Florida

So ... I'll finally write something about my trip away.

It was weird going back. I've stayed in the same resort for the last 3/4 times we've been over there? So the trip to the hotel always looks familiar. It almost feels like coming home, in a way.

Mum always tries to plan the trip, but we didn't get that far this year, which I actually preferred. I went on holiday, not an army boot camp, you know?

We went with American Airlines, which we've never done before. And never will again. Every flight was delayed, which although it caused angst on the first flight, was at least a relief when we got to our connecting gate. But it meant as well, we woke up 3.30am, and got to bed in the villa about 9.30 local time - 23 hours nonstop.

On friday we slept in, grabbed some food from the (pricey) on site shop, and then went off to Premium mall, to sort out some tickets - for the local bus, unlimited seaworld/aquatica/busch gardens tickets for a fortnight, and our universal tickets. Oh and we went to the local publix to stock up on food (like asda, but way more processed food) but that's about all we did the first day. Jetlag's a bitch, and my ears had popped like crazy on the first plane. We landed and I was crying from how hard my ears were hurting.

Saturday was Harry Potter day :D it was crazy, we were queuing from the entrance to the Jurrasic Park section of universal islands, but it only took us half hour to get to hogwarts. It was so effing hot, we were sweating at 10am. We'd taken water but there's only so much you can carry at once ... the bottles were empty halfway along the queue.

We got talking to the conductor just inside the entrance, he was cool. Not figuratively, it was 35 C with 50% humidity and he was in a 4-piece. But he was chatty and he posed for pictures with boy (and there were loads of boy on my camera, which makes me feel kinda ill tbh, that some ass has pics of my boy). We went in a lot of the shops - Dervish and Banges, Honeydukes ... some like Scrivenshaft's weren't open or were just for show. I had a cauldron cake, which was a mistake in that heat, it was half chocolate, half mousse. We got bertie botts beans which boy commandeered and bought butterbeers in the hog's head (which was part of the three broomsticks but oh well) but they have their own special brew there, hog's brew or something? The woman at the bar said it was a medium red scottish lager, whatever the fuck that's meant to mean. I got my butterbeer in a collector's cup, because I'm amazing like that. I also have a remembrall and a sneakascope, lol.

They were doing a triwizard display near the hogwarts ride, the durmstrang with poles and the beaubatons with ... I don't know, their prettiness? We couldn't see over their heads. I have a confession about the ride ... I didn't keep my eyes open. I mean, the graphics for the animation parts were slick and the animatronics were so well done ... but that's why. The ride takes you to the quidditch pitch, and then a dragon comes along and drags you through a tower into the forbidden forest, and breaths 'fire' on you (the picture I have is ridiculous, they take the photo at this point, but as I've said, it was hot, and they pipe heat, smoke and light on you. My face is stupid because of the excessive heat) but then you end up in the spider's layer and *eyes closed* they spit on you. And then you get caught up in the whomping willow and land back in the quidditch pitch and then the dementors come *eyes closed* ... the second time we went, I went on again and kept my eyes opn for the dementor bit, but not for the spiders. When they try and give you the Kiss, you see your reflection in the smoke pumping about. So good.

Pumpkin juice is only good when it's ice cold. It tastes like mcdonalds apple pies. Kept boy hydrated though!

We spent like, half the day in hogsmeade, since you have to queue for everything (and I was going crazy looking for my camera) but boy got to go on one fish two fish ride and cat in the hat in doctor seuss land. He loved those, except when the fish got us wet. But by that time it was getting late and the jetlag was getting to us so we went home, and vegged out overnight.

And I'll write more later, because I'm knackered and headachy. Sorry.