WDW sisters trip! - Day 2

Shannon and I got up bright and early (this is very easy to do when you are in Disney World!) and wandered around our beautiful hotel for a while, enjoying the relative coolness of the early morning. Around 7:45 am we made our way to the main bus stop near El Centro. With very little wait, we were off to EPCOT!

After watching the park opening show, we walked straight to the Land pavilion and hopped on Soarin’ right away (in the front row -- woohoo!). We picked up fast passes for later and wandered across Future World to ride Test Track. I really like this ride -- in fact we liked it so much, that we rode it twice in a row (with no line at all).

After zooming around in test cars, we made our way back to the Land to visit Sunshine Seasons for a delicious and nutritious breakfast of crème brulee and strawberry shortcake! After eating, we rode Soarin’ again (I really like the part where you fly above the kayakers in Redwood Creek), then went on Living with the Land. I really like this nice, calm boat ride through the food gardens of EPCOT.

Continuing through Future World, we next went on Journey into Imagination so that Shannon could see Figment the purple dragon that wears a yellow sweater. I don’t really like this ride, but Figment is pretty cute.

We waited to see Captain EO next and it was pretty good. I almost wanted to buy the rainbow-striped Captain EO t-shirt that I saw in the gift shop, but I resisted.

Done with Future World (for now!), Shannon and I set out on our journey around World Showcase. We began in Canada, where we peeped into the cute gift shop and admired the cute little cottage in the pretty garden. Next was the UK where we admired the gardens, shops, and received a mysterious phone call from the red phone booth.

We wandered over to France and shared a lemon grey goose slushie while sitting in the shade and watching an acrobatic/balancing performance.

Feeling hungry, we went to the next country, Morocco, to find some lunch (we were going to eat at the Yakitori House in Japan, but it was closed). We had a pretty lame lunch in Morocco at the Tangerine Café -- the food was definitely not very fresh!

It was around 3 pm and we were feeling a little tired, so we decided to take a Friendship boat to Mexico and take a bus back to the hotel for a little afternoon break. After a couple of hours and feeling refreshed, we took a bus back to EPCOT and promptly rode Spaceship Earth (I love this ride!).

Next we visited the aquaria in the Seas, again looking at the cuttlefish, seahorses, and other cool sea creatures.

We went back to the World Showcase, this time starting at the other end and visiting Mexico where we again rode the Gran Fiesta boat tour. We stopped in China, then Germany where Shannon was very interested in the Werther’s caramel shop (we would be back!).

We continued walking around the world until we reached the UK again for our dinner reservation at the Rose and Crown dining room. The food was pretty good here and as we left, we were able to see the Illuminations fireworks show.

Around 9 pm we took the monorail from EPCOT to the Magic Kingdom for late Extra Magic Hours. We had a fun time riding the Jungle Cruise (really fun at night), Aladdin Magic Carpets (dodge the spitting camel), and Pirates of the Caribbean before taking our bus home around 11 pm. After a long, but fun day we turned in for the night, looking forward to Animal Kingdom the next day!

WDW sisters trip! - Day 1

Shannon flew in to DC on the night of 9 September so that we could get organized to leave together early the next morning. We celebrated her arrival with cheddar cheese soup and presents!

We took a taxi to the DC airport early in the morning of 10 September so that we could catch our 7:40 am flight. We took off about an hour late, but we finally arrived in Orlando around 10:50 pm. We took a short ride on the airport's mini monorail (first ride of the trip!) and found the Magical Express check-in desk, whereupon we instantly boarded out Magical Express bus. We were on our way to Coronado Springs Resort! The bus ride took about 40 minutes and they played a little movie to get you riled up and excited about Disney!

Shannon and I were so happy to see that it was nice and sunny outside -- the weather stayed absolutely beautiful all week! In no time, we arrived at Coronado Springs and checked in at the front desk. I was really excited to learn that we would be staying in the Casitas section, building 5 in room 5320 -- this is just the location that we wanted (near a convenient bus stop, pretty section, and not bottom floor!). We wandered over to our room, took in all the prettiness of the resort (themed like ancient Mexico/Mesoamerica), and unpacked a little before setting out for the Magic Kingdom.

We took the bus from the Casitas 2 bus stop (our stop!) around 12:00 pm. Once we arrived, we went straight to Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain. It was pretty fun, but a little jerky in spots (we also picked up some fast passes for later).

After that, we wandered around trying to find lunch. First we headed to Casey's Corner in search of corn dogs, but they were CLOSED! Finally we found Cosmic Ray's where we ate some tasty burgers (good toppings bar) with carrot cake (Shannon) and mango "gelato" (Erin) for desserts. All of our meals (including drink, entree, dessert) were free during our trip because we booked a deal including free dining -- it was a really nice deal, but in reality far too much food. Shannon and I were good at not stuffing ourselves and leaving food behind if we didn't want to eat it.

After lunch, we rode the Peoplemover to relax and digest. From there we rode Buzz Lightyear, then used our fastpasses to ride Space Mountain again. That was the last time we rode Space Mountain -- it was just too turbulent, but I'm glad we went on it twice.

From there we walked to Adventureland and rode Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean -- two classic rides and some of our favorites!

Next we walked to Frontierland and rode the wildest railroad in the West: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad -- another super-fun ride! We walked to Liberty Square and rode Haunted Mansion. We meandered through the new interactive queue, which was very fun, and got stuck on the ride (near a creepy self-knocking door!).

From Liberty Square, we went to Fantasyland to go on Philharmagic -- a 3D theater ride that I had never been on before (but I really liked it).

We had dinner reservations at EPCOT (this was a theme of our trip -- dinner each night at EPCOT!) so we took the monorail from the Magic Kingdom to the Ticket and Transportation Center to EPCOT. We arrived in EPCOT around 6 pm and rode Spaceship Earth before walking over to Mexico for our dinner reservation at San Angel Inn. Dinner was pretty delicious but too much food!

After stuffing ourselves, we rode the boat ride in Mexico (Gran Fiesta Tour) where we met a couple of annoying parents talking in loud baby-talk with Wisconson accents to their uninterested baby named Sasha ("SASHA...MEXICO!!!!" "Sasha, say 'See ya Mexico!'"). They were really annoying and we kept quoting them throughout our trip -- it was definitely a meme!

We took another boat ride in Norway (Maelstrom) to see some trolls and then wandered to Future World and rode the Seas with Nemo and Friends. While there, we also took time to look at the sea creatures (my favorite is the cuttlefish!).

After a long but fun day, we returned to the hotel via bus around 10 pm. We wandered around the hotel grounds, checking out one of the pools (Dig Site) before getting ready for bed. We were excited for another fun day at EPCOT!

Blog neglect, but Disney soon!

Sorry little bloggie for being too busy to post recently. I have finally downloaded all of the pictures from my sister's and my Disneyworld trip and I will be posting about that vacation very soon.

I had a really great time traveling with my sister in Walt Disney World! We were lucky to have phenomenal (though hot) weather and very small crowds -- we could basically walk on all rides with no wait! That combined with the fact that all of our food was free (with a free dining plan offer during our trip) made for a super-fun vacation! I should be posting about Disney soon (there are lots of pictures to sift through!)~

Blueberry scones

One last post before DISNEY WORLD!! I leave with my sister tomorrow (she flies into DC tonight), but I thought I would make one more post before heading out.

In Portland, Maine I bought a box of blueberry scone mix at Stonewall Kitchen and once I got home, I made them. They were really easy and very delicious -- I will need to get another box of this mix the next time I am in Portland!

Zaytinya for Restaurant Week

When I returned to DC from Maine, I found myself in the midst of Restaurant Week! This is when restaurants around the city offer special lunch and dinner menus at reduced prices -- it is a nice way to try a sampling of foods at a new restaurant that you might not visit otherwise. Carlos and I always try to choose one restaurant to visit during summer and winter Restaurant Weeks and this time we decided to try Zaytinya!

This is a Mediterranean tapas restaurant that I've been meaning to visit for a while, but I just never got around to it. We decided to try the lunch menu ($20/person). For $20, we got a lot of really tasty food!

First, we tried the fattoush salad and hummus with pitas -- both were very good, but I liked the salad a little better than the hummus.

For the next course, we had some delicious shrimpies in mustard dill sauce and veal cutlets with tzatziki on lettuce beds. Wow, so good!

Next, we shared some HUGE scallops with tzatziki and meatballs with feta. Both were delicious, but the scallops were my favorite dish of the meal -- they were cooked perfectly and went really well with the tzatziki! Carlos really liked the meatballs.

For dessert (as if we weren't already stuffed!) we sampled Greek vanilla yogurt with honey and Turkish delight -- walnut ice cream with pastry and little honey jelly bits. They were both equally good!

After our late lunch, we waddled back to the museum. Now we have a new restaurant to bring out-of-towners!

PS. I am leaving for a vacation with my sister in a couple of days (we are going to Disney World!) so I won't be posting for the next week. I will, however, have plenty of new things to write about when I return. See ya real soon~