It's All Fun and Games Until Someone Needs An Eyepatch - A Dec TR Complete 8/31

[GoofyFan1515]

Since we were going to have a long night at the party we did not have any park plans for this morning. Instead we had a breakfast reservation at Boma followed by getting some family pictures.

Love Boma! Those Simba waffles are new.........

Nobody else was wanting to use the photographer at that time so we were able to take our time to get the photos that we wanted. We explained to her what we wanted and she arranged us as she thought best. We started out with a group shot and then we each got individual pictures with mom.

You guys all clean up nice!

Just lovely!!!

The photographer then got in on the mouse ears joke and had Alek and Erich join in and provided them with a prop.

Now THAT'S what we expect from one of your family photos...........

Great pix Lessa . I love the Bros Grimms being silly!!! I was beginning to think they had totally grown up!!!

Yeah, uh..........THAT ain't happenin'

We wandered around the resort and took in the decorations. It was all very beautiful.

I love resort hopping at Christmas! WL and the Poly are great choices, and so is AKL! I still need to make it over to Fort Wilderness. That is about the only one I have yet to do.

 

[englishrose47]

Great update !!I agree the Contempory is tooo modern for my likes , The mono and Chef Mickeys are its redeeming points !! I think my favorite Christams decorated resort was GF , although I have to say Pop was pretty dang good too

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

You guys all clean up nice!

Thanks!

Now THAT'S what we expect from one of your family photos...........

Yep, can't stay serious for too long!

Great update !!I agree the Contempory is tooo modern for my likes , The mono and Chef Mickeys are its redeeming points !! I think my favorite Christams decorated resort was GF , although I have to say Pop was pretty dang good too

The Contemporary is just too plain for my liking. I'm sure the rooms are nice enough, at the price you pay they should be, but one of the things that I love about Disney is the themed hotels that you can immerse yourself in. I just don't get that from the Contemporary.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Mom and I arrived at the Magic Kingdom right around 3pm. Party tickets would get us into the park at 4 but we did not feel like waiting around and we had the day on our regular passes so we made our way right into the park. We were just in time to catch Festival of Fantasy.























After the parade we wandered around and took in all the holiday decorations. On our previous MK day we had been in a rush to get to Fantasyland and didn't take the time to appreciate all the holiday decor.













I would normally insert the photopass picture we took under the Christmas Tree here but it did not show up in our account.





As we wandered down Main St we came upon the Main Street Philharmonic. We had never seen them perform before so we stopped to take in the show. I really enjoyed it and annoyed Mom by trying to catch her singing along on video.

After that we wandered in and out of the shops to kill time as Alek and Erich would be arriving soon. I took the opportunity to stop in at Starbucks to get the Christmas mug and a large cup that I now frequently use at work for water. While I was making that purchase Alek and Erich arrived and I texted them where to meet us so we could begin our fun in the park.

 

[Bethislucy]

Cute video's.

 

[ALEXandFAB]

MK is absolutely gorgeous decorated for the holidays. Your photos have made me even more excited about being there in November!

 

[Elevationist]

We were just in time to catch Festival of Fantasy.

Yaaay! I love this parade! And you got some AWESOME photos of it, too! Really well done!

 

[DonnaBeeGood]

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[YukiPhnx]

Loove all the holiday decor and the little touches everywhere!

I've never been a big fan of parades, but your pictures make me want to check this one out. Rapunzel is adorable!

Do you know if I can use my Starbucks card to pay for drinks?

I've never seen the Philharmonic either. Maybe I can catch them on my upcoming trip ^_^

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Cute video's.

Thanks!

MK is absolutely gorgeous decorated for the holidays. Your photos have made me even more excited about being there in November!

You will love it!

Yaaay! I love this parade! And you got some AWESOME photos of it, too! Really well done!

Thanks! It was fun getting to see it again, totally unplanned.

I love this parade too, wish I could actually buy the music to listen to at home. Funny, I think I missed the tree at MK at Christmas time, thank you for the picture!

I'm surprised they haven't put out a cd, seems they do that for their other shows.

Loove all the holiday decor and the little touches everywhere!

I've never been a big fan of parades, but your pictures make me want to check this one out. Rapunzel is adorable!

Do you know if I can use my Starbucks card to pay for drinks?

I've never seen the Philharmonic either. Maybe I can catch them on my upcoming trip ^_^

I did not try to use my Starbucks card as I assumed it was unusable due to the different currencies.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

I did not try to use my Starbucks card as I assumed it was unusable due to the different currencies.

They work. I've used my Gold card in the USand had no problem with it.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Here is my first post about my Turkey trip for those of you interested!

Our travel day was quite long for all of us. Alek and I left home around 3:30am to drive to Toronto as our Dad was arriving at 5:45am after taking the red eye flight from the West Coast. Our flight to Turkey wasn't until 4:30pm that afternoon. So what were we going to do with all that time? Well, we went for breakfast at Cora's and then we went to the Toronto Zoo. I was excited to see the panda cubs as well as the polar bear cub. The zoo also has a rhino calf and white lion cubs but they were not out that day. It was a fairly cool spring morning, 2 degree Celsius. My dad having come from the warm weather in BC was freezing. Around 1230 we left the zoo and made our way back to the airport. We found the long term parking lot where I would leave the car and grabbed all our stuff, or so I thought...

Check-in at the airport was painless. It was a much better experience than when we flew out to Disney in December. We simply scanned our passports in the self-checkin kiosk, printed our boarding passes and luggage tags and then dropped the bags. No lines to wait in. It was at this point that I realized I had worn my coat into the airport. I had meant to leave it in the car as I would have no need for it in Turkey. Well, it was going to Turkey with me now! It was just annoying as it took up free room in my suitcase which I could have used to bring back souvenirs. It was too much of a pain though to take it back to the car.

There was a small line at Security but we were through in about 15 minutes and then we made the long walk to our gate. At the gate I realized that I had forgotten a few things in the car. 1)Phone charging cord 2)Security belt for passport/money 3)earphones. Well, I needed a charging cord so I had to suck it up and buy one in the gift shop at the airport. It was only $30 so that wasn't as awful as I had expected. I also got a money belt as I did not want to be walking around with my passport and 3000 euro in my purse. I wanted something a little more secure.

The flight was 10 hours and was fairly uneventful. The food they fed us was terrible though. Do not get the pasta if you are flying overseas with Air Canada! It is inedible. Dad and Alek had the chicken and said it was merely okay. They both tried my pasta and said it was disgusting. The food on Turkish Airlines on the trip back to Toronto was much much better.

We landed in Istanbul at 930am and we were very happy to be off the plane. We had napped off and on during the flight but none of us were really rested.

We collected our bags and then passed through Immigration quickly. I had arranged private transport with our hotel so we looked around for the guy with our name card among the thirty others all holding up name cards. Once we found the person meeting us we had to wait about 10 minutes before our driver showed up. Due to Security concerns cars are not allowed to idle outside the airport so the person who met us in the airport had to call the driver once we arrived.

We had a nice plush Mercedes van to transport us the 30 minutes or so to the hotel. We were all glued to the windows as we made our way into the city. The city was covered in tulips, just beautiful. Most people associate tulips with the Dutch but the love of tulips actually originated in Turkey and the Dutch adopted the flower from the Turks. In the spring Istanbul is absolutely covered in tulips. This was one of the reasons I planned our trip for the April, I wanted to be there for the tulip festival.

We were staying at the Hotel Empress Zoe which is located in the heart of Sultanahmet just steps away from the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace. It was a charming hotel with friendly staff including three cats that live in the hotel. They don't go in the hotel rooms but are often spotted in the lounges and the beautiful courtyard.

We were shown to our room where we spent about an hour getting settled and refreshing ourselves. We resisted the urge to nap as it would have been a disaster trying to sleep that night and adapting to the time change. Turkey was 7 hours ahead for Alek and I and 10 hours ahead for our Dad.

After settling in we explored the hotel. We checked out the breakfast lounge and courtyard. The weather was so nice while we were there that we ate breakfast in the courtyard every morning.









One of the hotel cats



We then made our way up to the rooftop terrace to check out the views.

Side view of the Hagia Sophia



Hard to tell in this picture but we had a great view of the Sea of Marmara. It was a bit hazy that morning.





View of the Blue Mosque





Oriented to the hotel we went back down to the lobby where they provided us with some maps and asked if we needed directions or tips. We didn't really need much info though as I had done so much research and we didn't have much planned for the day.

Our first destination was Sultanahmet Square to get our first real views of the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia aka tourist central. Sadly, due to fears of terrorism, the refugee crisis, and the war in Syria tourism has dropped in Turkey by 70%. This was very noticeable. Hardly any crowds, empty restaurants and shops, mostly vacant hotels. This benefited us but we felt very sad for the people whose families depend on tourism revenue.



Carpet of tulips for the Tulip Festival



Blue Mosque





Hagia Sophia



After walking through the square taking in the beauty of these majestic buildings we walked about a minute to the Basilica Cisterna. This is an underground cistern dating back to the Byzantine Empire. It was built during the 6th century.





Many of the columns that were used to support the cistern were taken from other ancient sites and repurposed. Two of the most famous are a pair of Medusa heads. One is upside down and the other is sideways.



Many of the columns were plain but some were decorative and obviously taken from other sites like the Medusa heads.



After exiting the cistern we wandered the surrounding streets and ended up at the Grand Bazaar. We weren't planning to do any shopping here, at least not this day, but it is one of the must see places in Istanbul. Usually the bazaar is bustling with people but for the reason stated above this day it was fairly empty. The shopkeepers would yell out to us "Nice family, my offer, tea, look at my shop", "Tell me how I can help you spend your money", "Buy something, I need money". Often when we walked by and did not stop they would say "You break my heart". Dad and Alek joked about all the hearts that I broke over our 16 days in Turkey.







It was quite the new experience but it was something we got used to quickly. The calling out and shopkeepers trying to lure us in was mostly an issue in Istanbul. We didn't encounter it as much in the other parts of the country that we visited.

We also could not stop at a restaurant to read the menu on the street without somebody jumping on us and trying to usher us into their restaurant. It got to the point where we would not stop to look at a menu. Instead I would use the zoom on my camera to get a picture of the menu from far away and we would look at the menu that way! Only way we could see the menus though without somebody pressuring us to go into the restaurant. I feel that this probably always happens in the tourist district but the level of attention was even higher as there were so few tourists that they were desperate for business.

After the Grand Bazaar we wandered around some more and ended up back in Sultanahmet Square. Our next stop was the Blue Mosque which is free to visit but does have a dress code. Women must have their shoulders and legs covered and wear a scarf to cover their hair. There was also a dress code for men but not as extensive as the one for women. I had carried a scarf around with me that day in anticipation of visiting the mosque.

We walked past the German Fountain in the Hippodrome which is on one side of the Blue Mosque.





There were signs as we entered the grounds of the mosque asking that visitors comply with the dress code not only inside of the mosque but also while on the grounds. I did so willingly by covering my hair with my scarf, I saw very few other tourists do so though which I thought was a shame. I believe it is important to respect the traditions and culture of the place you are visiting.

Continued in next post

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Before entering the mosque we removed our shoes as is the custom.

The inside of the mosque was absolutely beautiful. The domes were awe inspiring and the thousands of tiles that covered the mosque were beautiful.











After the mosque I suggested the we make our way down to the Goldern Horn and the Galata Bridge to take in the views. Istanbul was such an important city in history and still is because of its waterways and strategic location. It is located on the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus which connect the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.





Locals line the upper level of the Galata Bridge to fish and the lower level has many restaurants selling fresh seafood.

Next we stopped at what became our favourite sweet shop and enjoyed some Turkish delight and baklava to tide us over until dinner.

Since we still had a few hours until dinner I suggested that we visit Gulhane Park. This is one of the main sites for the Tulip Festival and used to be part of the grounds for the Topkapi Palace.

I absolutely loved this park! It was so beautiful and peaceful and I adored all the tulips, my favourite flower.

We relaxed for a bit in the park and then went back to the hotel room for a bit before dinner. Our hotel was surrounded by four restaurants so we made things easy for ourselves and decided to just eat at one of them. We had planned to eat at one in particular as we liked the menu but we got lured in by one of the other restaurants. Something that is different in Turkey vs North America is the restaurants have an employee whose job it is to stand on the street and lure people into the restaurant. We got caught by one of these on our first night and got talked into eating at his rooftop restaurant. No surprise it was the most expensive meal of the trip, 180 turkish lira which is about $90 Canadian so considering we were on the rooftop in the heart of the tourist district it was not that bad. That being said we ate meals of better quality later in the trip for as little as 40 lira.

We did have nice views though of the Sea of Marmara, the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia. It was also neat to eat in Europe and look across the water at Asia. The part of Istanbul on the west side of the Bosphorus is in Europe and the part on the east side is in Asia; a city on two continents.

That's Asia on the other side of the water







There was only one other occupied table and they pointed out to us that there were dolphins swimming down near the shoreline.

After dinner we figured we had forced ourselves to stay awake long enough so we stumbled our way back across the street and settled for the night.

 

[tazdev3225]

The pictures are fantastic. I love that you identified everything. Makes it so helpful. The one picture reminded me of the area heading towards France by the International Gateway in EPCOT.

Did you take notes so you could remember what each thing was or just really study up on the area? I am going to Scotland and plan to take a notebook so I can ID my pictures.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

The pictures are fantastic. I love that you identified everything. Makes it so helpful. The one picture reminded me of the area heading towards France by the International Gateway in EPCOT.

Did you take notes so you could remember what each thing was or just really study up on the area? I am going to Scotland and plan to take a notebook so I can ID my pictures.

I took very basic notes about funny things that happened or little stories/conversations that I wanted to be sure to remember. Overall though I had just done A LOT of research before the trip so knew where we were going and what we were seeing. I spent about three years planning the trip so I felt very prepared. I had to be as my Dad and Alek put the entire responsibility of planning the trip in my hands.

 

[DisneyJo]

Loving your Turkey trip report Lessa, it looks very beautiful and reminds me a bit of when we toured Morocco. As you know we went to Turkey quite a few years ago but on a beach holiday so never really left the resort I know you're disgusted by that

 

[KathyM2]

Wow Turkey looks so beautiful!! And all the tulips! Looks like you went at the perfect time!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Loving your Turkey trip report Lessa, it looks very beautiful and reminds me a bit of when we toured Morocco. As you know we went to Turkey quite a few years ago but on a beach holiday so never really left the resort I know you're disgusted by that

Not disgusted Jo, everybody vacations differently! We did a few things on our trip that I am pretty sure no tourists or very few tourists do.

You guys are so lucky that you live so close to so many beautiful and historic places. If I lived in Europe I might go to Turkey for a beach vacation! We met a German couple on our trip that have been to Turkey 17 times as it is so easy for them to get to and is very affordable.

Wow Turkey looks so beautiful!! And all the tulips! Looks like you went at the perfect time!

It was the perfect time of year to go. So beautiful with all the flowers and near perfect weather.

 

[DonnaBeeGood]

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[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Drat. But of course, if you had left it in the car, maybe you would have needed it in Turkey. Murphy's law.

It was my lighter winter coat so kept me warm in the chill of Toronto but too heavy for the 20-30 degree weather in Turkey. I had packed a rain coat in case of poor weather. Ironically, it was Alek that did not pack a rain coat and on one of our last days the forecast was iffy so he ended up sporting my purple winter coat for a bit. Turns out it wasn't even really needed that day either though.

Double drat. But now you have a spare charger and new earphones! And a super sophisticated money belt.

Very true. Now I have a charger that lives in my car and one for home.

How did you pick this hotel of perfection? Really pretty, and bonus cats!

It first came to my notice in the early stages of my planning when I read a blog by a solo female traveller and she had stayed there. Then once I got the Lonely Planet guidebook I saw that it was one of the recommended hotels for that area of the city. It really was a perfect place to stay. Spacious room, lovely courtyard and terrace, great location and not too terribly pricey. In contrast the Four Seasons was located right next to our hotel. I can only imagine what people were paying to stay there!

Wow - I'd love to figure out how to get one of these home!

I know! I saw so many beautiful things in Turkey that I would have loved but there was the issue of how to get it back. Many places would ship it for you but then you have to trust that it would arrive intact and if it didn't then what?