Have you ever played mini-golf when its 100 degrees outside?

Trust me, that's pretty hot. I would know because that's where I found myself on an extremely sunny Sunday afternoon.

Since my hand-eye co-ordination isn't exactly up to scratch, we were headed to Disney's Fantasia Gardens for a game of golf that didn't require skill or the ability to use your brain. The only problem was that the course wasn't quite as simple as we thought it would be.

I may not be an expert on golf but even I know that it's pretty hard to play when the course has enough slopes to rival a ski resort. As was to be expected, there was no hole-in-one's for me but regardless of this, I have to admit it was fun. Sadly I didn't beat, or even match, the course record.

One thing's for sure, I will never complain about English heat again. Today, as we head off shopping (there's a bit of a recurring theme here), it is 106 degrees, which is pretty hot. I was planning on tanning when I was here but it is actually too hot to go outdoors.

I don't know who invented air conditioning but boy are they a saviour! You have to admit that its the only thing keeping Americans and tourists alike from melting on the tarmac.

Kelly x

The electricity bill of a lifetime

No matter how many times I go there, the Disney parks never fail to keep me spellbound. My most recent trip there was Tuesday, when my grandparents and I took the short journey to Magic Kingdom.

Seeing as I had already been there a fair few times, we were going for the evening when the crowds should have gone home for the night. It meant we wouldn't get on any of the rides but since I could still shop, I wasn't going to complain. We were there for the Summer Nightastic; a parade of floats and dancers all decorated with enough lights to decorate several hundred Christmas trees. Despite the hefty bill it must produce, the overall effect is mesmorising.

Inspired by Disney classics such as Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, I think this may have been one of the best parades I have seen.

The only downside had to be the sweltering heat and the mass of red-faced visitors certainly didn't help. It seemed our theaory that Tuesday would be quiet was wrong. We skipped the fireworks (but still managed to catch it as we left the park). Because Main Street was packed with spectators, we were led through a side exit but even with the staff doing all they could it took us an hour to get to the car park, let alone out of Disney.

Despite the late finish, I loved it. I guess it just proves I'll always be a Disney girl at heart.

Kelly x

Muggles and Magic

Ask any of my friends and they will tell you how excited I was about going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. 


Hooked from the beginning, I confess that I was determined to get into Hogwarts. Due to what I'm sure is simply a clerical error, my wizarding potential remains unrealised.



But this is beside the point; I would be entering Universal Studios as a muggle.

I'm sure Hogsmeade has never been busier. When we arrived at around nine in the morning, the queues were already unimagineably long to even enter the wizarding village, let alone the shops or rides. With a seventy-five minute wait to enter Ollivander's and the Owl Post (which are connected), we decided to move on after one ride and a Butterbeer in the Hog's Head.



The ride we did manage to get on was Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, which although good, wasn't great - it was just a mismatch of scenes from the various books and movies Harry Potter stars in.



Disappointing? Maybe. But after all, there's more to Universal Studios than one village pulled from one woman's imagination. There's fast rides, water rides, scary rides and Wizarding World of Harry Potter is just one small part of it. Hopefully, when the excitement has died down, the great idea that is Hogsmeade will be a little more like I was hoping for.



Kelly x

The Real American Experience

Before I left for Haines City, my dad, very clearly, gave me a list of things I wasn't to do: no cheesecake, no Mountain Dew and definitely, under any circumstances, no Cherry Pocket.



Well, as you can imagine, I had three new aims for my holiday. I wanted to eat cheesecake until I felt sick. I was going to keep a bottle of Mountain Dew in my hands constantly. And, most importantly, I was going to find my way to Cherry Pocket if I had to walk there myself, map in hand.



Luckily for me, my grandparents paid as much attention to my dad's instructions as I did, which is why after helping out with some jobs (Mountain Dew in hand, of course) I found myself in the back of a truck, sat next to a fire extinguisher, travelling the back roads of Central Florida.



We were on our way to Cherry Pocket, a 'real' American restaurant - I use this term loosely. It is well off the beaten, and worn, track and apart from myself, I couldn't spot a single tourist. The seafood shack, as it is advertised, is on the edge of Lake Pierce, complete with outhouse and a fair few alligators!

I
 left feeling like I had eaten a horse (but a very tasty one) and sporting my very own Cherry Pocket shirt. It was, due to my Nana's demands, the least crude of the selection.


Tomorrow is another day and for me it brings the long awaited Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios.



Until then
Kelly x

Summer has officially begun.

School is over, my bags are packed and my flight booked. In less than 72 hours, I will be somewhere over the Atlantic on my way to Florida for one long, blissful month.

My grandparents, who I will be staying with, have lived in America for a while now and i certainly have no complaints about going to visit them. This year my plan is to get an enviable tan (for once!) and put off all that homework I haven't packed - it sounds easy doesn't it? Well knowing me, I will lose my suitcase, forget my passport and burn the second the plane lands!

Of course a month is a seriously long time to be without my dear friend but considering the long list of souvenirs I have been conned into buying her, I think I can be forgiven for leaving her behind as contrary to her belief, she will not fit into my suitcase. I doubt there is any room in there now I have squished so much into it. My parents will be missed as well although I'm sure they will be far too busy cruising around Greece too worry about their poor daughter!

For now, I have to go but please remember to check this out to hear all about my Floridian escapades!

Until next time

Kelly x