schumigirl
It's a bit of a roodie doodie word for lady parts
- Joined
- May 15, 2007
We were back home in no time at all, years ago we used to seemingly take a different route every time we drove to Mount Dora and weirdly we never came back the same way for some reason and we did drive through some very interesting areas over the years!! But last few visits we`ve gone the same way and passing through the tolls with the VTP is simple, no need to pull over to pay, we just drive through. I think we`ve used this since we came back to America after the pandemic and it is very handy, we pay $10 for it, pick it up at MCO and then just pay the cost of the tolls we drive through, the charges are on our credit card, easy.
We chatted to a couple of folks in the lobby then went to the lounge to get some tea before heading over to meet Raymond in Aventura coffee place. It`s only a 10 minute walk through RP/Sapphire then cut out and cross the road.
I have to say there is very little about this hotel we like, it feels very cold and impersonal to us and the hotel lobby resembles one of our newer hospitals lobby area, someone notably said it could even be an Apple store. It`s not somewhere we would ever stay, but many love it and thoroughly enjoy their stays in the hotel.
This has to be the coldest looking bar anywhere!!
We`ve only tried to food court once, but that was way back in 2018, it was ok, nothing to write home about, but a couple of folks I know well say it`s decent and have enjoyed the roast chicken, noodle bowls and very much enjoyed the burgers they had. They do not recommend the pizza now as they said it`s not fresh dough anymore. But, it`s good to hear so many folks enjoy it and they have some good offerings.
The rooftop bar has some very good views, you can see Disney fireworks as well as all of Universal and quite a fair distance on clear nights, but the bar has always been a disappointment to us in atmosphere and their food and drink options.
They also have a decent Universal store, it`s not huge but it stocks a good amount of merchandise and had a very nice TM working there.
We had a look to see if one of our former American kids was working on the check in desk, they left the lounge to come here to start their progression career wise, but he wasn`t here today, we were sorry we missed him.
We were a little early for Raymond, so we got a couple of drinks, I got something fruity....have no idea what it was but it was nice, Tom got a very sweet and sticky coffee, whatever one of their Christmas specials was, he said it was nice though.
We went to sit at a table and I heard a ladies voice say....well, it`s Carole and Tom!!! I turned to see a lady I didn`t know, but she knew us from reading our many trip reports! And thankfully, she enjoyed them which is always good to hear anytime!
This is Kelly from Michigan and we have her permission to post her picture with me.
She said she wondered if she`d see us anywhere as she knew we were here, and it was very nice to meet her, we chatted for a time and she was so nice and very kind too with comments. I don`t think she`s a member of the Dis but is a reader, but Kelly, it was so nice meeting you and hope we run into each other again some day
Our lovely friend Raymond arrived shortly after, it is always a complete pleasure to spend time with him, he is busy and has always been busy, but the time he made for us and still does is always time we treasure.
We got drinks and then we sat down and chatted, chatted and then chatted some more. We had a few things to share with him that had happened over our trip and we did laugh a lot too at some of the tales. We`ve known him for over 10 years now so we can share anything and he is so lovely and just about the nicest human being we`ve ever met......yes, I admit, I completely adore this man!!!
Time passed so quickly and before we knew it, it was after 6, we certainly had chatted for some time, we said our goodbye`s but again we do keep in touch between visits which is always nice. We walked over to the side entrance to Sapphire and said our goodbye`s again and we headed back to RP where we caught the last half hour of the evening service. But we`d had such a lovely afternoon with someone who is very special to us.
We popped into the lounge for a glass of wine and it was busy, but we got a table and although we were eating later, the beef bulogi with lo mein noodles is one of the dishes we really love in the lounge, one of the dishes Jen had added to the mix of offerings and it is beautiful.
I think we may have had a taste, we both can`t resist it, although I do always add tabasco to mine, it doesn`t need it as it is full of flavour, I just like spice!!
We passed time chatting again as always and enjoyed some wine tonight, we had plans to go down to Orchids for something to eat then over to Strong Water Bar, but for now we were content to just sit and chat, I think the JP family were in, but I haven`t written it down, it would usually be them we were chatting to and it was always fun and a very nice way to pass time, the lounge is very good for that, it is social as it`s not too huge or impersonal.
To be honest we sat so long they had brought out desserts!!! It was unusual we got to see what delights they were offering and I wished we had taken some away and popped them in our fridge as they had key lime pie which I love and some very nice brownies that Tom loves, but we didn`t. They also had strawberry shortcake in the little glass pots. This was definitely the trip we saw dessert hour the most.
Finally, we headed down to get some dinner in Orchids which is our favourite place to eat in RP and our favourite sushi restaurant around the whole area, it is exceptional and the chefs and some of the staff have been there for a long time.
We grab a seat beside where the chefs work, they`re fascinating to watch them create their beautiful dishes, Kevin was looking after us tonight, first time we had met him and he was lovely, even when I ordered the wrong dish (oops) it wasn`t a problem and it was just me not paying attention, yep, I was too busy chatting!!
I ordered their Golden Dawn cocktail which had Bacardi light rum as well as a Plantation pineapple rum, mango juice and orgeat, it`s not my favourite cocktail, but it`s nice and they do add a little spice to it. Tom had a beer, but it obviously wasn`t interesting enough for him to take a picture of it.
The Miso soup we tend to start with is beautiful, we do prefer the soups from Nagoya, but this is still up there with the best of them!! Sorry the picture is a little blurry....I must have taken it
I ordered their special which is the spicy tuna/avocado dish and it is gorgeous, nice and spicy too and the tuna is as always, the freshest imaginable and simply beautiful. Tom had the Mexican Roll which again is one of their spicy dishes, but I don`t know where the picture is though.
The food is always so good from here, we always enjoy eating here and it is such a nice place, the revamp has certainly changed the look, but the atmosphere is still as nice and welcoming as it`s always been.
It was fairly late now, but we still headed over to Strong Water Bar, we knew Maggie was working tonight and wanted to see her and we got a table in her section tonight easily as the place was not at all busy, very unusual for it to be so quiet, but nice for us as it meant we`d get to chat more to everyone.
Our first drinks we both ordered Carole`s Punch, of course, I think Tom felt as if he really should order it tonight as he had been teased about it a lot when he orders something else.....he does enjoy it though, but prefers something stronger and maybe not as sweet. For me, it`s perfect!!
In one of the larger booths I noticed a big family sitting celebrating a birthday and then noticed one of them waving over to us......it was Manny who works here and again, without the uniform everyone always looks so different, we waved back, he is such a lovely man, very kind and like all the staff in here, really knows his stuff.
We did manage to get some nice chats in tonight as it was a bit quieter than usual and we could chat to Maggie and Demi all night given the chance. And Manny came over for a chat and a hug before he and his family left, such a nice man too.
The lovely Maggie.......she is a sweetheart!!!
Tom ordered a Fountain of Youth and I had a second Carole`s Punch, I`m not biased or anything but, it is a gorgeous drink, very fruity but has a punch!! To be fair there have only been two drinks I wasn`t keen on since they opened all those years back, not a bad record.
It was after 11 when we said our goodnights to everyone and wandered back over to RP.
Our suite is always welcoming and by now we were both yawning again, ealry rises and late nights were certainly catching up with us, but we could sleep when we got home to the UK.
The trip was slowly trundling forward, we had two full days and one partial day left to go and looked like the weather was going to get hot!