Fun, Sun & Strong Water Rum...*Yo-Ho*...23 Nights @ Sapphire Falls...A May 2022 TR

[schumigirl]

RRR is horribly rough. I'd never been on it but my nephews wanted to go, so my sister in law and I took them. My head hurt so bad when we were done. The 7 yr old was ready to go on it again tho. Hard pass for me. I did make it on Velocicoaster and Hulk again this trip and I did not think Velocicoaster was as scary the 2nd time around. Both of my kids chickened out and didn't go on any of the big coasters other than Hagrids. Bribery failed... It certainly was hot the week we were there (the week before memorial day) but I thought it was tolderable. My kids didn't even complain too much. The rest of the adults however, did not agree, and would rather deal with the spring break or thanksgiving crowds than the heat. I'm going to have to start vacationing alone lol

We always found the front of RRR absolutely fine.....it was nowhere near as rough as the middle to back of the ride, but this time.....might just be an age thing I guess, but knocked the stuffing out of us. Tom is now saying though he`ll do it again.

We love VC......the coaster isn`t scary, but almost coming out of your seat is.....as it`s supposed to! Love it though........

Shame the kids didn`t weren`t up for bribery......maybe next time.

We met a family in the lounge who said it was their first trip and thought the May heat was intolerable.........told them not to come in September...ever!! They asked how it could be hotter lol......

We love the heat, and even though I complain as it makes my face look like a beetroot.....we absolutely wouldn`t change it. I thought it was fine even when it was ramping up towards the end of our trip, I agree with you it was very manageable.

Yes, maybe solo would be fun for you.......I think you might have a challenge though lol......

 

[dez1978]

We always found the front of RRR absolutely fine.....it was nowhere near as rough as the middle to back of the ride, but this time.....might just be an age thing I guess, but knocked the stuffing out of us. Tom is now saying though he`ll do it again.

We love VC......the coaster isn`t scary, but almost coming out of your seat is.....as it`s supposed to! Love it though........

Shame the kids didn`t weren`t up for bribery......maybe next time.

We met a family in the lounge who said it was their first trip and thought the May heat was intolerable.........told them not to come in September...ever!! They asked how it could be hotter lol......

We love the heat, and even though I complain as it makes my face look like a beetroot.....we absolutely wouldn`t change it. I thought it was fine even when it was ramping up towards the end of our trip, I agree with you it was very manageable.

Yes, maybe solo would be fun for you.......I think you might have a challenge though lol......

Yeah, I'm out on July-early October. It's hot enough at home then, I don't wanna go where its hotter lol. I also have no desire to go during the busiest weeks of the year. But they won't pull their kids out of school bc their school sucks. The 1st time we went with them was the end of January and the weather was great. But their oldest was then in 5th grade I think. His chromebook wouldn't connect to Disney's wifi so he couldn't turn in his work until he got home, which was on a Saturday. They gave him zero's for every single assignment bc it was not turned in on the day it would have been if he was in school. Meanwhile, this same school, didn't even give them any work to do at all when they were quarantined 3x this year. My kids school doesn't care at all thankfully. Or at least so far they have not.

 

[schumigirl]

Yeah, I'm out on July-early October. It's hot enough at home then, I don't wanna go where its hotter lol. I also have no desire to go during the busiest weeks of the year. But they won't pull their kids out of school bc their school sucks. The 1st time we went with them was the end of January and the weather was great. But their oldest was then in 5th grade I think. His chromebook wouldn't connect to Disney's wifi so he couldn't turn in his work until he got home, which was on a Saturday. They gave him zero's for every single assignment bc it was not turned in on the day it would have been if he was in school. Meanwhile, this same school, didn't even give them any work to do at all when they were quarantined 3x this year. My kids school doesn't care at all thankfully. Or at least so far they have not.

wow...to give him zero is a low blow. But sounds like they`re not consistent if they didn`t issue extra work when quarantine set in. Very unfair.

We love September, heat, humidity....the lot. I think we need our bumps felt at times.....lol.....we have visited both July and August twice each, and wouldn`t volunteer to go then again, although very end of August was better.

 

[KathyM2]

It doesn`t make sense in many ways. You can drive over the border I believe with no testing??? So, maybe it doesn`t affect drivers.......lol......crazy.

Yeah you can drive over the border both ways with no testing as long as you are vaccinated. So the fact that you need a test to fly to the US doesn't make any sense at all. I hope that changes soon as I think it's what is keeping a lot of people from travelling.

We couldn`t hide how happy we were setting off for the parks this morning, our faces were just full of smiles the whole way!

This is just the best feeling, the beginning of vacation with the whole trip ahead of you.

but the ride itself was a non starter for us.

Why is the Fallon ride a non starter? Can't remember what it's like...is it nausea inducing too?

 

[schumigirl]

Yeah you can drive over the border both ways with no testing as long as you are vaccinated. So the fact that you need a test to fly to the US doesn't make any sense at all. I hope that changes soon as I think it's what is keeping a lot of people from travelling.

This is just the best feeling, the beginning of vacation with the whole trip ahead of you.

Why is the Fallon ride a non starter? Can't remember what it's like...is it nausea inducing too?

Well, first time we did it, it was fine, the second time we did it, the screen was off and everyone was complaining about feeling odd when it finished.

But, it`s just dull........why Jimmy Fallon appeals to anyone is beyond me, I don`t get him at all and don`t find him funny, so the ride didn`t have much of an appeal from the get go. The line is nice though.......and the bear dude is fun.

Yes, it`s putting some folks off booking trips from the UK, although our flights were almost full both visits so maybe not putting too many off. But, not sure how long they will keep up this testing for folks entering the US.

Good to see you Kathy

 

[Cara]

I have to ask: Is Simpson's one of the awful motion-simulator spinny things? I cannot do spinny things! Mission Space at Epcot -- . It's the worst, with the tea cups a strong second. Anything else I should be aware of at Universal?

 

[schumigirl]

I have to ask: Is Simpson's one of the awful motion-simulator spinny things? I cannot do spinny things! Mission Space at Epcot -- . It's the worst, with the tea cups a strong second. Anything else I should be aware of at Universal?

It doesn`t spin Cara, it`s the screen movement that causes me issues, Some folks find closing their eyes work.....doesn`t for me, it makes me worse.

Transformers has the same pixel issue for me, cannot do that ride either. Someone said it`s because you are thrown around more, no it`s not that at all, it`s all about the screen.

Spider-Man I`m fine with as the pixels are different. There is a spinny bit on that ride but what works for me is doing the old ice skater trick of focussing on one spot all the time, it works for me anyway and I can do Spider-Man several times in a row which we did this past trip without any bad feelings.

MiB has a spinny part too, but again, if I focus on one spot I`m ok with that.

Forbidden Journey makes me a little nauseated on one part where you swoop back into Hogwarts, but again, I avert my eyes and it helps....but not completely, it`s just one of those rides.

Weirdly, Minions never affected me when it was 3D, I heard some folks say it made them bad and I didn`t understand why. But, since it`s now 2D it does kind of knock me funny, so we only do that once now.

But, I do think everyone reacts differently to most rides, so apart from The Simpson`s, which is turly dreadful for motion issues for so many, I`d say give as many rides a try if you can, you may be ok on some.

Hope that`s of some help to you.......

 

[musika]

Just popping in to say I'm also along for the ride! I've been reading along but quiet - your trip reports are the best! Though they do have a tendency to make me feel a bit peckish... not sure why... lol

 

[Deb1993]

It doesn`t spin Cara, it`s the screen movement that causes me issues, Some folks find closing their eyes work.....doesn`t for me, it makes me worse.

Transformers has the same pixel issue for me, cannot do that ride either. Someone said it`s because you are thrown around more, no it`s not that at all, it`s all about the screen.

Spider-Man I`m fine with as the pixels are different. There is a spinny bit on that ride but what works for me is doing the old ice skater trick of focussing on one spot all the time, it works for me anyway and I can do Spider-Man several times in a row which we did this past trip without any bad feelings.

MiB has a spinny part too, but again, if I focus on one spot I`m ok with that.

Forbidden Journey makes me a little nauseated on one part where you swoop back into Hogwarts, but again, I avert my eyes and it helps....but not completely, it`s just one of those rides.

Weirdly, Minions never affected me when it was 3D, I heard some folks say it made them bad and I didn`t understand why. But, since it`s now 2D it does kind of knock me funny, so we only do that once now.

But, I do think everyone reacts differently to most rides, so apart from The Simpson`s, which is turly dreadful for motion issues for so many, I`d say give as many rides a try if you can, you may be ok on some.

Hope that`s of some help to you.......

I'm also severely affected by The Simpsons ride. It can definitely ruin a whole day of fun so I skip it.

 

[schumigirl]

THURSDAY MAY 5TH​

I woke up so early again this morning, I can honestly say we had caught up with the lack of sleep due to excitement and nerves of the days leading up to our trip. Well, one of us was awake.......the other had the right idea and was still sleeping.....who really needs to be up at this time of day!!

But, as it was still pitch black, that in itself is unusual for us as right now in the UK we don`t get really get pitch black at all, and from around 4am it`s light. But, I saw two very bright stars outside of the window and then spotted a third and they were crystal clear, well the third not so much, but I took a picture with the ipad and sent it to Kyle to see if it was Venus and Jupiter with Mars much further up. It was and he sent me a live shot from one of his astronomy sites showing what else was around. he is a keen astronomer and takes the most amazing pictures, so although mine was a bit rubbish compared to his camera/telescope, it wasn`t half bad for an amateur!!

Watched the sunrise again and then woke sleeping beauty by rumbling back in the bedroom, we got showered and dressed then had a facetime chat with Kyle as he was off today and we chatted about allsorts of stuff coming up and he caught up with our plans too, facetime/skype really are a lifeline for so many folks, but even when we are on vacation it is fabulous being able to chat whenever he had the time.

We set off for RP where we planned to say hello to our friend in the lobby, which we did, had a nice chat again then met the new concierge manager as we were heading up to the lounge....we had met her in December but only very briefly, so it was nice to see her again. We said bye to our lovely friend and set to go up for breakfast.

This morning the two staff members in the lounge were Raphael and Lindsey. As soon as we met them we were drawn to them somehow, especially Lindsey......if I was going to have a daughter, I would choose this young lady, she is adorable and we hit it off straight away and even moreso when we discovered her love for HHN!!! We would spend a lot of time chatting with these two young people.

Although I do have to say, we did think this team were among the best we had ever seen in the lounge, they looked after everyone so well and had such enthusiasm for their job, and all of them would move forward very quickly.

We enjoyed our usual breakfast and I sampled the new tea variety they had, it was nice enough but you needed two bags to get a decent taste from the breakfast tea, however the other varieties were very nice and a much nicer selection than before.

And the addition of mimosas was very welcome, you could get orange, pineapple or cranberry flavour, but I just had the fizz on it`s own.

Perfect way to start the day....not for Tom as he was driving of course........

We stopped by the lobby to see if someone we used to know was working, but we couldn`t see her so assumed it must be her day off. We had each others emails, but neither of us had written them down, so a catch up would be nice.

We then wandered back over to Sapphire and headed to the car, which I have to say was a much more pleasant aroma than the previous one. And comfier too. I set an address in the GPS and we set off for a roughly 40 minute drive, it`s not that far but you feel as if you are in a different world when you get there.

It`s a nice drive, now that we don`t go through a few backwater towns that look like you may never leave them......we had been told by concerned friends not to drive that way.......lol......it felt fine to us, but we always took advice after a rather worrying event a few years back that I never shared on the boards. But, needless to say, we found another route and this one was fine. And having the VTP it was lovely being able to drive through all the toll booths without having to wonder if you had change or had to drive through if it wasn`t manned and get a fine. All good though.

Today would reach 96F but had a higher real feel which we just loved......and made sure we had sunscreened up before we left as we would be wandering a little in the sun, and I had remembered my sunhat too which would be essential. Years ago in the South of France the top of my head had got terrible sunburn and I had slight heatstroke, from then on a hat has been essential for me most of the time. I can get away with short bursts without one, and Tom of course doesn`t go out without one, but for different reasons of course........

​

We parked in our usual place and wandered to the little park area where a musician was gently playing easily recognisable tunes....at least it wasn`t jazz......we hate, no we loathe jazz, and it`s everywhere!! But this guy was so very good, we sat and listened to him for a while along with some other locals who are among the friendliest of people.

He heard our accents and asked if there was anything we`d like him to play.....we said no, anything would be lovely.......and he started playing Flower of Scotland.......and he played it so beautifully, I hate to say it I started to well up with some tears! I do sometimes get very homesick for Scotland (not the political side I have to say) and very occasionally when I hear that played, it does hit me. We haven`t lived in Scotland for almost 28 years but it`s home and hearing the anthem like that, well, it just gets me.

Tom is always quite bemused as he doesn`t get homesick like that, but he gives me a cuddle as we carry on and hear it to the end, when the locals start chatting and most have some kind of connection to Scotland or England somehow. Once I wipe the tears away I can chat back and we make sure to give the wonderful musician a good tip, he was excellent.

And chatting to folks like this is one of the things we love about getting out and meeting folks, not just in a theme park and this place is really feeling like it could be stuck in the 1950`s, but in a good way.

We head away and one thing that always strikes us about this place is, how quiet it is. I mean you could hear a pin drop even on the sidewalk with traffic to the side of you.....you never want to raise your voice so you don`t disturb that tranquility that is all around you. Even the dogs are quiet.

The pontoon is one of our favourite areas here.....we are really not wild life fans and alligators and snakes scare the bejeesus out of me, so really I should want to avoid this part, but it is very pretty and I do love to be close to water in all forms. They do boat tours out of here and locals from surrounding areas come and park their little boats as they visit for lunch or some shopping....I think this is a perfect way of living when you retire as most of them seem to be. Jumping into your own personal albeit small boat to go for lunch is just lovely.

I wa so disappointed when I discovered this was apartments and not one large purple house.....but all the same it is very pretty and in such a perfect spot.

It is so peaceful here.......there were no speedboats, no annoying jetski`s, only peace and quiet in abundance. We could sit here for ever and just watch the world shimmer past us with the gentle lapping of the water around us, it was very tranquil.

One other couple came to sit on the other bench so we decided we`d leave them to their peace and quiet too, but Tom said he`d grab a picture first........so I stood and got the snap taken.......then I heard Tom use some salty language for want of a better description........

This was swimming about 4 feet behind me

And this I have to say without shame or embarrassment (ok maybe a little) this was me.....who now I do believe I could run if my *** was on fire!!!

​

It was huge!! The man beside us who was equally as excited as Tom was to see this dinosaur told Tom it was around 10 feet in size......Who the hell lets them swim so close to people!!!! Ok I know I know........I`m a complete wimp, but I had seen images of these things with huge legs and I`d bet they could climb up on the pontoon if they chose to!!!

Maybe Floridians are a little more blase about these things, but for me.....nope, not hanging around!

Tom eventually followed me back to where I was, in my opinion far enough from that creature. No, I never wanted to go see gators anywhere...not a farm, not a display anywhere, not my idea of fun at all.

Back to normality now, well almost as Tom spoke of this darn alligator for ages.......but eventually we spent some time wandering around the gorgeous and unique stores in Mount Dora and they were very pretty.

And again so quiet.

One of our favourite stores here is a chain, but a very nice one and it fits in beautifully with the area and it`s the Tea & Spice Exchange where we do tend to overbuy from here, but some of their produce is so lovely.

Every time we visit this store they have different people running it, not just employees, but whether people lose their franchise I have no clue. This set of people were ok, but one of them followed me around the store constantly.....maybe I just have that look of someone who can`t afford to buy anything. But, it was offputting and did affect what I purchased this time. Just the basics.

Every time I picked something up to look at it, she was there telling me what was so wonderful about it and what sizes it came in......I did tell her this wasn`t my first rodeo in this store.......but it made me want to leave, not buy more, so I picked up the Pirate Pepper I wanted, paid and left.......I knew there was another store same as this in Winter Garden, so we`d go there and buy the other things I wanted.

I like to browse, not to be constantly followed or told every little thing about each item.

But, it was time for lunch now......well midday, but we were both peckish so we headed off the main streets to find this little gem we had discovered on our Christmas trip.

The Goblin Market is tucked away behind all the main streets and is almost in a back alley.......but inside it is gorgeous. It`s like a coffee shop from a bygone age of class and style and you`d never know from the entrance, we avoided it for years as we thought it looked a little like somewhere we wouldn`t like. Big mistake.

It is stunning inside and the folks who run it are lovely, they did ask us how we had heard of it as they don`t get too many tourists in. We told them it was the lady from the Olive oil store, I said I hoped she didn`t mind tourists and she gave us a huge smile and said of course not, it was just unusual.

Although it was just after midday, we thought we were early, the place was filling up nicely, there were about 5 other parties behind us waiting to be seated, so we were taken upstairs today where it is a little darker than downstairs, but felt cosy for sure and it was obvious it was a very local place with a regular group of customers.

There was also a further area where they had bar seating and some comfy low seating too, this place was like a Tardis.

I ordered a cocktail, spicy mango margarita which was as spicy as promised, Tom got lemonade.......

I loved this place. The decor was right up my street as in it was very traditional and anywhere you have bookcases is alright by me!

It isn`t a huge menu, and some items change seasonally, but we found plenty we could choose from.......I opted for the Turkey Croissant and Tom chose the Ranchero chicken sandwich. Mine came with chips and Tom`s with fries along with a little side of some kind of flavoured rice which was strangely nice.

Lunch was lovely, everything is very fresh and they do tell you it might be a wait as everything is cooked as you order it, fine by us.

We took our time and enjoyed the cool of the restaurant and visited the rather unique bathrooms......never quite seen anything like them before, but they were immaculately clean.

We headed back to the streets and into our favourite Olive Oil store......they have the best selection and some other products too that we do like. We stock up on some oils, flavoured balsamic vinegars and some of their hot honey. We probably could have bought less......but we didn`t. I justified everything by saying we had that extra case.......lol.......

We had wandered round this lovely little town many times, but today, it was just lunch and some shopping, then we headed back home but as we were fairly early, we drove down to ABC wines to pick up a gift for someone, this is a very nice store for alcohol, wines and beers. I swear if we lived here, we`d be in trouble with how much choice there is, and in giant Fred Flintstone containers!!! Dearie me.

We didn`t hang around, picked up what we wanted along with the gift bags and headed home now however we encountered some road works on the back road and timed with schools getting out, we were delayed somewhat, but didn`t take too long really.

Back in the suite we dropped off all our shopping and freshened up a little before heading over to the Club Lounge for a couple of hours.

They had some new additions since we were last here, one being a new toaster which was handy as it could do several folks items at the one time, and a new coffee machine which was nice for Lattes or as Tom discovered, lovely French Vanilla coffees.

They still had the regular coffee/decaf available but this was definitely a nice addition and it was a local man who had created and maintained the machine, nice to see Loews using local businesses.

Tonight we met some more of the new staff........and two of them we became especially fond of. Raphael and Lindsey, particularly Lindsey.....if I was going to have a daughter, I`d choose her, she just had something about her that just clicked with us and we did end up spending some time chatting to these lovely young folks and others too. I have to say we have seen a lot of teams come and go in the lounge, but this team right now were exceptional. They genuinely worked well together and worked so hard to make everyone`s visit so wonderful. There were also 3 new supervisors too who again, were all lovely.

We very rarely use the lounge for dinner, but we do enjoy a glass or three of wine and some snacks like salad or cheese and crackers......but tonight Lindsey asked if we would try the beef bulogi to see what we thought. It was supposed to be stir fry but looked more like a casserole that had been slow cooked.

They have the usual salad with dressings, crudites and dip along with the hot option, so usually something for everyone.

If you have any allergies, let them know as soon as possible and they`ll be able to arrange an alternative dish to be brought to the lounge for you, they are excellent with allergies/intolerances.

We didn`t want to eat too much as we would be eating later, but we did try the beef and it was very nice, one of their nicest dishes yet. I don`t really like rice, but did give it a bash, I think Tom liked it better than me but it was ok. The sauce from the beef was lovely.

And the beer and wine selection available between 5-7pm along with the appetisers.

We headed back over to RP, and inadvertently wandered through the large get together of all the top executives from NY and all over the US.....the owners family were here too....so we did feel a little like we were lost tourists who had wandered into someone `s private party!!

As we walked through all these well dressed folks, we saw our friend and chatted to him briefly before seeing someone else we used to know from Concierge who had moved to another position, hadn`t seen her for a while, so we caught up with her and then someone tapped me on the shoulder and said Carole......almost missed you. It was the lady who was head of HR for Loews, we had met her several times before and she is just lovely. We had a hug and had a catch up before we extracated ourselves from this very well dressed group of top execs.......lol......usually they block off that area, but tonight you could just wander through for some reason. Trust us!!!

We popped back to our room briefly before heading into Strong Water for the evening.

On Tuesday Chef Carlos had invited us tonight to do a preview tasting of some new items coming on the menu and an old favourite coming back, we said of course we`d be delighted and slightly honoured he had asked us. He has on several occasions brought out dishes for us to try and give our opinion of......without a word of a lie, every one of them have been completely wonderful. Even things I say I don`t like.....like bananas, coffee flavoured things, mushrooms........when they`ve been in a dish he has created, I have loved every single thing. Tom tends to like most things so he has thoroughly enjoyed everything too.

But, we were so looking forward to this tonight.

Maggie was looking after us, so we ordered a bottle of wine as we had already had some in the lounge........and we picked up some menus only for Chef Carlos to appear, take the menu off us a tell us we wouldn`t need them tonight........ok then......sounded good to us.

Fernando came out too which is alway lovely to see him too. I have never met a manager of anywhere care so much for staff and guests alike....he has such a lovely genuine manner about him, we love spending time in his company as he is also a great deal of fun!!! We laugh a lot when we get together.

Him and Chef Carlos explained what we would be eating and it sounded wonderful......so they brought out the first dish......one we would never have ordered.





VEGETABLE HOT POT WITH DUMPLINGS AND POTATO CURLS

This was deliciously spicy and so full of flavour, I would never guess it was vegetarian, but it was and although I said I wouldn`t order it, I would now......Tom loved it too and we both said for a veg dish, it was outstanding. I wondered what something was and it was the dumplings, I hadn`t expected them and they were so tiny, but delicious.

I do have to say, these dishes were all brought out with some nice gaps between them so it was a very leisurely experience too. And nice wine is always good too!



Next up




SURF AND TURF PINCHOS WITH GARLIC BREAD & KALAMATA OLIVE OIL

This was a new addition to the menu and it was superb!!! They used to do a beef and pineapple pinchos, but this was a lot nicer, and I loved the other one.

The beef was tender and so were the shrimp and were complemented by the peppers and the sauce made from the gorgeous olive oil. This one is a dish I would be ordering a lot.




His next dish was really created for Cinqo de Mayo so we were thrilled to be able to try it....and not a piece of cilantro in sight. Chef Carlos knows of our aversion to all things cilantro.





LAMB QUESABIRRA WITH LAMB AND COCONUT GRAVY

OMG!!!!

This was a dish and a half.........soft tortilla which was a little like a naan bread with the tastiest juiciest non greasy lamb we have ever tasted. We love lamb and this was beautiful......but the outstanding item if we had to choose, was the gravy......holy moly!!! After we finished the food, we both fought over who drank the gravy..........Fernando laughed when he saw we had drained the pots.......lol.....and there was a lot of gravy each!!!

I wish this dish was on the menu regularly.....it was amazing and we handed back the cleanest plates ever!!!!


Chef Carlos and Fernando, mike and Maggie were all delighted we had enjoyed those dishes so much. Chef really takes incredible pride in his food and it shows, his standards are incredibly high and this had just been so lovely tonight.

We did have a bit of a gap before they brought us our desserts out......of course I had sampled it last night, but Tom hadn`t tried it yet.....so he was looking forward to it........but we had a good old natter for a while with everyone and it was just one of the nicest nights, and ideal as the restaurant wasn`t too busy as it can be.





COCONUT PALETAS WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE, COMPRESSED PINEAPPLE WITH RUM AND MANGO COULIS.

Another OMG!!! This is completely delicious and one of the very few desserts I enjoy that has alcohol in it.......beautiful dessert. And with the white chocolate it is divine......the pineapple with the mango complement it perfectly.

This had been a wonderful evening, we had spent time chatting to some of our favourite people, tasted some wonderful food and we couldn`t thank Chef Carlos enough for asking us to taste this gorgeous food.

Later on some of the execs from the event appeared in the bar......as I was heading from the bathroom I ran into Mr Beiderman who is just the nicest man....Tom calls him my penpal with the emails, but he is another who genuinely cares a lot for staff and guests alike and it is wonderful to see him.....he said he knew we had arrived and hoped he`d run into us, he asked where Tom was and we headed over to say hello to him too. We asked if he`d a wonderful evening which he did and I was sure we`d meet him again before we left. Such a nice man and always takes the time to chat and make sure everything is good with our trips.

We bid him goodnight at this point and he rejoins his group, we chat some more to Fernando and co before deciding around midnight, it might be time to go to bed......this is a late one for us again....and it`s always when we are in Strong Water.....they are so lovely.

Finally we said goodnight to everyone and thanked them again for such a lovely evening, and it really has been.

 

[schumigirl]

Just popping in to say I'm also along for the ride! I've been reading along but quiet - your trip reports are the best! Though they do have a tendency to make me feel a bit peckish... not sure why... lol

Glad you made it back......

Thank you so much.......and yes, I shouldn`t post these food images before I eat dinner.....big mistake!! lol.......

 

[schumigirl]

I'm also severely affected by The Simpsons ride. It can definitely ruin a whole day of fun so I skip it.

Oh you`re correct, it is a dreadful ride for those that suffer from issues like that. And yes, my day was over after I rode it for the first time......don`t think I`ve ever been so green looking!

 

[kbelle8995]

Hi . Enjoying your trip report. So glad that you are visiting again

And may I speak as one Native Floridian, I give all Alligators a wide berth. It's just wise. Also I would have run away from that reptile too. They are better to appreciate from a distance a Far Distance.

We own a dog and if you own a dog or any pet you need to watch fresh water very warily especially in Florida. YIKES.

 

[Deb1993]

THURSDAY MAY 5TH​

I woke up so early again this morning, I can honestly say we had caught up with the lack of sleep due to excitement and nerves of the days leading up to our trip. Well, one of us was awake.......the other had the right idea and was still sleeping.....who really needs to be up at this time of day!!

But, as it was still pitch black, that in itself is unusual for us as right now in the UK we don`t get really get pitch black at all, and from around 4am it`s light. But, I saw two very bright stars outside of the window and then spotted a third and they were crystal clear, well the third not so much, but I took a picture with the ipad and sent it to Kyle to see if it was Venus and Jupiter with Mars much further up. It was and he sent me a live shot from one of his astronomy sites showing what else was around. he is a keen astronomer and takes the most amazing pictures, so although mine was a bit rubbish compared to his camera/telescope, it wasn`t half bad for an amateur!!

Watched the sunrise again and then woke sleeping beauty by rumbling back in the bedroom, we got showered and dressed then had a facetime chat with Kyle as he was off today and we chatted about allsorts of stuff coming up and he caught up with our plans too, facetime/skype really are a lifeline for so many folks, but even when we are on vacation it is fabulous being able to chat whenever he had the time.

We set off for RP where we planned to say hello to our friend in the lobby, which we did, had a nice chat again then met the new concierge manager as we were heading up to the lounge....we had met her in December but only very briefly, so it was nice to see her again. We said bye to our lovely friend and set to go up for breakfast.

This morning the two staff members in the lounge were Raphael and Lindsey. As soon as we met them we were drawn to them somehow, especially Lindsey......if I was going to have a daughter, I would choose this young lady, she is adorable and we hit it off straight away and even moreso when we discovered her love for HHN!!! We would spend a lot of time chatting with these two young people.

Although I do have to say, we did think this team were among the best we had ever seen in the lounge, they looked after everyone so well and had such enthusiasm for their job, and all of them would move forward very quickly.

We enjoyed our usual breakfast and I sampled the new tea variety they had, it was nice enough but you needed two bags to get a decent taste from the breakfast tea, however the other varieties were very nice and a much nicer selection than before.

And the addition of mimosas was very welcome, you could get orange, pineapple or cranberry flavour, but I just had the fizz on it`s own.

Perfect way to start the day....not for Tom as he was driving of course........

We stopped by the lobby to see if someone we used to know was working, but we couldn`t see her so assumed it must be her day off. We had each others emails, but neither of us had written them down, so a catch up would be nice.

We then wandered back over to Sapphire and headed to the car, which I have to say was a much more pleasant aroma than the previous one. And comfier too. I set an address in the GPS and we set off for a roughly 40 minute drive, it`s not that far but you feel as if you are in a different world when you get there.

It`s a nice drive, now that we don`t go through a few backwater towns that look like you may never leave them......we had been told by concerned friends not to drive that way.......lol......it felt fine to us, but we always took advice after a rather worrying event a few years back that I never shared on the boards. But, needless to say, we found another route and this one was fine. And having the VTP it was lovely being able to drive through all the toll booths without having to wonder if you had change or had to drive through if it wasn`t manned and get a fine. All good though.

Today would reach 96F but had a higher real feel which we just loved......and made sure we had sunscreened up before we left as we would be wandering a little in the sun, and I had remembered my sunhat too which would be essential. Years ago in the South of France the top of my head had got terrible sunburn and I had slight heatstroke, from then on a hat has been essential for me most of the time. I can get away with short bursts without one, and Tom of course doesn`t go out without one, but for different reasons of course........

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We parked in our usual place and wandered to the little park area where a musician was gently playing easily recognisable tunes....at least it wasn`t jazz......we hate, no we loathe jazz, and it`s everywhere!! But this guy was so very good, we sat and listened to him for a while along with some other locals who are among the friendliest of people.

He heard our accents and asked if there was anything we`d like him to play.....we said no, anything would be lovely.......and he started playing Flower of Scotland.......and he played it so beautifully, I hate to say it I started to well up with some tears! I do sometimes get very homesick for Scotland (not the political side I have to say) and very occasionally when I hear that played, it does hit me. We haven`t lived in Scotland for almost 28 years but it`s home and hearing the anthem like that, well, it just gets me.

Tom is always quite bemused as he doesn`t get homesick like that, but he gives me a cuddle as we carry on and hear it to the end, when the locals start chatting and most have some kind of connection to Scotland or England somehow. Once I wipe the tears away I can chat back and we make sure to give the wonderful musician a good tip, he was excellent.

And chatting to folks like this is one of the things we love about getting out and meeting folks, not just in a theme park and this place is really feeling like it could be stuck in the 1950`s, but in a good way.

We head away and one thing that always strikes us about this place is, how quiet it is. I mean you could hear a pin drop even on the sidewalk with traffic to the side of you.....you never want to raise your voice so you don`t disturb that tranquility that is all around you. Even the dogs are quiet.

The pontoon is one of our favourite areas here.....we are really not wild life fans and alligators and snakes scare the bejeesus out of me, so really I should want to avoid this part, but it is very pretty and I do love to be close to water in all forms. They do boat tours out of here and locals from surrounding areas come and park their little boats as they visit for lunch or some shopping....I think this is a perfect way of living when you retire as most of them seem to be. Jumping into your own personal albeit small boat to go for lunch is just lovely.

I wa so disappointed when I discovered this was apartments and not one large purple house.....but all the same it is very pretty and in such a perfect spot.

It is so peaceful here.......there were no speedboats, no annoying jetski`s, only peace and quiet in abundance. We could sit here for ever and just watch the world shimmer past us with the gentle lapping of the water around us, it was very tranquil.

One other couple came to sit on the other bench so we decided we`d leave them to their peace and quiet too, but Tom said he`d grab a picture first........so I stood and got the snap taken.......then I heard Tom use some salty language for want of a better description........

This was swimming about 4 feet behind me

And this I have to say without shame or embarrassment (ok maybe a little) this was me.....who now I do believe I could run if my *** was on fire!!!

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It was huge!! The man beside us who was equally as excited as Tom was to see this dinosaur told Tom it was around 10 feet in size......Who the hell lets them swim so close to people!!!! Ok I know I know........I`m a complete wimp, but I had seen images of these things with huge legs and I`d bet they could climb up on the pontoon if they chose to!!!

Maybe Floridians are a little more blase about these things, but for me.....nope, not hanging around!

Tom eventually followed me back to where I was, in my opinion far enough from that creature. No, I never wanted to go see gators anywhere...not a farm, not a display anywhere, not my idea of fun at all.

Back to normality now, well almost as Tom spoke of this darn alligator for ages.......but eventually we spent some time wandering around the gorgeous and unique stores in Mount Dora and they were very pretty.

And again so quiet.

One of our favourite stores here is a chain, but a very nice one and it fits in beautifully with the area and it`s the Tea & Spice Exchange where we do tend to overbuy from here, but some of their produce is so lovely.

Every time we visit this store they have different people running it, not just employees, but whether people lose their franchise I have no clue. This set of people were ok, but one of them followed me around the store constantly.....maybe I just have that look of someone who can`t afford to buy anything. But, it was offputting and did affect what I purchased this time. Just the basics.

Every time I picked something up to look at it, she was there telling me what was so wonderful about it and what sizes it came in......I did tell her this wasn`t my first rodeo in this store.......but it made me want to leave, not buy more, so I picked up the Pirate Pepper I wanted, paid and left.......I knew there was another store same as this in Winter Garden, so we`d go there and buy the other things I wanted.

I like to browse, not to be constantly followed or told every little thing about each item.

But, it was time for lunch now......well midday, but we were both peckish so we headed off the main streets to find this little gem we had discovered on our Christmas trip.

The Goblin Market is tucked away behind all the main streets and is almost in a back alley.......but inside it is gorgeous. It`s like a coffee shop from a bygone age of class and style and you`d never know from the entrance, we avoided it for years as we thought it looked a little like somewhere we wouldn`t like. Big mistake.

It is stunning inside and the folks who run it are lovely, they did ask us how we had heard of it as they don`t get too many tourists in. We told them it was the lady from the Olive oil store, I said I hoped she didn`t mind tourists and she gave us a huge smile and said of course not, it was just unusual.

Although it was just after midday, we thought we were early, the place was filling up nicely, there were about 5 other parties behind us waiting to be seated, so we were taken upstairs today where it is a little darker than downstairs, but felt cosy for sure and it was obvious it was a very local place with a regular group of customers.

There was also a further area where they had bar seating and some comfy low seating too, this place was like a Tardis.

I ordered a cocktail, spicy mango margarita which was as spicy as promised, Tom got lemonade.......

I loved this place. The decor was right up my street as in it was very traditional and anywhere you have bookcases is alright by me!

It isn`t a huge menu, and some items change seasonally, but we found plenty we could choose from.......I opted for the Turkey Croissant and Tom chose the Ranchero chicken sandwich. Mine came with chips and Tom`s with fries along with a little side of some kind of flavoured rice which was strangely nice.

Lunch was lovely, everything is very fresh and they do tell you it might be a wait as everything is cooked as you order it, fine by us.

We took our time and enjoyed the cool of the restaurant and visited the rather unique bathrooms......never quite seen anything like them before, but they were immaculately clean.

We headed back to the streets and into our favourite Olive Oil store......they have the best selection and some other products too that we do like. We stock up on some oils, flavoured balsamic vinegars and some of their hot honey. We probably could have bought less......but we didn`t. I justified everything by saying we had that extra case.......lol.......

We had wandered round this lovely little town many times, but today, it was just lunch and some shopping, then we headed back home but as we were fairly early, we drove down to ABC wines to pick up a gift for someone, this is a very nice store for alcohol, wines and beers. I swear if we lived here, we`d be in trouble with how much choice there is, and in giant Fred Flintstone containers!!! Dearie me.

We didn`t hang around, picked up what we wanted along with the gift bags and headed home now however we encountered some road works on the back road and timed with schools getting out, we were delayed somewhat, but didn`t take too long really.

Back in the suite we dropped off all our shopping and freshened up a little before heading over to the Club Lounge for a couple of hours.

They had some new additions since we were last here, one being a new toaster which was handy as it could do several folks items at the one time, and a new coffee machine which was nice for Lattes or as Tom discovered, lovely French Vanilla coffees.

They still had the regular coffee/decaf available but this was definitely a nice addition and it was a local man who had created and maintained the machine, nice to see Loews using local businesses.

Tonight we met some more of the new staff........and two of them we became especially fond of. Raphael and Lindsey, particularly Lindsey.....if I was going to have a daughter, I`d choose her, she just had something about her that just clicked with us and we did end up spending some time chatting to these lovely young folks and others too. I have to say we have seen a lot of teams come and go in the lounge, but this team right now were exceptional. They genuinely worked well together and worked so hard to make everyone`s visit so wonderful. There were also 3 new supervisors too who again, were all lovely.

We very rarely use the lounge for dinner, but we do enjoy a glass or three of wine and some snacks like salad or cheese and crackers......but tonight Lindsey asked if we would try the beef bulogi to see what we thought. It was supposed to be stir fry but looked more like a casserole that had been slow cooked.

They have the usual salad with dressings, crudites and dip along with the hot option, so usually something for everyone.

If you have any allergies, let them know as soon as possible and they`ll be able to arrange an alternative dish to be brought to the lounge for you, they are excellent with allergies/intolerances.

We didn`t want to eat too much as we would be eating later, but we did try the beef and it was very nice, one of their nicest dishes yet. I don`t really like rice, but did give it a bash, I think Tom liked it better than me but it was ok. The sauce from the beef was lovely.

And the beer and wine selection available between 5-7pm along with the appetisers.

We headed back over to RP, and inadvertently wandered through the large get together of all the top executives from NY and all over the US.....the owners family were here too....so we did feel a little like we were lost tourists who had wandered into someone `s private party!!

As we walked through all these well dressed folks, we saw our friend and chatted to him briefly before seeing someone else we used to know from Concierge who had moved to another position, hadn`t seen her for a while, so we caught up with her and then someone tapped me on the shoulder and said Carole......almost missed you. It was the lady who was head of HR for Loews, we had met her several times before and she is just lovely. We had a hug and had a catch up before we extracated ourselves from this very well dressed group of top execs.......lol......usually they block off that area, but tonight you could just wander through for some reason. Trust us!!!

We popped back to our room briefly before heading into Strong Water for the evening.

On Tuesday Chef Carlos had invited us tonight to do a preview tasting of some new items coming on the menu and an old favourite coming back, we said of course we`d be delighted and slightly honoured he had asked us. He has on several occasions brought out dishes for us to try and give our opinion of......without a word of a lie, every one of them have been completely wonderful. Even things I say I don`t like.....like bananas, coffee flavoured things, mushrooms........when they`ve been in a dish he has created, I have loved every single thing. Tom tends to like most things so he has thoroughly enjoyed everything too.

But, we were so looking forward to this tonight.

Maggie was looking after us, so we ordered a bottle of wine as we had already had some in the lounge........and we picked up some menus only for Chef Carlos to appear, take the menu off us a tell us we wouldn`t need them tonight........ok then......sounded good to us.

Fernando came out too which is alway lovely to see him too. I have never met a manager of anywhere care so much for staff and guests alike....he has such a lovely genuine manner about him, we love spending time in his company as he is also a great deal of fun!!! We laugh a lot when we get together.

Him and Chef Carlos explained what we would be eating and it sounded wonderful......so they brought out the first dish......one we would never have ordered.





VEGETABLE HOT POT WITH DUMPLINGS AND POTATO CURLS

This was deliciously spicy and so full of flavour, I would never guess it was vegetarian, but it was and although I said I wouldn`t order it, I would now......Tom loved it too and we both said for a veg dish, it was outstanding. I wondered what something was and it was the dumplings, I hadn`t expected them and they were so tiny, but delicious.

I do have to say, these dishes were all brought out with some nice gaps between them so it was a very leisurely experience too. And nice wine is always good too!



Next up




SURF AND TURF PINCHOS WITH GARLIC BREAD & KALAMATA OLIVE OIL

This was a new addition to the menu and it was superb!!! They used to do a beef and pineapple pinchos, but this was a lot nicer, and I loved the other one.

The beef was tender and so were the shrimp and were complemented by the peppers and the sauce made from the gorgeous olive oil. This one is a dish I would be ordering a lot.




His next dish was really created for Cinqo de Mayo so we were thrilled to be able to try it....and not a piece of cilantro in sight. Chef Carlos knows of our aversion to all things cilantro.





LAMB QUESABIRRA WITH LAMB AND COCONUT GRAVY

OMG!!!!

This was a dish and a half.........soft tortilla which was a little like a naan bread with the tastiest juiciest non greasy lamb we have ever tasted. We love lamb and this was beautiful......but the outstanding item if we had to choose, was the gravy......holy moly!!! After we finished the food, we both fought over who drank the gravy..........Fernando laughed when he saw we had drained the pots.......lol.....and there was a lot of gravy each!!!

I wish this dish was on the menu regularly.....it was amazing and we handed back the cleanest plates ever!!!!


Chef Carlos and Fernando, mike and Maggie were all delighted we had enjoyed those dishes so much. Chef really takes incredible pride in his food and it shows, his standards are incredibly high and this had just been so lovely tonight.

We did have a bit of a gap before they brought us our desserts out......of course I had sampled it last night, but Tom hadn`t tried it yet.....so he was looking forward to it........but we had a good old natter for a while with everyone and it was just one of the nicest nights, and ideal as the restaurant wasn`t too busy as it can be.





COCONUT PALETAS WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE, COMPRESSED PINEAPPLE WITH RUM AND MANGO COULIS.

Another OMG!!! This is completely delicious and one of the very few desserts I enjoy that has alcohol in it.......beautiful dessert. And with the white chocolate it is divine......the pineapple with the mango complement it perfectly.

This had been a wonderful evening, we had spent time chatting to some of our favourite people, tasted some wonderful food and we couldn`t thank Chef Carlos enough for asking us to taste this gorgeous food.

Later on some of the execs from the event appeared in the bar......as I was heading from the bathroom I ran into Mr Beiderman who is just the nicest man....Tom calls him my penpal with the emails, but he is another who genuinely cares a lot for staff and guests alike and it is wonderful to see him.....he said he knew we had arrived and hoped he`d run into us, he asked where Tom was and we headed over to say hello to him too. We asked if he`d a wonderful evening which he did and I was sure we`d meet him again before we left. Such a nice man and always takes the time to chat and make sure everything is good with our trips.

We bid him goodnight at this point and he rejoins his group, we chat some more to Fernando and co before deciding around midnight, it might be time to go to bed......this is a late one for us again....and it`s always when we are in Strong Water.....they are so lovely.

Finally we said goodnight to everyone and thanked them again for such a lovely evening, and it really has been.

Oh all the lovely food!!!! So wonderful to have a tasting menu prepared for you both. That spicy mango margarita looked devine!!!! Right up my alley.

OMG that alligator!! Scary. I think they can just run/climb out of the water. I would absolutely have run right along side of you!

Loving your report!

 

[schumigirl]

Hi . Enjoying your trip report. So glad that you are visiting again

And may I speak as one Native Floridian, I give all Alligators a wide berth. It's just wise. Also I would have run away from that reptile too. They are better to appreciate from a distance a Far Distance.

We own a dog and if you own a dog or any pet you need to watch fresh water very warily especially in Florida. YIKES.

back kbelle.......

I completely agree......never had an interest in going anywhere near them, never understood the interest in Gatorland and similar places.......I`m of an age I remember the alligator scene in Live and Let Die.....classic James Bond, but put me off going to see anything like that.

Yes, the boat captain from Mount Dora said the same thing about dogs, they`re small enough for an alligator just to snap it up........nah, I`ll stay away from water`s edge....

Glad to see you are enjoying reading along

 

[schumigirl]

Oh all the lovely food!!!! So wonderful to have a tasting menu prepared for you both. That spicy mango margarita looked devine!!!! Right up my alley.

OMG that alligator!! Scary. I think they can just run/climb out of the water. I would absolutely have run right along side of you!

Loving your report!

It was very special and the food was so beautiful.......and glad to see some of the items back on the menu now. That margarita was spicier than expected, but so good.......

They can climb.......absolutely.........

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Yep, I was off like an olympic athlete!!! (well, kind of )

And thank you, I`m glad you`re enjoying it, always good to see you post

 

[DisGhost]

It was very special and the food was so beautiful.......and glad to see some of the items back on the menu now. That margarita was spicier than expected, but so good.......

They can climb.......absolutely.........

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Yep, I was off like an olympic athlete!!! (well, kind of )

And thank you, I`m glad you`re enjoying it, always good to see you post

NOPE. Absolutely not. Nope. That is not acceptable.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

No gators, no jazz, and all the delicious food — we agree on the basics

Another wonderful day. I am with you on being followed around in a store. I like to browse not feel like a criminal.

I love you had the tasting menu! So fun to get a preview of new culinary stars

Does Strong Water feel different to you when they are convention folk about? I wondered if that changes the vibe?

 

[schumigirl]

NOPE. Absolutely not. Nope. That is not acceptable.

lol...completely agree!!

Scares the bejeesus out of us!!

 

[schumigirl]

No gators, no jazz, and all the delicious food — we agree on the basics

Another wonderful day. I am with you on being followed around in a store. I like to browse not feel like a criminal.

I love you had the tasting menu! So fun to get a preview of new culinary stars

Does Strong Water feel different to you when they are convention folk about? I wondered if that changes the vibe?

It was very odd, we were the only ones in the store and you can see everyone from every angle. Personally I think she was just trying too hard.....nothing worse.

We were so happy to take the tasting options, and very kind of him to ask us, we loved it.

Convention crowds can be horrendous. Some aren`t too bad, but so many have to just shout over each other....normally telling everyone how wonderful they all are.....no you are....no you`re better........

We have met some nice folks too though, but there is a type.

The executives who were in last night were lovely though.......they weren`t loud, just had a few nice drinks and they were gone.

Least they don`t play jazz......lol........