Walt Disney World

We arrived in Florida on Monday, October 24, 2011 around 10:30pm. Derek and Nicole (the couple who's wedding we were there to attend) picked us up from the airport and we stayed at their house Monday night. On Tuesday, our good friend Lisa, who lives about an hour north of Melbourne, came to pick us up so we could spend some time with her and her husband, Scott. We went out to eat at a great BBQ restaurant and then shortly left to drive to Orlando. Scott was kind enough to lend us his truck for the week, so we were able to get around a little easier. We got into Orlando around 9:30 that evening and met Ryan, Meighan, and Riley at the hotel. We woke up on Wednesday morning around 7am and got ready for our first day at DISNEY!! Our original plan was to go to Epcot one day and Animal Kingdom the following day, but we were convinced to buy park hopper passes and visit ALL 4 parks in 2 days! Our first park was Hollywood Studios (MGM). We got to the park around 9:30am and went straight to Disney Junior - Live on Stage. This was a live show based on a number of different Disney Channel Shows for kids. It is a show that Riley loves so we started there before she got too tired. Our next stop was Tower of Terror while Meighan tried to get Riley to nap - unfortunately a nap did not happen, but the ride was awesome!! Our last ride at Hollywood Studios was Toy Story Mania. This is a 4-D ride/game that was so much fun! One of the best parts of the ride was actually the line leading up to the ride. The details were incredible!! We had to wait about 60 minutes for this ride, but it was totally worth it (and just so happened to be the longest we had to wait for any ride at any park).

The centerpiece of Hollywood Studios. 

From Fantasia.

Waiting in line for Toy Story. We make these glasses look good! 

We have a picture just like this from 2007...

...Ok, so maybe it is a little different! This is at Universal Studios in 2007.

We started getting hungry and decided to eat lunch at Epcot because the Wine and Food Festival was currently taking place. We got to Epcot around 1pm but had a hard time finding the special food so we ended up eating at the food court. After lunch, we decided to go to Test Track. This ride takes you through different tests for cars including heat tests, brake tests, and speed tests reaching up to 60 miles per hour! It was awesome! Our next stop was Soarin' so Meighan could ride something (she was 6 months pregnant) but the line was 70 minutes long so we decided to pass. Instead we walked over to the World Showcase to make dinner reservations and do some shopping. Kevin and I went off on our own for a little while and rode Mission Space which simulates zero gravity and a trip into outer space. When we got off we were pretty dizzy! Our next stop was an outdoor concert featuring Boyz II Men!! Boyz II Men was the first concert Kevin ever saw live, so it was awesome for him to see them again, and for me to have that experience with him! The concert was only about 30 minutes, but we certainly enjoyed it! We left the concert and went to dinner at the Chinese Pavilion. We spent some more time exploring the World Showcase and then made our way over to the Finding Nemo ride. Our last stop was Spaceship Earth which is inside the massive ball. This is a ride I remember from when I used to live in Orlando and go to Disney with my parents, and it was so great to create new memories with Kevin!! We left around 9pm that night, made a quick stop at the grocery store, and went back to the hotel. We crashed around 11pm so we could be well rested for one more day of fun!

The Epcot Ball! 

Shawn Stockman from Boyz II Men and The Sing-Off. 

A Classic!

Just us! Such a great day!

We woke up around 7am on Thursday and were at Animal Kingdom around 9:30am. Animal Kingdom is Disney World's newest park and is a park that neither Kevin nor I had ever been to. It was AWESOME! Kevin said it was probably his favorite park out of the 4. Our first stop was the Kilimanjaro Safari. This ride takes you on an African Safari to see all of the wildlife in the area. It was incredible how close the van got to some of the animals. The animals were obviously caged, but it was almost impossible to see the cages. It was an incredible aspect of the park. What is cool about this ride is that every time you go on it, it will be different, depending on which animals decide to come out. So fun! Our next stop was Mt. Everest! This is a roller coaster that is shaped like Mt. Everest. It starts out like a "normal" roller coaster, but ends up moving backwards. It was a very pleasant surprise! And the wait was only about 20 minutes. It was another ride in which the line was just as entertaining as the ride. It was incredibly educational! After Everest, we went to see Finding Nemo the Musical. Riley enjoyed the Nemo ride so much the day before, that we thought she would enjoy the musical as well. She enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as Kevin and I did! It was incredible!! It was a much smaller version of Broadway, but I could definitely see it making its way to the Great White Way in the future. The costumes and special effects made me fell like I was in New York! SO awesome!! We had pizza for lunch, rode Dinosaur while Meighan and Riley rode Triceratop Spin (the equivalent on Dumbo), made our way back to Everest and then went over to Magic Kingdom around 2pm.

Our Safari vehicle.

Little Giraffes. 

A baby elephant!!

The Tree of Life - the centerpiece of Animal Kingdom.

A close-up of The Tree of Life. Look closely and you can see all kinds of animals. 

Meighan, baby girl, Riley, and Ryan in front of Mt. Everest!

Riley, Kevin and I in front of Everest and an awesome Tibetan Sculpture. One of the things Kevin liked most about this park was all of the incredible sculptures.

Marlin and Dory from Finding Nemo the Musical. 

We parked our car at one of the Disney Hotels and then rode the Monorail to the Magic Kingdom. Our first stop at the Magic Kingdom was Pirates of the Caribbean. We walked through the switchbacks and right up to the front of the line with out any wait! Unfortunately, we experienced some technical problems while we were on the ride, but it made for a unique experience. The next stop was the Haunted Mansion and again there was no wait AND more technical problems. We sat in the same spot for about 5 minutes waiting for the ride to get fixed. Fortunately everything was fixed in a rather timely fashion and we enjoyed the ride with no other problems. We attempted to ride Peter Pan next, but the wait was over an hour, so we grabbed a snack instead and then watched the show in front of the castle. After the show, we went to ride Thunder Mountain, but that ride was also experiencing some technical problems so it was flat out closed. I was shocked at how many rides were having issues over the 2 days we were at the parks (the day before we couldn't ride the Rockin' Roller Coaster either because it was getting repaired). We decided to go over to Space Mountain and although the wait time was about 45 minutes, we decided to ride! By the time we got off Space Mountain we were out of time for the day. It was almost 7:00pm and the park was closed to guests who had not paid EXTRA money to celebrate Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. We tried to stay, but quickly found out you had to have a special wristband and you could only get that with the purchase of a new ticket. Fortunately, we were all pretty exhausted at this point anyway, so we drove back to the hotel to relax! Our plan is to go to the Halloween Party next year (2012) without any kids so everyone can enjoy the fun! Our time at Disney was amazing, as was the company!! We certainly look forward to going back again as soon as our pocket book will allow! 

Such an incredible castle!

Hanging out at the gallows. 

Mickey and Minnie!

The park transforming for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween. You can see some of the guest in their costumes. 

We left the hotel around 10am on Friday morning to participate in all of the wedding festivities. The rehearsal was Friday afternoon, followed by the rehearsal dinner. We went out to a few bars after dinner to celebrate before the big day. The wedding was Saturday afternoon, officiated by Carl - one of our officiants, and we had a great time catching up with old friends. We took a few people to the airport on Sunday, spent the evening in Mims with Scot and Lisa, and flew home early Monday morning (Halloween). It was a great week!

Long-time friends! Tony, Kevin, Molly, Carl, and Derek. 

Hong Kong

We arrived in Hong Kong around 3pm on Friday, October 21. Our hotel was in a new area so rather than exploring that evening we decided to eat dinner at the hotel and call it an early night.

We left the hotel around 2pm on Saturday and took a 16 passenger bus to the closest metro station. The small buses are the public city buses in Hong Kong. It was a new experience for sure! Right near the metro station was a huge mall where we had some Thai food for lunch. Our hotel was on Kowloon island but we decided to go over to Central Hong Kong for a couple of hours. The last time Kevin was in Hong Kong, one of the Sports Supervisors recommended a new place to check out, complete with tons of bars and happy hours, so that is where we started. This new area we explored was called Lan Kwai Fong and we were pleasantly surprised. It was about 3 city blocks full of "Americanized" bars and restaurants. Kevin decided to sit down at a bar with a middle eastern theme so he could smoke another hookah. I just got a drink and enjoyed the atmosphere and experience, but did not choose to indulge in smoking. We stayed there for about an hour and then went to find some bookshops. The first bookshop we went to had closed 5 minutes before we arrived, so we tried one more in another huge mall and were successful! We went back over to Kowloon island around 10pm, walked around the Temple Night Street Market and then went to a sushi restaurant for some dinner. We ended up back at the hotel around midnight and had a really hard time falling asleep. We ended up only getting about 3 hours of sleep before we had to get up and go to the ship.

There were some awesome murals around the new area. 

A huge hookah!! Unfortunately this was not the one Kevin got to smoke. 

The Night Market was hopping on a Saturday night!

Actually eating sushi! Still not my food of choice, but I do enjoy it from time to time. 

The sushi damage. Each plate was only $2-$4 and included 2 pieces of sushi. Cheap, Cheap, Cheap. 

On Sunday we went to the ship to do our scheduled inspection. The inspection lasted about 2 hours and then we went out to lunch with the Sports Supervisor and his girlfriend. We had Indian food for lunch and then went back to the hotel to take a nap! We were exhausted after the lack of sleep the night before! We woke up around 9pm and went back to the Night Street Market for some more shopping before heading back to the hotel to pack for our early flight the following morning.

Overlooking Hong Kong Island from the ship. Such an incredible skyline!

Scaffolding made from bamboo. This is all over the city. 

My new bag from the Night Market! I absolutely love these "map" bags! 

On Monday morning we flew from Hong Kong to Detroit, Detroit to Atlanta, and Atlanta to Melbourne, FL. We traveled for about 28 hours and finally made it to our destination around 10:30pm. We traveled to Florida for a wedding the following weekend and decided to spend a few days at Disney World in between. Stay tuned for the Disney post!! 

Brilliance of the Seas Part 2

On Wednesday, October 12 we began our second journey to the Brilliance of the Seas. Getting back to the ship was much more difficult than anyone expected. It was one problem after another trying to get the paint shipped and attempting to get staterooms. After cancelling 2 separate trips back to the ship (the company loosing 2 separate sets of airfares and hotel rates), we finally had this trip booked. Unfortunately, 2 days before we were scheduled to leave, we found out that the paint would not actually be on the ship until 2 days after we were scheduled to sign off. Instead of cancelling the trip again and the company loosing more money, we were told to go on an all-expenses (not including alcohol) paid late honeymoon! We spent 5 days on the ship and thoroughly enjoyed our time! Here is a re-cap of our trip!

Wednesday, October 12 - We flew to Newark, New Jersey for a quick inspection before flying back to Europe. We arrived in Newark around 8pm and ate dinner at Ruby Tuesday's right next door to the hotel. We crashed pretty early.

Thursday, October 13 - We went to the ship at 9am and had a quick inspection, because the ship had just been inspected 3 weeks prior to our arrival. We got back to the hotel around noon and had a chance to shower before we checked out and went back to Ruby Tuesday's for lunch. Our flight left at 6pm and we flew through Frankfurt on our way to Istanbul, Turkey! This was our first visit to Istanbul so we were pretty excited to explore.

Friday, October 14 - Istanbul, Turkey. Our flight from Frankfurt landed at 1pm but by the time we got through the visa line, passport control, luggage collection, and travel time to the hotel it was already about 3:30pm. we checked-in to the hotel and immediately took a nap. We slept until about 8pm and then ventured out for dinner. We ended up in a local restaurant and decided to try the sampler platter. We had Turkish pizza, beef, chicken, lamb, and some of the best bread I have ever had/seen. The bread was so fluffy! The meal was such a treat and a great cultural experience. We went back to the hotel, took some NyQuil and went back to sleep.

Saturday, October 15 - Istanbul, Turkey. We woke up around 9am and went down for breakfast. We showered and packed our bags and then took a taxi to the ship. We got to the port around 11am and our names were not on the boarding list. We contacted to port agent (Turkish) who contacted the ship and we were on board within and hour and a half. Apparently someone else was already staying in our assigned cabin, so we go a "rental" cabin for the day and moved into our official room later in the evening. We dropped our bags off in the rental room and then met Richard (Sports Supervisor) for coffee at the Windjammer. We talked to Richard about the paint situation and made sure that the paint was in fact not on board and then we decided to go explore Istanbul. We took the Tram to the Grand Bazaar and did some shopping. The Grand Bazaar was massive!! It is a fully covered market with over 4,600 shops/stalls. It was extremely convenient that the market was closed because the weather was awful! I was in a shopper's paradise. It was impossible to see everything, but most of it started to look the same over time anyway. We shopped for about and hour (I bought a beautiful Pashmina-come to find out later I got totally ripped off) and then we made our way to the Spice Bazaar. This was much more Kevin's speed! The spices were awesome! Kevin was in heaven! We went into one of the many shops and after our purchase, we were offered some Turkish tea. It was another great cultural experience. We went to the back of the Bazaar and saw the same Pashmina's I had just purchased for 1/5 of the price I paid. I was totally bummed!! With our hands full of goodies, we decided to walk back to the ship to change and go to dinner. The seating for dinner this evening was open seating so we ate around 6:30pm. We were done with dinner around 8 and went to guest relations to check on our room situation. We were told our room would be ready within 45 minutes so we went back to the "rental" and waited. We got the call that our room was ready and were moved by 9pm. We were exhausted so we crashed early. We both woke up around 3am and couldn't got back to sleep so we popped some NyQuil and crashed again.

One of the many hallways in the Grand Bazaar.

Just the two of us at the Grand Bazaar.

So many incredible spices at the Spice Bazaar!

Enjoying some Turkish Tea. Drinking tea while doing business is a huge tradition all over Turkey. 

In front of the New Mosque - that really isn't so new. It was complete in 1665.

Modeling my new over-priced Pashmina and our Fez!

Sunday, October 16 - Istanbul, Turkey. The ship had an overnight in Istanbul so we got one more day of exploring in (well really half of a day considering we didn't wake up until 1:30pm). It was rainy and cold again, but we decided to go out anyway. This time we went to the Blue Mosque. We took the tram again and got there right during the afternoon prayer time. We got to hear the Call to Prayer from right inside the corridor of the Mosque. It was awesome! We took some photos from outside, but were not allowed to go inside during the prayer. While we were waiting to go inside, we go an invitation to go to a lecture about Muslims and Islam. The lecture was advertised as being in a heated room with snacks and refreshments, so we decided to check it out. Did I mention it was also free? It was incredibly informative and none of the view or beliefs were pushed on us. It was strictly an informative lecture. Kevin and I really enjoyed it! After the lecture we were able to go inside the Mosque but opted out because we didn't want to take our shoes off in the rain (you have to take your shoes off in order to enter the Mosque). We walked around a little more and got a beautiful view of the Hagia Sophia, but quickly decided to go because we were so cold and wet. We made a pit stop at the Spice Bazaar and bought some gifts (more pashmina's and a few Fez's) before making our last stop of the day at the hookah bar. Smoking the hookah is a huge social thing in Turkey, so Kevin was excited to partake in the culture. We, well mostly Kevin, had apple flavored shisha and played checkers. We got back to the ship around 8pm and then went out to take some photos of the Istanbul "skyline" in the dark. We had some drinks and listened to piano sing-a-longs at the Schooner Bar and then went to the comedy show in the theater. The performer was Dave Deeble who had been featured on America's Got Talent and he was a hoot! Unfortunately, not everyone in the theater enjoyed him, but he went with it. Because we skipped dinner, we were pretty hungry after the show so we went to the Seaview Cafe for a late night snack. This was a new discovery for us and boy were we pleased! They have pasta, pizza, and panini's that are made to order and for no extra cost! It is really more of a meal than a snack. We met Dave up there and had a great conversation with him! We went back to our cabin around 1am and fell asleep around 3am.

This is actually called the Sultan Ahmed Mosque - but everyone calls it the Blue Mosque. 

The Call to Prayer! Such a neat experience. 

Boo faces because we couldn't go inside :(

In the courtyard of the Blue Mosque. Do you like my babushka/burqa?

You are supposed to only enter the mosque to pray if you are clean, so they have these washing stations for men to wash their feet, hands and faces. 

This is the Hagia Sophia. It was a Mosque, but now it is used as a museum. 

Kevin really enjoyed the hookah!

I pretended to enjoy the hookah ;)

It is not the best quality photo, but you get the idea. The Hagia Sophia is on the left and the Blue Mosque is on the right. 

Our new friend Dave Deeble. His act was very different, but we thought it was very entertaining. 

Being crazy at the Seaview Cafe. 

Monday, October 17 - Sea Day. We forced ourselves out of bed around noon and grabbed lunch in the Windjammer. This was our first sea day and the weather was awful again, so we spent most of the day in the room. We ate dinner in the dinning room at 6pm and then went to the Love and Marriage Game Show. It was absolutely hilarious! Kevin wanted us to go onstage as the newlywed couple but I quickly nixed that idea. The newlywed couple ended up winning and the whole show was great entertainment. We made another late night stop at the Seaview Cafe before calling it a night. 

Tuesday, October 18 - Athens, Greece. We got up around 9am and made it to our first breakfast on the ship. We left the ship around 11:15 and walked 40 minutes to the metro station (it was much further than we thought). We took the train to Thisso Station and explored the Agora for a while. Then we did some shopping at the flea market and decided to go back to the Acropolis. The tickets that we bought in June were still good at all the attractions so all we had to pay for was our ticket into town. We went back to the ship around 3:30 and were on board at 4:30. We changed clothes and went to the Schooner bar to pass some time before our dinner date. Most of the Royal Caribbean ships have specialty restaurants that have a cover charge for all food and then alcohol is sold separately, so we decided to have a fancy meal during our "all expenses paid" late honeymoon. We ate at Chops Grille and it was worth every penny! The service and food was comparable to that of the Broadmoor! We had onion & cheese soup, Caesar salad, shrimp cocktail, oysters, and spicy tuna as appetizers. Our main course consisted of fillet Mignon and strip steak with peppercorn sauce, mashed potatoes, roasted cheese and garlic potatoes, and steamed asparagus. And dessert was Creme Brule and red velvet cake. We were totally spoiled! I would recommend the experience to anyone that goes on an RCCL ship! We finished dinner just in time for the magic show in the theater. The performance was incredible! Their tricks were seemingly impossible and spectacular! Kevin even got to go on stage and help with a trick. He LOVES magic! The night ended with a trip to white party in the Colony Club and a pit stop to hear Paul O'Shea at the piano bar. It was an absolutely wonderful day and evening!

Incredible columns near the Agora Museum. 

The Temple of Hephaestus in the Agora is the best preserved ancient Greek Temple still standing today. 

I think we are a pretty good looking pair! In front of the Temple of Hephaestus. 

The Parthenon!

I sure do treasure the time we get to spend together and the incredible places we get to see together! I wouldn't want to share the experiences with anyone else! 

This picture showcases the progress the archaeologist's are making in re-building the Parthenon. 

A beautiful sunset from inside the Schooner Bar. 

I went to the bathroom during dinner at Chops, and when I came back my napkin was folded so nicely! 

Such an incredible dinner! 

Delicious red velvet cake and creme brule. 

Kevin (on the right) helping to keep the feet tied down while the model is cut in half. He was so excited to help out!

At the white party. 

This is just outside the Schooner Bar. 

Wednesday, October 19 - Another Sea Day. We woke up around 11:30am and went up to the rock wall to do our normal inspection. It was a relatively easy inspection and we were done by 2pm for the wall to re-open for guests. We ate lunch at the Seaview Cafe while we completed our paperwork and then went went back up to the wall to watch the guests climb. Kevin even climbed a bit before we went to the cabin to freshen up for formal night. We ate dinner at 6pm and then went to the show Center Stage featuring the Brilliance of the Seas singers and dancers. It was a great show featuring popular rock and pop songs from over the years. The show also featured some of the guest entertainers from the ship. We made one last trip to the Schooner Bar before calling is a night and getting ready to sign-off the ship the following day.

He made it to the top! Smile and wave!!

Formal night outside the Schooner Bar

We had such a great time! 

Thursday, October 20 - Palermo, Sicily. We woke up at 10am and went to the Windjammer for breakfast. We collected our passports from guest relations and then packed our bags so we could move on to our next destination. We got off the ship with no problems around 1pm and took a taxi to the airport. Sicily was absolutely beautiful and a place Kevin and I hope to return to - aside from the fact that we got totally ripped off. Our taxi driver charged us 130 Euros from the port to the airport - a fare that should have only been 60 Euros!! Lesson learned to always make a deal before traveling somewhere!! We traveled 24 hours to Hong Kong and arrived around 3pm on Friday, October 21.