IT`S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE...COCKTAILS, STEAKS AND CAKES..11 JOLLY HOLIDAY NIGHTS @ RPR-DEC 2019

:welcome: along PoohIsHome........


Yes, we’re planning on no down time this year........fingers crossed!

Would have been lovely to say a quick hello to you.......but hope you have the best time on your trip.......and nice to see you on this trip report too, hope you enjoy it.......:wave2:

After what felt like the longest countdown in the history of countdowns, Tony and I are sitting here twiddling our thumbs waiting on Corey. He’s at school this morning long enough for attendance count and to check in with his AP teachers and then we’ll hit the road. We’ll spend the night in Savannah, GA and pull up to HRH at lunchtime tomorrow.
 
Hello Carole,
What a wonderful surprise this morning to find your pre-trip report:flower1:
:cool1::cheer2:
Brenda

:welcome: Back Brenda........


lol.......no point in letting the grass grow.......it might help to make the time pass quicker if I do this........time seems to stand still when you’re waiting to leave for a trip!

Glad to see you here too though.......:wave2:
 
After what felt like the longest countdown in the history of countdowns, Tony and I are sitting here twiddling our thumbs waiting on Corey. He’s at school this morning long enough for attendance count and to check in with his AP teachers and then we’ll hit the road. We’ll spend the night in Savannah, GA and pull up to HRH at lunchtime tomorrow.

Oh bless!!! It has been quite the year for you hasn’t it!!

It’ll be worth the wait I’m sure.......have a safe and fun drive down to Florida and have the best time...... :wave2:
 


Hi Carole,

Sorry I haven't commented but I have been reading all of your trip reports. It sounds like your Halloween trip went really well and you both had some down time which is always nice. We are coming down on the 14th of December and we are going to try and slow down as well and enjoy the resorts and other areas.

Looking forward to more of your Christmas trip. Isn't it amazing how quickly they turn from halloween to Christmas decor?

Alesia
 
Hi Carole,

Sorry I haven't commented but I have been reading all of your trip reports. It sounds like your Halloween trip went really well and you both had some down time which is always nice. We are coming down on the 14th of December and we are going to try and slow down as well and enjoy the resorts and other areas.

Looking forward to more of your Christmas trip. Isn't it amazing how quickly they turn from halloween to Christmas decor?

Alesia

A very warm :welcome: back Alesia...….:flower3:

Always good to see you......and I`m glad you posted. Yes, we had a wonderful Halloween trip, and I said to our friend in Orlando last night, I feel as if it`s been ages since we were there!!! Seems crazy to say that......

And you have your trip to look forward to!!!! 14th.....it is an amazing time to be there. It`s lovely you will be taking it easy and explore some of the resorts and beyond. One of the things we love is going round the hotels and seeing all their holiday displays....can`t wait!!! And you`ll have the best time.......

Oh yes, seeing how quick Christmas appears when Halloween is over is quite something.....

It is lovely to see you again......hope you enjoy the trip report....and hope you have a wonderful visit....come back and tell us how it went....:wave2:
 
Uh Oh I almost missed this!! Happy to see you're doing a bit of a PTR.

I think I need a trip to the Mall to go to Cheesecake Factory....I don't even like cake but Kyle's picture is tempting even ME!!

Can't wait to see a more recent picture of Kyle, he gets more handsome each year, but he was just so stinkin cute in that first picture you posted.
Good you're flying Virgin! They have a spaceport not too far from my home, as I told you before we're a military everything Space kind of a State, maybe Kyle can sign up for one of the trips they plan to Space and beyond.....Kyle would love it here, not sure if I've mentioned it but the VLA (Very Large Array) in my State isn't too far from where I live (not sure if you've ever seen Contact with Jody Foster but that is where a lot of it was filmed). We have so much science and space related stuff here it seems endless.
Four engines? Well give me 8 and I'd be ready to go...I'm just a terrible passenger, they won't let me fly the plane (a bit of a control freak here) :rotfl2:

P.S. enjoy every minute with Kyle.....so happy for you all to be together! No amount of time is ever enough to spend with loved ones.:love:
 
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Uh Oh I almost missed this!! Happy to see you're doing a bit of a PTR.

I think I need a trip to the Mall to go to Cheesecake Factory....I don't even like cake but Kyle's picture is tempting even ME!!

Can't wait to see a more recent picture of Kyle, he gets more handsome each year, but he was just so stinkin cute in that first picture you posted.
Good you're flying Virgin! They have a spaceport not too far from my home, as I told you before we're a military everything Space kind of a State, maybe Kyle can sign up for one of the trips they plan to Space and beyond.....Kyle would love it here, not sure if I've mentioned it but the VLA (Very Large Array) in my State isn't too far from where I live (not sure if you've ever seen Contact with Jody Foster but that is where a lot of it was filmed). We have so much science and space related stuff here it seems endless.
Four engines? Well give me 8 and I'd be ready to go...I'm just a terrible passenger, they won't let me fly the plane (a bit of a control freak here) :rotfl2:

P.S. enjoy every minute with Kyle.....so happy for you all to be together! No amount of time is ever enough to spend with loved ones.:love:

:welcome: Tink2Day.......I’m glad you did find my somewhat short little PTR.......

lol....yes, I hate chocolate cake, but it does look gorgeous!!! I think we may be there more than once!!!

Thank you.......Kyle is our absolute pride and joy, I‘ve warned him picture overdrive will be in effect.....lol.......

He would love to see the VLA! The technology out there is awe inspiring....oh yes, he would be up there in a heartbeat if he could get a seat on those future flights!!

I year you on the plane, I’d love to “drive” it......but have to admit, I adore flying......I have two friends who are scared witless and hate turbulence, which I love.....I always told them I will never, ever fly with them! They would be a nightmare.....

And thank you for the good wishes.......we are so looking forward to being together for this trip......a year feels a long time now since he was last with us......I hope you enjoy this one too....always enjoy seeing your comments.....:wave2:
 
Yay! Another trip report, perfect as I just finished your last one. Hopefully your travels with be less eventful this trip! So happy Kyle is with you and you get to enjoy this time together. My children are 20 and 23 so not far behind Kyle. I actually welled up a bit reading your posts about your trip together. Think I’m being a bit sentimental with graduation looming ahead in May for my son and no idea where he’ll end up. We’ve been very fortunate that our kiddos love to travel with us as well. Have an incredible trip and enjoy every moment although I’m pretty sure I don’t need to say that to you!
 
Yay! Another trip report, perfect as I just finished your last one. Hopefully your travels with be less eventful this trip! So happy Kyle is with you and you get to enjoy this time together. My children are 20 and 23 so not far behind Kyle. I actually welled up a bit reading your posts about your trip together. Think I’m being a bit sentimental with graduation looming ahead in May for my son and no idea where he’ll end up. We’ve been very fortunate that our kiddos love to travel with us as well. Have an incredible trip and enjoy every moment although I’m pretty sure I don’t need to say that to you!

:welcome: along christophfam…...

Yes, we`re hoping for a nice easy simple trip with no issues!!! We are so much looking forward to this trip, as is Kyle!!!

I agree, it is an emotional time with your son`s Graduation coming up....lovely of course, but definitely an emotional moment in life :hug:......I think if they still enjoy travelling with you now, looks like you`ll be lucky and it`ll continue.....it is a blessing.

Thank you, we`ll do our best to have the best time...…..look forward to you reading along with this one too...….:wave2:
 
Kyle is really easy to please when it comes to food.....pizza, chocolate cake, steak, chocolate cake, fries, chocolate cake, chicken, chocolate cake, ice cream....chocolate of course and he does like an occasional slice or two of chocolate cake........ ::yes::

And isn't overly keen to share his chocolate cake!!!





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He hasn't asked to go to many places...….except......CF for his favourite dessert ever...…...everything gets pitted against the high standard of this cake for chocolate and icing standard. I was thrilled when he said my flourless chocolate cake was the same standard as Linda`s Fudge cake and maybe even a little better...…praise indeed!!!!






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It`s not somewhere we have to eat in every trip, but we do like the CF and have enjoyed a good few dishes from there. So, we may eat there once and then get some Cake to go a few times. It is only a ten minute drive to the Mall, so they could easily pop out whenever they feel like it.

One of his other choices, is Red Lobster.......he does usually have the maple chicken here as opposed to seafood, but, he really enjoys the Chocolate Wave dessert they have....again, not for me, but it`s a decent sized chocolate cake and it looks to be a more manageable portion than the CF one.






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And his favourite sharing dessert is The Chocolate Stampede from Longhorn......I have some of the ice cream and they share it...….Kyle is like a skilled surgeon as he slices the dish between the two of them!!! Not one of them gets an ounce more than the other!!!






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And of course you do get a lovely steak in Longhorn too!!!






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Pizza is one of Kyle`s favourite foods, he usually has it the night before we fly and more often than not it`s his meal of choice on the first night at RPR as we usually eat in Jake`s American Bar.......plain old cheese pizza is his go to pizza. And usually with a bbq sauce base.......bit like me there, as I prefer that to a tomato base.......Tom is the traditionalist here and sticks to plain old tomato.






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Sal`s pizza at PBH is also fabulous. For us it`s the best onsite pizza around...…nothing in the parks or Citywalk beats it. Again, plain old cheese pizza.....yep, our own little Kevin McCallister when he was little!!!







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We had planned to take him to Ocean Prime this visit, but after our not so good experience there last visit, we are going to Eddie V`s with him. I know he`ll love everything about the place and especially the steaks!!! I think we are quite excited to take him there this visit.






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If we had another spare night, I think we`d go back to The Palm too, but so many places we want to eat and not enough nights.......

Orlando Ale House is another place we can`t believe he`s never been to either.......we went last December when Kyle was poorly, which was a shame as I know he`d like it.

A couple of evenings we plan to eat wherever the notion takes us......when we see the Macy`s parade and the Hogwarts Night show, we may just go back to the hotel or Citywalk....NBC is an option there as is Margaritaville of course.....NBC we`d have burgers probably.


Lunch options may be more around the park than usual.....for sure Confisco Grille and Kyle has expressed an interest in trying Mythos again and Lombards......he had forgotten we had a negative experience there in September, but he had enjoyed his fish and chips last year.......I said we`ll see.....lol......

I have to look at the Mythos menu, as it has been a while since we`ve gone and maybe they have updated it a little.....


Thunder Falls is another place he may like to go back to....again, it`s been a while, but we did like it, well....except for the way you choose your meal then wait to pay......food gets cold.

But both parks have some very good food options, both table and counter service......I see people say their options are terribel and have to wonder where they ate......sure there are places we don`t eat in like Mel`s Diner or Cafe 4 and Circus McGurkas.....but most other places are pretty darn good.



More coming right up.........
 
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IT`S GETTING CLOSE


:santa:


Over the last couple of years we have seen Andretti Indoor Karting Centre and keep saying we`ll have to go sometime......all three of us love Karting and any kind of Motor Sport.......so we figure we`d enjoy this.






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It`s sits way down on Universal Boulevard behind the Convention Centre and we have seen mixed reviews about it.

Some say the Karts are a bit of a disappointment and not very fast, but others think they are a lot of fun. We did a Karting place many years ago, in Kissimmee I think and it was a bit of a disappointment, so we have a little more of an expectation of the Andretti place, given who he is.


The other stuff like games, simulators and laser tag doesn`t interest us in the slightest, but we`ll have a good look around and see what else the place has to offer.

They do have a food option there, not sure if it could be described as a restaurant.....maybe more like a food court, but the menu looks good and it has plenty of variety......I`m not sure we`ll choose to eat there but again, will go have a look.

There is a membership scheme which might be worth it as one of the things we`d like to purchase can only be bought if you have the membership.....the three race pack for adults. At $50 each it sounds like that might be a good buy for us. Or if we decide not to buy the membership, it`s just $22 for each lap.....not much more to purchase individually.


I`m not sure we`d go on our own if Kyle wasn't with us, but we`ll see. We all love things like this, although maybe we`re used to a little more speed than what is offered here. We all enjoy track days with high performance vehicles on occasion, but I`m sure this`ll be a lot of fun. And if we have some spare time this trip we do plan to give it a try.

It`s a shorter trip than usual, so with the parks being a main focus, we`re not sure how much time we`ll have for offsite activities.

I can`t see Kyle being very interested in walking round the lake at Mount Dora, but we may take a drive up only to buy some Olive Oil as we are running low so do need to stock up. It`s a long time till May when we will be able to buy a load more.


We don't ever feel the need to completely fill up our time with plans to do this, that and the other.….but it`s nice to have an idea of things we might like to do like this place. One friend has already asked me what day are we doing the Macy`s Parade...…..when are we going to KSC.....when do we want to go to dinner...….











I still haven't decided what to do for dinner tonight!!!!

I know she`s asking as they are visiting around the same time, they`re just not staying onsite, and want to plan to meet up...…but she also knows this being Kyle`s trip, we go with what he wants to do and he has asked for a trip with no plans!!! Sounds like a plan!!!! :thumbsup2

I love her dearly, but she`s the type of person who visits the doctor and he needs his blood pressure taken when she`s gone!!! She needs to know the in`s and out`s of everything!!! But, she`s a lot of fun too......


We have three sleeps now till we leave for our overnight up in Manchester...…..it`s come around so quickly now and only now am I beginning to wonder if I`m organised……..I think I am, and if I`m organised, everyone else is organised..::yes::

The next few days will be hair appointment tomorrow morning, then waxing on Wednesday....all mixed in with making sure all clothes we are taking are all laundered and ready to go.


Will decide on Wednesday what type of clothes we`ll take......will have a look at the forecast then and see if it gives us an idea of what it`s going to be like. It`s surely got to be warmer than here!

We have a few more little touches to pop in place for the trip...….but we`re more or less ready to go...…...






 
Just a few sleeps and you can “Let the Adventure Begin!”

Wishing you safe and swift travels, I hope you have a wonderful pre-trip stay and travel day! 🛫 🎢 🎅🏽🤶🏽
 
Ooh Purple ornaments....love it.💜

I bet Andretti's would be super fun not sure how fast the karts go though....I met Mario once through family friends, also race car drivers :car:

Wow this trip sure came quickly! Hope you all have pleasant weather looks like there could be some 'cooler' days in December.🥶

I'm a planner but I would NEVER infringe on the plans of someone else or even ask them what their plans were.....maybe I'd just say we'll see you when we see you.
Although I'm sure your fame has preceded you and she wants to tag along for the best food and most fun! (?):confused3
 
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And a very warm welcome to the fourth Orlando Trip Report of 2019 from Carole-n-Tom......and this time we have our favourite person join us......our son Kyle.....I know many of you remember him from our previous reports, and some have met him from previous visits...….and of course everyone seems to know of his love of chocolate cake...






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So, the who, the when and the why.....although is there ever really a need to ask why......hey, it`s Orlando......and the Holidays...….

I always struggle how to start these reports at times....so many of you know us so well by now, and introductions seems redundant, but I guess there are plenty who don`t know us yet.....so if you do or don't know us yet, a warm welcome to the Holiday 2019 Trip Report.







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Carole and Tom...….we have been very happily married for over 27 years and are both enjoying the fruits of Tom`s early retirement 2 years ago now......his early retirement meant we could come to our favourite place more often, and we have certainly taken advantage of that over the last couple of years.

In the last two years we have stayed 148 nights, well after the December trip of course, and altogether we have stayed more than 300 nights over the years mostly at Royal Pacific...….latterly we do spend some time at Sapphire Falls too. So, you can see like a lot of people we absolutely adore Royal Pacific, Universal Orlando and Florida in general.

Being a very happy lady and gentleman of leisure we do like to visit here and it is one of our favourite places in the whole wide world...…..and even better when we have the pleasure of our adult son joining us.

Kyle is 25 and works full time in the wonderful world of Finance.....and we are thrilled on occasions he still wants to come with us on vacation.....and as my friends remind me often, that is wonderful...….of course vacationing with parents is normally frowned upon by some....but Orlando seems to be a very acceptable place to still go to with the oldies!!!

The last two Decembers we have visited Royal Pacific, 2017 we stayed a week......not long enough…...2018 we stayed 10 nights...….maybe not quite long enough......so this year we have 11 nights......and later, once flights were booked, we discovered really, we could have stayed two weeks as he had extra vacation days. Doh!!! I think we`ll try for two weeks next December.

After our lovely stay last December, we knew we wanted to experience all that Universal offered for the Holidays.....so we provisionally gave our friend our dates for this year and patiently waited for flights to come out 331 days from our return to the UK. So, we knew we would be staying 11 nights and our hotel of choice was Royal Pacific.








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We did want to fly Virgin, thankfully or that would be another set of TC flights to rebook.....so as soon as they were out in January this year, we managed to get our dates booked with decent Premium seats on both flights.

Our dates are, we fly out on Friday November 29th and fly home on Tuesday December 10th, 11 nights this time.








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Definitely our preferred aircraft...…..yes, it has four engines!!!

I`m not a nervous flyer at all, but four engines, always beats two!! Especially if we fly direct across the Atlantic like we have done a few times......but there is something special about the 747`s, sadly being phased out and being replaced by a so called better aircraft.









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The Jumbo`s just seem to glamorise when air travel was something special and even a little glamorous when they were first built.....of course, now, they just look a little dated at times inside. But, we still like them.

We have seats booked upstairs in the bubble going out, Kyle and I will sit together and Tom will get to sit with someone else, both ways, although we are downstairs on the way back, through choice as we opted to have the last row and one in front as you are practically the first off the plane and can get to passport control before the masses. We were fairly pleased with our choice of seats. And being Premium, we get a lot of luggage allowance...….. :cheer2:

And with Kyle being with us this time again, we have three sets of luggage...…..:cheer2::cheer2:








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When it`s just Tom and I, we often book the front two seats of Premium upstairs, but this time we have booked the last two seats and one in front, of the seats on the left as you`re looking at the picture......the grey seats are all Premium and the curtain separates those seats from Economy, so it is a slightly smaller cabin overall and folks seem to vie to sit up here in either type of seats. Some folks think it`s quieter, and it usually is....but of course, it all depends on who your companions are.

You do get extra stowage space with the seats upstairs, so you don't need to keep getting up to get your hand luggage down if you want something. And the space is quite large, so we tend to put things in we think we`ll need for convenience.

I usually sit by the window, but I think I know a certain young man who will decide he might want the window seat...….


Although on our first flight to Orlando way back in 2007, I seem to have ended with the window seat.....not sure I ever got it again though......lol......

He looks so young there!!!!! (don`t we all)


And the Bubble seats are very different now, it used to be all Premium upstairs...….but all aircraft were refurbed and now have a mix upstairs which we do like as the newer seats are more comfortable.







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Usually the night before, we have always stayed at the Radisson for our overnight stay to wherever we were flying from...….and that all changed in September, when we had to change nights due to the Hurricane affecting our flight. We had to change days, so they had no vacancies for the new date, so we tried the Marriott around a 10 minute cab drive from the airport, and we were so glad we did.

It was a lovely hotel, and we were surprised just how much we did like it. So, as soon as we were home from the September trip, we booked two rooms, both Executive Club Access rooms for around half of what we were playing for a family room at the Radisson. I know I`m awful for not usually considering costs....oops.....but this made an awful lot of sense, even to me. The rooms were immaculately clean and quite large, and we were more than a little impressed with their Executive Lounge and the restaurants attached to the hotel.









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The one we ate in last trip, we have booked for our night there next week, Brasserie Blanc which we loved, and the fact they serve very nice steaks went down well with Kyle as he does love a good steak. And the bar area for our afternoon sparkly is lovely too.






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Car rental had been booked months before, maybe around June. I have no clue what Tom has booked, I think it`s just a regular type of SUV and again direct from Alamo. We won`t be doing much driving around this time, but still like the SUV style. No Maserati this time!

Little details I had taken care of during the year, like renewing Kyle`s ESTA without that we don`t get into the USA. You renew it every two years and it`s something like $14 each, so nothing really.


He doesn't have Global Entry, and as he will only be visiting once a year, it`s not really worth it for him.…...we`ll just go through the regular line with him, or maybe we`ll just go ahead and he can line up on his own. We`ll see.

I`m sure I`ll post some of our plans in the next few posts, but for now......we are just over a week away from leaving. We have our car service coming to pick us up on the Thursday morning to drive us up to Manchester Airport for the overnight. They are coming back for us too on the 11th. It`s so much easier getting door to door.

To say we are excited is an understatement. Kyle finishes work next Monday evening, so has the Tuesday and Wednesday off which is lovely, but of course meant we could have had two weeks if we`d known. But, our planned 11 nights is going to be excellent.

Although Tom and I see a lot of Kyle there`s nothing quite like spending special vacation time together....he`s busy with work and his social life, but we treasure our time together always, he`s the best company and so much fun and best of all loves to spend time with us too when he can..…..and (schmaltzy alert ahead :o) that's the best part of this trip....is spending time together, it`s worth so much more than anything.















I promise not to be too sentimental with this trip......well, I`ll try!!!!

Will be updating our tentative plans in several posts before we leave next week...….I do hope you enjoy reading along with our Holiday trip back to our favourite place...…..it`s always so good to read your comments along the way.....:wave2:




















 
Hi Carole - After sharing some of your fabulous trip report with my DH he said he is free the last week of August and Into September so he said “let’s go”!!!!. So......we just booked RPR - end of August- Club level for 10 days! Now we have to figure out if we bring our kids (27 and 24). But trying to arrange everyone schedules will be tough. Have a lovely trip and safe travels.

Brenda


Loved the airplane pictures - 747 is the “King”of the sky.
 
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We have a few more little touches to pop in place for the trip...….but we`re more or less ready to go...…...

Oooooh! I'm so excited for you, Carole! I made the mistake of reading your post about Kyle's love of chocolate cake before I ate dinner and, boy oh boy, that was a mistake! lol - all the photos look so yummy that my boring meal didn't quite seem as satisfying as one of those pieces of chocolate cake! Tell Tom I'll be expecting lots of cake photos! :)

Safe journey, have a wonderful time, and know we will all be thinking of you and your lovely family!

:wave2:
 
Just a few sleeps and you can “Let the Adventure Begin!”

Wishing you safe and swift travels, I hope you have a wonderful pre-trip stay and travel day! 🛫 🎢 🎅🏽🤶🏽

One more sleep now.......although, didn’t sleep much last night.....lol.....

Thank you for the good wishes Maria......excitement has really kicked in now....we are all so looking forward to this one....:wave2:
 
Ooh Purple ornaments....love it.💜

I bet Andretti's would be super fun not sure how fast the karts go though....I met Mario once through family friends, also race car drivers :car:

Wow this trip sure came quickly! Hope you all have pleasant weather looks like there could be some 'cooler' days in December.🥶

I'm a planner but I would NEVER infringe on the plans of someone else or even ask them what their plans were.....maybe I'd just say we'll see you when we see you.
Although I'm sure your fame has preceded you and she wants to tag along for the best food and most fun! (?):confused3

How lovely you met MA.......he always looked such a nice guy. We saw him in the distance once many years ago at a European GP, he took a lot of time with fans which is always good to see!

Yes, a few cooler days seem to be in the plans.......but, sun will be shining for most of it and it’s going to be much warmer than it’ll be here......we’re bringing some warmer clothes too this time......::yes::

That‘s what I told her when I spoke to her later.......she knows we don’t plan much at the best of times, but this trip definitely not. So, I said we’ll see them around........we’d be exactly the same as you. She is fun, but a little high maintenance which she openly admits herself.....I’m not saying stuff behind her back.......I wouldn’t do that......plus she reads here too.....lol......

Yes, anything purple......I’m there.......:wave2:
 

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