The Great Eggs Benny-a-thon

So, today I was checking out the blog with a view to refreshing it a little before this year's Eurovision extravaganza, only to find that I never bothered to finish the report from the last trip. I never did get around to telling you about Miami, Anaheim or Vegas. In my defence I was more concerned in Miami with not melting to death, and in Anaheim and Vegas I was too tired to operate the iPad (you'll see) so it is no surprise that it never happened.

My mid week sojourn to Miami was spent at South Beach.

This place is essentially the Gold Coast, but with Maseratis. No idea how all these amazing cars are in such good condition, people drive CRAZY in Miami. I even got to see some serious road rage - a guy actually jumped out of his car, got a crow bar from the boot and went to attack another driver - thankfully he got back in his car and sped off without hurting the other guy when all of us on the medium strip started screaming at him that we had already called 911 and police sirens could be heard. I seriously thought my afternoon was going to involve filling in police reports.

The variety of cars along the beach strip was fairly diverse.

 I was about the only person wearing an actual top (apparently you just stroll around in a bikini top and short shorts) and one of the few that were still sober at noon on a Tuesday. Everywhere you went people were sitting at beach side cafes drinking cocktails bigger than your head (even at breakfast). Whilst the level of bikinis in Sephora was a shock to the system, there were some parts of town where it was more acceptable to go shirtless. Like Muscle Beach.

Whilst South Beach was very much for the blue rinse set right until the grand days of Miami Vice, today it is party central. SoBe (as the cool kids call it) is these days a heritage listed area, with all of the Art Deco buildings of the 1920s beautifully preserved. Even Senor Frog's comes with a classier building than it deserves.

Turns out SoBe is home to the third most photographed home in the USA. For those playing along at home, first place goes to the White House and second to Graceland. Third goes to this house.

This was the home of Gianni Versace. The only man to defy the heritage listings. There was a lovely art deco hotel to the left of this house, but Gianni wanted a pool. Mysteriously after he made a very large donation to the preservation society the house where he wanted his pool to go seemed to have it's heritage listing removed and could be demolished. How lucky was that? It was on the front steps of this house in 1997 where Gianno was murdered by a stalker who had reportedly been following his morning routine of getting an espresso and Italian newspaper at a local cafe for weeks. Today it is the most expensive hotel in SoBe (upwards of US$3,000 a night) and a pricey restaurant.

One of the highlights of my trip to SoBe was a culinary walking tour. The Cuban and Colombian influences in Miami make it an amazingly tasty destination. We were treated to churros as a starter.

This was followed by a tasty array of empanadas from a variety of South American countries along with some lessons in how to identify one from Argentina from one from Colombia. For me the Colombian variety was a winner. We even got to try it with a drink that I can only describe as the Colombian equivalent of the shandy - creaming soda and beer.

We stopped off at Gloria Estefan's restaurant on SoBe, where the food is all traditional Cuban fare. This dish may not look the prettiest, but it may be one of the tastiest things I have ever eaten.

Inside the restaurant there was even a chandelier that was made from actual instruments played by Latin music stars. Every one of these items has been played on stage - including by the likes of Ricky Martin, Shakira and Gloria herself (cheese grater I get, but who plays a pineapple?).

 We continued walking and made it to one of the most famous streets in SoBe.

This street played a major role in Mami Vice. The buildings are pink because the producers begged everyone to let them paint them - and nobody ever bothered to change it back to it's original all white facade. This street also happens to be home to Miami's best gelato. The gelato is displayed in the store in a rotating ice cream spaceship. That makes it tastier I'm sure.

I headed into town one night (against my brother's wishes) to watch the Heat play the Lakers. The game included much fanfare to celebrate Veterans Day.

Before long it was time to leave the half dressed beautiful people and rappers (not that I knew any of the rappers they kept putting on the big screen at the Heat/Laker game) and head back west. Turns out in America one can get airport eggs benny. I'm not convinced on having it with crispy chicken or steak... (I opted for the Veggie).

Before too long I was back in California with the Mouse. This time to run the runDisney Avengers Super Heroes weekend. First up on Friday morning was the Super Hero 5k. I wore a cape. Does it getting any cooler than running through Disneyland wearing a cape? This was taken in the new Radiator Springs area in Cars Land. I made it to corral A! Which meant no crowds for the run.

Next up on Saturday was the Captain America 10K. Never in my life have I seen so many people dressed as Captain America. You kinda had to join in. The one thing everyone that runs a runDisney race wants is the "castle photo". I got mine on the Saturday morning.

I decided to celebrate the end of this race with some more eggs benny. Just because. This is eggs benny Disneyland style. I still don't understand the grapes...

Sunday was a big day. I was up (for the third day in a row) at 4am and freezing my butt off at the start line area. The day before had sadly been the Paris terrorist attacks, so we were all instructed to arrive super early as the level of security was increased. It was cold, and with a half marathon ahead of me (and then some) I opted to turf the costume and run in something comfy instead. The race took us through the streets of Anaheim - including around the diamond at Angels stadium. Was a little uncomfortable at being one of 15,000 people traipsing through the home of a large number of homeless Californians at one point. This was taken of me just meters from the finish line. That look on my face can be translated as "what the f&!$ was I thinking, I still have another race to run today!".

The medal haul from the Avengers weekend was awesome. I got an added medal for completing the Infinity Gauntlet Challenge - which was running the 10K and the Half back to back.

Yeah, you read that right, I still had ANOTHER race that day. Once over the finish line, and clutching all the food goodies Disney give you, it was back to the hotel for a shower and to grab my stuff and head to the airport for my flight to Vegas. I'm told the unofficial name for this was "Avenge the Strip". You run the Avengers half marathon that morning in California, then you catch the lunchtime flight to Vegas and that afternoon you run one of the Rock n Roll Las Vegas races down the Strip.

Almost everyone on the flight was wearing a race shirt from the Avengers weekend and those that were not were very confused about our invasion. We were boarded, and ready to go when the pilot announced that bad weather had hit Veags and we were not allowed to take off. So, we spent an hour sitting on the tarmac, listening to the comic styling of the rather amusing cabin crew and trying not to look too nervous at missing the starters horn. Eventually we were cleared for take off and made it to Vegas around 3pm (over an hour late). The roads had all been closed by the time we landed, so it was another race against time to get to the hotel to drop bags, get changed and get to the start. I ended up having to RUN to the start line (whats another mile and a bit at this point?) but got there with minutes to spare and was still pinning my bib on when the race started. I hadn't had a chance to find the lovely Melissa who was somewhere in the crowd - but thankfully fate united us at the first drink station.

We were all so busy on the plane worrying about getting to Vegas, none of us thought through what the bad weather meant for the race itself. The first half was okay, but when we turned back down the Strip to run into the wind was when the real challenge began. Add to that it had started to rain and I think the only thing that stopped me from walking my second race of the day was the desire to get to the finish line and a hot shower as quickly as I could. Having Melissa there to chat to and take my mind off the horrid weather was also a relief.

Post race we limped our way to dinner to celebrate still being alive and hit up Buddy Valestro's Italian restaurant. Back in Orlando Buddy had told me to order his grandmother's lasagna. This was possibly the largest single serving of lasagna I have ever clapped eyes on. Even with Melissa's help I didn't even get close to finishing this.

Come morning I was starving, though surprisingly mobile for someone who ran in excess of 32kms the day before. What better way to start the day than to have the tasting platter of eggs benny at the hotel. There was pork belly eggs benny, and even an eggs benny served on a crab cake!

I made a valiant attempt to go shopping, but it was pretty clear I was not yet limber enough to try on clothes at the mall, so the credit car got a day off. I worked out that in the space of 9 days I ran 57kms (not counting the extra mile run to the start line in Vegas). It was of course supposed to be higher, but for the issues we had the weekend before in Orlando with the race being cut short. I even got to take home 7 new medals for my trouble.

There was just one more morning left at this point. Also known as one more chance to have some eggs benny. This time I opted for room service style so that I could enjoy the view from my room a little longer.

By nightfall I had started the three flight marathon from Las Vegas back to Port Moresby. All flights to Vegas should be after dark - how else do you get to enjoy this amazing view.

Candy, more candy and bizarre foods

Well this is coming to you from 35,000 feet, somewhere between Orlando and Los Angeles. In flight internet, a marvel of the modern world. So where did I leave the Disney adventure?

I think I left it somewhere near candy. Lottttttts and lots of candy. See, I went to mickeys not so scary Halloween party.

Not everything is open, but they only let so many people through the door, so the rides that are operating have almost no wait. Not surprisingly, the most popular ride was the Haunted Mansion. There were "dance parties" scattered around. A 'villain mix-n-mingle' near the castle, and a monster dance party in Tomorrow land (if you look closely you can see some of the Monsters Inc characters dancing away with the kids).

Everyone was given a bag and a map. You searched the parks for glowing orange orbs.

The orbs mean candy! If you were really lucky you found one of the 2 candy trails, which were a 500 meter or so stroll where every few meters there was another cast member handing you candy. Now, I was cool with the little kids getting a bit excited and pushing in front of me. I don't take issue with that. What I did take issue with though was the grown ups, people old enough to be my parents, pushing in front of kids and then not waiting for the cast member to get the candy, actually just grabbing it themselves and shoving it in their bags. The worst part of that was I twice saw very young (teenage looking) cast members get reprimanded by mangers for letting it happen. Really not cool.
Earlier in the day I had learned that Disney orders the equivalent of 2 tonnes of candy for each of these parties. There was everything from craisins to snickers to three musketeers to skittles to tootsie rolls and something called a whopper. Which I tried and it is nothing but a poor mans out of date malteeser. They went in the bin.

There was a special parade that night - led by the headless horseman! We were the treated to a special light show at the castle.

This was followed by the boo to you fireworks (man that song was a pain to get out of your head!).

The stroll back to the bus was a killer. I had been at the Magic Kingdom since 8am, it was now 10:30pm. My feet were contemplating a revolt, and I can't decide if I was over tired, or if it really was a man in a Fred Flinstone costume sitting next to me on the bus ride home...

I took what is called a "Keys to the Kingdom" tour earlier that day. It was one of the more fascinating things I have done in a long time. It is for adults only (for reasons that will become obvious) and we were taken around the park for five hours by a cast member named Claire who was so amazingly passionate about her job that you could not help but getting caught up on her every word. We learned all about Walt and his brother Roy and the thought and imagineering that went into Walt Disney World. We got the secrets of two of my fav rides and then got to try to find those secrets on the ride itself. We even got to go backstage and down into the tunnels that are under the Magic Kingdom. We even learned things like why the rubbish bins were where they were (which was more interesting than it sounds). I can't tell you more than that, because we were asked not to say or write anything that may be seen or heard by a child and "spoil the magic", nor could we take pictures, but it was an absolute highlight.

Another highlight came on Friday morning. I dragged my tired feet out of bed, and hit Epcot for a "Kitchen Memories" lunch - a lunch where a well known chef cooks for you and tells you about their food memories. Mine was with Mr Bizarre Foods himself Andrew Zimmern.

We were all slightly terrified about what he would make us eat - and he didn't disappoint. First course? Frogs legs!

They were tasty, and I ate the whole thing! Main was a little less challenging, his fav prawns, and then for dessert we had his family berry crumble. We got to meet him and have a chat afterwards and it turns out he is super keen on a show in PNG - he has already tried twice to get there.

That evening I went to the other end of the scale and went to the 3D dessert party. This is a party where they feed you dessert. And nothing else. Because after the candy fest the night before I needed more sugar.

My fav thing of the night (and apologies for the crappy pictures - it was really dark) was the ice cream and cake hot dog.

We finished the night with fireworks - complete with 3D glasses that made Mickey Mouse explode out of every firework. Coolest trick ever!

When I got home that night the housekeeping staff had been at it again with the towel animals. There was a ray in my bath tub!

I also got a chance that evening to go to an Air Supply concert. Nothing like a big "all out of love" sing along with aging rockers. There should be an age limit on leather pants though. Just sayin.

I finished up today with a few more dishes from the food and wine fest. I even ate the escargot. Snails AND frogs legs in one day. The French would be proud.

Sadly, it is now time to go home. Though the fun part of going home is getting to start planning the next adventure. Until next time, thanks for reading, I am always so pleasantly surprised when I see the hits on this site :)

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Pumpkins, apples and The Mouse

Do you know who I think is the richest person in Florida? The person who had the genius vision to start up the company that hires those motorised scooters out to tourists who think they can do theme parks without walking a step. I have easily seen hundreds of them a day. Multiply that by four parks just at Disney, add in Universal and Sea World and I suspect there would be thousand of them hired out on a given day. Saw one of their billboards today and prices start at $25 per day. Talk about a license to print money. Wish I'd thought of that, would help soften the hatred I have of those scooters...

Monday morning started with a bang. I hit the road to the Magic Kingdom for a Royal engagement - breakfast at Cinderella's castle. It was sugar and spice and all things nice - literally.

One of the signature items on the menu is the caramel apple stuffed french toast. I can't walk past a menu item like that - though I should have. It was stuffed not only with the caramel apple pieces, but also cream cheese. I think one bite gave me my weekly recommended daily intake of sugar! The portion was thankfully small. I had many a visitor at my table including Jasmine, Aurora, Ariel and Snow White. The Princesses just added to the sugar overload.

Following breakfast I headed out to check out all the Halloween decorations.

The whole of Main St was decorated for fall.

Since I was here last they have opened the new Fantasyland, including the new Beauty and the Beast section. I had lunch at the beasts castle - where they try to replicate the magic of the dining scene in the movie. It is still a mystery to me exactly how my food found me in that giant place (yes, my food had to find me!). For dessert I had the "masters cupcake". It was chocolate cake frosted with 'the grey stuff'. You should try the grey stuff, it's delicious. Don't believe me? Asked the dishes (double points to anyone who started to sing the last two sentences).

I went on a bit of an adventure around in the afternoon and was flabbergasted as to what Americans do to apples (beyond my sugar fest breakfast). They even dress some apples up as pumpkins!

In fact they will do apples as almost anything - frogs, cars, monsters...

One of the other big changes since my last visit is that they now have a Starbucks in the Magic Kingdom. Who knew that not even the mouse was immune from having old school coffee shops turn into a Starbucks.

Tuesday I went on safari at the Animal Kingdom. I saw lions and cheetahs and elephants and zebras and giraffes and dinosaurs. Yup, dinosaurs.

At lunch I was wooed by a crazy menu item. The mac and cheese hot dog. Yes, these is a hot dog sausage under the pasta. My tummy did not feel so great that afternoon. Could be the dinosaur ride, could be the the hog dog - it may need to remain a great mystery of the universe.

Despite the self inflicted tummy ache, I hit the food and wine fest for dinner. The entertainment tonight was courtesy of the Go-Go's, featuring Belinda Carlise.

The booths that supplied dinner included Greece, Argentina, and Poland - the latter came with a sour cream 'hidden Mickey'.

For dessert - I ventured to Australia.

Coming up next - too much Halloween candy, and a 3D dessert extravaganza (a post which has to be delayed being written by at least 24 hours because the mere thought of what I ate tonight is making me feel not so great...). There will also be a surprise appearance by a tv star. Stay tuned.

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