Wanderlust & Whimsy: Vacation

Showing posts with label Vacation. Show all posts

Confession time: I went on this cruise a month ago and I'm only posting about it now. I just couldn't be bothered to edit the images because I took so many and my problem is I always want to share them all! So sorting through them takes time. I will however say that the cruise was AMAZING!

Greg and I booked a 7 day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean using my Disney discount which meant we were lucky ducks and only had to pay half the price! But I'll admit I would have gladly paid full price because the cruise was that wonderful!

The first 2 days we actually spent at sea but it was anything but boring. We met characters, worked on our tans and we were both able to get the rest and relaxation which we so badly needed from our every day lives. After those two days we docked at our first port of call which was St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Greg and myself, along with another couple our age made the trek to Blackbeard's castle which occupied us for about 2 hours.

Along the way we visited a handful of historic houses and the Amber museum but other than that St. Thomas kind of bored us. Even Blackbeard's castle was a bit of a disappointment because it was just a small lookout tower and not a castle at all. So we made our way back to the ship to have a nap then get ready for dinner.

I'll admit the view from the top of Blackbeard's castle was beautiful but the skinny, spiral staircase that was rusted and floor boards that were rotting away scared the bajeesus out of me to climb. So we didn't stay up there long. Who knew I was so scared of heights?!

The next day we stopped in San Juan and went on a tour of the Bacardi factory & Old San Juan. At the Bacardi factory we learned the process of how they turn sugar cane into rum and they even gave us some free drinks from their bar. (We threw caution to the wind and decided having a couple of drinks at 10am was ok, we were on vacation after all!)

However my favourite part of San Juan was when we visited the Castillo de San Cristóbal. It was a huge fort that was built by the Spanish when they sailed across to the Americas. I can't help but go crazy for historical places and the history student in me was very pleased.

This is one of the few photos of Greg and I together because I'm always too shy to ask strangers to take a picture for me. Heck I didn't even ask someone to take this, instead a lady offered because she thought we should have at least one picture of us together on the trip. What a sweetheart!

Lastly we stopped at Disney's private island which is Castaway Cay, located somewhere in the Bahamas. The weather was amazing because it wasn't too hot like St. Thomas was, but it was warm enough where we weren't going to freeze while being in our bathing suits. And spending the day in our bathing suits is exactly what we did. We spent the entire day lying under a palm tree and only took breaks to eat, watch the international crab races or to go swimming in the crystal clear water. I was amazed that even at 4 feet deep you could still see the ocean floor perfectly.

Like I said before the cruise was amazing and Greg is already planning out our next one, that's how much he enjoyed it!

Other bonuses from the trip were: not getting sea sick which I was so worried I would // hearing all the disney songs the ship's horn can play // Pirate Night festivities and FINALLY getting to meet Jack Sparrow // seeing the premier of Wreck-it Ralph at the same time it was coming out in movie theatres // seeing my friend Katelyn from high school because she is a dancer in the big cruise shows // all you can eat soft-serve ice cream // trying flavours of rum I didn't even know existed // and most importantly getting to see Greg again! I missed him.

Of course I have less than 2 months left of my program so the chances of me going on another trip are slim, but 3 major trips in 1 year has been an amazing experience!

It's funny how when you are living in your home country it's a lot harder for you to go on vacations than it is when you are living in a different country. I wonder why that is?

Thoughts?

♥ Megan

Oh The Places I've Gone: Disney Cruise

by Megan on Saturday, December 15, 2012

Confession time: I went on this cruise a month ago and I'm only posting about it now. I just couldn't be bothered to edit the image...

Hey lovelies, I'm super excited to write about my trip to Disneyland because it was my first time ever visiting! The problem with growing up in Ontario is it was always cheaper for my family to fly to Florida versus California. But since I'm already in America the flight costs were cut exponentially making this trip possible. Not to mention my friends and I had been planning this trip since we first met each other back in January.

I'm also going to say that even though Disney World will always be my home, there is something extra magical about the original Disney park that I can't quite but my finger on. Maybe it's the quaint layout of the park or the tiny pink castle, but I think the part that really impressed me was knowing that this was the park that started it all and Walt had a hand in almost everything that is there.

My dream came true and I finally met Jack Skellington (!!!) I may or may not have gasped insanely loud when I first saw him from a distance and nearly gave my friend a heart attack.

Another dream of mine was to ride the Haunted Mansion when it had been taken over by the Nightmare Before Christmas. Oh Disney, you really do make dreams come true! haha

And now some good 'ole feet pictures. One while waiting to board The Matterhorn and one of all my friends standing in the exact center between Disneyland and California Adventure.

Don't let this photo fool you, I lovingly nicknamed this ride 'The Wheel of Death' because I decided riding in the moving compartment was a good idea. FALSE. It was way too scary!

This is the look Canadians make when we find a plaid shirt like the ones we wear at Epcot being sold in Carsland for $115. WHAT?! Not to mention 'Canadian plaid' as we call it was all over the place! I have an entire album on facebook dedicated to how many people were wearing it in Califorina. And that album has almost 20 pictures! Who knew we were so fashionable!?

We also lucked out by visiting in October because it meant we could see the differences in how Disneyland decorated for Halloween compared to Walt Disney World. The giant pumpkin Mickey was my favourite. He smiled on one side and winked on the other.

Other great things from this trip: eating Walt's favourite meal (meatloaf) at Carnation Cafe. So yummy, however the PB&J soda was gross! Curiosity got the better of me // seeing World of Color which is now my new favourite Disney spectacular // running into Disney characters on the street without having to wait in line // Radiator Racers! What a fantastic ride! // spending time with my merchie friends // being able to walk inside Sleeping Beauty's castle // watching the Mad T Party // Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy // running into Samuel Larson from Glee in California Adventure

And now I'll leave you with a quote that sums up this trip and my program thus far:

"I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse." - Walt Disney

♥ Megan

Oh The Places I've Gone: Disneyland Trip!

by Megan on Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Hey lovelies, I'm super excited to write about my trip to Disneyland because it was my first time ever visiting! The problem with growin...

This week I've decided to fill you in on all the fun things I've done in the past, oh... 7 months?!

I figured a good place to start was to share pictures and re-tellings of all the trips I've taken since coming to America. So up first is my spur of the moment trip to Vegas with my Norwegian friend Tom that happened all the way back in May! (yikes!)

Ever since meeting my friend Tom back in January he kept saying his one goal was to go to Vegas for his 21st birthday. I mean if you're going to turn legal in America why not go big (though turning legal is nothing new for him or I since our drinking ages are 18/19 in our respective countries)

We joked around for months about doing this (with a few of our other friends) but nothing serious came of it until one day Tom and his friend Erlend booked the trip. Well flash forward a month and Erlend left the program which left Tom with a ticket to Vegas but no one to go with. I felt bad because he wanted to go to Vegas and I didn't want him to go alone so I booked a last minute flight to Vegas and that was that.

While there we walked the strip, saw the shark exhibit at Mandalay, visited Gold & Silver Pawn shop which you might know better as the pawn shop from Pawn Stars and as a birthday present for Tom we went to see Peepshow which is Holly Madison's burlesque show. (She's the playboy bunny who was engaged to Hef)

The inside of Gold & Silver pawn amazed me because it's actually quite small inside but when you watch it on tv it looks so big. I guess that's the magic of television, however Holly Madison was just as beautiful in person as on tv so that was nice.

We also made an effort to go to LAX one night which was fun but my feet were killing me after parting til the wee hours of the morning. As for the gambling part of Vegas I didn't really partake in it because my flight had cost so much that I couldn't afford to just throw money away, but Tom did well.

We ended the trip with a visit to the top of the Eiffle tower and one last walk down the strip before we had to take our early morning flights. Even though the trip was a short one it was still nice to hang out with Tom because he ended up leaving the program to go back to school in Norway 2 weeks later. So this trip will always be a bitter-sweet memory for me, but one that was definitely a lot of fun!

Other memorable parts of the trip: watching Tom learning how to iron a shirt // "Hellz yeah" which was Tom's catchphrase the entire trip // the drinks from Coyote Ugly // the scary characters on the streets trying to make money // petting stingrays at Mandalay Bay // seeing items for sale in Gold & Silver pawn shop that were featured on the show // watching the fountains at The Bellagio and the Siren show at Treasure Island // Tom's birthday

♥ Megan

Oh The Places I've Gone: Vegas

by Megan on Monday, December 10, 2012

This week I've decided to fill you in on all the fun things I've done in the past, oh... 7 months?! I figured a good place to star...

blog lovelymissmegs megs florida trip universal studios shrek simpsons

The man on the left was turning 88 and had so much spunk! He was actually more entertaining and hilarious than the Beetlejuice show.

With Shrek and Fiona

Donkey harassed Greg for having not yet proposed to me after 2.5 years of dating. He said he was 5 months past the puppy love stage and had no excuse! I got quite a laugh out of it!

Some creepy guy outside The Mummy ride and our creations using the Coca-Cola Freestyle machine. Greg was confused as to why I was taking pictures of the drinks and why I was so excited for them

AAAH! Jaws!

Saturday was our final day of fun in Florida, so we went to Universal Studios. In my opinion this park was much better than Island of Adventure because there was more to do and it had more personality. It reminded me of Disney Hollywood Studios except without the improv actors running around.

The park itself was insanely dead which was awesome because we could ride the popular rides more than once without having to wait. I personally enjoyed The Mummy indoor roller coaster, especially since it made Greg's hair look like a mad scientist's afterwards. The ceiling lighting on fire was super cool too!

We then went on the Jaws ride where I got squished by 3 huge manly looking guys. When Jaws popped up beside them on the boat the guy on the far side of the bench flailed and jumped to the right which made the other two guys do the same, resulting in little squished me. It was HILARIOUS!! Especially since I'm someone who gets startled super easily and even I didn't jump.

Oh and one of the coolest parts of the day for me (which I know most people won't find exciting) was getting to use the Coca-cola freestyle machine!! I had seen it on tv where they demonstrated how you used it and how you could make hundreds of different drinks just by mixing a handful of coke products! I made a peach and cherry flavoured sprite and Greg made a raspberry lemonade/ lime Fanta mix. Hence why his was a gross brown colour. They were both delicious though!

At the end of the day, once we had pretty much done everything at the park Greg and I decided to take a taxi home instead of waiting the shuttle... what a mistake that was.

Our first taxi driver told us when we got in that it was his first day and that he wasn't super familiar with all the streets yet so we would have to bear with him. Then once we actually got to the exit of Universal he asks us for step by step directions to our hotel. Um, sorry Mister, but I've been there for 3 days and it's been a different way to the hotel every time. I'm not from around here, so I have no idea. I am not a gps.

We told him the exact address of our hotel and the closest street and businesses but he still had no idea. 20 minutes later he pulls into a parking lot then calls dispatch to try and get directions, but does he talk to them? Nooo. He makes ME talk to dispatch! What the!?!

Now I'm not one to lose my temper and I try not to let things like this get me down, but I was getting flustered and he still had the meter running. So I asked him to take us back to Universal since he knew how to get there. That taxi cost us $10. I know we shouldn't have had to pay but we felt really bad for him and he apologized numerous times so we didn't mind.

When we got back to Universal we looked at the clock and noticed it was still 2 hours before the shuttle would get there. So we decided we would take our chances and try another taxi. Again... what a bad idea that was.

Before we even got in the taxi I told the driver our hotel name and address where we need to go and specifically asked him if he knew where that was before we got in. He said he knew where it was which was great. Greg and I were so relieved. Once in the car I reiterated the address of our hotel just to make sure he knew, since there were 2 Hampton's fairly close to each other.

Well, apparently he didn't listen because he pulled up to the other Hampton instead. I told him politely that it wasn't our hotel and reiterated the address for a third time. However instead of apologizing for mishearing me he proceeds to YELL at me because this is all my fault. He yelled at me for a good 5 minutes, like the kind of yelling you do at the top of your lungs when you really hate someone.

So I told him to drop us off and we would find our way back to the other Hampton, but he wouldn't let us go because he wanted our business. So he begrudgingly drove us to our real hotel. Then when we were about to leave the taxi he lectured me again saying I need to tell people the address of the hotel not just the name. So I just politely apologized and got out of the taxi as fast as I could.

Oi. Orlando taxi drivers. I had never been so stressed or had such bad luck with taxis in my life! It was a horrible way to end the vacation :(

To de-stress Greg and I grabbed some food, got in our pjs and cuddled up and watched tv for a bit before heading off to bed early for our 4am wakeup the next day to catch our plane. It was a bitter-sweet ending to our trip, but in the end the good memories were what made it an awesome trip!

I hope you all enjoyed my vacation story :)

Florida Pt 3: Universal Studios

by Megan on Thursday, June 23, 2011

The man on the left was turning 88 and had so much spunk! He was actually more entertaining and hilarious than the Beetlejuice show. With ...

blog lovelymissmegs megs florida trip disney world magic kingdom

I love all the colourful characters!

Greg being pulled into an improv skit

My outfit for the day, my new bag I bought at Target, and Fozzy Bear!

Greg, maker of silly faces. The one on the left is his Beaker from the Muppets impression

The picture on the right was too funny not to post

Inside the Buzz Lightyear Star Command ride where you shoot aliens... Greg kicked my ass

Waiting in the rain for the parade

Fireworks!!

Day 2, Greg and I decided to go to Disney. First we started at Hollywood Studios, then halfway through the day travelled over to Magic Kingdom.

I've always been a Disney girl, so this was my favourite day out of all of them I think. There's just something about Disney that really is magical, not to sound cliche or anything. But if I can spend 12 hours walking around in super hot weather all day and not even notice then that is magical.

I think it's because Disney has so much to do at their parks though. Whether it's rides, shows or odd characters pulling you into their stories on the side of the road. As was the case with Greg who was used as a prop by a "big hollywood star" who was learning how to be a cop and properly arrest someone in his next big movie. Even I got sucked into it at one point and I was giggling the whole time.

Later that day as we walked around the park, I realized even though I had been to the park twice before, I'd never actually gone to Tomorrowland. So that was something new and exciting for me. The kid in me perked right up as I got to go on new rides and see new shows (Monster's Inc Laugh Floor is hilarious!)

Around 6pm the extreme Florida heat started to cool a bit and the wind was blowing like crazy. Then an hour later it started to pour. Go figure that was the day I decided to wear a white shirt and leave my umbrella in the hotel. Oh well. No harm came of it and I actually enjoyed the rain. It made line-ups for everything much shorter and it was a nice way to cool down. The rain didn't stop anyone either. There was a dj in Tomorrowland cranking out top 40 songs and people both young and old were having a huge dance party in the open area. It was such an amazing sight!

By 9pm we had found our place along the curb for the electrical parade only to have it cancelled due to rain, so Greg and I grabbed some dinner then went back out to watch the fireworks which luckily were able to happen because the rain had stopped.

I seriously love Disneyworld, and I'm really hoping I get hired to work for their year long cultural exchange program. Applications start next week! Speaking of which while we were at Magic Kingdom we went on a search for my friend Kathryn who is there for the summer job program but we had no luck finding her. :(

What's your favourite thing to do at Disneyworld/land?

Florida Pt 2: Disney!

by Megan on Wednesday, June 22, 2011

I love all the colourful characters! Greg being pulled into an improv skit My outfit for the day, my new bag I bought at Target, and Fozzy...

blog lovelymissmegs megs florida trip harry potter wizarding world of harry potter hogwarts hogsmead

They had lots of cool speech bubbles in the comic part of Universal's Island of Adventures

The first thing we did when we got to The Wizarding World was buy butterbeer. YUM!

A shot of Hogwarts and the sign post

Inside Honeydukes! So many cool sweets!

Pumpkin Juice is like crack to me. I am ADDICTED! It tastes like pumpkin pie but in juice form! This was taken while we were waiting in line to go into Olivanders, which you can see on the right.

Oh Man! My trip to Florida was SO much fun!

The first day we got to there we went to Downtown Disney, grabbed some dinner then headed back to the hotel because my stomach was hurting. Curse you tummy for having select lactose intolerance! We managed to make it to Target though, because no trip to the states is complete without going to Target!

The next day we got up early and took the shuttle to Universal's Island of Adventure! We walked through the Marvel and comic strip section of the theme park first and went on all the cool rides after only waiting an average of 10 minutes each. I was amazed at how dead it was and how short the lines were. Greg also convinced me to go on the Dudley Do-Right ride by telling me that I would only get a little wet. One log ride later and I was DRENCHED from head to toe. Thanks Greg :P

After a quick trek through Jurassic Park we made our way across the bridge to Hogwarts and had our first ever butterbeer!!! It tasted exactly how I had always imagined, only better. The slight fizziness isn't too overpowering and the caramel foam/whipped topping they put on top is heavenly. I wish they sold it in some type of container to take home with you but it just wouldn't be the same if they did.

I'm not lying when I say we spent half our day in the Harry Potter section sampling wizarding treats, going on awesome rides and buying some awesome HP swag. (Yup, I totally bought a scarf, wand, and 5 bottles of pumpkin juice to bring home for me, my mom and my sisters to drink)

The only downside to the day was that our shuttle dropped us off at the park at 9am but didn't come back to get you until 7pm. That's a crazy long day to spend walking around in the sun, so by 5pm Greg and I were dying. There wasn't overly much to do in that theme park other than Harry Potter World which was a bit disappointing as it was my first ever trip to Universal. But we somehow managed to kill time until our bus came.

We lugged our sunburnt bodies back to our room and collapsed on the bed in the comfort of air conditioning. It was so nice to be out of the sun and heat. However that was short lived when the fire alarm in the hotel went off 30 minutes later. Hence the picture I posted on Friday :) The Orlando Fire Department came rushing into the hotel and 45 minutes later we were allowed to go back in.

Needless to say it was an early night for the both Greg and I :)

Stay tuned for Pt. 2 of my trip tomorrow!

Florida Pt 1: Wizarding World of Harry Potter

by Megan on Tuesday, June 21, 2011

They had lots of cool speech bubbles in the comic part of Universal's Island of Adventures The first thing we did when we got to The Wi...

Oh The Places I've Gone: Disney Cruise

Oh The Places I've Gone: Disneyland Trip!

Oh The Places I've Gone: Vegas

Florida Pt 3: Universal Studios

Florida Pt 2: Disney!

Florida Pt 1: Wizarding World of Harry Potter

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