Grandparents visit

There is something about grandparents that really make you feel at home. My grandparents and cousins are visiting. Yesterday I took Grandma and Grandpa Ivan out for lunch at Le Cellier and we walked around Epcot. We rode SOarin which they loved, and then went to their condo for a swim. We had dinner with Vince, Karen and the twins. Homecooking was so good and really nice to visit with them!

The Florida Keys

Key Largo

Stopped at Key Largo on our way to Key West. Key Largo is the dive capital of the world, it was beautiful! I felt like I was somewhere else not florida! Gary and I went snokeling about 7 miles off shore which was awesome! Believe it or not, we saw a shark, pretty scary considering there was no one else really around, it was a grey reef shark but Gary, being from Scotland got freaked out and stated swimming toware the boat! Also saw Barricudas and lots of beautiful fish! Great day!

Key West

Sitting in a hammock eating my key lime pie! yum The Southernmost point in the USA, only 90 miles to Cuba!
Rented bikes and explored Old town Key west. So much fun!

Sunset at Mallory Square, got a henna tatoo of a palm tree and watched daring street performers!
Ripleys Believe it or Not museum. This statue is the tallest man who ever lived!

Miami and the Everglades!

Laura and I took a nice weekend away and headed to Miami! We first stayed at this hotel right on beach in South Beach, but we were unhappy with our room and it just wasn't very nice. We then found this little hotel called The Carlton on the same street which we absolutely loved!! The beds were amazing with 400 thread count white linens, big pillows, and a very nice pool! The best part is this cute little art deco boutique hotel was the same price as the crappy hotel down the street! Too bad we didn't know sooner! Oh well, it was great, we spent lots of time on Miami beach, shopping on Lincoln street and pretty much just relaxing. We ate at this great little cafe "Nexxt" 4 times, which had the greatest food and you could people watch from the patio. We also went to Mansion club which was lots of fun!

One of my goals while living in Florida, was to see a live alligator in the wild. Florida is Gator land, so we headed to the Everglades for the day. Surprisingly the Everglades are only 40 minutes west of Miami! We took an air boat ride through the swamps and wet lands on a search for them. It was so cool! We were going so fast, and gliding through the water, and when an alligator was spotted we would stop to take pictures and watch. What a great experience!
After the air boat ride I had the chance to hold a baby alligator. He was very nice and I was assured he would not try to eat me. He felt very rubbery and scaly, but it was very cool I couldn't believe I was holding one!
We got to watch an alligator show where we learned about them and saw them be fed. Those teeth are pretty sharp and their chomp is very loud!!! To end off the day, this may sound crazy but we tried eating alligator nuggets. We just thought we had to try it, tasted like chicken really, kinda chewy! Believe it or not... In Florida, Gator is an appetizer listed on many restaurant's menus.

Blue Martini Girls Night

I took these pics off my roomie Jo'sblog, On Wednesday night a group of us went to Blue Martini, we definately sampled their extensive martini list!!! Lots of fun too!

"We Miss Candice"!

Carly sent me an email with this picture from her and Geoff holding a "I miss Candice sign". So so cute! I love it!, Im sure it was Carly's idea (such a sweetheart) but I love them both anyways! Thanks guys, miss you too!

The Melting Pot

Had the day off, so me, Jo, Gary and Diane went to the Mall at Millenia! Yep, me and the UK's went shopping! Was lots of fun! Bought some really nice candles, sunglasses and a hat from Urban Outfitters, a really furry sweater from Billibong, and a cute dress from Forever 21. Later we met up with Tanis and Ashley and went to the Melting Pot for dinner. This place is amazing! It's a four course fondue including cheese fondue, salad, main course (filet, prawns, chicken, veggies etc. and chocolate fondue for dessert. I had heard this is a restaurant to definately eat at during your time here, and I had wanted to go for a while. Also..... I coloured my hair! and I really really like it! A big change I know!!!

Tu Tu Tango

Love this restaurant! Its so fun to go with a group of people and share a bunch of appetizers and yummy banana pizza for dessert! P.S. I rented a car for this whole week and I love it! So worth it to have a little mobility and freedom!

Epcot Food and Wine Festival!

Yesterday Tessa and I celebrated our 6 month anniversary of living and working in Florida with a little taste of the Epcot Food and Wine festival. It was opening night which was very exciting, and we were able to taste foods, desserts and wine from all around the world. We had so much fun! My favorite countries were Canada, Turkey and France.
We started off in Canada where we had Maple glazed salmon and Canadian Cheddar cheese soup (which we offer in Le Cellier). Next was Poland and Greece where we had Kolbasa and perogies and Greek salad and Spanakopita. SOoo good!

I was excited to go to Spain where we tried Papas Con Chorizo and Albondigas. We had sushi in Japan and Chaysson au Fromage de Chevre and Creme Brulee in France. It's great because each item is between $1 and $5 so it gives you the chance to try many little tastes of the world. Turkey had this amazing Circassian Chicken that both Tessa and I loved.
After trying Shrimp on the Barbie in Australia and Vegetable Curry in Thailand amoung many other things we became very full! Jo met up with us later in the UK and we walked around Epcot again to try all the fabulous little desserts. So much fun! We had Apple Strudle in Germany and Sweet mango Tapioca soup in Thailand (was not a big hit with the three of us!) I cant wait to do it again and also go to the Australian Wine garden where you walk thru and try all sorts of wines while you learn about them! We later watched Illuminations which was spectacular! Great way to celebrate 6 months of Disney Magic! (hehe)

Bennigans

Here I am with my new roomie Jo from England! We went to Bennigans the other night for some food and drinks. She is just great!

Year of A Million Dreams!

This is Disney's new theme for the next year! Disney "dream squad" people will be making dreams come true around the park by giving away cruises, trips, all day fast- passes, and stays in Cinderellas castle to unsuspecting guests! Check out the website for The Year of A Million Dreams! its very cool! You can create your own dreams and bring them to life. Also, watch this tv commercial which brings tears to my eyes. click here to watch it!

Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween

A group of us went to the Magic Kingdom for their annual Halloween party which goes til October. We got tons of candy from each ride, and watched the Halloween parade and fireworks. It was tons of fun!!!

Grand Floridian

Lisa, Laura and I had the day off so we went to lie by the pool at the Grand Floridian, it was wonderful and so relaxing! We also went to look around the wedding pavillion which was so pretty. There was a disney wedding happening that same day just a few hours later.


We got lei's at the Polynesian resort.

DISCOVERY COVE!

Today was one of the best days I've had here in Florida. Jessie, Steph and I went to snorkel, feel sting rays, float in tropical rivers and Swim with the dolphins. It was absolutely amazing! DC is all-inclusive so everything was included from towels, sunscreen and wet-suits, to gourmet lunch and cocktails! Kissing a bottlenose dolphin was my favorite part of an awesome day!

The Bird aviary

The bird aviary was beautiful, full of lush plants and and tropical flowers. As we walked in with our bird feed in hand, I was instantly attacked by birds of many colours. I was totally freaked out as you can tell from the photo! They landed on my head and Steph and Jessie were laughing! It was too funny!