Ollie's Week in the World!

Official Day One!

First of all - and scandalous to many - we slept in. I know, I know . . . But it is a long day getting here from Seattle and the Lady Vols lost but the Stanford women beat Duke! So we were exhausted! March Madness is brutal.

OK . . .I can hear you all, so On With the Show!

After a sleepy leisurely morning, we finally headed out to Epcot in time for lunch. Yep - we slept all the way through until almost 10:00am. Of course that is actually just 7:00am on the left coast and we aren't quite adjusted yet!
Almost had the bus to ourselves! We slow walked back to WS, admiring the flowers and topiaries. Didn't do the butterflies today, but will go back. I loved the "floating flowers" in the first lagoon. So bright and beautiful. The 'Mater and Lightening McQueen topiaries back at Japan were pretty cool, too.

So - we had lunch in France, at the Boulangierie. Cheese plate and apple tart, rustic ham & cheese sandwich, napolean. We shared. THEN. . . we sat at the best table in the whole park, right beside the 'slushie' kiosk and had Grand Marnier slushies! Hey, we slept in and by the time we had lunch and walked a bit, we needed a frosty beverage!

After that, we wandered some more, took a boat ride in the sun, and decided to head back to our cool room for a rest before dinner at Jiko. After a bit of a rest and some freshening up, we did the Disney Bus Shuffle and easily made it to AKL for our 6:15 ADR.

We love Jiko and have since our first visit. Tonight we started with the cheese plate appetizer. We split it to save room for other good bites. If you have noticed a pattern here about cheese . . You are correct. LOVE the stuff and eat cheese plates as often as they are available! The Jiko version is wonderful; five varieties and all unique and tasty. The Oregon Smoky Blue was especially good. The sampler comes with a blood orange marmalade that is superb, some raisins on the vine, membrillo jell, and a fig paste. All so good!

For our entrees I had the peri peri chicken and my partner Kim had the maize crusted Corvina. Both were delicious. The peri peri chicken is just spicy enough and crispy enough . . . Yum. The Corvina is a mild whitefish, similar in texture to halibut. It was paired with a spinach vegetable medley with the most decadent tomato butter sauce - the kind of sauce you want to lick off the plate! Dessert was coffee and a lime scented creme brulee for Kim ( a big creme brulee fan) and a new dessert called Tipsy Tart for me. A cake dipped in sweet wine served with coconut panna cotta and blackberries. Was light and delicious! Alas, the coconut bread pudding was not on the menu.

It was an awesome way to start off this Week in the World!

After dinner, we sat in the rockers on the zebra trail balcony and watched the savannah for a bit. We ended our night at Hollywood Studios, sitting on a bench listening to some rock and roll. Oh, and then shopping some, too!

Will close for tonight - and I promise to get another update out tomorrow night - or the next AM.

OH HEY! Any of you downloading the Harry Potter books?! Check out the Pottermore Store! WOO HOO!

You will LOVE the lais back Disney, Mase & Jess!

But now, although it is late and doing this report will make it later, requiring us to sleep in Yet Again . . .I will attempt to give you the goods on Day Two!

We slept in. Mousekeeping woke us up with soft taps on the door. I think I mumbled something, but got up to peek out before she decided that we really were out and about already. Stupid us - we forgot to put the Do Not Disturb sign out. So like it or not, we were up at 10:00am.

We had a quick breakfast in the room ( granola, milk, banana, coffee / tea. We love Garden Grocer!) and then got ready to head out the door. We decided to go to the Magic Kingdom!! Yeah!!

Bus wasn't crowded, but of course it was 11:00am. ) We wandered up Main Street over to Space Mountain. Picked up fastpasses and the did Carousel of Progress. Is corny, but my Dad loved this ride in Disneyland. So I went for him.. He loved Rover, the dog, especially.

After that we sat on a bench to have some water and were visited by a Mama Duck and her six babies. They were strolling through Tomorrowland, having a drink from a puddle, scrounging up some tidbits, and ignoring all the people who were stopping to watch. Got a little video clip - they came right by our feet! So Cute! After the duck parade, we walked to Adventureland and had a . . . DOLE WHIP! My trip is complete! I know many of you like the pineapple floats, but we are partial to the swirl cups. We sat on the rock bench and savored them slowly. Yummy. After this treat, we rode Pirates and had the front of the boat. Got pleasantly splashed!

So after Pirates, it was time for lunch. Harbor House here we come! We shared a tuna sandwich and a lobster roll. Both were tasty, but the tuna sandwich was the hands down favorite. By the time we finished, and sat in the sun cor a bit, we were out of the Space Mountain mood so gave a nice young couple our fastpasses. We headed out, shopping a bit at the Emporium,
then it was time to head back to our room to nap and get ready for dinner at Narcoosee's.

After a bus ride to MK followed by a nice boat ride to the Grand Floridian dock, at Narcoosee's we were seated at a wonderful window table. We started with. . . The cheese sampler (of course) and crab cakes. We shared. We do that often. It lets us try more things and in new settings we can order a "safe" selection and an adventurous selection and not risk the entire meal! I want to say, though, that at Narcoossee's, both the cheese & crab cakes were exactly what we both wanted to try - and they were great. The triple cream brie and the goats milk brie were exceptional. The crab cakes were full of crab, not filler, and the citrus remoulade was delicious. We followed this with peach salad made with bitter greens and aged gruyere cheese. This has the makings of a great salad, but the peaches were not quite ripe enough to truly counter the bitter greens. Later in the season, this could be killer.

Next, I had the filet and lobster as my entree, while Kim ordered the crab crusted mahi mahi. My steak was perfect - topped with a garlic salsa verde - and the lobster tail was tender and sweet. Kim's mahi mahi was excellent, too; she loved the Meyer lemon beurre blanc sauce and the garlic smashed potatoes. We both ate slowly, savoring the food. It was so good!

Dessert was easy; baked chocolate mousse for Kim, strawberry shortcake for me. The mousse was almost like eating melted and whipped chocolate chips. It was rich, decedent, and out of this world good. It was . . . I have no words and Kim could only say OMG. Really. But my dessert was excellent, too; shortcake was rich with berries and whipped cream, but also very light. The cake itself was a rich sponge cake with the berries and cream sandwiched between two layers. I think it to be one of the best seasonal desserts I've had in a while.

After this glorious meal, we took the motor launch back to MK to watch Wishes. What a great day!

Will work on getting pics posted after we get back. And yes, I would wear the cheesehead ears, Jeff!

Today we lounged at DTD.

Oh, but we slept in, of course . . . So started the day with lunch at our favorite place - Wolfgang Puck Express! We had our regular #1: Chinois Chicken Salad and a Four cheese Pesto Pizza. We shared, like always. The salad is an asian style cabbage and carrot with shredded chicken and crispy fried wonton strips. Dressing is a light ginger soy vinaigrette. I love it - so crispy and light. Usually has cashews or almonds, too. The pizza is so good. Thin crust with goat cheese, parmesan, Fontina, and mozzarella, along with sun dried tomatoes, and finished with fresh basil and fresh tomato slices. It literally melts in your mouth. Oh - there isn't any tomato sauce. Just the cheese and pesto. Like I said, this is our regular #1. We'll go back at least once more and have regular #2: Turkey Cobb salad and a BBQ chicken pizza.

After our feast, we pulled up chairs dockside and soaked up the warm. Kim read some "Harry Potter" on her Kindle, and I people watched. Played the Stoopid Shooes game. There was no clear winner, but many, many commendable entries!

Before heading back to our nice, cool room, we shopped a bit. I got an Oswald t-shirt. Then we shared a Cable Car Sundae with extra hot fudge at Ghiradelli.

On a side note, don't you love the thieving birds that hang around DTD? Got a kick out of them carrying off french fries left on a table. This one bird - I just don't know how he managed to get any lift with the fry he carted off, but he did it. Got chased by a couple other birds looking to steal away his hard earned meal.

So . . . Resting right now, heading to California Grill for dinner. Will update you all later tonight.
We are having so much fun!!!

Day Three, Part Two:
You know, I think it Kinda does seem like all we've done is eat
But we really haven't done anything very exciting. Not feeling the rides much, mostly people watching - and fireworks. We LOVE fireworks! Truly has been a lazy vacation and we couldn't be happier. Tomorrow we are heading to Hollywood Studios for lunch and then head to Epcot later in the evening for dinner and Fireworks! I am guessing that there will be a bit of sitting in the sun time, too. I got here looking a ghastly white and am starting to brown nicely. Am Pleased With This.

Oh Jess, Jess, Jess. . . I am sure you know the Stoppid Shooes game . . . You play it when you people watch, but you focus on their feet. When you see a pair of Stoopid Shooes, you tell your fellow game players. Shoes that qualify are any that seem out of place, inappropriate for the situation, or simply ridiculous. Like stiletto heels on cobblestones, or flip flops on a hike, or sequined wedge sandals at the beach. At Disney, a whole Range of Shoes can qualify!
Like today. There were numerous boots. Low trail shoes (I wear a pair of Merrill's myself), ankle high hiking boots, cowboy boots, combat boots, stylish scrunch or slouch boots. The most memorable pair were knee-high, lace-up, sort of fuzzy,camo/animal print platform sole boots. They were so out of place that I almost laughed and pointed.

Ok - so let me finish this day's report. We had to do the bus shuffle again to get to our ADR at the California Grill. On board the bus a screaming meltdown broke the calm. A little girl wanted her Daddy - it seems Mommy had told her she couldn't have something - and her screams were piercing. My ears were numb by the time we got to the Contemporary.

So - of course we started with the cheese board. All were so good. The Mt. Tam Brie was the best! I had the spicy crab and fried green tomato salad and then the lamb chops as my entree. Kim had the Sonoma goat cheese ravioli then the arctic char entree. My salad was spicy and quite tasty, but the lamb was the big winner. Flavorful without being too "lamb-y", and very tender. Served with artichokes and caper berries. Kim's ravioli was so good. This is a personal favorite of mine, but I wanted to try something new, so Kim decided to order this classic. The pasta was silky & tender and the tomato broth was fresh and bright. Her arctic char (a salmon cousin) was served with spring pea risotto. She said it was all fresh and light, yet rich, too.

Just as we finished our entrees, Wishes began and we were treated to a close up view of the show. When you watch the show from in front of the castle, it is hard to see just how far back the large fireworks actually are set off. But no matter, it is still an amazing show, especially from the Cali Grill. And just as it finished, our desserts were served - chocolate croissant bread pudding for me, and strawberry marscapone cheesecake for Kim. Both were wonderful, but the chocolate bread pudding was the big favorite. It was rich and light and chocolatey in all the right spots, and finished with a bite of salted chocolate toffee.
We love the California Grill!

The bus shuffle back to CBR was almost a magical mystery tour. . . The AC wasn't working. The driver left the lights on. A large group of people had been riding buses for over an hour, trying to catch one to DTD. They were in the back, good natured about the adventure, and getting rummier by the minute. Across from us a small girl was asleep in her Mother's arms, but woke suddenly in that near-sleep state. She started reaching for her brother's neck, but he'd done nothing. Mom got her quieted back down, but it was pretty funny in a weird way. THEN, after we got off the bus, we had a rabbit appear out of the shadows and race across the lawn in front of us. Fitting end for what had become a sort of Alice in Wonderland evening!

Never a dull moment at WDW!

Day Four in the World!

Let me begin by saying that today was a perfect day; it was cheese free. But it was extended hours at Epcot!

We slept in again. Yes, besides the cheese, sleeping in is also a common theme here. The older we get, the less we feel inclined to get a move on in the AM. Of course we are staying out late, having nice dinners and going back to parks for fireworks or late extra hours.

As we were rolling out to the bus stop, I noticed a little lizard sitting on the sidewalk in a patch of shade. You know how they usually vanish in a blink? This one just sat there. Kim thought he'd been squished, so I reached a finger down a booped him lightly on the tail. He jumped straight up and spun around. It was the funniest reaction in the world!
Yes, I snuck up on a lizard and startled it - I am a lizard ninja!!

So we decided to get lunch at DTD again - at Puck Express again - and have our regular #2: Turkey Cobb Salad and a BBQ Chicken Pizza. After lunch we sat in the sun a little. Kim had a grapefruit margarita - a 'hair of the dog' treatment to reduce the lingering pain from the night before. The margarita cleared it right up. Was a tasty treat, too! I didn't need any hair of the dog so opted for a milk chocolate pecan praline from Goofy's Candy Co. Whoa, Nellie, was that a nice treat. I am sure the family back home would love them . . . If they'd make it that far!

We napped later in the afternoon and then headed to Epcot for dinner at Bistro de Paris. It is an intimate restaurant upstairs, over Chefs de France. The menu is small, but very appealing. We each received an "amuse bouche" of a silky vichyssoise. I could have bathed in this. Too. Good. For. Words. For appetizers - Preludes here - Kim had the escargot ravioli. It had a brilliant green parsley sauce that was rich and velvety, the perfect complement to the rich escargot inside. I had a goat cheese terrine (oh, I guess there WAS cheese today after all! ) with a zucchini salad and tomato aspic. Light and delicious. We loved them both.

Kim's entree was seared scallops, the best scallops she said she'd ever had. I tried a bite and they were awesome. Radicchio risotto and a garlic foam finished the dish. She loved every bite. My entree was duck breast with turnips, red cabbage, and an asian five-spice sauce. I really enjoyed this duck. The entire flavor profile is, as our server pointed out to me, reminiscent of gingerbread, of Christmas flavors. One of the finishing flavors was candied orange peel, and that gave a wonderful little hint of sweetness.

Desserts were exceptional. I had raspberry souffle with chocolate ganache and raspberry sorbet. So light and bright and gorgeous to look at! Kim had a layered chocolate mousse - a bavarois - that was thick and rich and SO chocolatey! It was molded in a dome shape and covered in milk chocolate. As we finished dessert, we were able to watch a bit of Illuminations through a window. We were not seated right at the window, but near enough to see much of the great light and fireworks show.

When we finally finished and walked back down to the World Showcase, the crowd had thinned to the point that we felt we were almost alone as we walked around the lagoon. We had the chance to stop in at shops normally so full of people that we pass them by. We debated henna tattoos in Morocco, but eventually decided that No, we did not need that sort of adornment. Kim looked at Italian handbags and I tested some the Prada colognes. We picked up some treats at the Karamel Kuche in Germany to take back to our room, were enchanted by the fragrance of the blossoms in China, and shared a sweet almond pretzel in Norway. All along the way, we took our time to enjoy the night time beauty of World Showcase, stopping to sit now and then and generally soaking up the serenity of the late hours and basking in the cool night air.

It was a perfect day in the World!