Be careful when crossing the road! It might be a red light for the cars but that won't stop them! It's perfectly legal for cars to turn right at red lights and they never get in trouble unless they actually it someone.
If you are getting the bus anywhere allow at least an extra hour from you scheduled time of arrival as it will arrive very late! This may just be my experience but my bus from Northampton to New York arrived an hour and a half late and my bus Miami to Orlando was an hour late! They were different journeys and different bus companies neither journey had any traffic so I can only assume Americans are very optimistic people when it comes to travel times.
A lot of restaurants and shops don't like dealing in small change so if your bill comes to $16.21 and you pay with a $20 bill they will often give you $4 change saving you a few cents. It's not much but when you're travelling every cent counts.
There's no such thing as squash or cordial in America and its tricky to try to describe it. I did find something similar which was the same concept but with a powder. The powder comes in sachets but don't make the mistake my friend did and use 1 sachet for 1 glass as it will be incredibly strong. Actually rather inconveniently 1 sachet mixes to make a pitcher of that drink so if you're only making yourself a glass you're left with an open sachet that will spill everywhere.
As technology moves foward so does our bathroom hygiene as automatic flush systems prevents the need to touch anything with get my hands. The system I had always been used to in England was one where you wave your hand over a sensor when you would like to flush the loo, however as I found out in America it's basically the opposite. The sensor picks you up when you sit down then when you move away it will automatically flush. The first tine it happens (especually when you aren't prepared for it) it's makes you jump. Beware though it sometimes gets confused and will just flush whilst you're still sat down.
Saturday 13 September 2014
Friday 12 September 2014
Back to Britain
Wednesday morning I woke up early as I had had an early night but had a lazy morning before I checked out and got the shuttle to the airport at 1pm. It was 3 hours before I could check in so I sat down and tried to entertain myself with reading and games on my kindle (I got a high score with 5500 points on "Dumb ways to die"). After an hour though I was bored and hungry for lunch so I went in search of food, I found it downstairs in the arrivals hall in the shape of a diner. I had just sat down when suddenly a friend from camp, Hannah, appeared in front of me. She was on a flight a couple of hours after mine and was doing exactly the same thing as me, biding time till her check in. She sat with me whilst I had my lunch and we caught up on each other's travels until my time finally came.
Once checked in and through the time machine they call security, I set off in search of souvenirs I could spend my excess money on. I got some more chocolate and candy for my family and a classic 'I heart NY' short for myself. Not being able to buy alcohol made it a lot harder to spend as much money as I had. In a last ditch attempt to spend it I gratefully to a manicure and : and massage whilst I waited for my flight. It was really nice and a much better way to accommodate the waiting time rather then sat bored at the gate for an hour. There was a massage chair too which felt great at the time but unfortunately didn't put my back in a great place for the flight and I was fidgeting the whole way unable to get confortable. Note to self massage chairs are not advised to be used before being sat still for 7 hours.
I was really excited to watch some of the great selection of movies they had on the plane but I realised at the start of the journey my screen wasn't working and neither was the guys a couple of seats along from me. We told the hostess about this and she said she'd reset them for us and then an announcement came up telling everyone that because a few screens weren't working every screen would be reset and it would take about 60 minutes!! We shrunk Don in our seats thinking surely he said 16 minutes!? Twenty minutes later our food arrived which provided a distraction at least and then 10 minutes after that our screens came on too! My first movie was "The Lego Movie" and later in the flight I watched "The Other Woman".
I got throughout customs and baggage really fast and was able to change my coach ticket to an earlier one so I got home an hour and a half earlier then expected and surprised my mum. My mum then made me what I've been looking foward to for nearly the entire 3 months I've been away, a bacon sandwhich!! It was delicous! I was really confused as to what tine zone I was in when I git back coz I didn't feel in either American of UK time zones and ended up falling asleep mid afternoon (UK time) for an hour or so. I then stayed awake and caught up on the last episode of Casualty (getting the low-down on the the last 3 months worth of action from my mum) and caught up on the first 2 episodes of "The Great British Bake Off". I then fell asleep at 9pm and didn't wake-up until midday the next day. 15 hours of sleep! I didn't even realise I was that tired!! It's good to be home though but also quite strange and surreal. And as annoying and irritating as they can be at times, I have definitely missed my family.
Once checked in and through the time machine they call security, I set off in search of souvenirs I could spend my excess money on. I got some more chocolate and candy for my family and a classic 'I heart NY' short for myself. Not being able to buy alcohol made it a lot harder to spend as much money as I had. In a last ditch attempt to spend it I gratefully to a manicure and : and massage whilst I waited for my flight. It was really nice and a much better way to accommodate the waiting time rather then sat bored at the gate for an hour. There was a massage chair too which felt great at the time but unfortunately didn't put my back in a great place for the flight and I was fidgeting the whole way unable to get confortable. Note to self massage chairs are not advised to be used before being sat still for 7 hours.
I was really excited to watch some of the great selection of movies they had on the plane but I realised at the start of the journey my screen wasn't working and neither was the guys a couple of seats along from me. We told the hostess about this and she said she'd reset them for us and then an announcement came up telling everyone that because a few screens weren't working every screen would be reset and it would take about 60 minutes!! We shrunk Don in our seats thinking surely he said 16 minutes!? Twenty minutes later our food arrived which provided a distraction at least and then 10 minutes after that our screens came on too! My first movie was "The Lego Movie" and later in the flight I watched "The Other Woman".
I got throughout customs and baggage really fast and was able to change my coach ticket to an earlier one so I got home an hour and a half earlier then expected and surprised my mum. My mum then made me what I've been looking foward to for nearly the entire 3 months I've been away, a bacon sandwhich!! It was delicous! I was really confused as to what tine zone I was in when I git back coz I didn't feel in either American of UK time zones and ended up falling asleep mid afternoon (UK time) for an hour or so. I then stayed awake and caught up on the last episode of Casualty (getting the low-down on the the last 3 months worth of action from my mum) and caught up on the first 2 episodes of "The Great British Bake Off". I then fell asleep at 9pm and didn't wake-up until midday the next day. 15 hours of sleep! I didn't even realise I was that tired!! It's good to be home though but also quite strange and surreal. And as annoying and irritating as they can be at times, I have definitely missed my family.
Tuesday 9 September 2014
Last stop New York.
So this is it this is the start of my journey home, first leg is to New York via a JetBlue flight. I got the shuttle from my hotel to the airport and was chatting to the other man in it about JetBlue and airports etc then near the end of the journey he gets out his ID badge which identifies him as someone who works for JetBlue. I had just told him my friend had said JetBlue was a cheap, dodgy airline....woops.
My check in went smoothly but security was intense. I had to take off my shoes, stand in this big machine with my hands up and it shifted around me. It was very similar to Lazarus' time machine in Doctor Who. I was then at my gate nearly 2 hours before take off, talk about eager much. The flight itself was good, the seat next to me was free but the woman sat the next one along was quite nervous as it was her first time flying but with some reassurance and clinging onto the seat in front telling herself out loud that if she dies it will be quick she made it. JetBlue was great especially as it was quite a short flight. I got complimentary drinks and snacks, clear way to win my affection, and there was plenty of space and there was music and movies (though the movies cost for short flights).
I got a shuttle to the airport and the driver told repeatedly how much he loved my accent and he kept asking me questions so I kept talking. He told me if he were my boyfriend he would always get me angry so I would shout and he could just listen to my accent, he then told me he also liked taught and then asked me to marry him. I'm going to miss being back in a place my accent isn't anything special.
I got to my room to find a memory foam bed (score) and decided to have a chilled evening in. I also found out that I had $20 short to pay for my hotel and I can only load $200 plus into my caxton card and I need to pay for my hotel so it now means I've got about $170 to spend before I leave, meaning hello duty free!!
My check in went smoothly but security was intense. I had to take off my shoes, stand in this big machine with my hands up and it shifted around me. It was very similar to Lazarus' time machine in Doctor Who. I was then at my gate nearly 2 hours before take off, talk about eager much. The flight itself was good, the seat next to me was free but the woman sat the next one along was quite nervous as it was her first time flying but with some reassurance and clinging onto the seat in front telling herself out loud that if she dies it will be quick she made it. JetBlue was great especially as it was quite a short flight. I got complimentary drinks and snacks, clear way to win my affection, and there was plenty of space and there was music and movies (though the movies cost for short flights).
I got a shuttle to the airport and the driver told repeatedly how much he loved my accent and he kept asking me questions so I kept talking. He told me if he were my boyfriend he would always get me angry so I would shout and he could just listen to my accent, he then told me he also liked taught and then asked me to marry him. I'm going to miss being back in a place my accent isn't anything special.
I got to my room to find a memory foam bed (score) and decided to have a chilled evening in. I also found out that I had $20 short to pay for my hotel and I can only load $200 plus into my caxton card and I need to pay for my hotel so it now means I've got about $170 to spend before I leave, meaning hello duty free!!
Monday 8 September 2014
Seaworld Orlando
My alarm wakes me up nice and early so I get ready and head down to the lobby to buy my ticket for Seaworld and have breakfast. Whilst at breakfast a nice old man sat next to me and started talking to me about my travels and told me about his reasons for being in Orlando.
I went and saw the stingrays and debated feeding them but it was $5 to do so and as I learnt pretty soon you do not need to feed them or many of the other animals to be that close. My next stop was the dolphins and all I could tell you about that is wow! You're allowed to strike them and they are so playful jumping out of the water and they can go really fast when they want to it was amazing. I had to tear myself away from them to make it to the show "Blue Horizons" in time (luckily for me this show featured dolphins). The shoe was phenomenal, dolphins are such amazing creatures, they did loads of amazing tricks. They were also accompanied by human acrobats and bids. The show included diving, swimming, trapeze, I really can't explain the show and do it justice, I really loved it! Afterwards I couldn't resist and went back to see the dolphins again.
Once I said goodbye I went on turtle trek which is an amazing 3d story/experience about turtles and be responsible for our environment and theirs. I then headed to Atlantis where I got drenched on a pretty amazing water ride, in fact they fool you a little because it looks like an average water ride but near the end there's a bit if a surprise. I then went on a rollercoaster which was also pretty amazing I couldn't tell you how many loops, twists and corkscrew there were, it was a great coaster!
Next stop Antarctica for the penguins. They were cute and similar to Turtle trek you could go on a ride through the story finishing where the penguins were. After the ride I even got a photo with a particularly charming penguin. I passed through the sharks and saw lots of cool fish and sharks on my way to my second show of the day "A'lure, The call of the ocean". This show was also great so many acrobatics and tricks, it was like being at the circus but with an underwater setting, unfortunately there were no animals though.
I went through the park and saw lots more animals and because all schools are back no I was able to whiz through so much so I decided I had enough tine to go see the dolphin show again. I then went on Manta, a huge rollercoaster where you are suspended horizontally and fly around upside down and everything. I then went to see another show "Pets Ahoy" this shows stars are rescued dogs, cats, birds and even a pig.
I ended my day at Shamu's stadium, first I had a look at the whales who are all really cute then went round to tale my seat for the show "One Ocean". Unfortunately there was some stormy weather in the local area so the show was delayed then after 20minutes the crowd got really impatient and started cheering in the hope this would encourage then to start the show but this had the opposite effect and they decided to just cancel it all together. I was upset not to be able to see the show but I did get to do everything else throughout the day and I really enjoyed it.
I went and saw the stingrays and debated feeding them but it was $5 to do so and as I learnt pretty soon you do not need to feed them or many of the other animals to be that close. My next stop was the dolphins and all I could tell you about that is wow! You're allowed to strike them and they are so playful jumping out of the water and they can go really fast when they want to it was amazing. I had to tear myself away from them to make it to the show "Blue Horizons" in time (luckily for me this show featured dolphins). The shoe was phenomenal, dolphins are such amazing creatures, they did loads of amazing tricks. They were also accompanied by human acrobats and bids. The show included diving, swimming, trapeze, I really can't explain the show and do it justice, I really loved it! Afterwards I couldn't resist and went back to see the dolphins again.
Next stop Antarctica for the penguins. They were cute and similar to Turtle trek you could go on a ride through the story finishing where the penguins were. After the ride I even got a photo with a particularly charming penguin. I passed through the sharks and saw lots of cool fish and sharks on my way to my second show of the day "A'lure, The call of the ocean". This show was also great so many acrobatics and tricks, it was like being at the circus but with an underwater setting, unfortunately there were no animals though.
I ended my day at Shamu's stadium, first I had a look at the whales who are all really cute then went round to tale my seat for the show "One Ocean". Unfortunately there was some stormy weather in the local area so the show was delayed then after 20minutes the crowd got really impatient and started cheering in the hope this would encourage then to start the show but this had the opposite effect and they decided to just cancel it all together. I was upset not to be able to see the show but I did get to do everything else throughout the day and I really enjoyed it.
Saturday 6 September 2014
And then there was One...
This morning I checked out the hostel and got on a bus to leave Miami. All the buses in Miami had a seated dedicated in honor of Rosa Parks which I think is really sweet. On the bus I met a couple of characters as you always seem to whenever you get any bus in America but got to mainland Miami and started to look for the parking lot by bus to Orlando was leaving from. I arrived nearly an hour and a half early as the journey didn't take as long as expected and I wanted to make sure I had enough time in case I got lost. I waited at the subway round the corner until my bus arrived.
I left Miami just as it started raining and I passed a big lightening bolt strike something about 50 meters off. Looks like Miami is sad to see me go. Being the bit of a plonker that I am I didn't think to pick up anything to eat for lunch along the journey so after having only a small bowl of cereal at 8am, it git to 1pm and I was starving and had at least another 3hours before any hope of food, an extra hour or so if I couldn't get anything until my hotel!
Things then turned worse when the bus didn't get in until over an hour late and it was pouring down! I eventually found a subway and was able to sit down and eat at last at half 5! I then had to have a wonder around to find somewhere who could call a cab for me an I then I eventually arrived at my hotel at near 7pm after over 10 hours of travelling!! My room is amazing though! It's got a king size bed and all the extras you'd expect in a good hotel room and a microwave and fridge. The pool is just downstairs, I can see it from my room but thought I'd wait until it was sunny again to go in. I had sch a great chill night, watching bits of movies and chilling in my KING SIZE BED!! I love this hotel room.
I left Miami just as it started raining and I passed a big lightening bolt strike something about 50 meters off. Looks like Miami is sad to see me go. Being the bit of a plonker that I am I didn't think to pick up anything to eat for lunch along the journey so after having only a small bowl of cereal at 8am, it git to 1pm and I was starving and had at least another 3hours before any hope of food, an extra hour or so if I couldn't get anything until my hotel!
Things then turned worse when the bus didn't get in until over an hour late and it was pouring down! I eventually found a subway and was able to sit down and eat at last at half 5! I then had to have a wonder around to find somewhere who could call a cab for me an I then I eventually arrived at my hotel at near 7pm after over 10 hours of travelling!! My room is amazing though! It's got a king size bed and all the extras you'd expect in a good hotel room and a microwave and fridge. The pool is just downstairs, I can see it from my room but thought I'd wait until it was sunny again to go in. I had sch a great chill night, watching bits of movies and chilling in my KING SIZE BED!! I love this hotel room.
Lauren amd Bjorn lost in Miami.
Today I woke up late after getting to bed at past 2am and getting woken up by screaming roommates at 4:30am. I had to dash down to get breakfast, making it in the nick of time as they were starting to clear it away! I went down to the pool after to decide what to do today and decided to go to the Holocaust memorial and the south-est part of the island and Bjorn decided to come along too.
We walked to the Holocaust memorial which isn't that far but in the boiling Sun it feels much longer. The memorial was hauntingly beautiful and I can't think of any other way to describe it. It was a sculpture of a hand in the middle of a fountain and the hand had people going into it. We walked around the sculpture and saw the long long list of names that were only some of the concentration camps victims. We then went down this walkway which took you into the muddle of the fountain to the base of the sculpture where there were more sculptures of people clearly in pain. It was very symbolic and there was music playing which, like I said, made it beautiful but very chilling. There was more names there too and when we left we saw some photos and captions about what happened during that awful time.
We then got in a bus to get to the bottom of the island and this is where our problems began. We didn't quite know where to get off and accidentally missed our stop and the bus started to go over the long bridge to mainland Miami! We got off at the first stop but realised we didn't know what to do next as we couldn't walk back because it was a very long way, it was very hot and besides there were no sidewalks!! We couldn't get a bus as we didn't have anymore change and we had no way of crossing the 6 or so lanes of traffic to the other side!so to make matters worse I had no water left. Luckily we both had sunscreen with us so layered that on in preparation for our stranded and vulnerable state in the sun. We wondered around a bit trying to figure our what to do when suddenly we were saved!! A woman told us we could follow a road around and under the busy road to the Children's museum where we could get money, call a cab if we wanted and all that.
We got to the Children's museum and they were so helpful, we decided we'd get the bus back as there was a stop right outside but first we got lunch and a drink from the subway next door. (Oh and by the way the Children's museum looks awesome I want to be a child again so it is socially acceptable for me to go). We had to wait a while for the bus but eventually got on and got back where we should have git off the bus and after quite a walk we eventually we made it to the tip of the island. It was really nice and we sat there fir a short bit then walked around, saw the view of all the beaches going along the side of the island then looped around to catch the bus back to the hostel.
We eventually got back about 4pm (despite having lost hope long ago we would ever get back alive). We had been out for only about 4hours but it felt like way longer. I chilled by the pool a bit and skyped my mum then sorted out accommodation for my last night in the states which, because it's at the airport, is so much more expensive then every other hotel! Me, Laura, Helen and Lisa went out for dinner to an Italian place for a nice goodbye meal and got Fro-Yo on the way back (yay!).
We walked to the Holocaust memorial which isn't that far but in the boiling Sun it feels much longer. The memorial was hauntingly beautiful and I can't think of any other way to describe it. It was a sculpture of a hand in the middle of a fountain and the hand had people going into it. We walked around the sculpture and saw the long long list of names that were only some of the concentration camps victims. We then went down this walkway which took you into the muddle of the fountain to the base of the sculpture where there were more sculptures of people clearly in pain. It was very symbolic and there was music playing which, like I said, made it beautiful but very chilling. There was more names there too and when we left we saw some photos and captions about what happened during that awful time.
We then got in a bus to get to the bottom of the island and this is where our problems began. We didn't quite know where to get off and accidentally missed our stop and the bus started to go over the long bridge to mainland Miami! We got off at the first stop but realised we didn't know what to do next as we couldn't walk back because it was a very long way, it was very hot and besides there were no sidewalks!! We couldn't get a bus as we didn't have anymore change and we had no way of crossing the 6 or so lanes of traffic to the other side!so to make matters worse I had no water left. Luckily we both had sunscreen with us so layered that on in preparation for our stranded and vulnerable state in the sun. We wondered around a bit trying to figure our what to do when suddenly we were saved!! A woman told us we could follow a road around and under the busy road to the Children's museum where we could get money, call a cab if we wanted and all that.
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| Stranded between islands on a bridge... |
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| It took a while but we got there in the end and it was beautiful! |
Friday 5 September 2014
Lazy day in Miami
Last night I woke up, went to go to the bathroom, forgot I was in a bunkbed and fell out and down. Amazingly though I woke up today with no signs of any bruises or injuries, lucky for me Laura keeps her suitcase next to the bed. we can't stop cracking up about it thou50th as with was literally asleep most of the time! We got breakfast then spent the morning chilling by the pool surrounded by more lizards. It's nice to be able to chill and feel like I'm on holiday. I've had a great time at camp and travelling but this last week is like my holiday where I can spend time by the pool, at the beach relaxing. Whilst by the pool I realised that actually I had a huge bruise just below my knee from my bump in the night.
We then went to the beach for a couple of hours then took a bot of a walk along the boardwalk but there wasn't much to see in easy walking distance and it was getting hitter so we headed back yo the hotel. We walked back via the streets but it was weird as fir some reason half of Miami has building work going on so it was like we were walking through a building site! We stopped and got a strawberry smoothie then went back to the pool at the hostel and the sun got hotter and brighter so we laid on sun loungers relaxing by the pool for a couple more hours.
Me, Laura and Helen then got the bus to the mall to get dinner and for them to do a bit of shopping. I didn't buy anything but it was fun none the less. We got back and met up again with our mates from th night before, played some more cards and hung out together with a few additions this time. I headed back to the room about 1am to find our new roommate had arrived and she's really cool, totally chill and with the flow. Exactly what we need after a night with a girl waking us at 6am to ask where the light switch is!! We went back down to play another couple of rounds of cards before eventually heading to bed.
We then went to the beach for a couple of hours then took a bot of a walk along the boardwalk but there wasn't much to see in easy walking distance and it was getting hitter so we headed back yo the hotel. We walked back via the streets but it was weird as fir some reason half of Miami has building work going on so it was like we were walking through a building site! We stopped and got a strawberry smoothie then went back to the pool at the hostel and the sun got hotter and brighter so we laid on sun loungers relaxing by the pool for a couple more hours.
Me, Laura and Helen then got the bus to the mall to get dinner and for them to do a bit of shopping. I didn't buy anything but it was fun none the less. We got back and met up again with our mates from th night before, played some more cards and hung out together with a few additions this time. I headed back to the room about 1am to find our new roommate had arrived and she's really cool, totally chill and with the flow. Exactly what we need after a night with a girl waking us at 6am to ask where the light switch is!! We went back down to play another couple of rounds of cards before eventually heading to bed.
Thursday 4 September 2014
And then there were three...
I woke up a little past eight today and was so refreshed (especially considering I had been up till 2). The bed was so comfortable, it's a memory foam one and is perhaps the most comfortable place I've slept all summer! I booked my travel to and hotel for Orlando, I'm staying at a day's inn by the airport that has a free shuttle. The price for 3 nights is more expensive then the 4 nights at the hostel in Miami but I get a king size bed in a room all to myself and it includes a hot breakfast, besides there are no hostels in orlando and it was the cheapest option close to the airport.
Once we were all up we went and got breakfast which is just frosted flake cereal, Orange juice and bananas then got ready and headed toward Washington Avenue. We went in a bunch of shops and saw a lot of Palm trees and quiet a few little lizards who would jump out of the way when you walked down the street. We went for lunch at a little cafe which had great music, great food and a really nice natural fruit milkshake which I had.
We then walked down a couple of blocks to get to South Beach, it's really nice and we had some fun messing around a bit and cooling off a little walking along the water but we didn't have swim stuff or towels so decided to head back to the hostel where we could change and chill by the pool. It was quite a walk back and we were so hot but we got back eventually and were knackered. We then chilled by the pool and went for a dip in the pool.
We then took our young Joseph to the airport. We decided to get the bus to the airport with him so we could see him off. It was emotional and there were tears and about 50 hugs and goodbyes before we actually let him leave.Then there were three. We then got the bus back to the hostel and got dinner, mine was actually just my leftovers from B Dubs the night before. We then met a couple of cool guys who we hung out with for the evening, socialising and playing cards until about 1 when sleep eventually won out and we crashed.
Once we were all up we went and got breakfast which is just frosted flake cereal, Orange juice and bananas then got ready and headed toward Washington Avenue. We went in a bunch of shops and saw a lot of Palm trees and quiet a few little lizards who would jump out of the way when you walked down the street. We went for lunch at a little cafe which had great music, great food and a really nice natural fruit milkshake which I had.
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| So many cool palm trees |
Tuesday 2 September 2014
2 weeks, 14 people, 12 states, 2645 miles, thousands of memories.
Last day of the trek which means my time in the states is nearly at an end. It didn't start great as i woke up feeling really dizzy, the room was spinning and I didn't know why (no alcohol had been consumed). Luckily it stopped and I felt better after a while. The drive to Miami wasn't bad and we arrived just before three.
We spent our last few hours together as the whole group on south beach. It was cool but no one had their beach gear on them and didn't have much time. Also if I'm honest I prefer Panama city beach, it was so much cleaner, clearer and just stunning! We then headed to say the first of our goodbyes. It was weird saying goodbye as we've only known each other for 14 days and its gone so fast but it was sad. It was certainly an adventure and we had a lot of laughs. We were all promising to stay in touch particularly with those who lived really close to each other (for example Emily lives 2 miles down the road from me- unfortunately she's going to Milan for a while first).
Suddenly there were only 10! We were the ones staying in Miami for at least tonight so we decided to all go out to dinner together. We went to a place called Buffalo wild wings, also known as "B Dubs" which Laura had been going on about for a while, it was really good and I ordered so much and I'm not even sure how! It works a little like Nando's in the fact you pick chicken wings or off the bone and then have a variety of sauces to have with it and wow do they have a selection!! It's a sports bar type place and they give you tablets to play live interactive online poker with other customers or trivia. Encouraging the technology invasion and decreasing sociability at meals every step of the way.
Then it really was time for all the goodbyes as Liz (being the stella tour guide she is) dropped us all of at our accommodation. We went down to 7, then 5 then 4 when me, Laura, Helen and Joe got out at our Hostel. We waved goodbye to Liz and that trusty can which was basically our home for 2 weeks. The hostel the four of us are in is really nice, Joe is only staying the 1 night but the rest of us are here until Saturday. We're in a 4 bed room so it's only us and 1 other person. I'm on the top bunk as well. It's weird to not be with the whole group but I'm so glad I'm still with some of them as it eases the transition, gives me company and reassurance. Tomorrow we will start hitting the town and beach.
We spent our last few hours together as the whole group on south beach. It was cool but no one had their beach gear on them and didn't have much time. Also if I'm honest I prefer Panama city beach, it was so much cleaner, clearer and just stunning! We then headed to say the first of our goodbyes. It was weird saying goodbye as we've only known each other for 14 days and its gone so fast but it was sad. It was certainly an adventure and we had a lot of laughs. We were all promising to stay in touch particularly with those who lived really close to each other (for example Emily lives 2 miles down the road from me- unfortunately she's going to Milan for a while first).
Suddenly there were only 10! We were the ones staying in Miami for at least tonight so we decided to all go out to dinner together. We went to a place called Buffalo wild wings, also known as "B Dubs" which Laura had been going on about for a while, it was really good and I ordered so much and I'm not even sure how! It works a little like Nando's in the fact you pick chicken wings or off the bone and then have a variety of sauces to have with it and wow do they have a selection!! It's a sports bar type place and they give you tablets to play live interactive online poker with other customers or trivia. Encouraging the technology invasion and decreasing sociability at meals every step of the way.
Then it really was time for all the goodbyes as Liz (being the stella tour guide she is) dropped us all of at our accommodation. We went down to 7, then 5 then 4 when me, Laura, Helen and Joe got out at our Hostel. We waved goodbye to Liz and that trusty can which was basically our home for 2 weeks. The hostel the four of us are in is really nice, Joe is only staying the 1 night but the rest of us are here until Saturday. We're in a 4 bed room so it's only us and 1 other person. I'm on the top bunk as well. It's weird to not be with the whole group but I'm so glad I'm still with some of them as it eases the transition, gives me company and reassurance. Tomorrow we will start hitting the town and beach.
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| Bye guys, it certainly was something!! |
Island of Adventure Orlando.
Day 2 in universal and just as excited as day 1! First stop was universal studios to get the rock it rollercoaster done that we didn't get done yesterday. There was no wait at all and we were so excited. We got on it and it was great but suddenly it stopped at the top of a drop.
We were stuck at the top of this drop for a good while but we got going again and it was a phenomenal. We went on the Revenge of the mummy again with the guys who weren't there yesterday which we were more then happy about. We then got on the Hogwarts express. It was amazing. There's a mirror set up so it appears people are really walking through the wall. We ere on the train at 10:45 on the 1st September, 15 minutes before students would have got on train for the start if the year! (There were people waiting for 11am exactly). On the train there's a film played of all this action happening along the journey. We got off the other side and was in Hogsmeade, Island of Adventure.
I was freaking out in Hogsmeade! There was Honeydukes and everything. First ride we went on was the dragons for the Triwizard tournament, it was vert cool with loads of loops and corkscrews. I didn't know which way was up most of the time! We got lunch at The Three Broomsticks and I got a classic Shepards pie, the first I've had since being in America and it was delicious. We went on the Hogwarts ride which is inside the castle and needless to say I was freaking out again and we didn't have to queue at all as we went on as single riders.
Next stop was Jurassic park which also marked the start of us getting soaked! It started with one rode where you got quite wet as you went down a drop, then the boys decode to stand in the middle of the splash zone and got drenched! We then headed a park over and went on another water ride and I can't stress how wet we got. We were drenched, it was so funny.
We then headed to the superhero section and went on the Amazing Spiderman, Doctor doom and the Hulk. Boy they were intense rides! The doctor doom one was a vertical drop ride but what we didn't realise until it happened was that it shot you upwards really fast too. The hulk was awesome too and one of my favourites, though saying that I have a lot of favourites. We headed back to Universal studios on the Hogwarts express after that (well me and Emily quickly went on the Hogwarts ride again). In Diagon Alley we got dinner (BANGERS AND MASH!) at the Leaky Cauldron and we also got Frozen butterbeers. I was feeling really homesick with all the London views and English food. After dinner we went on Escape from Gringotts as Emily hadn't done that yet. Our last ride was Transformers and finishing as we started, it broke down. Luckily it was when we were right at the end so it didn't ruin the ride at all it just delayed our getting off by a little bit.
We were stuck at the top of this drop for a good while but we got going again and it was a phenomenal. We went on the Revenge of the mummy again with the guys who weren't there yesterday which we were more then happy about. We then got on the Hogwarts express. It was amazing. There's a mirror set up so it appears people are really walking through the wall. We ere on the train at 10:45 on the 1st September, 15 minutes before students would have got on train for the start if the year! (There were people waiting for 11am exactly). On the train there's a film played of all this action happening along the journey. We got off the other side and was in Hogsmeade, Island of Adventure.
I was freaking out in Hogsmeade! There was Honeydukes and everything. First ride we went on was the dragons for the Triwizard tournament, it was vert cool with loads of loops and corkscrews. I didn't know which way was up most of the time! We got lunch at The Three Broomsticks and I got a classic Shepards pie, the first I've had since being in America and it was delicious. We went on the Hogwarts ride which is inside the castle and needless to say I was freaking out again and we didn't have to queue at all as we went on as single riders.
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| Hogsmeade |
Next stop was Jurassic park which also marked the start of us getting soaked! It started with one rode where you got quite wet as you went down a drop, then the boys decode to stand in the middle of the splash zone and got drenched! We then headed a park over and went on another water ride and I can't stress how wet we got. We were drenched, it was so funny.
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| Just a bit wet... |
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| Frozen butterbeer |
Monday 1 September 2014
Universal studios Orlando!!
Today I was like an excited child who was about to go to Disneyworld for the first time. Oh wait that's literally what I was! Well technically I'm doing Universal. Unfortunately we had a slight delay this morning when we found out our food boxes had acquired some unwanted water overnight but once we'd cleaned them all out and packed up we were in our way. We had decided to get an early start so we could upgrade our tickets and have 2 days at the parks. Make the most of the magic whilst we can.
We dumped the stuff at the camp site and headed to Universal. First stop Universal studios! It was only me, Sinead, and Helen who were upgrading to 2 days but it meant we were able to whip through doing all the rides we wanted. The studios park is more about 3d simulation rides and there are only a few rollercoasters. We went on despicable me where we, for a short while, became minions and went through minion training. Then we did transformers which was the same concept but much more intense and really good. We did twisted which is a tornado experience but was a bit of a let down I thought but when we came out of it there was a parade passing which was cool.
We then went on the best ride of the day... The revenge of the mummy. This was a really cool rollercoaster and its in the dark so you have no idea where you're going and a major plus was it was only a 5 minute queue!! On the whole we were really lucky with the queues, most were only 30-45 minutes. We then headed to the highlight for me. Diagon alley!! This was so cool I was literally freaking out! It was so cool. We went on Escape from Gringotts which had a really long queue which wasn't surprising as it is very new. The inside of the bank was really cool and the ride was fun. We tried on some robes and looked around the shops including Weasly wizziling wheezes where I got a chocolate frog. We came out and had our second lucky strike of the day when we saw the Dragon on top of Gringotts breathe fire!!
We saw the start of the evening show which had cool fireworks and water fountains the before we had to leave. Unfortunately we didn't have time to do the biggest rollercoaster "Rock it" but that's exactly why we did 2 days! By the time we got back I was exhausted and crashed straight away.
We dumped the stuff at the camp site and headed to Universal. First stop Universal studios! It was only me, Sinead, and Helen who were upgrading to 2 days but it meant we were able to whip through doing all the rides we wanted. The studios park is more about 3d simulation rides and there are only a few rollercoasters. We went on despicable me where we, for a short while, became minions and went through minion training. Then we did transformers which was the same concept but much more intense and really good. We did twisted which is a tornado experience but was a bit of a let down I thought but when we came out of it there was a parade passing which was cool.
We then went on the best ride of the day... The revenge of the mummy. This was a really cool rollercoaster and its in the dark so you have no idea where you're going and a major plus was it was only a 5 minute queue!! On the whole we were really lucky with the queues, most were only 30-45 minutes. We then headed to the highlight for me. Diagon alley!! This was so cool I was literally freaking out! It was so cool. We went on Escape from Gringotts which had a really long queue which wasn't surprising as it is very new. The inside of the bank was really cool and the ride was fun. We tried on some robes and looked around the shops including Weasly wizziling wheezes where I got a chocolate frog. We came out and had our second lucky strike of the day when we saw the Dragon on top of Gringotts breathe fire!!
We saw the start of the evening show which had cool fireworks and water fountains the before we had to leave. Unfortunately we didn't have time to do the biggest rollercoaster "Rock it" but that's exactly why we did 2 days! By the time we got back I was exhausted and crashed straight away.
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