"...NO-o-o-o-o-o! Not RAIN on Christmas!"
....well, we entered
Mexico, not really sure of where exactly we were headed, so we did the only sensible thing TO do - we followed the crowd like cattle to slaughter....there were several artisans crafting little animal figurines out of wood (I believe) - really quite colorful, so I suggested to David that he might buy one for his mom. He declined so we moved on...
Holy maracas! What a festive place! It was brimming with activity and mariachi music, with the smell of chimichangas (or was it burritos??
) filling the 'night' air.....
....I finally spied the entrance to
Rio del Tiempo at the far corner, where we quickly made our way, trying NOT to stare at the folks enjoying their
comidas Mejicanas, their
Dos Equis and fruit margueritas, or their siestas...
...once aboard, we anxiously awaited to be transported to Mayan temples (or was it Aztec? - WHATEVER!)...
....okay, here comes something up there on the left, is it, is it - Montezuma himself, perhaps?
...
DONALD DUCK??!?!? And the THREE CABALLEROS??!?!
Well, it was a bit campy, but all in good fun, and, at last I can honestly say:
" Been there, done that...!"
We managed to escape Mexico without any signs of 'Montezuma's Revenge' between the four of us. Come to think of it, mebbe NOT, because when we exited, my DH and Daivd BOTH needed to use 'el bano', or the 'lil hombres room', which was fine with me. That's when the downpour began. Well, I exaggerate - it was more like a schpritzing, because it really was over as soon as it started...
....so we ventured through the upcoming countries, in search of their version of Santa Claus:
...no Sinter Klaas in Norway, but a very pretty tree..
...skipping through
China
...we hurried towards Germany
in quest of that wonderful tannenbaum and
Cristkind, but the closest to Santa we came was:
...I did stop to take in the quaint architecture and designs...
....hesitating momentarily to gaze towards the other side of the lake,
...we could see
Canada in the distance, along with
Soarin'!. We eventually found ourselves nearing
Italy...
[...guy in middle, black shirt, blue jeans - IS HE WEARING A JOCK STRAP ON HIS HEAD??!?! ]
...so we decided to check in at
Tutto Italia:
....as you can see, there was a definite improvement in the weather...we were ready to experience
"La Dolce Vita".....
...we were seated in the salon directly behind the check-in counter at a lovely corner table next to the window and had a great view of our surroundings, as well as the ever-attentive waitstaff, who were, oh-so-
Italian....needless to say, dinner was
"Magnifico!"; the insalatas were fresh and superb - our entrees, HEAVENLY! I ordered the special that came with the Processional Dinner Package meal - NY Strip Steak with pesto sauce , crisp green Italian beans, and lightly roasted potato slices - what a winning combination! Since my DH cannot eat wheat, he had gluten-free pasta, which was plentiful and looked quite appetizing. He sadly said that it was okay - but I think my DH is too used to MY 'homestyle Italian cooking'
[ wink, wink!].....and the desserts! And, oooooh, what traditional Northern Italian meal is complete without Tiramisu?
To top it off, the charming bella signorinas appeared with a small frost-colored gift bag that contained the most delectable Italian Christmas cookies and torrone....abbondanza! Ciao! Buon natale! (...BTW ~ we never DID get to sneak a peek at La Befana either, but we were about as close to heaven as we were gonna get....)
[...next installment - Post #244]
dance3:
I only substitute at the public preschool that both of my kids "graduated" from - so they know me -but it seems weird that otherwise they would use someone they know nothing about that may or may not be very good at working with kids.
oh, I'm SICK IN BED with a fever and not feeling my ole' self for a few days, and the place gets TRASHED.....
....is this what it's like at your houses when your PARENTS go away??!?!?!? *tsk*, *tsk*, *tsk* ....
Missed you ! Hope you feel better soon.
: "Been there, done that."
