Back to Reality

We are back much later than anticipated but safe, sound and overflowing with some wonderful memories.  Memories of the welcome that we received from our family and the wonderful activities planned whilst we were there.  Memories of an amazing holiday and the wondrous things that we have seen.   Memories of the welcome that we received from friends, both in America and on our return to our Island paradise.  We are indeed blessed.

The first week in Florida was Thanksgiving so very busy in the parks,  turning people away at one point as they were full to capacity.  We decided to save ourselves and enjoy the sunshine, relaxing in the pool and the beautiful  grounds of our resort.

Mount Dora is always such a pull for us as we have friends that live there.  As always we were made so welcome and enjoyed several visits both to their home and the Lakeside, a beautiful hotel for lunch.  We were blessed to be included in both their Thanksgiving celebrations and birthday meal.

Food certainly played a big part in our time away from home, I still have yet to weigh myself since our return but I do know I have certainly put weight on.  I have decided not to worry about it until after Christmas and then a real effort will be made.

The extravaganza at Renninger's was once again a joy, so many stalls and amazing relics and artefacts from a bygone era.  It was difficult to decide what to buy, the space in our suitcases was limited.  We laughed at how many times we said "if only".  We had so much fun wandering about enjoying the atmosphere and soaking up the sun.

Gerard had to sit down regularly which enabled me to take a closer look at some of the stalls and chat.  It certainly was a lot of fun.

The Street of Shops was also a delight where we met up with another friend and enjoyed the abundance of vintage Christmas decorations.

We had the pleasure of strolling around the town of Mount Dora both during the day and at night with the wondrous lights.  The decor in the shop windows were amazing and provoked memories of many a Christmas past.

The parks took everything to a different level, the Christmas decor was a joy to behold.  A feast for all the senses.  The Disney Floridan resort was one of the places we visited to enjoy a meal with some of the characters.  The resort is very English in a Victorian style and is very elegant.  The Christmas decor was a treat with an enormous Gingerbread house in the lobby.

This photo gives you a better idea of the scale, it was indeed an amazing sight.

We had some fun with the characters...

Tigger was a firm favourite.  The food was a little disappointing overall but the desserts were a joy which more than made up for it.

There are some pieces of melon to give you an idea of scale.

The grounds were a delight, such a wonderful experience and a marvellous place to explore and spend a few hours as was the Polynesian resort.  The decor at this resort was right up there as one of my favourites. The grounds were also  a delight, the perfect place to sit, chill and take in the atmosphere.

There were so many elements to this resort but the entrance to me was award winning creating the perfect image of what a Polynesian resort should be.  I will let you decide for yourselves.

I will finish today's post with some images from Disney Springs previously known as Downtown Disney.  Another impressive area of Disney, once again the Christmas decor was a delight.  The Christmas tree trail and Santa's chalet were a joy, each tree themed around a film or character.  The intermittent snowfall was a little surreal in Florida but did indeed add to the atmosphere.  There were 25 trees on the trail, with some of the decorations available to buy.  I resisted the temptation but it could have gone either way.

A bit of a photo overload so I do hope that you are still there.  A wonderful holiday that will stay with us for a long time to come.  The trials and tribulations of our journey to get home will hopefully become something to laugh about in time.  I would like to thank you for your emails and comments, they are greatly appreciated.  I have started to reply to some but time is sadly lacking at the moment.  I will try to visit your blogs over the next few days.  Take care.

See you soon.