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We flew to Florida on Saturday night arriving during the early hours of Sunday morning. We were met at the airport by Garry and Jayne (Holly's dad and stepmum) which was lovely after 18 months since we last saw them! We grabbed an early morning breakfast (6am) over sunrise at the biggest McDonalds in the world! It had a big juke box, a jungle and a piano amongst other things!We headed back to the house and began the laundry-athon whilst making ourselves at home. It was nice to be with family again after everything we went through in Fiji (LA wasn't exactly a comfortable stop on our trip either). We spent most of the day unpacking and settling in (spreading out) before having a good old roast :D Yum! We thoroughly enjoyed our first night in a nice clean homely bed! The next few days we didn't do much other than chill and catch up with the folks. On Wednesday we spent the day on a tour of all things normal in America; the shops, the local neighbourhood and finally a place called "five guys" which made the most incredible burgers fresh to order, they were pretty tasty. Better still, Cherry Coke and Dr Pepper are on tap here - woo! After spending the day trying to keep up with daddy-long-legs (some things never change) we spent the evening chillaxing and playing a card game called Tripoley. Thursday was Christmas eve so we did a few bits and bobs before chilling out in the evening and playing some games.
Bright and early on Christmas day (much to some people's dismay!) Holly was up and waiting patiently by the tree. Everyone else took forever to get sorted but we finally opened pressie's!! We all had some wonderful gifts and we spent the rest of the day playing with them. (At least, Pete and Garry spent the day zapping each other on the Wii!) We spent the day doing Christmassy things and playing various games; eating, drinking and being merry before finally retiring to bed in the evening. On Boxing day we didn't do a lot other than slob out, eat a bit more, drink a bit more then we went to Kissimee fair in the evening. The fair was pretty cool, we went on some go-karts that go up levels (like a car-park ramp) and the men got a bit competitive... boys will be boys!
On Sunday we went to the shops on "International Drive" (the touristy outlets) but they were mega busy so we didn't get much shopping done.It was nice to see them though, they're very different to UK shops! We had to be at Gaylord Palms Hotel for 3pm so we headed off there as Garry and Jayne had bought us all tickets to see "Ice". We got kitted up like we were off to the Arctic then went in to view lots of beautiful ice sculptures hand carved by Chinese men. The sculptures were really impressive, its mad to think that they're hand carved too! We had a mooch around the gift shop before heading to the airport to collect our hire car. Much to our surprise, our "ford focus - or similar" turned out to be a hurst. We're still not sure what exactly is similar about a PT Cruiser and a focus, but never mind - it was a set of wheels! At least we didn't have to worry about it getting pinched eh?!
On Monday we headed to Disney for our Christmas present from Dawn and John (Pete's parents). They'd booked us a backstage Disney tour called "Yuletide Magic". We started at Epcot park where we had a backstage tour and we were told all about the making of some of the countries. After that we headed to Magic Kingdom where they explained the carnival, Walt Disney's ambitions for Disney world, the secret tunnels (that aren't so secret!) and we had another sneaky backstage tour. Last but not least was our stop at the Grand Floridian Hotel where we saw a giant gingerbread house - made out of gingerbread! It was pretty cool but fenced off much to Hols disappointment; she was really peckish by that point.
On Wednesday we got up early and braved the crowds at Universal Studios and MGM Hollywood Studios. Both parks were absolutely packed, it's like every tourist in the world descended on them! We queued for 90 minutes to get on one ride! It was a nice day out though, we watched a mini-shrek film in 4D which was ace! After the Macy's Parade we headed over to Hollywood Studios and the queues there were worse! We went on a few rides - regrettably the Jurrasic Park ride which brought a swift (wet) end to the day. It was bloomin' cold in Florida at the moment and being wet really didn't feel too great!
Thursday (NYE) we stayed in and had a chilled out evening. There's no public displays in America like at home (other than the theme parks which are ridiculously expensive) so we had a few drinks and played some games. On NYD we watched a film and played some games with Garry and Jayne.On Saturday we went to the 535 Mall then for a pedicure (with the exception of Pete!) which was nice.
On Sunday we went to the "Woolshed" for a fry up brekkie; a proper USA breakfast at that! Holly over-ordered not realising the size of portions but never one to waste food she forced it all in :D After breakfast we went bowling which was good fun. Hol was rubbish and lost miserably but still enjoyed it - while Pete exceeded even winning a game! In the afternoon Mike and Chris (G&J's friends) came over to meet us and have a natter about travelling and a mooch at the pictures which was nice. Mike was a stereotypical American but he openly admitted it so he's forgiven!
On Monday morning we got up super early and headed to Discovery Cove, our Christmas present of Garry and Jayne. It was a bit chilly in the morning but we soon forgot about that when we were in the water kissing and playing with the dolphin! It was an immense experience and we both really enjoyed it. We had a ride with the dolphin and spent a while stroking him before we went to a heated pool circuit with a current which was nice. We stopped half way and hand fed some brightly coloured birds in the open air aviary before returning the water to head towards the fish-pool. When we got there we went snorkelling in a big pool with loads of fish and manta rays! You could even stroke them if you were brave enough! There were some barracuda and big teethed fishbehind a glass barrier right in the middle of the pool which was scary! We grabbed some lunch then headed home after a really fab day out! We were shattered by the time we got back so we called it an early night.
On Tuesday we had another early start, this time driving to the east coast of Florida and to the Kennedy Space Centre. We went on the tour around and saw all of the sights including the launch pads and mock ups of the Space Shuttle. It was a freezing cold day, especially with the bitter wind off the sea so we spent most of the time doing the inside attractions. We watched an IMAX film in 3D and saw a Saturn 5 moon-rocket. After a busy day we headed down the coast to Cocoa /beach and visited the Ron Jon surf shop, one of the biggest in the world. After a bit of retail therapy we headed back to Orlando (with some fresh donuts in hand) and then too bed.
On Thursday we had a family day out to Epcot. We spent the day exploring the park and went on a few rides. It was really quiet compared to how Universal Studios had been so we didn't have to queue very much. We then headed out into the world showcase part of the park and explored some of the countries. In Canada we watched a film in a 360 degree cinema, France we watched a mime act and England we had a roast dinner! We wandered around and came across China, it was strange seeing some very accurate replicas (although much smaller) of some of the places we had visited a few months earlier. We stayed into the evening and watched the firework, laser and light show over the lake. It was really good, all set to music with plenty of pyrotechnics!
On Friday we went to Busch Gardens, the weather had gone downhill even further, not only was it cold but today it was raining as well! After we finally got there (its about a hundred miles from Garry and Jayne's house) we went in and saw some of the animals that live there. Busch gardens are sort of a cross between a safari park/zoo and a theme park with lots of roller coasters. We went on a few wildlife tours including a train that went through an area with rhinos and giraffes. We saw tigers and lions as well. None of us really fancied going on any of the roller coasters, mostly due to the weather and Hol being a wimp! When we left we went to an Outback Steakhouse, and had a beautiful steak dinner!
We didn't do much for the next few days other than packing and last minute shopping. Before we knew it Tuesday had come around and it was time to leave the sunshine state. After an emotional farewell at the airport, we boarded our plane and headed home... or so we thought!
Love,
Hol and Pete
xXx
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