New York or Orlando?? Heck, let`s do both.....12 nights NYC & Sapphire Falls...July 18 Trip Report

[schumigirl]

I’m loving your last post of the report!

Great humor

Lol.......thanks mac.........maybe I am more Karen!!!!

We did have a lovely day.......well, all of them were lovely!

 

[jenrose66]

Along jenrose...........glad you made it over here!!

I’m so glad you are enjoying reading along.........I’ve enjoyed yours so much........it’s a joy to read!

Yes, early retirement is the best! I hear you on going back to work........I went back as a Practice Manager for my best friend a few years back........nope, interfered too much with doing a lot of stuff........so I hope you both manage to do it whenever you can.......having no schedule to keep is very liberating!! We love it!

As for Europe, we don’t go there any longer. We have been to every country in Europe except Iceland, but have no real desire to go back. Haven’t been to Turkey or Greece, but that’s through choice!!! Last time we went to Paris, it was so different........and we used to love Paris. Next year we think we may have a trip back to Switzerland as we loved it there more than any other......have you been to Europe? I know a lot of Americans who love to travel to Europe.........some of it is beautiful.........

As for a blog.....well, my niece is a journalist and is always saying the same thing to me........I just never seem to get around to it or seem to have the time!!! I’m doing some writing for someone right now and it’s time consuming......but love it!

Couple more of days of NY coming up........

We have never been to Europe. I would like to go on a cruise from like Copenhagen thru the fjords in Norway...someday

 

[schumigirl]

We have never been to Europe. I would like to go on a cruise from like Copenhagen thru the fjords in Norway...someday

Oh good choice!!!

We’ve never done that, but it’s a cruise I’d consider.

Many friends have done Ffjord cruises and loved them!!

Denmark and Norway are both beautiful.........we went to Norway in spring and it was still a bit too cold for me, but Denmark was quite warm when we went in a July...........

Lovely way to see the area..........

 

[schumigirl]

TUESDAY JULY 17TH...…………………..


Although we had a very late night by our standards, we aren't really folks that stay up late at all...…..but we felt we had to have at least one night where we went beyond midnight...…..and it had been fun!!!!

We had slept well, and as I raised the blinds from the comfort of our bed, I saw it was bright and sunny and according to the temperature sign on the side of the Burberry building it was already 78f at 6am. Maybe I would try and get back to sleep for an hour as I hadn't realized it was so early...…..oops!!!! Thankfully didn't disturb my sleeping husband...…...although as I went to lower the blinds again he said don't bother I`m awake...….oops again...….turned out he had been awake for a while...…..

We took our time getting organized and dressed today...….although we were a little sad to leave NYC tomorrow, we were so excited to get what really was a bonus week for us. This trip really was supposed to be only 5 nights in NY then home, but of course that changed quickly...…...which of course explains the name of this trip report...….last one was so named as we did lose count of how many people did say "back again" when we told folks we were going back...…most laughed and thought it was fabulous.

Not having much sleep didn't feel so bad right now...….I was quite alert and ready for the day, and we did have a couple of things we wanted to do today. One of them was go back to the NY Public Library...….I wanted 2 books. One for me and one as a gift for a friends daughter...…..so we would head down that way first. I also tried to book us a table at Ruth`s Chris but opentable wasn't working properly this morning and kept taking me back to choosing a time.....so after 4 tries I gave up...…..we would ask concierge to do it for us when we went downstairs...…...we thought that would be a lovely meal to end the trip with. We had loved our meal there last year, so were keen to go back.

Once we were showered and dressed we headed downstairs as we were just going to have coffee and pastries in the grab and go place they had off the main lobby...…..it was called Pomme Palais. It had been under a refurb when we were here last September, and we were keen to try it......it sounded lovely and you could get allsorts of breakfast items...….but first we stopped off at the Towers concierge...….we recognized him as being the man who was also at the desk last year when e had the other concierge man help us get to Orlando and find a hotel for two nights...….we were so grateful to them!!! But, we asked if he possibly make a reservation for us tonight at Ruth`s Chris. Not a problem......we told him the time and names and such and that no it wasn't a special occasion....he would get that done for us.....we thanked him and set off round for our much needed coffee.

It really is a nice little place...….there are no tables, but you can go through to the lounge that is really the bar and they`re happy for you to sit there...….it was quiet too as most folks were getting food and leaving...…….

I had a ham and cheese warm croissant and Tom had a crumb cake muffin.....and two coffees. It was all lovely...…..and I have to say, I had finally tasted the best coffee I had ever tasted!!!!! We both got Latte`s as we do prefer a milkier coffee......I know many don't like Starbucks coffee......we do.....so this was beautiful...…..and I droned on about this coffee all day!!!!! Genuinely.

The pastry and muffin were also lovely...….it was a very light breakfast today but we had plans for lunch and dinner so thought light would be good. And it was delicious...…….

We sat a little and then decided to visit the bathrooms that were up the staircase and kind of tucked away in a corner.....but we found them without having to ask for help...…...and they were immaculate too.

Coming out I took a couple of pictures of the forever impressive staircase and the equally impressive fireplace that adorned the upstairs wall...…..would have loved to see a cozy fire blazing in that one!!!

The library doesn't open till 10am, so we are way early...…..we take our time and head down towards Bryant Park...….another favourite place for us to sit and pass some time while we wait for the building to open.

It is a beautiful day...….and the concierge had mentioned to us that a storm was due in the afternoon. Heavy rain and thunder and lightning...…..you wouldn't think it possible looking at the weather right now though...…..we found a little seat overlooking the still closed green and perched ourselves there for a while...

Maybe not as peaceful or tranquil as delving into Central park, but still incredibly pretty and always full of life...….even at this early hour folks were out in force. We did see a police officer move a man on this morning......he didn't appear to be homeless and looked quite respectable, but move him on they did......I don't want to think too much as to the reason.

It was so lovely though...…..and so warm but sitting in the shaded area it was pretty darn nice......although a heavy breeze was picking up....maybe the offending storm was already working it`s way in towards us.

These have to be the nicest bathrooms in any city in the whole world. They are immaculately clean and soon as you enter there is a massive display of beautiful orchids in the middle...…..there are flowers around the wash basins and it makes a very pleasant place to go!!!! But we passed today and saw there was already a line waiting to go in...…..I`m not surprised. The two ladies who take care of it must work constantly at keeping it so clean. And a clean bathroom is very important if you have to go outside

It`s almost 10am so we walk the few steps to the library...…...Tom isn't a huge book fan, but I am and thankfully passed the love of books on to Kyle, although he doesn't read as much now he always read as a small child all the way through to now...….he is reading a book right now about space and all the intricacies of something or other...….fascinating books!!! But for me I adore libraries.

The red face is back...…...it was blooming hot!!!!

We go in to the incredibly cool building......it is heavenly to walk in to the cool air...…..and after a cursory bag check we wander in to the beautiful building.

We go straight to the gift shop and I ask if they have the leather bound limited edition of A Christmas Carol and another edition of Little Women for a gift for someone else. The lady tells us no they don't have A Christmas Carol, but do have the leather bound Little Women...….but they do have a copy of ACC upstairs as it was sent to them in error...…….he climbs up a ladder upstairs and comes back down with a rather unusual looking copy...….I was having it. Not the one I wanted, but it would do as a nice little extra copy.

I also bought my mum and I calendars for next year...….last few years we had purchased ones from the ESB but not this time......she would like this one too I was sure. She is a great reader too.

The book was so cute......not a miniature but not like a full size book either...…...another one wouldn't do any harm!!!

Purchases squeezed into the smaller bag I had brought with me today...…..I had thought if the green at Bryant Park was open we would have a sit down on it for a change, and didn't want to damage or get grass on my newest bag. This one held nothing really, but the books and calendars fitted in nicely.

We then took to wandering around the upstairs floors.....we hadn't really done that last time as we were heading off somewhere usually...….but today we had all the time in the world.....

And it was worth it...…...I hadn't realized how beautiful the upper floors were...…….

I loved you could go into most places and see and touch the books....although some of the titles would put anyone off!!!! But it was lovely and most people were respectful of the students that were working...…….some of course weren't...….

Again if you love architecture this is an amazing building to wander around...…..

I had been waiting to go into this room. It is very plain but the paintings around were extraordinary...…..

And on to another study room...…..there are signs up saying you can take pictures just asked not to use the flash...….again, most people adhere to this rule....but there`s always the odd one that likes to flaunt the rules. They were soon spoken to.

We had enjoyed our visit here today. There really is a vast area to cover and I was sure we hadn't covered all of it. But we had done what we came to see today and we had managed to get a similar book to the one I wanted. Tom still wonders why I have so many books that are the same...…..what can I say....one day I`ll get the 1st Edition I covet.

We found the bathrooms and then made our way outside into the still blisteringly hot day. The sun was still shining thankfully, and we were around a 30 minute walk to where we were having lunch today.

Todd English Restaurant...….and yep, it was back in the food court of the Plaza...…...I wasn't looking forward to this walk though......my face was redder than I have ever seen!!!!

Lunch coming up...…….

 

[pattyw]

Magnificent library!! I would certainly look forward to studying there!

 

[schumigirl]

So as we were walking in what was akin to walking in the Sahara...….we stopped off for some water...…...we felt incredibly hot. I had suggested we took a cab and Tom said oh it`s not that far...….and it wasn't.........….but, we had crossed over to the shady side of the street...…..although the shade was lessening as it was around midday...….of course The Plaza had to be so far away from here...….I had grumbled a bit of the way as lunch seemed so far away right now...…..I was hungry...…..that little tiny pastry now all those hours ago seemed like a bad idea!!! I get cranky when I get hungry...…...heck, who doesn't!!!!

We pass our hotel and I`m tempted to pop in to freshen up a little......but we march on regardless and not long before I have my sights set on the Park in the distance...…...it seemed much further today...…..as we approached Trump Tower we stopped to admire the hardwear those cops were carrying around here......impressive, but incredibly scary...….

Tom then asks what I considered to be the wrong question right now...……..

​

Yep, I had reached that horrible phase where you would actually eat anything!!!!! Even Blue cheese...…….

So, we abandon possible plans to go in Trump Tower and walk rather quickly round to The Plaza...…..and again, walking in to that cool environment is wonderful...….even Tom looked a little ruffled with the heat today...……as soon as we went downstairs we purchased a bottle of cold water and demolished it between us...…...now we were ready for lunch...…….

We went into the Todd English restaurant and waited to be seated...…..they all seem to be high seats in here, which doesn't suit some people, but we were fine with bar style seats...…...we were seated beside the area where they coked stir fries and seafood...…...wow, the food looked good!!!!

They have separate areas to cook different foods and they served a real variety...…..they offered sushi, burgers, steak, stir fry, seafood and flatbreads....definitely a something for everyone place...…….our waiter was adorable!!!! His name was Christian and he was very good at his job......we liked him...…..

Our first choice was to order a bottle of champagne...……….but the choices they had didn't appeal too much and maybe a little opulent for lunchtime....so we went with good old Prosecco....that would work...……

And it was nice!!!! And very welcome after our long walk...…….we felt like we had walked miles, in reality we really hadn't. The library was around 42nd street and The Plaza was 59th street. It just felt longer today.

I wasn't sure why we hadn't come in here before...…..it was lovely, very friendly casual place that had a nice atmosphere......it was fairly noisy but not too bad.....we could hear each other speak without yelling...…..

As to the menu.....I was torn...….I was aware we were going to have steak tonight, but we hadn't booked the table till 8.45pm, so I had plenty of time to work off a lunch ...…...there really was a lot to choose from...….but eventually Tom chose the classic meat feast flatbread, and I went for the southern fried chicken sandwich...….sounded lovely...…….

We sat and sipped at our prosecco and thoroughly enjoyed our time waiting......now I was seated, and had sipped some sparkly, I wasn't feeling quite as ready to growl at the first person who said the wrong thing...….."hangry" is a real thing!!!!

Our food appeared a little out of sync as they came from different areas of the restaurant...…...not a problem as I got a piece of Tom`s flatbread while I waited...….and it was only a few moments...….

Oh my goodness!!!! They were both gorgeous...….it was the freshest fried chicken I had ever tasted.....and not too heavy a batter...….and Tom`s flatbread was perfectly balanced with topping and base...…..and of course incredibly tasty...…….

We loved our lunch!!! Probably the most expensive lunch we had in NYC, but so worth it...……..

We didn't plan to have dessert as we had other plans...…..so we got the check and paid and thanked Christian for taking care of us so well. We were glad we had finally come in here.

We headed over to one of the dessert counters...…..I had spied this a few days ago, and thought today would be a good day to take it back to the room and enjoy...…...it was the most succulent and tasty looking coconut cake...….it was huge.....and we made the mistake of buying two pieces. What were we thinking. Even we wouldn't manage them.

But, buy them we did and headed out back into the heat of the day...……

It did seem a little breezier but the sky was still blue and it was still boiling hot...….but as we walked down 5th Avenue it got noticeably darker as we neared our hotel...…...we managed to just about walk a little faster...……..of course we weren't worried about the cakes at all...…….

We went straight to the Pomme Palais and bought two more of their gorgeous coffees.........then up to our room after grabbing a couple of bottles of water on the way past. Although we still had the bottles that turndown had left the previous nights...….can never have enough water.

We carefully opened up our little delicacy for our afternoon treat...……I commented that the packaging was beautiful...…...although Tom is very much a guy here...…..he doesn't care what the packaging looks like.....just let him at the cake!!!!

We barely made a dent in them. But, so good!!!! We were still picking at them even when we were full...…...we both love anything coconut.....so this was fabulous...….we kept looking at each other.....

​

We were beat by them though!!!!! Why did we buy two...……….

We drank the coffee and both felt as though we couldn't move for an hour...…...but, as we were going out tonight we thought we would get packed up this afternoon......I hate packing...…..but this was a little different as we weren't going home...…..

However we did drag our butts out of those surprisingly comfortable chairs by the table and decided we would pack up now...…...although it was a little like slow moving snails trying to look like we had some energy...…..

I glanced out of the window and noticed indeed there was a storm coming in...……the skies that were so blue and clear earlier turned very quickly to this...….

Within a few seconds this happened...……..

The rain was amazing...….and by around 3pm we had heavy thunder and lightning...….although more thunder than lightning...….and it was impressive to watch especially so high up...…..we are storm lovers...….genuinely adore watching heavy rain and storms are fun......if you`re inside of course ...…..and we were loving watching this one.

We are rather unashamedly the tourists who stand (carefully) in storms and point and wooo at the wonderous lightning you get in Florida...….it`s like nothing we get in the UK...…..

We had been told it was going to be on all night. Then we began to wonder about our dinner reservation...….no way were we going out if it was like that. This was one downside of this hotel...…..they had no restaurants for dinner. But we would sort something out if the rain stayed like this...……

As we listened to the thunder continually rumbling we packed up what we could, leaving out something to wear tonight and something to travel in tomorrow....and it didn't take long...…...but, I think we spent more time looking out the window...……

We headed down to the Concierge desk as we wanted to book their car service for the morning to take us to JFK. We could have got a cab, but preferred the idea of a car service. We had done that last year and had a very strange experience where although it was a set price, he seemed to take us the very, very long way!!!! But, we went down and it was the same man as earlier...….he had a French name and I can`t remember it, but he did give us his card......and we first asked about our dinner reservation tonight...….we thought we may want to cancel as the weather wasn't going anywhere...….he said it was a good idea and he would deal with it for us. So we asked about the car service and he said yes, they could do it and as it was only two of us and our luggage a Suburban would suffice.....I think that was the smallest size of car they did for airport runs. He told us it would cost $188.56 so we told him yes, to please reserve one for us to be there at 7am. Yes, a cab would be cheaper, but saved risking another maniac driver...……and we liked the Suburban.

So, that sorted we went back upstairs and Tom had a snooze while I sat on my ipad and looked out the window.

The room was almost dark with the low overhanging cloud dispensing so much rain...…...but it was warm and cosy and eventually I wandered over and had a snooze too. Although it must have been less than half an hour as soon we were awake and saw the rain had gone off!!!! And it looked a little brighter......now we were wishing we hadn't cancelled dinner plans. But the concierge had said Ruth`s Chris weren't full, so we could still go down if we felt like it...….so that was still an option...……

We got showered and changed and generally did a few little things with cases and made sure everything we could pack, was packed…...then we went down to the regular lounge bar we liked and ordered a bottle of wine...…..the waitress was lovely and we were surprised when speaking to the lounge manager Wafik later that she was brand new and in her first week...…...she was very nice. And so was the wine...…..

This was a nice lounge bar...….but we wouldn't be sitting long as tonight they had a jazz singer and player in!!!!! We hate jazz music!!! Wafik told us they weren't on till around 9pm......oh we would be gone by then...….

From our seat we could look straight through to the main door and outside...…..rain was bouncing down again...….so, that was the decision made, we wouldn't be going out for dinner. But, our back up plan as there was no dinner restaurant in here, was we would get room service...….and we hadn't done that in a while so it would be a nice change...…….we sat for another half hour or so and then paid our check and headed upstairs...……

Turndown had been while we had been out...…..so the first thing I did was raise the blinds again to see that magnificent skyline sparkling with lights so bright...….and this would be the last time we would see them for a while I imagined. So we made the most of it...……

We turned on the tv and had a glance at the room service menu...….they had everything on offer...…..but we eventually chose an appetizer of Buffalo wings and a meat pizza to share...…...and a bottle of wine...….yep, our third today...….well, we were on vacation...….

We called in the order a little later as they said it usually took around 20 minutes, so I went for a quick change and got into one of those lovely and soft bath robes hanging on the back of the door......now I felt cozy...…….

We were watching something or other on the TV when the door was knocked.....and we were actually a little hungry now...…..it must have been around 9pm. He set the table up and put the food out and suggested we call back and someone would come get the trolley when we did......absolutely we would call......I wanted it gone quickly and hate seeing them left outside in corridors...……

Once he had gone we inspected the food...…..it looked lovely...…..and it was.

We ate the wings and around half of the pizza...….it was larger than anticipated...…...but we enjoyed what we had...……….and it was piping hot when we got it.

We called down and they were back almost immediately to take the trolley, although we took the wine as it wasn't quite finished yet...…..then we sprawled out on the bed like overstuffed hippos and relaxed.....

We mused how we couldn't believe this was our last night here...…...we had so enjoyed our rather lazy trip to the City...….but now we were ready to move on to Orlando...…..

I certainly knew the answer to the question I was asked last year...…..New York or Orlando...…..which was our favourite…….Tom I knew would always choose Orlando...….and so would I. We loved NYC me probably more than Tom, but Orlando and Florida were the winners no doubt about it. They are of course very different places, so hard to compare...…..

We sat up till around 11.30pm and then rather sadly pulled the blinds from the beautiful lights and soon we were asleep and looking forward to our journey down to MCO.


Another travel day tomorrow...…….

 

[I-4Bound]

I loved reading about your book finds! I know I have probably said it before, but my husband and I are particular fans of A Christmas Carol, both the book and film versions. I think we own almost every copy of every film or cartoon ever made of A Christmas Carol, and we read it every year around Christmas time.

 

[Tink2Day]

OH THE LIBRARY!!! I adore books, I have a few first editions and some rare books that I treasure. . We are kindred souls for sure!!
Love the architecture of the library and NYC in general. Your way with words, the pictures (thanks Tom!) continue to fuel my wanderlust!

PS LOVE the Snape reference...think it's the first time I've seen it applied to hunger though

 

[schumigirl]

I loved reading about your book finds! I know I have probably said it before, but my husband and I are particular fans of A Christmas Carol, both the book and film versions. I think we own almost every copy of every film or cartoon ever made of A Christmas Carol, and we read it every year around Christmas time.

Yep, it’s my favourite book ever!!

I read one version every year too in December, near to Christmas Eve of course........and our tradition is the Alasdair Sim 1951 black and white version of the movie, we watch the DVD Christmas Eve too........we do have the same 10 or so movies we have to watch every December.........it’s tradition......lol.....

I love that you love it too..........

 

[schumigirl]

OH THE LIBRARY!!! I adore books, I have a few first editions and some rare books that I treasure. . We are kindred souls for sure!!
Love the architecture of the library and NYC in general. Your way with words, the pictures (thanks Tom!) continue to fuel my wanderlust!

PS LOVE the Snape reference...think it's the first time I've seen it applied to hunger though

Another book fan!!!

Yes, when I did my first degree many moons ago, journalism and writing was a plan, but then it became a plan to teach English Literature to University students.......of course plans change for the better of course.............but I did dream of working in an environment filled with books and knowledge........love it!!!

The architecture is mind blowing there!!

He said the Snape thing just seemed to fit.......we’ve been watching all the Potter movies this last week and watched him die again last night........ so sad!!! Love the character and the actor too of course........

But, I’m glad you’re still reading along and enjoying it........I appreciate it.........

 

[schumigirl]

Magnificent library!! I would certainly look forward to studying there!

It really is a truly amazing building!

I could have spent all day there.

 

[I-4Bound]

Yep, it’s my favourite book ever!!

I read one version every year too in December, near to Christmas Eve of course........and our tradition is the Alasdair Sim 1951 black and white version of the movie, we watch the DVD Christmas Eve too........we do have the same 10 or so movies we have to watch every December.........it’s tradition......lol.....

I love that you love it too..........

I love the Alastair Sim version! One of my favorites, along with the 1938 version with Reginald Owen. We have all sorts of versions, musicals, cartoons, and I really like them all.

 

[schumigirl]

I love the Alastair Sim version! One of my favorites, along with the 1938 version with Reginald Owen. We have all sorts of versions, musicals, cartoons, and I really like them all.

I don’t think I’ve seen that one with Reginald Owen!!!

I’ll have to go check it out.......yes, haven’t seen a totally bad version. Not overly fond of the George C Scott version.......but I watch it..........and of course Scrooged with Bill Murray is a classic......... not forgetting the Muppets too.......

 

[I-4Bound]

I don’t think I’ve seen that one with Reginald Owen!!!

I’ll have to go check it out.......yes, haven’t seen a totally bad version. Not overly fond of the George C Scott version.......but I watch it..........and of course Scrooged with Bill Murray is a classic......... not forgetting the Muppets too.......

Oh, you have to see that one! It's fantastic. Mr. And mrs. Cratchit are played by Gene and Kathleen Lockhart. Their daughter, June Lockhart, played one of the Cratchit children, and is best known as the mom on Lassie and Lost in Space.

 

[schumigirl]

Oh, you have to see that one! It's fantastic. Mr. And mrs. Cratchit are played by Gene and Kathleen Lockhart. Their daughter, June Lockhart, played one of the Cratchit children, and is best known as the mom on Lassie and Lost in Space.

I just googled it........I think I may have seen it as a child, but don’t remember a whole lot........but will see if I can order it from Amazon.

I noticed the actor who plays Tiny Tim in this version is an actor who was also in one of the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movies as a little houseboy/cleaner............and is still alive. Terry Kilburn. Bless him he’s 92 now.

Will look forward to watching that this Christmas too.......thanks!!!

 

[angryduck71]

Another thing Davy and I missed — the library. I really need to plan another trip! Lovely pics! I agree with you about coconut and jazz!

 

[schumigirl]

Another thing Davy and I missed — the library. I really need to plan another trip! Lovely pics! I agree with you about coconut and jazz!

It’s so impressive. You definitely need to go back!! You both would love the library.

There was an art exhibition of something or other when we were there.......bit odd. Most of it must have been beyond our comprehension........couple of cool things but the rest was just weird.

Yay to coconut!!! Love it!!! Haven’t met anything with coconut I haven’t loved!! And a big boooooo to Jazz........what the heck is that all about..........it’s like someone constantly screeching at you!!!

So, definitely not a fan!!!

 

[schumigirl]

WEDNESDAY JULY 18TH...…………………….


Finally...…..the day we were so looking forward to...………

​

We were awake with the earliest of morning people this morning...…….I had arranged an alarm call for 5.30am, but I think we were both awake from around 4.45...…..although we slept well, this was another of those not wanting to sleep in moments...…..our flight wasn't until 10am, but we wanted to get there in plenty of time to get some breakfast and to be honest, we like airports...…..we hate to be rushed or feel as though we don't have enough time......so we are people who are usually very early for everything.

We had slept well though, until we did wake...….no getting back to sleep now!!!

We waited till the alarm call came through, and again the lady was bright and breezy and I couldn't get a word in!!!! She said good morning then proceeded to tell me the temperature right now, the high temp predicted for the day, possible cloud cover and basically too much information for anyone at that time of the morning...…...but I thanked her anyway...……

I eased myself out of this very comfortable bed for the last time this trip and hauled myself into the shower...…..I was fairly awake by now anyway and incredibly excited to be going to Orlando and not home as was originally planned. I was quite surprised to see the final account had been slipped under the door...….most places don't do that anymore, but they do here. And we checked it and everything was correct that we had added on...…….

I got the last bits packed up as Tom shaved and showered...…...we were both so excited for today.

We adore travelling anyway, journey to the the airport, airport itself is always an experience, the flight, it`s all part of a process we enjoy so much...….and today was only our second time doing an internal flight within the US. Usually when we arrive from the UK we don't just walk through to where departing passengers are waiting......we have to go through the immigration process and up until we had Global Entry, this could be quite long at times. So it was strange arriving last September to what is the departure area...…..but, it was after midnight and we didn't really get a chance to enjoy the experience as our flight was later than planned. But, we were just glad to be on a flight to Orlando at all with Irma and all the trouble she caused!!!

So this time we really hoped to enjoy the experience a little more.

I took a last look out of the window and once again marveled at the beautiful buildings and tower blocks we could see from our vantage point...….

It looked to be going to be another beautiful day...………

We managed to gather our belongings and had a check around......we usually forget something!!!! But, not today......and went downstairs to wait for our car service...….we did plan to go get 2 coffees from the Pomme Palais but, it was a little too early for me to take anything. I usually can`t eat or drink before around 8am...….so we decided to wait until JFK.

The beautiful entrance to the Towers and their rooms.

This really had been a beautiful stay in a wonderful hotel. We really can`t say enough about how lovely everyone was and the hotel itself is stunning. I would recommend it to anyone looking for something a little special.

We were a little early, but I glanced out and saw a Suburban pull up and said to Tom, I`ll bet that`s ours...…..at that point one of the doormen came in and asked us if we were waiting for the car service...…..it was ours. So, we climbed in and made ourselves comfortable for the journey to the airport.

Our driver was very friendly and chatty...…..and very open with his political views I have to say!!!! He had strong opinions on a lot of things!!!!! It was too early for me to engage really, so I just sat back and enjoyed the drive which only took around 50 minutes. Tom chatted with him more than I did. He was very nice, and he got us there safely and in plenty of time. That was all we asked.

JetBlue were our carriers today. So, he pulled up as near the doors as he could and unloaded our bags. The hotel told us we paid the driver directly, so we handed him his money, thanked him and then he asked us if he had been too political...….I laughed but Tom said no, you were fine...….he is the diplomatic one out of the two of us

Going into the terminal we remembered from last time. We had to go to the machines and print off your own luggage labels...….and label them yourself.....this was something we didn't do in the UK, but it took seconds and there are plenty of staff around if anyone needs help. We then took the cases over to where they disappeared and we vehemently hoped we would see them in Orlando later today...…..

We have TSA Pre check, so we headed down past the incredibly long lines and got to where we needed to be...….hardly anyone in front of us here and the friendliest guy checking our ID ever...…….not having to take shoes off, unload ipads and all the other stuff is so easy. We had been given TSA Pre check the last couple of years without asking for it, which was lovely, but now we had Global Entry it was automatic...….and we liked it!!!

We got through in moments and as always I was stopped for a search...…….quick pat down and we were through to the departure area.

We liked JetBlue last year. They were a company we were happy to fly with again. We booked the flights when it was still reasonably quiet, so we got the Extra space seats and we included one suitcase each with that choice of seat. I think it was around $500 for both of us to fly from JFK to MCO one way. We were happy with that. I love how people get flights anywhere for less than $100 in the States...…it is amazing!!!! But we were booked and that was all that mattered to us.

Now I was hungry!!!! We had a look around and saw a few options......the food court looked a little manic, so we opted to go sit at a table service place for breakfast...….it looked ok. We first checked our flight and it showing on time. This was good to see.

We walked over and were seated immediately, asking what time our flight was and were we in a hurry...….we said no rush and she left. We did wait a little bit of time for a menu, but this one guy was rushed off his feet, although eventually I did stop him and ask for a menu. He kinda grumbled something but did come back with two menus...…..

I had no idea what I wanted...….I didn't want a cooked breakfast and I had seen someone`s pancakes and didn't fancy the look of them at all...…..so I ordered a blueberry muffin and a bagel toasted with some cream cheese...….Tom looked at me as I detest bagels......genuinely can`t eat them and don't see the appeal of them...…..but I thought I might eat half of one this morning...….I did ask for toast but they only had wholegrain and I can`t eat that, so I wanted something toasted......I would give it a try...….Tom ordered his beloved two eggs sunny side up with bacon and sausage......I could pinch a wee bit of his bacon if it looked nice!!!!

After we finally ordered...…...we waited...…..eventually we were brought some coffee......but only because we asked...….and it was decent. But we did wonder what we would get breakfast wise as he didn't seem to be concentrating on what we asked for...…..it was busy and he seemed to be more or less on his own.

It did appear eventually, and Tom`s was lovely...….bacon was beautiful, sausages were lovely and he enjoyed the eggs. Mine was ok. The muffin was almost indescribable as to what actual flavor it was....and the bagel was inedible. Solid as a rock...…...even with the fake knife they give you......nothing was cutting through that!!!! But, I was glad Tom enjoyed his although he claims he didn't get much bacon.…he smiled of course, but inside I know what he was thinking

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Hmm. Well, it was lovely bacon...…….. He does actually share really well...….but isn't always happy about it ...…..he tells a much repeated story from years ago when we were somewhere in Europe, I think maybe Switzerland......I rather stupidly ordered something I didn't really want, not sure why...….and Tom ordered this gorgeous seafood dish of giant shrimp and many other delicious options...….when they arrived I looked at my seriously plain dish which looked incredibly unappetizing......and there was Tom`s...….resplendent in all its finery......it looked a treat. I looked at my dish sadly, and looked at his...…..then looked at him...….by this point Tom just swapped the plates over with an "I knew it" look...……..I did share a little...….I was glad he actually enjoyed the dish that was originally mine!!! What a guy...….. But, I do have to say......he does mention it once or twice...…...

So, now we were finished the breakfast of two halves...….we paid the check finally when he got around to us......he wasn't friendly or approachable but to be fair he was genuinely rushed off his feet. I didn't bother arguing over the fact the bagel was like a brick, it wasn't worth it for $5.

We headed down to where our gate was.....and visited the bathroom before buying some hard fruity candy for take off and landing......Tom`s ears always seem to be worse than mine, so we always make sure we have plenty.

We find a seat at the gate and it does indeed look like a full plane already...…...we have plenty of time especially as the plane hasn't even appeared yet......and just as I say it`s still showing on time, our plane appears as if by magic...……

Now we wait. It shouldn't be long now and this again we find so strange when the pax start to come through here...….it`s just different.

A lady sat down beside us and smiled, I smiled back and she began to chat......now anyone who knows me knows I love chatting......to almost anyone!!! But did I regret starting this conversation being started...…….cat lovers may want to miss this bit out.

I mentioned to Keisha and mac in emails we had two weird encounters this trip......one was this and the other was at Sapphire itself......

She was at first asking about our journey then she said oh I`ll show you some pictures of my babies...….this lady was 60 if she was a day!!! But, out came the cat pictures...….seriously!!!! I don't like cats......I don't want to hear about your 84 cats...…..and folks who call them babies!!! Sorry, they`re not, they`re animals...….So I tried to separate myself from this conversation......but she was relentless. Till she said, when one of my babies dies...….that's when I moved off. Tom says I always end up with someone who is a little strange to talk to. I`m sure it must be me...….the couple opposite told me when I came back she had tried it with them too and had hinted she was struggling with money to feed them......ah gotcha!!! Not an ounce of sympathy. I like dogs. I was polite to her as I was brought up nicely...….but there`s a limit.

Eventually cat lady disappeared and attached herself to someone else...…..I could sit back down again......we then kept chatting to the lovely couple opposite who were going to Orlando to see their daughter married...….how lovely...….the man laughed and asked if we wanted to see pictures......lol......I like someone with a sense of humour………they were a lovely couple...…

We chatted away the remaining time till boarding. I believe we were first to board, but again had to fight through the rest of the plane who had already lined up regardless...…...they had announced the flight was full and had looked for people to check in any hand luggage if they could for free. There wasn't going to be enough room for everyone`s hand luggage it seemed. Although some folks hand luggage is huge!!!! Ours would easily fit under the seat in front.

We boarded soon after and got our assigned seats. I had the window, tom was in the middle and the guy at the end was a nice young man who chatted just enough...….once we took off his headphones went on and that was him. But good person to have sat beside you.

It did take some time to board everyone...…..and by now we were just desperate to get going. When the door finally closed we pulled back and headed on out to the runway...….I think we circled the entire perimeter fence of JFK!!! I swear I thought he was driving to Orlando. We could eventually see the runway we were taking off from and there seemed to be a load of planes in front of us...….this was going to take ages...…..I`m not the most patient of people at times!!!!

But eventually around 10.40 we did in fact take off...…..and it was a decent take off. Not as sharp as I would have liked being the plane was as small, but we were up in the air and waved goodbye to a very sunny New York City in the distance.

The flight itself was short. We got a drink and a snack......I got those blue chips again...….they don't really taste of much do they!! Tom watched some movie or other, and I watched Dirty Dancing...….hadn't seen it in a while...…..

It was a quick flight and before we knew where we were, we were flying over very familiar territory...…..although we hadn't actually came in this particular flight path, we could see things we recognized...…..our landing was incredibly smooth and I had said our previous landing was the best ever.....this one was better by far...….of course it`s a much smaller plane, but you barely noticed wheels down!!! Then again, we seemed to have landed in Georgia!!!! We must have done, as the pilot drove for what seemed like miles till we even got near the terminal...…….and looking out my window...….I could see black skies and lightning......yep....we had left glorious sunshine for more storms...….we did laugh though, we didn't care, we were in Orlando......and we did indeed feel we had come home again.

It may sound like we hadn't enjoyed New York, we had loved it...….but this was Orlando...…..New York we probably wouldn't visit again for a few years unless we have a special reason to go back, but Orlando we plan to visit regularly as often as possible. This felt like home. We know a lot of people here, some we have known for many years, some a few years but we are always made to feel so welcome when we are here...….I have used the phrase for many years, we are made to feel like returning family every single visit......and that's truly what it`s like for us. So, yes, we were extremely happy to be here...…..especially as it was a bonus trip!!!

Finally we made the terminal...…..we disembarked from our plane and were heading out....of course again we were among folks waiting to take off.....we always use the same gates flying to and from the UK, so this was a little different too. I had stopped off for a bathroom visit, but seeing the 20 or so women in front of me I didn't bother.....I could wait. We hopped on the newly arriving monorail and soon were swooshing towards the main building. They had told us which carousel the luggage was arriving on, but we heard someone say it would be delayed as there was lightning. Well, we`d just have to wait then...…we just had the biggest smiles on our faces!!!!

We got there almost first...….but we didn't have to wait too long as it started moving almost immediately...….and by some miracle, ours were more or less first off...…..this was fantastic!!! We avoided all the infants who were allowed to gather around the carousel itself making collecting luggage rather difficult.....but Tom got them off and we headed downstairs to the rental car area.

It had been a very pleasant experience with JetBlue!!! I would happily fly with them again.

There was only one other person in the line for Alamo, so we were taken quickly...…….we have used Alamo for many years, only once using Dollar....a mistake we wont make again. Alamo have always been fine and again we had booked direct with them instead of going through the UK company so many book with. We had booked a Premium SUV. We normally just booked standard SUV, last time we had been "upgraded" to a BMW 3 Series. We don't really care for BMW`s, and it was alright, wouldn't have one again though for free...…..we knew they had a Jaguar F Pace, so thought we would ask if they had one of them and would pay the upgrade...….we hadn`t driven one yet and wanted to see what it was like...….not that we would buy one, but wanted to see if it was fun to drive.

So he takes our booking reference and immediately comments we rent a lot from them, which we do...…..he types a few things then says he has a nice Audi for us......er no thanks...….I find their seats are like sitting on bricks...….Tom asks do they have an F Pace.....he says yes they do and potters off to speak to his manager...…..he says it`ll be an extra $200 for the week...….so we say ok we`ll take it...…..the manager types something and then apologizes and tells us they don't have one ready...….he apologizes again and says but, would you like this...…….and shows us a picture of the Maserati Levante!!!! Now he was talking of a fun car!!!! This would be a nice comparison as we are thinking of buying a Porsche Cayenne next year as a real change form our usual Mercedes...….and it was quite similar looking to this one......although this one wouldn't have as many toys......we were sure it would be fun!!!! We did both wonder if he was going to come up with a new higher price, but said he`d leave it as it was!!!!

We snapped it up in a heartbeat...…...we thought we would pay now, but he said no pay on return...…..as it turned out we were only charged an extra $114 which was a fabulous bargain!!!!

Now, Maserati are a fun car to drive......but ownership of one is something we wouldn't have as they can be notoriously unreliable......but for a week in Orlando we were whooping with joy...………………..

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So, signed sealed and agreed upon we set off to the garage to pick up our rental for the week...…..now we were even more excited!!! We love cars......and especially really nice cars like this......and we knew this would be fun...…..of course if you are not at all interested in cars beyond them getting you from A-B then this will be very unimpressive to you...….but we were happy!!!!

When we got to the garage the girl already knew which one we were picking it up as we approached her......I think the manager told her to look out for the two Brits who were grinning foolishly like demented clowns!!! Yep, she spotted us...……

She took us to the side away from the regular cars and had the keys to a white one...….but we had both spotted the black one and asked if we could have that one instead...….sure, was her reply......so she went back to get the keys for it as we inspected around it......it was cool!!!! Really cool!!!! She came back with the keys and we thanked her very much and began to load our luggage in the back and get ourselves comfortable with seats and mirrors and all things cold aircon...….

We loved this car already!!!!!!!!!!!

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And then we were off...…..and it was a decent car...….not your basic rental car at all, this thing had some power......and to be fair it did have a good few toys and gadgets to fiddle around with...….although for today we were just concentrating on getting to Sapphire Falls to begin the second part of this bonus trip.

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[schumigirl]

Oh, you have to see that one! It's fantastic. Mr. And mrs. Cratchit are played by Gene and Kathleen Lockhart. Their daughter, June Lockhart, played one of the Cratchit children, and is best known as the mom on Lassie and Lost in Space.

Thanks Andrea!!!!!

Just ordered it from Amazon...…..

Will keep it for Christmas though...……….well, I`ll try...…

Although I am banned from watching anything Christmassy this time of year anyway...…..

 

[J'aime Paris]

That car!
My DH is in the car industry, and he would love an upgrade like that!!