Viva Las Vegas!

After my family left, luckily I was very busy and only had to wait three days before my next exciting trip! I went to Las Vegas for 4 days with my friends from work; Anna, Arran, Callum and Kim. It was the first time I had left Central Florida in 5 months!

Our flight was at 7am so we left our apartment complex at 5am. I had been working so much I hadn’t really h ad much time to pack, meaning I left my phone charger behind. I remembered my passport this time though so that’s a plus! We had to queue up for a while to check in and to get through security but our flight was on time and we got straight on. It was a really small plane with no TV, even though the flight was 5 hours long! We all sat on our own but we mainly slept or read so it wasn’t too bad. Because of the time distance we arrived in Las Vegas at 9am so we had the whole day. We couldn’t check in till 3pm but we left and bags and went exploring. There is so much to see! We went out for lunch, had a quick gamble, meet Elvis. It takes about 15 minutes to walk through each hotel as they are massive. Our hotel room (sorry penthouse!) was on the 31^st floor with floor to ceiling windows facing the strip. It had everything. Two huge double beds, a Jacuzzi, large walk in shower, two sinks, fridge, microwave, coffee machine! Although there were five of us in the room and using one bathroom we all got on well.

We saw a show each night at different hotels. On the first night we saw ‘Holly Madison’s Peepshow’.  I’m not completely sure why as there were three girls and two gay guys on our trip! It was quite good with lots of singing and dancing, but also random nakedness. At one point three girls got into a huge bath of milk! On Wednesday we saw Phantom of the Opera at the Venetian. It’s slightly different to the version in the West End as it’s only one act and has more special effects. It has never been one of my favourite shows but it’s always nice to go to the theatre! I think the lead could have been slightly better but Christine had a really good voice. On the way home we stopped at watched the fountains outside the Bellagio, they were amazing! On the last night we meet up with a few other people from work who had arrived in Las Vegas that day. We saw cirque du soleil love at the Mirage. This is set to Beatles music with a 60s English theme. It wasn’t what I expected at all and I was initially disappointed. It was quite different to the shows I have seen at the Royal Albert Hall which I love. There was less acrobatics and more contemporary dancing and abstract sequences, it was all a bit chaotic and confusing! It was good just in a different way. There are so many cirque du soleil shows in Vegas it’s hard just to pick one to see.

I was a bit of a conservative gambler as it’s so easy to get carried away. The casinos have no clocks or window so you have no idea what time it is or how long you’ve been sitting on a machine. We all played on the slot machines as these were easy to understand and weren’t too expensive! Most of the tables were a minimum of $15 bet so you could easily lose a lot of money. I found a blackjack machine which was only $5 minimum bet and I managed to win $60! Arran was the luckiest and was about $200 up when we left.

I think we managed to do all the major sights. We had photos taken but the famous sign, which is a long walk! We went to all the famous hotels which took all three days. On Thursday morning we got a taxi to the Stratosphere, which is the tallest freestanding observation tower in the US. It didn’t only have two observations decks, but rides which shoot you up into the air or off the edge of the building! We first went on Big Shot, which shots you up 1,081 feet above the strip then on X-Scream, which was possibly the scariest thing I’ve ever done and I’ve jumped out of a plane! You literally just get thrown off the end of the building 900 foot in the air! I was nearly crying and was so scared to look over the edge. You feel like you are hardly strapped in and could slip out! We also did a bit of shopping and obviously ate at a few buffets...it was a very successful trip if you ask me!

From Florida with Love

Emily

xxxx

Surfing USA

This is going to be a long one! As most people knew I was really excited about my family coming out to visit! It was a very hectic week full of parks, dinner and walking, but it was hopefully lots of fun too.

My brother arrived a day early, as he was travelling from Australia. His trip was supposed to take 30 hours but because of delays and connections it took him over 36. He eventually arrived at midnight, where we went straight to sleep! The next day I hired a car so we could go to the beach and later pick my dad and step mum up from the airport. It was the first time I’d driven in 5 months, and it was on the wrong side of the road! Luckily it was an automatic so it was like driving a go kart. We headed to Daytona Beach, apparently the most famous beach in the world! You drive right on to the sand about 50 feet from the sea. We went for a dip, had some food and bought a t shirt! We managed to find Sanford airport ok where we waited for Dad and Ann to arrive. It took them a long time to get through customs, but I had my sign ready when they came out. We got slightly lost on the way to the hotel as all the roads seemed to have the same name! Mum and Jess had arrived just before us so we all managed to check in together. We had two rooms next to each other with connecting doors! We got ready for dinner and everyone gave me presents from home; bourbons, percy pigs, flip flops, straighteners!  I got some birthday cards too but I am saving them for the day. We went to Downtown Disney eating at Planet Hollywood but everyone was very tired and it was a bit stressful!

The next day we set out for Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately we had only been there about 15 minutes when Chris had massive stomach pains and couldn’t stand up. The front desk called the paramedics and they arrived quickly. He had to go to hospital as they couldn’t tell what was wrong and mum went with him. Although it was hard the rest of us went around the park and managed to get on a few rides. For lunch we went to Crystal Palace and meet the characters from Winnie the Pooh! It is a buffet restaurant and the food was really lovely. Dad went off to the hospital in the afternoon so then it went down to three! I think The Carousel of Progress was our favourite ride...Mum and Dad managed to get back to see Wishes, the firework show, which was good.

On Tuesday morning I had to work so everyone, apart from Chris, went to Epcot. I left them to explore as I went off to work. I was only on a am shift so managed to finish by half 4 and meet them in the pub! We headed to Japan as this is where we were eating dinner. I had booked one of the restaurants but the other one I had wanted to go to was fully booked. When we arrived I managed to swap our reservations so we got to eat in Tapen Edo, where they cook the food on the table in front of you. I had steak and chicken, with noodles and rice, with sushi and wine too! It was a really good experience and the chef was funny and talented. We watched the fireworks from work, which I enjoy slightly better than Wishes but I think I’m bias! I think the family liked them too, although I do agree the middle bit goes on a bit too long.

We were hoping Chris would be able to come out on Wednesday so we had a quite morning, waking up later and having a bit longer for breakfast. Mum and Dad went to the hospital about 11am so Ann, Jess and I decided to head back to Epcot as we hadn’t managed to do everything the day before. We saw Captin EO, a classic! Chris managed to join us in the afternoon. For dinner we went to Boma, at Animal Kingdom Lodge. If there’s one thing I know about Disney it’s good places to eat! This is an African buffet with freshly carved meat and loads of side dishes. I might have had two plates of dessert too. We went back to Epcot to watch the fireworks again as Chris hadn’t seen them the night before. The buses we used to get back to the hotel were usually quite good at night so it didn’t take too long to get home.

Next day was Animal Kingdom, where there are so many good things to do and see. We went on Safari, saw the Lion King and Finding Nemo, climbed Mount Everest and went back in time to find a dinosaur! The park was quite shaded so even though we had to walk far it wasn’t too unpleasant. The weather all week was really hot, in the high 20s and 30s. We saw so many animals; hippos, gorillas, giraffes! We ever learnt about the rainforest and what it feels like to be a bug. As Animal Kingdom closes early we had enough time to go back to the hotel and get changed before going out for dinner.  We went to Raglan Road, in Downtown Disney, which is somewhere I go a lot. We had a nice booth to ourselves and our waiter was quite funny. The week was going so fast!

I remember when I went to Harry Potter World for the first time, I was little a small child at Christmas. This was the first place we headed to at Universal. I still love looking around all the shops and at all the details; however the ride still makes me feel sick. Mum and Ann were both unsure if they should go on and I tried to prepare them for it. I’m not sure if they enjoyed it, I think it made everyone feel a bit queasy! Jess wanted to spend lots of time taking photos so she stayed with Mum while the rest of us wondered on. When we meet up together we ate in the Three Broomsticks and went on a few more rides. We went on the Popeye water ride and all got soaked! We stayed at the hotel for dinner that night as it was a tiring day. Me and mum played cards at the bar and had a few drinks which was really lovely.

On our final full day we went to Hollywood Studios. There were lots of shows to see but I think we did really well. Mum, Jess and I even appeared in our own version of Pearl Harbour! We saw the big car stunt show which was incredible and got good seats for Famtasmic! They were threatening to call it off because of the weather but it went ahead as planned. We caught a comedy show in the street which was unexpected but it was funny. It was sad/a relief to get on the Disney hotel buses for the last time! Although they always took you exactly where you wanted to go they could take a while to arrive and sometimes be full. It’s a great system which must take so much planning but no one really likes waiting!

Dad and Ann left first on Saturday, then I had to head home to get ready for work.  I wasn’t sure where my bus was picking me up so it was a very quick goodbye as it pulled up. Everyone got home safely and Chris only had to take 2 planes home instead of 4. I managed to get through me shift even though I was a bit teary on the way in. I worked loads over the next three days then headed to Vegas...! Watch out for part 2!

From Florida with Love

Emily

xxxx

Caught Up

I decided to go on a detox this week as I’ve been eating and drinking out far too much, wasting too much money too! It’s been going quite well. I haven’t eaten out since last Friday which is a big achievement here. As an example of the extravagant dining, we shared a $44 bottle of sparkling rose and a large pizza between three of us on a regular week day afternoon! I went out three times over the weekend but haven’t got drunk, so those messages about bourbons I sent at 4 o’clock in the morning were from a sober mind! I just wanted bourbons, which I will hopefully be getting in three days time!

Last Thursday I went into work at 10:45am as usual, having no plans for the afternoon. A few of the girls were really excited as they were going to see Usher that night. I wondered if there were any tickets left. Two other girls left work early and investigated if we could go. At about 3pm one of the girls who was going already came downstairs and got really excited as we’d managed to get tickets!! I was so excited. Then literally 30 seconds later I’d been told I had to stay all night as 2 people had gone home ill. For about an hour I was going back and forth between the managers to try and get out! At about 5pm I managed to get on the bus home after begging and getting someone to pick up my tables. I had about half an hour to get ready then we got in the taxi! Our other friends won a competition to get upgraded to a suite, so we managed to get their seats, 4 rows from the front! Akon was the support act who was really good, loved all of his songs. When Usher came on everyone went mental. I haven’t listened to much of his new album but they all sounded really good and he sung lots of his older songs too. It was a great show, with amazing dancing!

I managed to get up at 5am to watch the royal wedding, although I didn’t manage to get out of my pyjamas! I went to Arran and Callum’s apartment where we had champagne and strawberries, with beans on toast. I’m glad we got up to watch it as it is a massive event which will be talked about for years. We liked to mock the people with funny hats! We watched it on CNN with Cat Deeley and Pierce Morgan commentating. The UK pavilion was decorated with Union Jack flags and special toasts were made throughout the day. At 8.30am we had a cast photo where most of the pavilion came to celebrate the event! The photo will be printed and given to us to keep, and we also made it into one of the official Disney blogs. As we were there so early we managed to get on some rides pretty quickly then went for a wonder round World Showcase.

This week was the first time I nearly cried at work. I had an 11 on my tables who were related to one of the bar tenders. Everything was going well until their meals came out and they sent 5 of them back cold. The roasts came out straight away but the kitchen made 2 new roast chicken and a Shepherd’s pie from scratch. It took sooooo long, I kept going back and apologising but there was nothing else I could do. My other table was fine so I just stood in the kitchen, waiting and getting stressed! The fireworks had already started and they still hadn’t got their meals. They were finally ready...then I throw the Shepherd’s pie all done my front in the kitchen! This was actually when I calmed down and stopped worrying about the whole situation, I think they appreciated that is wasn’t my fault and they seemed to enjoy their food eventually. Since then work has been going quite well, it’s still quite quiet but it has periods where everything needs to happen at once. I’ll hopefully be ready for the summer rush!

The next few weeks are full of exciting plans which I will try and fill you in on promtly!

From Florida with Love,

Emily

xxxx