A Dose Of Disney - Animal Kingdom

If you read my blog often you know how much I love zoos. Animal Kingdom is like a big zoo but the main attraction now seems to be the Avatar ride. It's new and its reputation has grown. Early on we began trying to figure out how to fit it into our day but as Touring.com indicated there was never a wait time less than two hours. And Fastpasses--gobbled up long ago.

Still my husband and son would not be denied. So when we got through the gate as the park opened the two hustled off to the Avatar ride. By the time they got there the line wait was already two and a half hours. The rest of us set off for the safari ride which used to be the big ride in AK.

The kids were duly impressed with the safari ride although it was a lot bumpier than I remember. Some of the animals came up really close to the jeep we were in. This ride is very much like the real safari we were on except that the more dangerous animals are in exhibits that have a large "moat" to keep them away from the jeeps full of people although from the jeep you can't tell that anything separates you from those lions sunning themselves.

We enjoyed It's Tough To Be A Bug on a Fastpass. The 3-D is fun as are all the other effects that are tossed in. I think even our 12 y/o was impressed.

Throughout the morning the guys kept us updated on their progress in line. As they got nearer, there was a lot to see of the Pandora landscape--none of which Bob would recognize since he hadn't seen the movie.

I ended up at the petting zoo with two of the kids while the older ones went on the Primeval Whirl. When we were done petting goats (the sheep couldn't be coaxed out into the petting area) we explored the nature center there and got to meet Rafiki.

It was nearing noon and there was a nice quiet area near the Petting Zoo with tables and benches. Since the two Avatar guys were just off the ride, I suggested we all meet there for lunch. It took a while to gather together but it was a nice lunch and everyone really enjoyed the Subways.

We mostly explored Dinoland, played in the playground area, dug for bones, and rode the Primeval Whirl once or twice again as well as the Triceratop Spin (a lot like the Dumbo ride). We had a Fastpass for the Dinosaur ride and four people got to ride twice since Bob had gotten the eight passes and not everyone could go.

Dinner was at the Rainforest Restaurant which is really not in the park but just outside it. You have to be sure you have your passes with you to reenter although there is no security to go through a second time. I think we all enjoyed our meals. I know I enjoyed my fish and chips. The kids loved seeing it storm inside a few times and watched the animals come alive.

After dinner Bob had Fastpasses for Expedition Everest. During dinner our 12 y/o grandson explained in detail, twice,  every twist and turn and backwards movement. He'd experienced the whole ride over and over on YouTube. He still didn't convince me. The ones who didn't ride a second time came with me and we found seats for the Rivers of Light show.

It was a little difficult for them to find us but they did and we were all together as the program started. I think we all enjoyed it as much as we had the Epcot fireworks even though there were no fireworks. Fountains of colorful water danced from large floating lotus flowers and several lighted floats that were animals weaved between them. The music was soothing and beautiful and the tower of flames toward the end added a little more excitement.

Pandora

As we filed out, Bob was reminded that he'd promised ice cream bars since we didn't want to fill up on desserts before the roller coaster ride on Everest. We got the bars and began a leisurely walk toward the entrance of the park and our car. Mom and Dad decided to take the kids into one of the souvenir shops and let them pick out a souvenir. They were ecstatic! It was a big decision and took a while but Bob and I sat outside and enjoyed the night, the gentle breeze and reminisced about the day.

Oh, the Avatar ride? He said he wouldn't wait three hours again to ride it but it was interesting.

A Dose Of Disney - Hollywood Studios

If it were not for the Star Wars themed areas of Hollywood Studios I would have preferred to pass this park up. We had too many Star Wars fans in the group--even the 3 y/o who wanted to meet Darth Vader. So we included this one in our plans. Once we had the three day passes, it was only $20 to add the fourth park.

The first must-ride on the list was the Rock N Roller roller coaster. It's a favorite of my husband's. It takes off quickly accelerating from 0 to 57 mph in 2.8 minutes. The girls all decided they didn't want to ride it. So while we waited for the rest of the group, we walked over to the Animation Courtyard and slipped into the Voyage of the Little Mermaid. It was a stage production that featured large puppets manipulated by puppeteers dressed all in black. It took a few moments for me to realize that. Everyone was excited when we it began raining on us as we "dove" under the sea.

Once out of the Mermaid show, we walked back to the roller coaster but found that they were still waiting to ride. We stood for a few minutes watching the Tower Of Terror and decided it wasn't for us. I rode it once in the past and that was enough. The long hair of the girl in front of me was straight up as we dropped not once but twice. No thanks.

Most of the things around us on Sunset Boulevard were shops and snack places. As we explored over the rest of the day that seemed to be what the majority of the park was. I had been eyeing the large soft Mickey pretzels for two days and I thought this would be a good time to get one. It was large enough to split with the three girls. I went to the stand and ordered one. The girl at the cash register handed me a pretzel and packet of cheese and as I was paying for it, the man behind her reached in the case and pulled out another--"for the little princesses." Amazing generosity. We thoroughly enjoyed our treat.

As we headed off to the Star Wars ride, we stopped to wait for a group of Stormtroopers to pass by. Our youngest and I found a spot to sit on some high chairs at an outdoor snack place across from the Star Wars ride to wait. We were treated to a training session of the young Jedis. It held her attention and really wowed her when lo and behold, Darth Vader entered from a cave in the wall. Boy was she going to have a story to tell.

We did several other rides but were not going to wait for some of the more popular. We did get a Fastpass to Beauty and the Beast which was a nice production but didn't thrill our 12 y/o grandson. Later we got into see the Indiana Jones stunt show. His response to that: "Sure beats Beauty and the Beast."

Dinner was at Mama Melrose and was delicious. The kids had special dinners and were delighted to have a Spaghetti Cupcake for dessert. The icing was piped to look like spaghetti and the sauce was strawberry. The meatball? Chocolate, of course!

The evening program, Fantasmic, was not much different than what we'd seen a few years ago. The original was quite entertaining with dancing brooms and happy characters but over the years they have changed it from Mickey's imagination dream to his nightmare staring all the villains from their movies. It gets dark and intense for the little ones and I don't find it as charming as the original.

Bob had heard from someone that the Star Wars Gallactica fireworks were not to be missed so after Fantasmic was done, we hustled to find a spot in front of the replica Chinese Grauman Theater. Our little one was falling asleep in Mom's arms so she and I opted to find a park bench nearby where she could sit and hold her. We could still see some of the program which was pretty much a promo for Star Wars movies projected on the theater. The only exciting part was at one point where several fireworks fired from the ground like fountains around the assembled crowd. I don't think any of us were terribly impressed.

There are several more rides being built in Hollywood which may make it a bit more interesting. The kids were not impressed with the street venues as actors portrayed various people from Hollywood Studios. That was a bit more adult and usually over their heads.

Star Wars, Stormtroopers and Darth Vader all checked off the list, we headed back to the house with a stop at Subway for the next day's sandwiches.

A Dose Of Disney - Epcot

Our second day started out bright and early again. The entrance to Epcot went a little smoother as we were falling into a routine. Those without bags went one way and those with another, and had them checked by security.

"Looks like good stuff in there," the security person said.

"Only the best--peanut butter and jelly," I answered and he chuckled.

Our plan was to head to The Land first and ride Soarin' which is a popular ride, usually with a long wait. But all plans were laid aside as we passed the character set where you could meet Mickey, Goofy and Minnie. The line was very short and we knew it would grow. Grandpa sighed. I reassured him it would all work out in the end.

And it did. Soarin' did not have a terribly long line and while the older ones did that, the 3 y/o and I watched a movie about saving our natural world. Afterwards we all rode the boat through The Land and enjoyed the innovations that always seem to be changing.

Talking to Crush and seeing the sights with Nemo are a couple of favorites. I still cannot figure out how Crush sees and reacts and carries on a conversation as if he were real. Magic.

Of course a visit to Epcot isn't complete without a ride on the Test Track and now, with three young girls, a visit to Norway where the new ride Frozen has opened and you can meet the two sisters from the film. The character visit took a while but the guys filled the time with a ride in the nearby Mexican pavilion. The Frozen ride was quite a long wait for all of us and our young one especially. She was getting tired. Eventually we made it to the ride and enjoyed it.


There were other things to see and explore and among them was one of the places our grandson had researched and wanted to see. It's called Club Cool and is near the Imagination ride. Sponsored by Coca Cola, it is full of Coke merchandise as well as several fountains of drinks from around the world that you can sample for free. Needless to say, the floor was a bit sticky with kids excitedly sampling as much as Mom and Dad would let them.


The only dinner reservation Bob could find in Epcot was at the Chinese restaurant, Nine Dragons and was at 4:15. While it seemed a bit early by the time we were all settled and served, it was dinner time. The kids enjoyed the white rice and pot stickers but I don't think the adults enjoyed their meals as much. Our fried rice was bland and had a lot of chicken that didn't seem to have any flavor.

After dinner we strolled around a bit waiting on the evening fireworks show. My daughter-in-law and I went to a stand to get some coffee and the kids followed us. When the fellow in the stand saw four kids, he asked if they could have ice cream. I figured he would give them each a small sample. He actually gave them each a cup full of soft serve. We thought he might be trying to empty his machine to close up shop. Still, it was a nice gesture and we appreciated it.

Norway-That's real grass on the roof.

Ice cream consumed, we moved on around the lake and found the Fastpass entrance where we would go to watch the fireworks. There is a large area roped off where those who are able to get a Fastpass can watch the festivities. It was great. It sloped gently so it was a little easier to see over heads if you stayed at the very top of the hill. (We didn't get there soon enough to get a front row spot.)

I think we all agreed that the Epcot fireworks were much more spectacular than the Magic Kingdom had been. All, that is except the one in the stroller who actually slept through the whole noisy show. Well, we figured she would have a head start on the rest of us for the next day.

Wordless Wednesday

A Dose Of Disney - The Magic Kingdom

Backpacks full of sandwiches, snacks, and small water bottles, we made it out to the van and onto the road only a few minutes past our planned time of departure. We didn't want to be too late this first day in case there was any problem in getting our tickets validated.

The kids could hardly contain themselves as we drove to Disney World and when they caught the first glimpse of the huge welcome-to-Disney signs they went crazy with excitement.



We were able to park close enough to the transportation center to walk and then get our tickets validated. The plastic cards from AAA were replaced with Disney cards. The process didn't take nearly as long as going through the security check for our bags. Security is not only looking for weapons, they are also on the lookout for selfie sticks which are banned. There is a list of things that are not allowed into the park on the Disney website.

Next step was to catch a ride from the transportation area to the Magic Kingdom theme park. There are two favorite choices--the ferry or the monorail. We chose the monorail and reminisced about the ride our kids took when they were young.

Once at the Magic Kingdom entrance we used our "magic" cards to enter. Disney still uses a fingerprint validation along with the card. We warned the kids to try to remember which finger they used. The system works a lot better than it used to. We planned our first day for the Magic Kingdom because it is iconic Disney and the place the kids first think of when you mention Disney World. It was a good choice.

While the rides didn't begin until nine, we were still able to enter around 8:30 and begin our plan for the day. It didn't take long though for us to change it up. You can't let a three year old pass up one of the rides she most wants to do. While the rest of the group went on to the Seven Dwarfs ride, I rode Dumbo with her.

The day went pretty smoothly and I believe we rode all of the rides that were priorities. We missed a few favorites of ours because lines were just too long and there was not enough time in the day. The afternoon parade was still a great break in the day but it was disappointing to know that there was no evening light parade.

A highlight (other than watching the 3 y/o grin ear to ear on the Carousel) was our dinner at the Liberty Tavern. It is one price per person and a set menu. The meal is served family style and there was more than enough to go around, including dessert. We were out of the chaos of the people traffic in the park and didn't feel rushed to finish.

The evening was capped with the fireworks show at the castle. The fireworks were good but I thought projecting the characters and videos on the castle was a bit unimaginative--and, well, ugly. Tinkerbelle still slides down the wire through the center of the main street area and as she does the trees light up as if she's spread fairy dust. Now that was magical.

A Dose Of Disney - The Plans

Two of our Florida grandkids had never been to Disney World and the other two were so little they couldn't remember much. What better reason to plan a visit to Disney? We started planning a little before Christmas by making a reservation for a house near the park where all eight of us could stay together. We had done that in the past when we took all our kids and grandkids to the park and it worked out well and was a lot more economical than staying in the park even at one of the low end resorts.

The problem for planning came in the purchase of tickets however. I knew from experience that Disney always ran a special for Florida residents in January that was even less that the usual resident ticket and so we waited to purchase our tickets until the first week in January. Tickets were available for purchase through AAA and that allowed us to get the ticket numbers we needed to make any reservations and Fastpasses. (A Fastpass is a scheduled time for you to get in line and bypass the longer line of standbys. It doesn't guarantee you won't have a line but you won't wait as long. You are allowed three/day.) While we got a great deal on four days for our six Florida residents our out-of-state tickets were twice as much. I guess that meant we needed to have twice as much fun.

Our master planner, Grandpa, began by subscribing to TouringPlans.com for $14.95. The subscription is good for a year and gives you projections on crowds in each park for a given date, touring plans to use your time most efficiently and at the park, wait times in line. We asked each child to tell us their top three attractions they absolutely needed to ride and used that to begin planning each day at the individual parks.

There is a park hopper ticket that costs a little more and allows you to visit more than one park in a day. The only reason I could see you doing that is if you tried to optimize your chances of riding some of the more popular rides in the parks and could go from one to the other either early in the morning or late in the evening to catch a shorter line. No matter how we tried to schedule the new Avatar ride, the wait was never less than two hours. Fastpasses are impossible to get unless you apply for them 30-60 days out from the day of your visit. We were just two week ahead of our visit.

Dinner reservations were a bit tricky as well. We ended up with only two that were actually at a dinner hour. The other two were at 3:30 and 4:15. Those are also gobbled up 30-60 days out.

Bob finished the plans and emailed them to the kids for their approval. A week later, plans transferred to phones, a van rented that could seat all eight of us and still hold all the luggage, we drove the four hours north to the house we had rented for the week. The adventure was about to begin.

Through My Lens - Caribbean Skies

Cruising The Caribbean - The Holidays At Sea

Spending the holidays on a cruise is not for everyone but we enjoy it once in a while. There was no stress decorating or last minute shopping for things for dinner or to wrap and put under a tree. We do take lights with us though that Bob strings around the mirror in the room and/or the window if we have one. (We bought LEDs so they don't get hot.) And we have a door decoration that we hang on our stateroom door (hung with the sticky putty that doesn't leave a mark).

Our two weeks aboard the Neiuw Amsterdam was spent cruising the Eastern and Western Caribbean. Christmas Eve day we spent enjoying the sunshine and water at HAL's private island, Half Moon Cay. Christmas Day was spent at sea but we enjoyed a special dinner and of course the caroling and activities that surrounded the arrival of Santa.

We didn't quite make it to the midnight service on Christmas Eve. We were really tired and had enjoyed the performances of several choirs made up of crew members and considered that our "midnight" celebration. Christmas morning offered another opportunity for attending church service and we enjoyed it much more being awake.

Several highlights along the way were watching the welcoming committee at Cozumel in their colorful costumes. Later in the evening on the open back deck a mariachi band performed for us.

The sail-in to San Juan, Puerto Rico is always spectacular. The ship sails past the old fort, San Felipe and gives you a fantastic view of the fort as you enter the port of Old San Juan. The ship docks right by the old town and there is a great opportunity to explore the area without having to go too far. We didn't do much exploring this time but did try to see if we could figure out things that may have been damaged by the hurricanes. Where our ship was, everything seemed to be okay but we knew that not that far away many were still suffering the effects of the storm. Hopefully the ships being there were adding some relief to the economy.

In Jamaica Bob had booked us a day pass at a resort not far from where our ship docked in Montego Bay. It was a nice day off the ship and enjoying the small beach area at the resort. It also included a buffet lunch. It wasn't the kind of place I'd want to spend a lot of time but for a day, it was nice.

By the end of the cruise decorations were disappearing, being stored away for another year. The good news was that except for two strings of lights and a small door decoration, we didn't have anything else to pack up.

It was time to move on to Key Largo but it was a bit of a cool reception. The cold front that was freezing out the north and much of the south had arrived. It would be a while before we could shed sweaters and long sleeves.

Wordless Wednesday

Cruising The Caribbean - Changing Ships

Cruise lines have started something that has made it very convenient for us with some of our travel arrangements. If you are able to carry off your own luggage you can exit the ship early in the morning. The early morning window of time worked out well for us and we exited the ship right after breakfast. We made the phone call for our parking garage shuttle pick up and hoped that we wouldn't have to wait too long.

To our surprise our ride was there quickly and we were soon on our way to the Miami parking garage to pick up our car. Smoothly and quickly we were on our way. We needed to go to my son's house and get my new contact lens that my eye doctor had sent before continuing on to our next ship and setting sail.

Contacts in hand, hugs from all the grandkids and we were on our way to Fort Lauderdale to board our ship for our next cruise. This one would be a holiday cruise and include Christmas and New Year's. We chose Holland America because it had been our experience that they decorated the ships enough to make it truly feel like the holidays.

We parked at the cruise side of Park N Fly located between the airport and the cruise port and within minutes, we were shuttled to the Nieuw Amsterdam. Embarkation was smooth but I think that was partly due to the fact that we were a little later than usual in arriving. We weren't all that hungry so we
went about booking our specialty restaurants and the spa thermal room for Bob. After a quick light lunch, we sought out our stateroom and found it to be clean and in good order.

The rest of the afternoon we spent looking over the ship and acquainting ourselves with the changes that had been made. The Nieuw Amsterdam had just come out of dry dock a week ago where they had refurbished much of the ship. The smell of new carpeting was strong and as I watched the carpet pil as new carpet does, I was thankful I didn't have to be the one to keep running the vacuum.

Some of the changes looked nice others I thought had taken some of the old world charm away and replaced it with more sleek modern looking furniture and decorations. But the Christmas decorations were throughout the ship and Christmas was only a day away.

Cruising The Caribbean - Norwegian Escape

Several of our stops for the three weeks that we would be cruising were rearranged because of Irma but for the most part our ports were still a go. What I didn't expect was the weather to keep us out. Our seven days on the Norwegian Escape started with a day at sea to be followed by a stop in Falmouth, Jamaica.

Our second morning we arose to see Jamaica before us but, just like a plane waiting to land, our ship seemed to be in a holding pattern. Sure enough, the captain came on the PA and announced that we would not be going into port. The windy conditions and the direction of the winds would not allow large ships to safely enter. He was followed by the cruise director cheerfully assuring everyone of another relaxing day at sea.

The difficult part of having a relaxing sea day we discovered was trying to find a quiet place to relax other than in our room. The ship is laid out almost specifically to keep people in the areas of activity and of course spending. Unlike many other ships where people finally begin to disperse and the crowding of the first day lessens because people tend to find niches and different areas of interest.

It took a while but we discovered the Waterfront area of the ship. Probably its greatest asset at least where we were concerned. The promenade deck is laced with most of the specialty restaurants and they have seating areas outside for when the weather allows. Between the restaurants and bars there are lounge chairs--comfy couches and chairs with lots of padding. And for the most part, it was quiet.

At Grand Cayman we chose not to go ashore. It was an opportunity to take advantage of the pool area and the slides without all the kids around. Bob enjoyed the slide that drops you straight down and then around. He ran out of time to go on the rope course though.

Throughout the week, we found more things to like about the Escape. Our room service did not improve though. It was never serviced until late in the afternoon. The food however even though restaurant service in the main dining was slow was always hot and delicious. The specialty restaurants were excellent. We enjoyed one night dining out with the Brazilian style steakhouse where the grilled meats come to your table on a huge rod and is sliced onto your plate. Another great meal at the French restaurant and a pretty good meal at the Italian as well.

A sunny day at the private beach was a welcome getaway from ship noise. When it got crowded, we ate and went back to the ship.

Evening entertainment was a bit of a hassle to reserve but as the week went on, we discovered that standby usually got you in anyway. Probably the night we enjoyed the most was the dinner theater with a singing quartet. Food was good, music and personalities were fun and enjoyable. Stage productions were great as well in the main theater especially "After Midnight" which was a jazz revue that paid homage to the Cotton Club.

While our stateroom may not have been serviced at convenient times, there was always a towel animal each night. And while I enjoyed the animals, we ended up with a zoo by the time the cruise was over. They never went away. Of course if you read my posts often, you know I love zoos.

Cruising the Caribbean - Norwegian Escape

When you open the door to your stateroom the first day of your cruise you expect everything to be orderly and sparkling clean. There was only one time I ever remember opening a door and not finding a clean stateroom and that was on a Chinese riverboat on the Yangtze when they gave us the key to a storage room full of cleaning supplies instead of our stateroom. Correction made quickly and we laughed about the whole thing.

Now I'm not a terribly clean freak or germ phobe but I do expect that the room I'm going to stay in, the bed I'm going to sleep in and the bathroom I'm going to use are as clean as possible from those just using it a few hours before our arrival. From what I understand, each cruise line has a crew from shore that comes aboard and helps with the turnaround so that it is done quickly and efficiently. 'Nuf said. Here's what happened.

I set down my back pack and began to look around. There were a few suspicious dents in the bed near the pillows that were a bit disarranged. Someone had obviously sat there after the bed was made. I immediately checked out the bathroom which seemed to be okay thank goodness.

On the sofa there were two beach towels just tossed there and the pillows again looked like they'd recently been sat against. Certainly not the neat fluff and position you would expect to make a good first impression. When I sat down and looked across at the mirror I saw two big smudges. Not the kind caused by the swipe of a cleaning cloth.

Just as I was deciding what we should do. A knock on the door came and when Bob opened it a small woman with black hair and steward uniform rushed in mumbling something and apologizing. She had a cleaning rag in her hand and hurriedly began to wipe surfaces.

Okay, so maybe not all the rooms were clean. We set our backpacks on the top shelf of the closet and said we'd let her do her work and we'd be back. I guess she expected to clean that whole room with just that one rag because there was nothing in the hallway to indicate she was going to use other equipment.

When we returned, the room did look better but over the next couple of days we still found pieces of trash here and there that had been left untouched. I know. We should have complained. If I had it to do over again I would. Now, with time to think about it, it truly was unacceptable. After all the horror stories about Noro virus you would think the standard would be raised for the turnaround days to keep things as clean as possible. So--maybe I am a little bit of a germaphobe.

Cruising The Caribbean - Norwegian Escape

Over the rest of December, 2017, after our return from the river cruising my husband (the travel agent of the family) had planned two cruises in the Caribbean. The first left from Miami, the Norwegian Escape. This was only our second time to cruise with Norwegian. We had taken a short cruise a couple of years earlier on the Norwegian Sun and enjoyed it so we thought we would give Norwegian another try.

The Escape was newer and larger than the Sun holding over 4200 passengers plus crew. Embarkation was a bit hectic but always expected. There are few times when you board for a cruise that there isn't a wait or crowds or lines. Because we were so close to the holidays, there were more kids than usual which always adds to the energy and noise level but certainly makes the cruise more entertaining. (If you want a cruise with no kids, chose a time that is not near school vacations, that is a longer duration and farther away than the Caribbean or Mexican Riviera.)

What followed our boarding though did not get us off to a good start. As expected, our rooms would not be ready until afternoon. That is normal procedure for most ships. Usually we would head to a place to eat lunch--preferably the hamburger place or a pizza stop on the ship, out of the busy bustling buffet. Before doing that though, we though it would be a good idea to get our reservations in at the specialty restaurants. That's where the chaos began.

Lines were long and crowded into a small space. We managed to finally get a dining package that gave us three specialty restaurants (there were at least eight to choose from) and find reasonable times to schedule our dinners.

Always looking for a bigger TV.

Seeing the chaos at the dinner reservations line, we thought we'd better check out the spa quickly. Bob likes the thermo packages that many ships offer and often there is a limited number. We did the required tour and asked about the package. It was quite pricey and he decided to pass for this one week voyage.

Lunch--finally. But we had to eat in the buffet as we didn't find a quiet place anywhere else. I would soon learn that a quiet place was an oxymoron on this ship.

Ah, but the announcement came that our rooms were ready. Anxious to get rid of the backpacks we were carrying, we headed for our room. I had already given myself a pep talk about the room. After the upgrade to a suite on the riverboat, I knew this was not going to be as luxurious as that. What followed after we opened our stateroom door though was thoroughly not expected.

Wordless Wednesday

Filling The Days Between Cruising

What do you do with three days between cruises? Laundry and a zoo visit with grandkids! But not all on the same day.

It's been a while since I've done laundry in a coin-op laundromat but we managed to find our way through one in Homestead where we were staying. The hotel had a laundry but with only one machine and on a different floor it would have made the whole operation a lot harder.

One of our three off days, we met with grandkids at the Miami Zoo. Our son joined us for a fun day which worked out well. Extra peddle power for the bicycle cart the kids delight in.

Our first stop was the tiger exhibit where a playful tiger was crouched just like a playful kitty cat, his tail end in the air, expectantly waiting for a toss of fresh meat his direction. The staffer that was there to toss the meat and answer questions from zoo guests gave us a little background on the tiger and then proceeded to explain that the meat was horse meat. I missed where it came from but my grandson didn't miss the fact that it was horse meat and his little sister loves ponys.

After several attempts to upset her with the news, he finally gave up. Apparently ponys didn't equate with horse meat in her mind--thank goodness!!

It's always a joy to be with these kids. They are quite inventive and funny. I hoped the entertainment on the cruises ahead of us would be as good.

Cruising The Danube - Oh, The Food!

Our morning on the last day of the cruise was spent visiting the Schonbrunn Palace Zoo (or the Vienna Zoo--whichever you want to call it). While the sun kept peeking out from between the clouds, it was still chilly, enough to want a bowl of soup. On our earlier trip to the Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market I had seen soup in a bread bowl. It was a good reason to return.

For a carbohydrate "addict" a bowl of bread sounded perfect. Add to it a potato soup that was delicious and all was heavenly. To my surprise the bowl did not leak. Instead the soup kind of soaked into it a bit but not so much to make it real soggy. The stand where we purchased them offered real tablespoons to eat it with and we walked a little bit away to a table to stand and eat it.

Just a note: There were no tables with chairs at the markets. The tables were all chest high except for a few just a bit shorter for kids. So if you are person who needs to sit a spell after a long walk around the market, you need to be prepared to go into a cafe.

We pretty much cleaned up our bread bowl of soup and felt more than satisfied. We returned the spoons and I wondered how well that kind of trust would work back home. Would people return them or throw them out with their trash?

It was still early afternoon but we had packing to do and one more excursion in the evening so we headed back on the subway. Later, all bags packed and stored with just enough clothes left out to get us through our dinner excursion and the morning trip to the airport, we relaxed with some coffee and tried to refrain from eating anything with it. Coming up was a Michelin dinner (no it's not at a tire store) that we didn't want to spoil.

That evening, four buses awaited our departure for four different Michelin star restaurants in the city.
We had our choice and had picked the one we thought from the menu we would enjoy the most. We had no idea what to expect. We'd never eaten at a Michelin restaurant--at least not that we knew of.
So what's the deal with Michelin stars?

To my surprise, the Michelin stars awarded restaurants do have something to do with tires. The Michelin tire company (yes, the one with the Michelin man) is based in France. Not only known for its tires, it also publishes travel guides and road maps. It all began in 1900, just 11 years after brothers, Andre and Eduord, started their tire business. They were clever fellows. They figured if they encouraged people to drive more, they would need to buy more tires as they wore the old ones out.

Their guides expanded to include most of Europe and their one star rating rose to three stars. One star is superb, a second star is greater and the third means it's a destination place to go to dine. The inspectors, chefs themselves, who travel to the restaurants to rate them are trained and remain anonymous (for obvious reasons). They may return several times to be sure the quality of the chef's product is award winning. And it is mostly about the chef and how he/she chooses ingredients, creates his dishes and presents them.

While the chef is important, it is the restaurant that gains the star/s. You can lose your stars if the quality drops. And your restaurant does not need to be fancy. There is a three star establishment that serves from a wooden counter at a car park.

Our restaurant, Le Ceil, was no car park. It was on the top floor of the Grand Hotel Wein which in itself was quite a place to visit and see. Beautiful chandeliers. Exquisite decorations. Charm and beauty. The restaurant was the finishing touch.

White table cloths, candles, polished silverware, elegant centerpieces, glassware and dinnerware gave the evening a special atmosphere. White gloved waiters poured water and drinks and brought us each course on the menu all while a pianist played on a grand piano near us. Each dish was presented artfully on the plate and was absolutely delicious. Ours was a set menu and I thought that was just because of our large group but according to their menu online, you can also order a dinner that way.

It was quite an experience to end our cruise on. The next morning would find us on a plane heading for warmer weather and a few days of laundry, grandkids, and warming up for our Caribbean adventure.

Cruising The Danube - Back To Vienna

Through the night our the Crystal Mozart returned to Vienna. We would have one more day and night to enjoy our adventure before leaving with our memories and pictures. The excursions for the day did not appeal to us--partly because they involved museums and a lot of history and partly because we were ready to be off on our own for a change.

The weather had warmed a bit and there was even the promise of a bit of sunshine so we decided to return to the Schonbrunn Palace and the zoo that is there. Besides that, I wanted to go back and try the soup in a bread bowl we had seen there.

Bob and I set off for the subway and found our way back to the palace. We purchased our tickets and set off in the direction we thought the zoo was. We were sort of right but hadn't realized it would be such a walk.

The zoo sits way back almost at the end of the garden area. While it was quite a walk, it also gave us a chance to take a look at the garden that we hadn't seen on our first visit.

Except for a few small groups of school kids and some other tourists, the zoo was pretty empty. What we didn't know though was how large it was. It was called the Imperial Zoo and since I knew it was originally begun by Emperor Franz I Stephen, I just thought it would be a small kind of private zoo. At least that's how it started.

In 1752, there were enclosures built around what would be a central pavilion and they held thirteen animals. Since then the zoo has expanded and expanded. The central pavilion and the circle of enclosures (now with bars instead of walls) are still there but the zoo radiates out from there.

The menagerie became a zoological garden in the late 1800s. In 1914, it held 3,470 animals, the most it would ever have. Of the 500 or so animals they have now, there were several that we definitely wanted to see before we left.

Our polar bear back home had died a couple of years ago of old age. I was eager to see a polar bear again. There were two in a wonderful exhibit that was several levels which allowed you to see them from above, at eye level and below the water level. The bears were very playful and we enjoyed them at all the levels.

The hippopotamus at our zoo was also gone so we enjoyed seeing several of them even though they were indoors and not in the water.

Then we happened upon the rain forest exhibit. It was quite different from ours but we enjoyed the warmth, shedding our coats for a bit. We found one spot that had a sign of someone with a finger up to their lips indicating that we had to be quiet when we entered. What it didn't say was that it was completely dark--or at least dark enough that it took a long time for eyes to adjust. We went through all the flaps that were hanging and hoped for a little light to see where we were going. There was just enough to see that there were things flying through the air just above our heads--bats! We hustled!!

It took us a while to find the other animal we were looking for but we finally did and spent some time watching one panda sleep and the other sit and eat his bamboo shoots. We hadn't seen pandas since our trip to China in 2003. Obviously it didn't matter too much which part of the world they were in, they didn't do a lot of moving but did do a lot of eating.

All in all it was a great adventure and we thoroughly enjoyed it.