New Years eve..... We were up early this morning, to take advantage of the Magic Hour at Disney's Animal Kingdom, we zipped to Asia land and went on the very famous Mount Everest ride. The girls did the ride four times, it was hair raising, you go up about three stories high scream around a bend and low and behold if the tracks are not smashed up and broken, yip you head backwards down a roller coaster faster than lightening! Scariest ride I have ever attempted, needless to say we got off and went again....I think the exhaustion has gotten to my brain! When the park opens for everyone else but the Disney residents this ride is closed after about an hour or two as the queues get so long you can stand for 3-4 hours for one ride.
We did the Animal Safari after that, where you get to see animals rescued by Disney World the animals are all in an amazing condition. They are put in barns during the evenings and are all hand fed so really just a big zoo but I guess the Americans never get to see what we can see in a heartbeat!! Shan & Britt got another fast pass for Mount Everest while I took Erin to USA land to Dino Park where her and I did two or three rides! We all met up at the Lion King Show, the costumes and props again were out of this world, was nice to sit and relax for an hour.
Our feet and legs are finished and we are beyond exhausted, we are seriously tired of crowds, there are millions of people everywhere and apparently this year there are 2 million more people visiting the parks than what there were last year. I am positive we have met, bumped into, or lined up with at least half of them.
Magic Kingdom was at capacity today and their gates were closed - seriously scary thought. We have reservations at Tony's Town for tonight but with the crowds we have decided to take a rain check especially because of Jamie & Josh as they are way to small to be put through that crazyness!!
So far Animal Kingdom(Mount Everest) for me has been my favourite, the rides are scary, exciting, brilliant, the park itself is beautiful and it's not as busy as the others! At least you can get to do more than four rides in two hours here!, Shopping side they had a few different items to what you find in the other parks. , what really impresses me is the fact that you can look at an item in any of the parks, 5*, 3* hotel or Downtown Disney and all the prices remain exactly the same!! Not like you can then get yourself a "bargain" ...lol.
We had the Cirque De Soleil (Circus show) this evening, breathtaking choreography and live music of Cirque du
Soleil's La Nouba amazing acrobatics, beautiful dancing, incredible music and the
perfect dose of humor.
Followed by a bit more shopping and good old USA pretzels
Saturday, 31 December 2011
Friday, 30 December 2011
Day 5 (Cruise day 2)
Cruising day ....... sailed the prestine waters of the Caribbean, we took the opportunity to explore and enjoy the many activities on board! Started off with a lovely healthy breakfast at the Park Cafe which is in Central Park on deck 8 yip a whole deck of trees, plants, flowers, shops, restuarants, bars, sitting areas in which to enjoy the park and the sun. We ended off with an amazing dinner and then the Broadway music comedy "Chicago" - Shanie was in her element as this is one of her fav musicals!!!!! Lots of sun today and by midnight we were all in bed!!! Haiti tomorrow folks!!!!
Day 4 (Cruise day 1)
Left Miami after breakfast at the hotel, we then walked along the Miami South Beach where I managed step back on some lovely sharp rocks cutting my foot to the extent that it was bleeding profusely!! Whoopie i get first prize for the first accident of the trip!!! We then left by transfer to Fort Lauderdale Cruise Terminal, roughly an hour transfer. The road trip was amazing, the views of Miami are absolutely stunning - definitely the life of the rich & famous!! We arrived at the Cruise Terminal along with 6400 other passengers, we were expecting a long wait and hectic delays for check in, but oh my he'll it was quicker than some airports it was amazingly professionally handled, friendly staff, tags for luggage were printed in minutes and we were free to board. Our first view of the Allure of the Seas ship was mind blowing, the size of this ship is much bigger than one expects it to be! 19 decks high, 350m long and 67m wide, it cruises at 22 knots. The buildings in Fort Lauderdale looked like mini land compared to the "Allure"! Walking on board this ship is like walking into paradise, the Royal Promenade which is on deck 5 also the embarkation deck is the first thing you see, a replica of a 1937 Mercedes Benz sports car is displayed next to a bar called the "Rising Tide" which moves up and down between deck 5 and deck 8. There are shops of all kinds, food outlets, restuarants, bars, gift shops, night clubs, theatre, casino and a carousal all on this deck. Rest of the afternoon was spent trying to find our cabins unpack luggage and eventually try and find a restaurant in which to have our first dinner!! The amazing thing is that you are issued with a sea pass card, which opens your cabin door, but then also becomes your credit card on board the ship. You don't need to carry credit cards, cash etc at all, kids can collect meals, drinks, ice creams etc etc with their cards without having parents around!! We set sail at 17h00 and we spent time exploring this mighty beast, the steadyness and smoothness of the ship is fantastic, you feel like you in a shopping center and not on board a ship! We then watched an Oceanaria Aqua Show at the Aqua Theater, amazing stuff. Our first meal was a lovely pizza at a small Italian spot called "Sorrento's".
Saturday, 17 December 2011
Day 3
We're in MIAMI chick!!
Checked out of NYC early this morning, transfer with super shuttle - must say not a bad service offered comfortable and fairly on time.
Fern + I took it in turn getting irritated with the airport officials, firstly if you are travelling internally in USA you pay for each piece of luggage you are allowed 50 pounds in weight at $25.00 per bag and overweight is an additional $80.00 per bag......total damn rip off we ended up payimg more for the luggage than we did for the air tickets. This was a terribly stressful time for me as we were rearrangimg clothes from one bag to the other trying to do damage control. in the process of doing this we managed to destroy Erin's suitcase to such an extent we had to replace it in Miami later that afternoon.
We then moved onto buggage control where we had to remove everything but our g-strings, Fern in his socks with his pants falling down because his belt was apparently also a potential terrorist threat, was ready to punch the officers on duty. Some Jap officer even tested his hand luggage for explosive devices - trust me we had serious sense of humour failure....Shan is adamant she will NOT be parting with any clothes so I guess we will repeat this on the return journey......Britt happy to part with all but her jean shorts and bikini's.... Erin not too phased eitherway.....
We then tried to get the family all seated together, well ...... we sure did land up together at the arse end of plane - literally the last row of seats in the aircraft. We were then entertained by all our fellow travellers who loitered around our seats waiting for vacant toilets. Does anyone have any idea how many times an aircraft toilet is used.....we have full stats should anyone ever require them.
Finally, we landed in gorgeous Miami, we booked a quick transfer to Miami South Beach where we are booked into the Palms Hotel + Spa. Miami is everything you imagine it to be, beautiful buildings, vibey atmosphere, loads of beach-bums, people riding bikes in costumes, roller skating, skate-boarding, busy - plenty of amazing restuarants - mainly seating outside on the pavements - very festive. We caught a "local bus" from just outside our hotel to Lincoln Road - in search of "Dash" - the Kardashian store. We are still searching .....
The girls absolutely loved the amazing shops on Lincoln Road, everything from Sketchers to knickers.... We had dinner at a cute little Italian spot - pizzas were excellent and so was the well deserved glass of wine...ok two....yes yes three. We dragged the girls back to the hotel on the bus and they are safely tucked up and ready for sleep.....yet again exhausted.
Lana, Matt and kids arrived today so our party of nine is now complete. Tomorrow we board the cruise ship...ALLURE OF THE SEAS. Fern + I are sitting at the bar downstairs enjoying a glass of wine in peace .... We are about to gate crash a local wedding at the hotel = we hope to not be noticed in our jeans and slops....
Checked out of NYC early this morning, transfer with super shuttle - must say not a bad service offered comfortable and fairly on time.
Fern + I took it in turn getting irritated with the airport officials, firstly if you are travelling internally in USA you pay for each piece of luggage you are allowed 50 pounds in weight at $25.00 per bag and overweight is an additional $80.00 per bag......total damn rip off we ended up payimg more for the luggage than we did for the air tickets. This was a terribly stressful time for me as we were rearrangimg clothes from one bag to the other trying to do damage control. in the process of doing this we managed to destroy Erin's suitcase to such an extent we had to replace it in Miami later that afternoon.
We then moved onto buggage control where we had to remove everything but our g-strings, Fern in his socks with his pants falling down because his belt was apparently also a potential terrorist threat, was ready to punch the officers on duty. Some Jap officer even tested his hand luggage for explosive devices - trust me we had serious sense of humour failure....Shan is adamant she will NOT be parting with any clothes so I guess we will repeat this on the return journey......Britt happy to part with all but her jean shorts and bikini's.... Erin not too phased eitherway.....
We then tried to get the family all seated together, well ...... we sure did land up together at the arse end of plane - literally the last row of seats in the aircraft. We were then entertained by all our fellow travellers who loitered around our seats waiting for vacant toilets. Does anyone have any idea how many times an aircraft toilet is used.....we have full stats should anyone ever require them.
Finally, we landed in gorgeous Miami, we booked a quick transfer to Miami South Beach where we are booked into the Palms Hotel + Spa. Miami is everything you imagine it to be, beautiful buildings, vibey atmosphere, loads of beach-bums, people riding bikes in costumes, roller skating, skate-boarding, busy - plenty of amazing restuarants - mainly seating outside on the pavements - very festive. We caught a "local bus" from just outside our hotel to Lincoln Road - in search of "Dash" - the Kardashian store. We are still searching .....
The girls absolutely loved the amazing shops on Lincoln Road, everything from Sketchers to knickers.... We had dinner at a cute little Italian spot - pizzas were excellent and so was the well deserved glass of wine...ok two....yes yes three. We dragged the girls back to the hotel on the bus and they are safely tucked up and ready for sleep.....yet again exhausted.
Lana, Matt and kids arrived today so our party of nine is now complete. Tomorrow we board the cruise ship...ALLURE OF THE SEAS. Fern + I are sitting at the bar downstairs enjoying a glass of wine in peace .... We are about to gate crash a local wedding at the hotel = we hope to not be noticed in our jeans and slops....
Friday, 16 December 2011
Day Two
Today we managed to leave earlier..... we left the hotel to 50th Street Station and caught the subway to Brooklyn.....dodgy area. We walked across the famous and very beautiful Brooklyn Bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan. Roughly 1.8km walk - VERY COLD and windy but definitely worth it, from the bridge we could see Ellis Island and the statue of Liberty and the new 911 Memorial buildings. The bridge was build from 1869 to 1883 and it is in an amazing condition, there are numerous padlocks randomly placed along the bridge - we presume they are in honour of those locked in a relationship or those who jumped from the bridge and "unlocked their lives"...LOL
We then caught the subway to Statten Island Ferry Terminal, the ferry passed the amazing Statue of Liberty - Ellis Island - various other smaller islands before it docked at Statten Island. You then have to disembark and requeue to embark for the return journey. There are people dressed up and posing as the Statue of Liberty - Fatima "freaks" of note. Naid & Erin then decided to rather take the lift on the ferry than to stand in the queues to get down the stairs and then managed to go down one level too many which landed them in "hot water" as we could see them from the ferry but could not get to them!!! Luckily we managed to get the ferry staff to help them out and send them back safely to us!!!!!
Next was "Starbucks" for coffee's and hot chocies! amazing stuff!
Back on subway ... First day we did not have to use any cabs ... We visited Chinatown looking for bargains - what a let down definitely would not recommend this at all. Prices were not great and you are seriously harassed by the desperate street vendors and shop keepers. We then went across to Little Italy for pizza and a glass of wine! Again this could be done in midtown Manhatten but it was an enjoyable experience anyway.
The sun sets at 17h00 here in NYC so it is confusing as we left Little Italy and by the time we came out of subway it was dark and the NYC night atmosphere was back making it seem much later than 17h00.
New York is hectic, the subways are constantly full and it honestly leaves one wondering if anyone actually works here, or could there be this many tourists all at the same time. The constant noise, crowds, continues emergency sirens of ambulances or police or fire engines is mind blowing. We find the people here are unfriendly, cold and unhelpful to tourists. It gives you the impression that people live a very lonely and stressful life here. We have spent two days traveling amongst the locals and not using the usual hop on hop off buses or too many cabs etc as we wanted the girls to experience both sides!! The shopping is expensive for us poor South Africans at a rate of R8 something to the dollar.
We bid the "Big Apple" farewell tomorrow morning as we head off for Miami!!!!!
We then caught the subway to Statten Island Ferry Terminal, the ferry passed the amazing Statue of Liberty - Ellis Island - various other smaller islands before it docked at Statten Island. You then have to disembark and requeue to embark for the return journey. There are people dressed up and posing as the Statue of Liberty - Fatima "freaks" of note. Naid & Erin then decided to rather take the lift on the ferry than to stand in the queues to get down the stairs and then managed to go down one level too many which landed them in "hot water" as we could see them from the ferry but could not get to them!!! Luckily we managed to get the ferry staff to help them out and send them back safely to us!!!!!
Next was "Starbucks" for coffee's and hot chocies! amazing stuff!
Back on subway ... First day we did not have to use any cabs ... We visited Chinatown looking for bargains - what a let down definitely would not recommend this at all. Prices were not great and you are seriously harassed by the desperate street vendors and shop keepers. We then went across to Little Italy for pizza and a glass of wine! Again this could be done in midtown Manhatten but it was an enjoyable experience anyway.
The sun sets at 17h00 here in NYC so it is confusing as we left Little Italy and by the time we came out of subway it was dark and the NYC night atmosphere was back making it seem much later than 17h00.
New York is hectic, the subways are constantly full and it honestly leaves one wondering if anyone actually works here, or could there be this many tourists all at the same time. The constant noise, crowds, continues emergency sirens of ambulances or police or fire engines is mind blowing. We find the people here are unfriendly, cold and unhelpful to tourists. It gives you the impression that people live a very lonely and stressful life here. We have spent two days traveling amongst the locals and not using the usual hop on hop off buses or too many cabs etc as we wanted the girls to experience both sides!! The shopping is expensive for us poor South Africans at a rate of R8 something to the dollar.
We bid the "Big Apple" farewell tomorrow morning as we head off for Miami!!!!!
Day one
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
First we walked and took the SUBWAY wow it is soooo confusing!!
Stop 1- Hoboken, New Jersey, we took the subway to 34th street station changed over to NJ Path which goes under the Hudson River to Hoboken where we then waLked up to the famous "Carlos Bakery" - call me buddy "I am the BOSS". Amazing exactly like the series, we tried red velvet cupcakes, M + M cookies, cannoli's, lobster tails & chocolate brownies - they are all MUCH BETTER than what they look!!!!mmmmmm yummy !!!!!
We them went to "Johnny Rockets" - the original hamburger - where we had #12's WOW awesome stuff - Erie had fries with her sliders - was amazing experience - a real authentic American diner. Erie impressed us with her lemon eating skills - Fern says it took the smile off her face!!!!!
We walked back down to the subway via Hudson river viewing point, we tried to persuade the kids that the concrete blocks with the handles were used by the mafia from Hoboken to tie their foes feet (concrete shoes) and dump them into the Hudson River!!!! Well clearly these damn kids watch to many movies.....they believed every word....lol.....
We then took the subway to WTC (World Trade Centre) site. We queued for tickets (damn where was VPU when you needed them!!!! We got searched at the site still majorly confused as to why we needed to be searched to visit the memorial site - seems extreme!
Our thoughts:
Erin - wow these are big waterfalls
Staum - manages to take a photo of a plane flying past and as true as nuts looks like its about to fly into a building - OMG we laughed so much !!!
Erie was absolutely bursting for the little girls room - damned if we could find one! So no laughter was allowed......
Took a cab to Empire State Building - With a Bangladesh taxi driver - Fern had us in stitches.... Cricket song & rest Britt will explain!! Poor Erin was almost done at this stage. Lol.....
ESB is amazing, like a perfect aerial view of New York, It was stunning - views are out of world but it was cloudy with a chance of meatballs says Naid!! It was freezing the wind was howling but hey we are from Africa and this is a minor setback after all we are not wossies.
We got our picture taken by some serious rip off artists - Britt says Fern got half his brain removed and looks like Frankenstein!!!
We then took another yellow cab driven by a Leb to Time Square.....WOW lights, camera, action... We had some Big Apple "famous" Hot Dogs from the local Street vendors, Shanie was dying to do this all day!! Sat in the square and watched the thousands of people walking by, amazing.... Some local Hispanic boys entertained us with some street entertainment and comedy.....Hard to explain the whole experience. We then went to Hard Rock Cafe and visited Toys R Us - a huge Ferris Wheel is at the entrance - biggest toy store we have ever seen! Erin loved it, we were all completely exhausted at this point and just wanted our Hotel beds!!!
We arrived back at the Belvedere hotel and within 30min kids and Mom were out for the count! Fern entertained Justin Gonlag and then watched a WHOLE movie OMG that has to be first!!!! Tands & Lani I was not witness to that.... So ja .... Lol.
First we walked and took the SUBWAY wow it is soooo confusing!!
Stop 1- Hoboken, New Jersey, we took the subway to 34th street station changed over to NJ Path which goes under the Hudson River to Hoboken where we then waLked up to the famous "Carlos Bakery" - call me buddy "I am the BOSS". Amazing exactly like the series, we tried red velvet cupcakes, M + M cookies, cannoli's, lobster tails & chocolate brownies - they are all MUCH BETTER than what they look!!!!mmmmmm yummy !!!!!
We them went to "Johnny Rockets" - the original hamburger - where we had #12's WOW awesome stuff - Erie had fries with her sliders - was amazing experience - a real authentic American diner. Erie impressed us with her lemon eating skills - Fern says it took the smile off her face!!!!!
We walked back down to the subway via Hudson river viewing point, we tried to persuade the kids that the concrete blocks with the handles were used by the mafia from Hoboken to tie their foes feet (concrete shoes) and dump them into the Hudson River!!!! Well clearly these damn kids watch to many movies.....they believed every word....lol.....
We then took the subway to WTC (World Trade Centre) site. We queued for tickets (damn where was VPU when you needed them!!!! We got searched at the site still majorly confused as to why we needed to be searched to visit the memorial site - seems extreme!
Our thoughts:
Erin - wow these are big waterfalls
Staum - manages to take a photo of a plane flying past and as true as nuts looks like its about to fly into a building - OMG we laughed so much !!!
Erie was absolutely bursting for the little girls room - damned if we could find one! So no laughter was allowed......
Took a cab to Empire State Building - With a Bangladesh taxi driver - Fern had us in stitches.... Cricket song & rest Britt will explain!! Poor Erin was almost done at this stage. Lol.....
ESB is amazing, like a perfect aerial view of New York, It was stunning - views are out of world but it was cloudy with a chance of meatballs says Naid!! It was freezing the wind was howling but hey we are from Africa and this is a minor setback after all we are not wossies.
We got our picture taken by some serious rip off artists - Britt says Fern got half his brain removed and looks like Frankenstein!!!
We then took another yellow cab driven by a Leb to Time Square.....WOW lights, camera, action... We had some Big Apple "famous" Hot Dogs from the local Street vendors, Shanie was dying to do this all day!! Sat in the square and watched the thousands of people walking by, amazing.... Some local Hispanic boys entertained us with some street entertainment and comedy.....Hard to explain the whole experience. We then went to Hard Rock Cafe and visited Toys R Us - a huge Ferris Wheel is at the entrance - biggest toy store we have ever seen! Erin loved it, we were all completely exhausted at this point and just wanted our Hotel beds!!!
We arrived back at the Belvedere hotel and within 30min kids and Mom were out for the count! Fern entertained Justin Gonlag and then watched a WHOLE movie OMG that has to be first!!!! Tands & Lani I was not witness to that.... So ja .... Lol.
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
We're in LONDON!!!
After we left everyone CRYING at the gates we went into the BA lounge and had a little bite to eat! "HOW COOL, its FREE" =)
We then got onto the plane and sorted out were we were all sitting, me and mom slept next to eachother in the "bedroom" britt slept next to mom with a divider between and naid slept in the next isle across from us...
I drew in my drawing book and "and had GOOD food on the plane"
it was so cool that we could make the seats into a bed, watched "the smurfs" and Glee 3D" and slept...
we now have a layover untill 4:00 this afternoon which is 6:00 at home!!
And once again we're going to get on another plane!!
Having the best time drawing in my drawing book...
lots of LOVE
ERIN
xxxx
After we left everyone CRYING at the gates we went into the BA lounge and had a little bite to eat! "HOW COOL, its FREE" =)
We then got onto the plane and sorted out were we were all sitting, me and mom slept next to eachother in the "bedroom" britt slept next to mom with a divider between and naid slept in the next isle across from us...
I drew in my drawing book and "and had GOOD food on the plane"
it was so cool that we could make the seats into a bed, watched "the smurfs" and Glee 3D" and slept...
we now have a layover untill 4:00 this afternoon which is 6:00 at home!!
And once again we're going to get on another plane!!
Having the best time drawing in my drawing book...
lots of LOVE
ERIN
xxxx
Monday, 12 December 2011
omg ok its already less that 24 hours to go !!!!! It the most exciting moment ever! We all super excited we just waiting for time to fly:D at the moment we sitting with our eyes wide open, Done our online check in's, we have done our boarding passes and checked our seat numbers and booked!!! HOW EXCITING!!!!!!!I have to say this is going to be the most memorable holiday of our lives!!:D "micky mouse" are you ready to meet the NIC CHICkS?????? xxx Staum xxx
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