The most fantastic, magical things can happen ............... Day 03 Update/July 18

[dizneeat]

Day 2, Sunday ........ and another lazy day!

We woke up around 8am and after getting ready headed to the baker for some fresh bread for breakfast.

And after breakfast we went for another walk in the nice warm sunshine. We walked quite a ways, picked up a few things here and there. There are lots of fun knick nacks to find, so this was good fun.

Around 11.30 we headed to the fishmongers to buy supplies for lunch, then headed back to our apartment to enjoy our lunch.

A little bit of liquid lunch before cooking.

And here's lunch! Fried sardines and a tomato salad as a starter, accompanied by some yummy Foccachia bread.

and

freshly steamed mussels for main course. We were stuffed, but not stuffed enough to leave behind the

Chocolate Profiterole.

All the shops close from noon until 4pm, so we took a break also. Around 3.30 the skies looked a bit greyish, but nevertheless we headed out, this time we needed a jacket, but it was still a beautiful afternoon.

We walked to the beach and Tom found one of the hidden "geocaches" there.

no one at the beach really, because it was pretty windy.

When we returned to the main street we were stunned because of all the teens and tweens there and I kid you not they were SO loud, so instead of dining out we picked up half a roasted chicken and some French Fries and had dinner at home.

After that we just relaxed a little and later we went and got ourselves some ice cream for dessert.

And there you have it ...... day 2 ....... done!​

 

[jedijill]

I love your trips to Italy! The food looks amazing...love the Minions on the beach.

Jill in CO

 

[rteetz]

Looks like a great time in Italy! That's one place I've always wanted to go. Those sand minions are really good!

 

[GoofyFan1515]

WHAT? Another trip to Italy??? You're as bad as all those people who take repeated trips to that Disney place! So far it looks like you did a great job escaping for the weekend to your second home to relax and eat in a different kitchen. I did take your advice and stop reading until after I had lunch.

Geocaching has become quite popular in my area also. I've done some of it with my youngest DS. The frustrating thing for me is when you know you're in the right place and come up empty. You don't know if you just can't find it, or if somebody took it....

 

[pas130]

MINIONS!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[YukiPhnx]

Thanks for giving me a heads-up about eating before I started reading!

I LOOOOOOVE the simple lunches and dinners you have! Andrew and I had similar meals like that when we were in Australia because we stayed near a grocery store, all inspired by you guys!

What else do you put in the tomato salad?

I'm DROOLING over those mussels. I love seafood.

I'm had chocolate spread too. That stuff is DANGEROUS! I could eat the whole jar if I had less self-control. I bought it at a Foreigner's market in Beijing and haven't been able to find it in Canada yet

Those minions on the beach are cute!

Does it cost money to use those lounges and umbrellas on the beach? Or are they available for private use?

 

[dizneeat]

Day 3, Monday ....... MORE food!

And after sleeping in and having another big breakfast (like the day before) with nice fresh Italian rolls we went out for another walk. We walked quite a way down main street, hit a store or two and then went to the beach promenade to walk all the way back.

Some of the hotels along the street were really nice looking.

While walking towards our flat we decided that we didn't want to eat in again, but instead go out for pizza for lunch. We went to our favourite place, which is a bit on the expensive side, but their pizza is so good.

Tom got some beer and I had a Diet Coke - yip, it is a small can and there are no free refills.

Love their creative artwork

Needless to say we had pizza!

Capricciosa for me!

Tom went for the Verdura, pizza topped with grilled veggies.

We didn't have dessert there, but once we got back to our hotel I picked up some ice-cream for the shop next door

and Tom had some liquid dessert out of the fridge

All the shops close from 12pm until around 4pm, so we stayed in and had a break as well.

Around 3pm we headed out to find another one of the geocaches in the area. On the way there we passed a nice little wine bar and could not resist stopping in. We tried some of the regional wines

and they serve little canapes with it

which were very yummy. And after that, we walked for about 10 minutes, then found the area and Tom quickly had found his "treasure" in this bench.

We walked further on to the harbour

and then we headed back to the hotel via the beach

At the hotel we took a short break, Tom refreshed himself with another drink he had not tried before.

We discussed for a while what to do for dinner and in the end went to our favourite restaurant for some more pizza.

Tom got himself some more beer

and I stuck with my trusted Diet Coke

Tom had a Frutti di Mare pizza, while I stuck with a

Pizza Rustica. We were both pretty full, but I still was able to fit in dessert from the little ice-cream shop off of our hotel.

Day 4, Tuesday ...... going home - not many pics

After we got up and got ready I picked up some rolls from the bakery, we had a nice little breakfast, then loaded our stuff into the car, checked out and went to pick up a few more groceries to take home. Then we finally left the garage, but there was one more geocache Tom wanted to get, so we drove to the area

and pretty soon he had found it

On the way out of the city we stopped twice to get some more groceries and then started our way towards the motorway. The drive back home was uneventful, we were able to avoid two traffic jams thanks to the GPS and when we got close to home, the weather changed and it got cold and rainy again. We arrived back home at around 7pm to a very happy kitty cat!

And that concludes the short Italian adventure!

​

 

[englishrose47]

I had just finished supper and surprisingly enough I had PIZA Veggies !! I loved the Minions on the beach

 

[franandaj]

Sounds like you had a lovely relaxing time! It's funny (and I know I'm weird like this) but I can't eat the same things for any meals in a row. If I eat leftovers usually it has to be a couple days later. That would have broken every rule in my book to have had pizza twice in one day!

I don't understand the point of geocashing.

 

[Pinkocto]

Catching up on the WDW vacation and Italy.

The B & C outing looks yummy! I have only had a No Way Jose sundae there and it was behind delicious with the warm peanut butter and hot fudge

Fabulous to catch some more friends at MK that evening! I thought the same thing about the mine train the first few times I road it, but now it feels longer. I think the hype was so much that I was left feeling, 'that's it?' But now I enjoy it much more. The Laugh Floor is great!

We tried Kidani for the first time last trip and loved it. We LOVE Jambo house so it was hard to try Kidani but I'm so glad we did.

Those fried sardines look tasty! And all that delicious ice cream, I'm glad I had a good dinner before reading this one. Those beach loungers would be calling to me though.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Another nice trip to Italy for you two! The beach looks deserted. Is it still too cold for most guests?

Looks like you found some nice goodies for your inside picnics!

 

[adenton2000]

I'm really enjoying your reports and have gone back to read some of your older ones. You may have convinced me that a Disney cruise needs to happen!!

 

[GoofyFan1515]

Needless to say we had pizza!

Wow, that's a loaded down pizza!!!

and Tom had some liquid dessert out of the fridge

Liquid dessert is never a bad thing............

We were both pretty full, but I still was able to fit in dessert from the little ice-cream shop off of our hotel.

That was a lot of pizza you had, but yes, there is always room for dessert!

Loved the pictures along the water. You had some wonderful places to walk for sure!!!

 

[jedijill]

Another fun weekend! I could live on wine and gelato!

Jill in CO

 

[pas130]

Wine, pizza, a beach...ice cream too...yep sign me up Karin!

 

[dizneeat]

What a fun amazing vacation you are having and will have on your Summer vacation! Can I say I'm slightly envious?!! The Kitchen Sink is so much fun especially shared with Dis-friends!

If it works out the way I want it, it should be an awesome vacation. I have a few days already "planned" (not that that cannot change at any time ) and will post them soon.
We just love to share the Kitchen Sink with friends, it is just so much fun to see it being brought to the table and watching the faces of Kitchen Sink "first timers".

Wow what a vacation you have planned , a couple of my staff did the panama cruise 18months ago they went in early December for 10 days . Loved it !!

The Panama Canal cruise was something that really was on top of our to do list, but so far it was never doable as it was far too late in the fall. So when Magdalene pointed it out to us we just jumped on the opportunity and now we are so looking forward to it.

Carol and I ordered the kitchen sink for the guys on one of our trips , back in the day of Guest assistance cards , when we could tour each section of the park without having to wait for FP+ times .

That must have been so much fun. I am pretty sure your guys were impressed. I have no idea how the GACs worked back in the day. Is it much more complicated now that you have to get a FP time?

That Magdalene..........she can really come through every now and then!

She does and I am happy she did!

I think this is right down the street from where Pat and I stayed the one night we popped in to experience the 60th Anniversary celebration, prior to heading to her conference last October.

We stayed at the Desert Inn and Suites last time we went in 2006 and it was just such a short walk over to the parks. The Best Western we are staying in now is just the next hotel down the road.
The Desert Inn was nice, but a bit old and the Best Western was not much more and looked a lot newer, so we'll give it a try.

5 day tickets work great. You can take in pretty much everything without having to feel rushed.

I would have gotten 6 day ones, but they don't seem to offer them. Well, we will make the best out of the 5 days we have and enjoy and explore as much we can. I guess I will have to shout out to all my California expert friends to give us a few pointers on how to tackle the parks.

Good luck with turning in that rental car. We had an early flight back home and the signs to find the rental car return weren't very clear. We drove around a while before we finally found where to go.

We are returning it at the Hyatt just down the road in San Diego, so I guess it should not be too bad. But I know what you mean about returning rentals, especially in LA. In 2000 my friend and I wanted to return our Hertz car and we just could not find it, so in the end we waited at the airport for a Hertz shuttle and followed it to the rental area. Used up a lot of our nerves that day.

Kidani is a great resort! I highly recommend it!

Is it your home resort? We have stayed at AKL (hotel) a few times and LOVED it. We are so excited to finally experience Kidani as well.

Subbing in! I was in Disney the same time as yall! It was my first time at the Flower and Garden festival, and I loved it!

It was an awesome time to be there, wasn't it? We sure enjoyed Flower and Garden.

 

[dizneeat]

Wow i'm late! But will be back to catch up!

You are not late at all, and if you had been late, then Quentin would have been the perfect reason for it! I had to take a little time out because of our trip to Italy and work.

And you are a newbie to the Dis , WELCOME, Karin has the most wonderful Trip reports going and just wait till Christmas when Tom does his 2 Decemeber calanders they are not to be missed

Thank you for promoting Tom's calendars, Rosie! You are the best!

Thanks for the welcome, but I have actually been a member for a few years, lol! I just don't post that often. I am normally just an observer, lol.

I hope you'll chime in often - the more the merrier.

Wow, what a summer to look forward to!

Yes, we are going all out this summer - it did come together nicely so far and I really hope it will be the vacation of a lifetime.

You were my first DISmeet too and I had so much fun! I'm so sad we'll be JUST missing each other AGAIN!

And a fun time was had by all!

Btw, did you ever receive the pins and postcards I mailed you from China?

No, we never did.

So many resort stays! Are you planning on packing lighter to help with all the moves?

Don't think packing light is in the stars - we are travelling for 5 1/2 weeks, so we will lug around a lot of luggage, but we are used to live out of the suitcase. So, no big problem and I pack "kind of" organized, so we won't have to unpack it all.
And we'll let Disney transport our stuff from resort to resort.

Bay Lake Tower is like a dream stay for me. I look forward to seeing your pictures!

It is such a beautiful resort! I think I posted a few pics on Tom's birthday cruise TR (link in signature) and I promise to post MANY photos once we get there.

I love Vegas! I've only been once as a teenager but I've always wanted to go back.

We've already been in Vegas a few times, but were really hoping to go back. Such a fun city and so much to see and do!

The Panama Canal is one of my top places to cruise to. Can't wait to read all about it!

I have always envied those who could participate as I knew they were far too late in the fall for us to take part. But with the date being so early this year we can fulfill another dream. I promise to take A LOT of photos!

Wow! I am loving all of your Summer vacation plans! You two will be staying in so many amazing resorts, going to Vegas, Disneyland AND on a two week cruise!

Thank you! I am pretty pleased with what we have planned so far and I can't wait to hear what you all have to say to the plans.

 

[dizneeat]

Long time lurker, but thought I'd chime in to say I'm following along! My husband and I did the Panama Canal Cruise for our honeymoon in 2013. It was fantastic!

Looking forward to the next update!

Great to have you posting instead of lurking!
Thanks for the heads up on the PC cruise. We are so looking forward to it. Did you do the EBPC or the WBPC cruise?

First off..Is tom wearing an Ohio State Buckeyes coat?

It sure is!

Where did he get that? LOL

Our friends Mick and Teresa, who we spent the first day with, got it for him as a present during a previous get together in 2013. Since the weather looked like he could wear it, we brought it and he wore it for Mick and Teresa.

You were very busy with your arrival but looks like loads of fun too.

They were two days filled with lots of new things and lots of fun and friends!

You summer vacation sounds like a complete dream. I sure wish I could get away that long and do something like that.

It IS a dream come true! And getting away for 5 1/2 weeks is a reward for being a teacher and having to travel at the height of the travel season.

 

[dizneeat]

That's a great Summer Vacation!

Thank you! We are so looking forward to it.

I love the one bedroom units at OKW. I think we will try to stay there on the next trip I need to book (meaning Feb 2017). It will only be two nights, but I will enjoy that giant tub. I hope you two get to use it in your five days there!

They are our favourite place to stay. And we love OKW, it does not have that hotel feeling. It really feels like coming home.
I do not really care for the big tub, but Tom loves it and puts it to good use.

I want to try that Gordon Ramsay restaurant at Caesars. We saw it the last time we were in Vegas, but it was our last day and last couple hours in town. We had already eaten (a lot) by the time we stumbled upon it.

I made a reservation there for the day we arrive in LV. And I hope we can get into Burgr (the one at Planet Hollywood) the next day - they do not seem to take reservations. We love Gordon's shows and cannot wait to eat in one of his restaurants. A few years back, when Ang ran one of his restaurants in Boca Raton we planned on going there and it closed 2 months before we could visit. To say we were disappointed is an understatement.

The sad thing I heard about it is that they have renewed his license with Caesars (that's not sad), all he has to do to remain under contract is spend 24 consecutive hours there once a year. That's the sad part. I wonder how much presence he really has at the place.

Wow! I didn't know about that. I really hope that they still stick to his standards, even if he is not around much.

The Best Western is a great location, you might even be closer to the Esplanade than if you stayed at the Disneyland Hotel. I've already penciled you in for the 22nd of August, if that works for you!

Thank you! That is great to hear. We stayed at the Desert Inn and Suites 10 years ago and it felt like we just left the parks and were back at the hotel. The Best Western is just one hotel down the road, so it should still be close enough.
August 22nd is perfect for us! Can't wait to finally talk to you in person.

I'll warm up the Wonder for you in July!

Yeah! Tell her we'll be bringing her "home".

That kitchen sink at Beaches n Cream...unbelievable! I wish I had more people in my party to eat it! but since it's usually myself and DH and sometimes my sister, that would be too much for us, but maybe we can do the little kitchen sink. I saw someone do that and the sink looked really cute.

It is so much fun to order with a group of friends. It IS quite big and so far we have never been able to really finish it, but you can see we did our best. i really want to have the little kitchen sink (with the plastic container that you can take home) in the summer. Guess it will be my lunch one of these days.

Unbelievable summer vacation plans! Each summer your plans sound like a "once in a lifetime" trip for us! Do you find that it is tedious to do all that resort hopping? The though of it sounds like fun, but logistically I would probably not want to unpack and repack, but I guess I would have to be smart about how I pack then. Can't wait to hear about that trip too!

Since we have to travel during the height of the summer when airfare is really high it makes more sense to stay longer. That said, we usually stay for 4 weeks, not 5 1/2 but after we decided on the PC cruise we wanted to have ample time at WDW, then LV somehow came into our plans and we cannot go to California without going to DL.
And about the resort hopping - when we do road trips we are used to live out of the suitcase, so I know how to pack to have things conveniently in one or two suitcases. We never fully unpack, so it's not a big deal. I also let Disney do the transport from resort to resort, so that is not a problem either.

I can't believe we will miss you by 2 days. You are leaving on the 10th and we arrive on the 12th! Sounds like a wonderful vacation!

Is that the trip you are taking with Lily? No fair that we will miss you by just two days!

We enjoyed it thank you so much! Too bad Otto slept through it and didn't get any ice cream. We will have 6 adults and one child on our next trip, so we need to find time to go to B&C.

It was our pleasure! We had so much fun. Poor little Otto slept through all our restaurant experiences. Guess we will need to take him for kitchen sink again when he is a bit older.

Have a great time in Italy!

Thanks, Magdalene! It was such a relaxing trip.

 

[dizneeat]

I cannot believe you guys headed to Disney Springs! You are seriously troopers. I would have passed out in the car after valeting it

We had to! WPE Pizza was calling our names.

Uh, did they just forget about you??

They did not have a system at all. They took the keys, threw them in kind of a little box and picked the next one they could get their hands on. It was good we did not need to be somewhere on time, as it was really nerve wrecking to wait and wait and wait.

Look at all the attention you're getting!
No wonder, I had no idea that they made an announcement to the room.

The lights in the restaurant are flashing and the server announces the Kitchen Sink to the whole restaurant - EVERYone is looking at you. Or maybe they are just looking at the ice-cream!!

We stayed there in October and really loved the location! I'm still hoping to get down there and meet up with you guys!

That is great to know! It really looked nice and close to the main entrance!
It would be awesome if you could come down and we could meet. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I love your trips to Italy! The food looks amazing...love the Minions on the beach.

Jill in CO

So do we. It's just so nice to get away from everyday life and enjoy some Italian lifestyle.

Looks like a great time in Italy! That's one place I've always wanted to go. Those sand minions are really good!

The town is a real touristy one, but we already went their as kids and it brings back memories. Italy is beautiful though - you might want to check out my TR inside Tom's birthday trip report, we did an Italian roadtrip last summer, visiting Lake Garda, Portofino, Cinque Terre, Florence and Venice.
Those sand minions were so cute - we loved them.

WHAT? Another trip to Italy???

Sure! It's just a five hour drive.

You're as bad as all those people who take repeated trips to that Disney place!

There is a Disney place? And people go there??? Repeatedly???? I really need to look into that.

So far it looks like you did a great job escaping for the weekend to your second home to relax and eat in a different kitchen. I did take your advice and stop reading until after I had lunch.

You are right, it is like a second home. Very relaxing and having the comfort of a kitchen is great. As much as we like to eat out, eating in that kitchen brings back many fond memories of my mum and grandparents who are no longer with us.
And good for you to eat BEFORE reading the TR.

Geocaching has become quite popular in my area also. I've done some of it with my youngest DS. The frustrating thing for me is when you know you're in the right place and come up empty. You don't know if you just can't find it, or if somebody took it....

I never thought about it, but Tom's friend is an avid geocacher and got him interested. They explore together and so far have been very successful. But I do understand about searching for something and then it is not there. No fun!

MINIONS!!!!!!!!!!!