198 days since selling up. David Jones recording.
Well, blog fans we're back! We have started our grand anti-clockwise tour of the world. We have already had several setbacks during the last week and overcome them without difficulties.
Arrived at our villa only to be woken up on our first morning by a workman dutifully laying paving stones around our pool. On further enquiry we discovered he was going to be there for the next three days. We immediately phoned the villa owner to inform her of our surprise that a man had been booked to work at the villa while we were there (setback 1).
After getting no joy from either owner or management company we decided to flee the scene (after negotiating a full refund) and seek refuge in the sprawling villa suburbs of Orlando. With our knapsacks on our backs we were greeted with open arms from a family and house full of Disney spirit. The family was Paul's cousins, Dean and Rosa, and the fairy princess Alicia A.K.A.
Liz Firecastle to her Pirate friends...
Question: how many times do you drive to Orlando airport to change a hire car in one week?
Answer: setbacks 2, 3 and 4. Yes, that's right. The first time the car had a puncture; man came put on the temporary tyre and we went back to the airport to get a new car. And then on two consecutive days our new car's tyres just went flat and we had to return the airport for another new one each time.
But, if that's all that goes wrong with our trip, then bring it on!
We've had great fun at the theme parks. We did three Disney parks in one day including flying into space and to Mars at Epcot, experiencing cryogenic hypersleep, G-forces and weightlessness; which made up for the fact that the Space Shuttle launch we hoped to see was delayed until the end of the month.
At Universal we were magically transformed from muggles to wizards and were saved from Dementors by Harry and friends. We rounded our day off with a glass of Butterbeer in Hogsmead. Yes, it really tastes of butter! And it helped me stay off the hard stuff as its all strictly non-alcoholic.
Paul was too embarrassed to join the queue of little kids wanting to go in Ollivander's for a wand, but we did sit in a big tyre with the kids on Popeye and Blutos bilge rat barge river rapid ride... I got extreeeeeemely wet, and ended up catching a cold! Poor me! (setback number 5!)
Yummy! Butterbeer!
Splash!
We're now all packed and have moved down to Miami Beach: rain mack, anti-mosquito spray, first aid kit: all ready for the Peruvian Andes and the Amazon jungle! Such fun!
The best laid plans eh? Sounds like you guys have the travellers outlook, being relaxed about it all. Very unlike the Londoners who are less go with the flow and more if it doesnt go my way, get angry and shout at some-one. Boo to London and yeah to .......:-) . What are your thoughts on Peru?
Posted by: Jane | 11/13/2010 at 11:32 AM