was hustling me on a little bit this morning, so I didn`t get the chance to chat in the lounge as much as we normally like!

But, we left and walked the 7 minutes to IOA and for the first time today, we never passed a soul on the path which is very unusual.

It wasn`t the sunniest of days but heck it was bloomin hot...

We both love the smell when you enter the Christmas shop, it is beautiful and evokes every memory in your soul that`s even remotely Christmassy!!


I asked the lady why they had got rid of most of the lovely traditional decorations and baubles in place of generic Universal merchandise, she said I had just answered my own question. Ah, right.

They do have some lovely stuff, just not the same as it used to be. ​

These were the pajamas we were picking up, again, Chistmas presents for a few folks, one friend had asked me to get her these for her granddaughter, so we picked up four pairs and she happily wrapped them as I wandered off, well you never know what you`ve missed on those shelves. ​

I will say I didn`t buy any of the big bulky cosy blankets on the bottom shelf, but they were gorgeous, however I did get, ahem, several of the products on these shelves. Ho-Ho-Ho??????

My reasoning was, my shopping was mostly done now, so this would be the last of our purchases! I was however surprised when he said we`d take them with us back to the hotel, I thought we were off for some rides on velocicoaster!! Apparently not, but he had a slight smile on his face like he was up to something. ​

Tom was again hustling me along and I wondered what he was up to, he`s not usually one for rushing me along, but we had a look at some of the goodies in the other side of the store, everything is tempting and the fudge although quite sweet, is nice in small portions. ​

We got the boat fairly quickly and Tom was checking his watch, so now I knew something was on the down low as he rarely looks at his watch.

I had already showered and washed my hair this morning, but I now looked a little, well bedraggled with the heat and Tom suggested I may want to go get showered and do my hair again and be dressed, ready to leave around 1pm!!!

Now, my curiosity had been piqued, I had no clue where we were going and I`m not sure I liked being in the dark, Tom however was glowing in the rare experience of me not knowing something that he knew....









Bah Humbug!!!!

But, I did as I was told for once and got showered, hair done and dressed and at 1pm precisely I had a shiny face and ready to be told where we were going for lunch, he did say he hoped I liked it but it wasn`t going to be a big surprise and not to expect anything too fancy!! ​

Righto, I looked at him and asked where we were going and I can tell you I was hungry right now and hoped it wouldn`t be too far away....


































































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