My First (and Last) Warm-weather Spring Break - Part 2 of 2

Continued from previous post. Photo album here!

Day 4

We got an early start in order to get to Kissimmee at a decent hour. Our 2 1/2 hour drive from West Palm Beach consisted of more girl talk, plenty of karaoke, and GPS directions. When we arrived at the condo where my family was staying, we headed to the main pool for a barbecue and some more Cupid Shuffle (Sharon and I couldn't resist)...

Then we started on the Cosmopolitans, and did some sunbathing.

We headed back to the condo for dinner in the early evening, chatted for a bit, then said goodbye to Crystal and Sharon, who had to get back to their real lives. Sharon just got hired at a law firm in D.C., and Crystal had to work the next day as well. But my vacation was just getting started.

The evening concluded with card games Rummy and one we call "Bino" (also called "31" and "Scat").

Day 5

Very early rise for EPCOT in Disney World, where the International Flower & Garden Festival was taking place. We were delighted by topiaries and beautiful flowers all day long.

We got there just after the park opened and headed to Soaring, a simulated flight over California, complete with the smell of oranges while passing over orange groves, and other fun surprises.

Next, we ventured over to Test Track where, after the ride, a GM representative offered to mail dad some information on the latest Cadillac (backhanded compliment?).

Arriving at Mission: SPACE, I convinced my sister to take the "more intense" trip to Mars with me, for which she claimed I owed her a consolation prize later.

Mom and dad rode the green "less intense" version.

Sister and I also picked up some of our favorite astronaut ice cream in the gift shop on our way out.

Then sister and I made a quick visit to Innoventions, always one of my favorites. Inside Innoventions West, we became the stars of our own video game, which you can play here!

Venturing into the countries, mom, sis and I stopped for some lunch in France and met Princess Aurora (my favorite princess)!

After France, we had a rendez-vous (hehe) with the grandmas and dad, and one of the Photo Pass employees took a beautiful picture with my camera of the whole group of us.

We all watched "Off Kilter," a Celtic rock band outside Canada. I even got a picture onstage after the show :-p

Just passing through, we saw the Beetles in the UK, watched the "Impressions de France" film, then caught part of a parade. I snapped this cute shot of sis:

Next up: China, for our favorite: The Dragon Legends Acrobats (we actually watched it twice it was so good).

We even watched the world pass us by between Germany and China, as Disney set up the firework display for later that night.

After a full day, we enjoyed an entertaining dinner at the Biergarten Restaurant in Germany. I tasted all four of the beers and then danced the Polka with grandma...

On our way out, I spotted Snow White and Prince Charming. At first, I wanted to meet Prince Charming but the line was too long so I stood to the side and caught a few (utterly) candid shots.

Somehow we ended up back at China for some gift shopping and a second acrobat show, which we had a prime location for viewing this time. We also watched the "Reflections of China" film before staking out a spot for the "IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth" fireworks.

My view of the water was partially hidden by another guest for most of the show, but this photo came out kind of cute (if you don't realize that the girl wearing the ears is actually about my age).

On our way out of the park, we were all mesmerized by how thousands of guests could leave in such a bottleneck without so much as a push or a shove. I think the NJ Department of Transportation could use some Imagineers. (The things you notice when you get older, huh?) Or maybe some big, gloved Mickey hands waving the traffic on with a smile :-D

Back at the condo, I enjoyed a quick dip in the hot tub before bed.

Day 6

I love the way Magic Kingdom is its own private destination, accessible to the public only after a monorail or a ferry ride. It makes the whole day feel like such a departure from reality.

The first sign was a few little princesses who had visited the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique - a place where parents spend tons of money for their daughters to get all dolled up (wonderful marketing concept)! Despite the cookie-cutter princess ideal, I thought the little girls we spotted throughout the day looked very cute. Also, the Disney Photo Pass (another great concept) ensured some great shots in front of Cinderella's Castle.

We began our day a little later and started off at a leisurely pace with the Tomorrowland Transit Authority.

Then we hopped in line for Stitch's Great Escape, formerly the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter (that I loved). I was a bit disappointed that, rather than an entirely revamped attraction, Disney tried to tone down the scare factor by using a fluffy, funny character Stitch (from Lilo & Stitch) in place of an evil alien, but with the same storyline. This was somehow supposed to make the loud noises, total darkness, and painful shoulder braces more bearable for younger children, but I'm pretty sure all it did was cause more screaming children who will be scarred for life and fewer entertained adults. Even if I had never been on the ExtraTERRORestrial ride, I think something would have still felt very non-Disney about the way this was all thrown together.

Moving on to another attraction that had been revamped since my last visit, Space Mountain was next on the list. We were happy to have Fast Pass for this one, but the lines wouldn't have been so bad with their newly-added video games along the queue. Rickety and thrilling as ever, dad emerged from the ride with a wind-blown hairdo. Stopped for a bite at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café, then got on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin where we battled Emperor Zurg to determine who would buy the next round of drinks.

Venturing out of Tomorrowland, we set the grandmas in a shady spot to enjoy a parade while we rode Splash Mountain, a ride that never changes and always delights! With only a little time before our dinner reservation, we met back up with the grandmas and ventured onto the Jungle Cruise, then enjoyed our family-style dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern. Delicious and filling.

Next was Pirates of the Caribbean. We boarded our ship and floated through a dark tunnel as sis joked, "and here comes the drop!" Little did we know - there actually is a 14-foot drop which surprised us all! We waved hello to Johnny (Captain Jack Sparrow) and the other pirates, then waved goodbye as the ride came to a quick conclusion.

As dusk approached, we rode my sister's favorite "it's a small world" (and the tune would not leave our heads for the rest of the night).

Mom, sis and I took a spin on the Mad Hatter's teacups.

As the crowd thinned and guests took their places for the evening firework display, we got right on Snow Whites's Adventures. There was an equally short wait for a new show called Mickey's PhilharMagic, a 4D musical show with Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse which I absolutely loved (but I love everything 3D and 4D is even better).

We slowly made our way through the crowds on our way out of the park, enjoying the lights of Cindrella's castle and along Main Street USA.

Dad had the idea to take the ferry back to the car, and we caught the Wishes Nighttime Spectacular fireworks as we arrived on the shore opposite the Magic Kingdom. A truly magical end to the night!

Day 7

Woke up a little late (no rush on a rainy day) then headed to Downtown Disney for some serious gift shopping. We also had an early dinner at Planet Hollywood where I discovered a new favorite mixed drink called Gorillas in the Mist:

• ¾ oz. Malibu Coconut Rum
• ¾ oz. Bailey’s Irish Cream
• ¾ oz.Kahlua
• ¾ oz. Banana Liqueur
• 1 ½ oz.Ice Cream
• ½ Banana

Next, we entered the West Side Arena for Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba - front row - I almost got run over by a bicycle (or so it seemed)! I had no idea what to expect but it was an amazing and exciting show.

After that, sis and I walked through Pleasure Island and met up with the family back at Ghirardelli's chocolate shop, which you could smell from miles away, mmmm. We ate outside next to the water.

Day 8

Dad and I went for a morning walk through the condo complex, and so I could see the sparkling new Welcome Center. There is so much new development there. We headed back just in time for the rain and pretty much vegged out for the rest of the day with some Cards and Cosmos. Isn't that what vacation is for, anyway?

Day 9

Saturday was spent by the pool sunbathing and doing some reading. Mom and dad did a swamp tour, for real. Then we all had dinner in Celebration at Colombia Restaurant with a truly delicious assortment of tapas and entrees. We went home full and hit the hay early.

Day 10

Early rise for the airport. Goodbye, Florida! It was a long trip home and we had been worried that our flight might be canceled because of the weather. We arrived to flooding and road closures, but at least we arrived. When I got back to campus, I had a marathon group meeting in the Tech Center which kept me on campus until about 1:30 am - back to reality, I suppose...

Until the next update!

My First (and Last) Warm-weather Spring Break - Part 1 of 2

Destinations: West Palm Beach and Kissimmee, Florida.

Day 1

Flight took off and landed just fine. Other than being stuck in the middle seat, my flying partners were both nice and didn't smell, snore, or shuffle, so it wasn't a bad ride.

Met up with Crystal and Brian no problem, right at 7:30 as planned. Sharon unfortunately had a different situation and her flight plus baggage claim took an hour longer. We found a "cell phone waiting lot" near the airport (they think of everything huh?) while waiting for her call, then headed right to Chili's for much-needed dinner. Note: Brian said he wasn't that hungry because he'd munched on some cocktail peanuts while playing Call of Duty earlier, but everyone else was starving. And of course drinks -- they were buy one, get one free which the waitress gave to us all at once, making us look like total lushes with 8 drinks on the table!

Went home, took the tour, met the dogs...

We then proceeded to turn UNO into a drinking game! All special cards (draw 2, skip, etc.) mean the person to your left drinks; wild everyone drinks. Brian was taking shots of grape flavored vodka, Crystal peach schnapps, Sharon and I straight Smirnoff (50% abv) because "it's vacation" so why not? We're champs. We stopped after one hand and thought everyone handled their alcohol very well, until Brian got out of bed at 5 am and threw up "because of the peanuts" he had eaten earlier in the night. Yeah, right...

Day 2

Saturday morning I slept in for the first time in a while. When I woke up I was pleased to find that Brian had brewed a pot of coffee and I drank that with waffles for breakfast before getting dressed, going out for smoothies, and then relaxing at the spa with the girls.

We all got pedicures and then hit the mall in such typical Jersey girl fashion that I felt like I was home except that everything was so much fancier and cleaner. Even the Shell station looked nice.

The mall was huge. Crystal told us there were 3 Starbucks within that very mall and the Victoria's Secret was the biggest I'd ever been in. I did buy a new bra there even though customer service was terrible, then went to MAC where I played with some eye shadows and then bought a beautiful turquoise shade called Steamy Frost.

Finally, we stopped at Hallmark to buy a birthday card for one of Brian's (male) coworkers whose party we were going to later, and picked out a ridiculous zebra print card with pink on the inside for Sharon and I to give. Crystal settled on something a bit more standard. Went home, got ready for a long night, and headed to the party around 7 pm. We were greeted by some very welcoming and warm individuals who offered us pizza and snacks and immediately broke the ice with - get this - party games! I love party games!

We played "How well do you know Matt?" (Sharon and I didn't do too bad, considering we didn't) and "Fluffy Bunny" which was hilarious. You have to shove marshmallows in your mouth, one at a time, and try to say the phrase, "fluffy bunny." It's not only hard to stuff them in your cheeks but to prevent them from coming back out when you laugh at everyone else!

After the party wound down, we headed downtown to Dr. Feelgood's. Unfortunately we got there after 11pm and had to pay the $10 cover (grr), but the rest of the night was a great, typical Spring Break evening. By the end of the night, we were on a first-name basis with the bartender, had each taken a shot from the shot girl, did the Cupid Shuffle in line for the restroom, helped a bachelorette complete her scavenger hunt, danced on the crowded tiny stage, avoided some creepy white-haired man and met some cool guys from Hershey, PA and Tennessee, and danced all night thanks to the fresh oxygen they somehow pump into the club (for real).

After all of this, I actually managed to wake up before noon, and before Sharon, the following day.

Day 3

Even though it was winter for Crystal, Sharon and I were dying to get to the beach, so we put on our bikinis and drove to nearby Jupiter, which was quite breezy by the ocean but sunny enough. Crystal kept her hoodie on.

After the beach, we hit up Publix, the supermarket in FL, for some sandwiches. Everything was much slower there and relaxed compared to supermarkets in the tri-state area. Then stopped at CVS to pick up some hair dye for me. After lunch, Sharon helped me with my hair while Crystal and Brian did their food shopping for the week. When they got back, we girls ended up getting into a long discussion about race and immigration and culture and plenty of other deep topics. Before we knew it, Brian had prepared and was serving us dinner - what a guy!

After dinner and plenty of wine, Brian and Crystal said nighty-night, while Sharon and I watched the Rocky Horror Picture Show, which I had never seen before, then headed to bed ourselves for an early rise the next morning.

To be continued...

Roma - Chunk 5

*I am doing these updates in a series of chunks because it’s too much for one post!

DAY 10

Goodbye, Spring Break.

Homa Roma again.
I’m glad to be back. Especially because it feels about 60 degrees outside and spring-y in contrast to the Prague and Berlin climates. The Romans are all still bundled up in their winter jackets but I’ve left mine at home these past two days.

It also helps that all the stores have their spring collections out, no more winter left-overs, and I just bought myself a dress, two pairs of shoes, and a gorgeous handbag that I love to death had-to-have. Oops.

If you want to see all 321 of my Spring Break photos, and some of Sara's, and maybe order some prints or just bask in their beauty, click HERE.

Praga - Chunk 4

*I am doing these updates in a series of chunks because it’s too much for one post!

DAY 7

The train ride over from Berlin took about 4 hours; it was kind of nice to relax for a bit. It was mid-afternoon by the time we found our hostel (did well will the Metro but once we got off, got a little lost a few blocks away). There were some Italians checking into the hostel in front of us, and between their broken English and the receptionist's broken English, it took them a good 20 minutes to get anything accomplished. I listened to the Italian comments they were making to each other and understood a good deal of it, and had to laugh to myself realizing that they had no idea what they were doing... kind of like me in Rome. Almost made me want to say, "Posso aiutarvi?" (Can I help you?) and try to translate for them.

Anyway, that night we went to a restaurant around the corner from our hostel, called Lemon Leaf. An instant favorite. It was very classy and the food was among the most delicious I have ever tasted, with a very diverse menu. Everything from Thai to Chinese to American and Italian-inspired. That night I had a carrot-ginger soup followed by a lamb dish. Sara had spring rolls and Pad Thai. Our bill came out to 1,044 crowns (roughly €30) which we found entertaining.

Big Spenders

After dinner we donned our Babushkas and set off to experience Prague nightlife. It was so much colder than Berlin or Barcelona had been!

Babushkas

On our way to Bombay Bar we got a bit lost trying to find Dlouha Street using a crappy free map that Sara got when exchanging money at the train station, but we didn't mind the scenery one bit.

Me in Old Time Square

After Bombay, we went to a 5-floor dance club called Karlovy Lazne. Only three of the floors were open that Thursday night, and there were a lot of young people, but a really cool atmosphere and a nice selection of music. First floor: "Black Files" aka hip-hop, rnb, anything that we could arguably call "Black" in a non-PC way in America. Second floor: trance, techno, the usual with some smoggy lighting effects and a nice lounge. Third floor: 70s/80s music with a funky light-up disco dance floor that reminded me of The Sims. Every floor had a bathroom, bar, lounge, dance floor, and nice traffic flow. There's the ex-architecture-student in me.

One other Prague peculiarity: they don't mind soliciting tips. You pay for your drink and they begin to hand you the change, barely extending one wrist over your outstretched palm as they inquire, "You give it to me?" indicating the tip cup with a slight nod of their head.

DAY 8

The next day, we decided to go on a tour which was advertised at our hostel. It was only 200 kc with our 200 kc discount from the hostel. I'm really impressed with the collaboration between hostels and outside businesses here, but I guess it's a lot different in Europe than in America where our hotels are full-service, offering dining and entertainment within their own doors. Anyway, it was a pretty rainy day but we packed our umbrellas, donned our Babushkas, and went to find breakfast before the tour. I had an "English breakfast" consisting of eggs, toast, a mini hot dog, sausage, and other deliciousness. We then met the tour group in Wenceslas square.

Wenceslas Square

After an extensive, drawn-out overview of Prague history from our nationalistic Czech tour guide while moving all of five steps in one direction, one of our first stops was in the Lucerna shopping complex, where we saw David Cerný's upside-down version of the Wenceslas statue. Quite entertaining.

After that we saw one of the theaters in Prague where Mozart either played, worked, or did something notable. Also mentioned was the Prague "Black Light Theater" which we didn't get a chance to see but includes dancers and people performing under blacklights.

Something About Mozart

Next up was Old Town Square, where we had taken our detour the night before. Our guide explained the astronomical clock, which has more ways to tell time than I ever imagined possible, and the whimsical imagery of a married couple carved into a church door, among other things.

Astronomical Clock

Streets of Prague

Next up: the Jewish Ghetto, where our tour guide noted the two clocks displaying different times, one reading left-to-right as usual, the other right-to-left as in the Hebrew tradition.

It's Backwards Time

On the way to our next destination we saw a memorial to a little boy whose face was cast in bronze or iron and slapped onto the side of a building or something. Our tour guide was kind of boring me at this point, and I became more interested in the view of the Prague Castle on the hill.

View from Afar

Crossing the Charles Bridge, we heard a story about St. John of Nepomuk, who was martyred by being thrown into the river. Rubbing his little gold body on one of the statues is supposed to bring good luck, but a lot of tourists like to touch other parts of the statue which have been polished gold... pictures later. Here is a picture from the Old Town side of the Charles Bridge, of who else but King Charles?

King Charles IV

Our leg of the tour ended in a cute little cafe under the bridge, since we had only opted for the 2-hour instead of the 4-hour version. A very good decision given our tour guide.

We had these things called Carpas in the cafe, like little sandwiches filled and pressed shut on the grill. Yummy and light.

Tea and Apple-cinnamon Carpas

When we were kicked off the tour, meaning the 4-hour part of the tour group left us, we headed back to the bridge on our own. We stopped for a picture with the flood line of 2002, marked on the side of the bridge. I couldn't even reach the top!

Floodline

I bought a souvenir photograph from one of the vendors, and Sara took this cool shot...

Charles Bridge

Then we stopped for some good luck from St. John. While others stopped for good luck from the golden puppy, who maybe will bless them from heaven but was actually shined up by some drunken college students 20ish years ago. Or the big lady underneath St. John, who also looks tempting with her golden sheen but probably doesn't carry the same weight as a martyr as far as good luck goes. But whatever floats your boat. The Chinese seem to like it.

What a cute little golden doggie.

Me Getting Lucky

Later that night, we did some more shopping and stopped for some traditional Czech food at a place that, according to our Czech tour guide, "is even good for me sometimes," called Medvidku.

Goulash & Beer, very hearty!

We opted to stay in that night and rest. We also got two roommates in our 4-bed room; one from Georgetown named Veronica who was visiting a friend on Spring Break, and one who didn't speak much English and had already left the next morning before we woke up. Veronica passed out around 8 o'clock, jet-lagged, in her sneakers and coat atop her bed.

Charles Bridge at Night

DAY 9

It hailed all morning so we got a late start. When we finally left our hostel, we walked south towards the Dancing House, an art nouveau office building.

The Dancing House is Not a Club

Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here

We enjoyed the scenery for a bit and took this video:

Partly Sunny

Then we headed north along the river, destination: Prague Castle. We took a pic of the club we had gone to Thursday night as we passed in daylight.

Karlovy Lazne IS a Club

Once over the Charles Bridge, Castle in sight, we stopped in the cafe from the day before for some refreshments.

Surprise!

We really were fascinated by the big bills. (The Czech Republic is on its way to converting to the Euro, however.)

Big Money

On the other side of the river, we stopped in the church of St. Nicholas. Breathtaking. These pictures came out a bit blurry because we were inside with no flash, but you still get the sense of the gold, glitzy interior.

Gilded

Awe

Pulpit

It's almost sacrilege. Anyway, to the Castle!

St. Nicholas' green dome marks the skyline.

It's a Long Way Up

We made it! The Italian word for "watch" is "Guarda," I am wondering if there's any connection? Anyway, we had some fun with this one.

Guard

They did a fun little march at about 4 o'clock, just after we found out that the Castle closes inside after 4. So on our tour yesterday, if we had opted for the extra two hours to venture up to the castle, we wouldn't have seen it anyway. Really glad we didn't do all four hours. But yeah, the guards were really serious while looking like complete ballerinas. Cute.

Seriously, guys. I'm serious.

Soooo windy up there.

Seriously Windy.

Back on the bridge, I had to get a picture of this statue since it wasn't in any postcards I had seen. Another interestingly gilded concoction. And Hebrew letters. Person on the right for a sense of scale.

Another bit of whimsy on the way back to the hostel. Doors to someone's apartment building maybe.

Lemon Leaf again. Loved it just as much, and the manager even brought us some nice appetizers. I had the most amazing goat's cheese salad for my main dish... just loved every second. The cocktails weren't bad either.

We went to a club called Mecca that night with our roommate Veronica, but I wouldn't recommend the trip up there. Hard to find, way overpriced, and really rude at the coat check. We should have gone to New Town. Meh.

Time to say goodbye to Prague. And Spring Break!