Islands of the Caribbean 2018
You should stop here, YUM!!
Once again we chose the recommended pairing and wow was it good.
The Jerk Spiced Chicken Lollipop was a perfect blend of spicy & sweet plantain and mango. The flavors mixed together and delighted our taste buds.
I think it is called a lollipop because it is a drumstick – nice name.
Continue reading Disney Food and Wine Festival – Islands of the Caribbean
Festival Center 2018
Stop by the Festival Center to get information about the food and wine festival.
They have an information booth and a huge map. This is also where they have classes and seminars, both complementary and for an extra fee.
The Ghirardelli chocolate experience is a nice self-tour display with some amazing chocolate sculptures. You will also get a small sample.
If you are an annual pass holder, stop here to get your magnet and on your 4th visit, pickup your small cutting board.
At the Shimmering Sips Mimosa Bar, the Tropical Mimosa ($6) was cold and sweet, we liked it but it would have been too sweet for more than one glass. The Blood Orange Mimosa ($6) was cold and tart but not sour. Both Mimosas had a nice taste but they were great when we mixed them together.
There are shops and a craft beer experience here as well.
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The Light Lab
This is not our first visit to the Food and Wine Festival but it is our first visit in 2018. We usually start at Mexico and work our way around but this year we decided to be different.
Our first stop was the Light Lab where we began our Food & Wine experience with a cider flight ($9+). Yes, $13 for 3 small glasses of cider and a bottle of water. I wasn’t in a Disney Frame of mind just yet but I was working on it.
The Dry Rose was dry but had a nice taste because you could still taste the cider through the rose.
Surprisingly, the blueberry peppercorn cider was quite tasty, not too dry not too sweet and not overly spicy.
The third cider, 
Zen Berry, was less cider and more sweet.
It is a good sample of different ciders. This location is a temporary location so water is only available by the bottle, no free glass of water here.
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Just a 33 minute train ride outside of Edinburgh, is a wonderful town called North Berwick
(Pronounced: burr ik, or ber ik depending upon who you ask).
We arrived at low tide and spent about an hour exploring the beach. The rocks are covered in different types of sea weed and some sea life (snails, etc). They are on different areas of the beach and extend quite a way. During high tide, they are completely covered by water.
We could see the Firth of Forth, Bass Rock and other islands in the distance. Continue reading North Berwick, Scotland
Just behind Hoolyrood Palace is a nice park and a series of “mountains” and cliffs. The highest of these is called Authur’s Seat. We set out from our hotel, walked 1/2 mile down the Royal Mile (downhill) to the park.
If you are smart, you would stop at the information center and get a map of the trails to the top. We stopped here after we descended so we could see where we had gone.
We flew United Airlines to Scotland because their route and timing worked best for us. We boarded in Jacksonville Florida, had a 4 hour layover in Newark NJ and arrived in Glasgow Scotland at 7 am. When returning home, we flew from Edinburgh to Jacksonville with a 4 hour layover in Chicago.
Jacksonville Check-In: Although we completed the on-line pre-check-in, we were required to check-in at the airport because it was an international flight. The check-in process was not intuitive and not easy for people who are not familiar with the machines and for people who have a visual impairment. One person at the United counter was very nice and helped us to complete check-in at the kiosk, her name was Charmika. I am not sure why there are kiosks when every person checking in required assistance with the kiosks. Perhaps the kiosks need to be re-worked so they are easier to use.
We walked downhill all the way from the city center to the Royal Botanical Gardens. For some reason we went to the main gate instead of the East Gate, which means we walked the entire length of the garden on the outside of the fence. We did get to see part of the park beside it as we walked by, it looked like a flat area.
They sell garden maps for 1 pound. The garden has many signs but if you don’t Continue reading Royal Botanical Gardens – Edinburgh, Scotland
This show was offered as an optional excursion on our tour.
When we disembarked the coach, we walked around a bit and looked at the grounds and the peacock. After the piper played for us (he reminded us of a friend from church – Gene), we entered the building and found our seat. We had 2 bottles of red wine, 2 bottles of white wine and tap water on the table.
We got to visit a sheep farm today. The farm has over 3000 sheep and has quite a bit of land. We only saw the hillside and the area where they did the demonstration.
It was chilly and raining a little bit so we were all in our jackets with umbrellas. Just as our tour guide, April, predicted – the sheep didn’t care, the dogs didn’t care and the shepherd ignored it.
The dogs are so anxious to round up the sheep! They are low to the ground and look like they are going to attack but they don’t. They run so fast! Continue reading Scotland’s Sheep Farm & Sheep Dogs
Drove down to Dunrobin Castle today – the scenery could not be captured by my camera and I cannot describe it without using the words beautiful and awesome. I feel like I am over-using those words!
God truly made this part of our world beautiful.
