We finally made it back after two years of travel restrictions!

Published On: 29 Mar, 2022 08:52 PM

After two years of travel restrictions, due to covid, we finally made it back to Orlando in February and had a wonderful month staying at Florida Delight. It was a busy month as you would expect as there were jobs that needed to be done in the villa as we had been away for so long. Jobs that ranged from the usual basics of replenishing the towel supply and bedding to larger jobs such as decorating and having the pool deck repainted. However, we did get lots of time to relax and enjoy the pool and the sunshine which is for us the absolute best thing about being over there and we had some great days and evenings out too.

As well as going to some of our old favourites we also got the chance to experience one or two new places and activities. Amongst our old favourites was a trip up to Winter Park, by train, which we will always visit when we are in Orlando. This time we took our son Ben who was staying with us for a week. Despite having been to Orlando about six times now Ben had never been to Winter Park before so we took him on the Scenic Boat Tour. At the end of the day he said that the boat tour was one of the best things he has done in Florida and something that he would always take his own friends to as and when they stay at the villa. We had a day trip to St Pete’s Beach and went on the Sunset Dolphin Boat Cruise as Ben had never seen dolphins in the wild before. Unfortunately we only got one brief glimpse of a dolphin during the two hour cruise whereas in the past we have seen about 6 or so each trip!

As always we had a very enjoyable walk around Circle B Reserve and were delighted to spot 3 armadillos within 5 minutes of each other which was an exciting end to our walk.

On one of the days we drove up to Clermont which is about 45 minutes away from the villa to meet up with friends for lunch. Clermont is a very pretty town, especially if you drive in through the outskirts where there are a number of lakes. Clermont is the only place in the Orlando area that I am aware of that has hills as everywhere else is flat so it is a nice contrast.

A couple of new things we did during our stay were real highlights. One was going to see the show Drawn To Life by Cirque Du Soleil at Disney Springs. It was the first time we have ever seen a Cirque Du Soleil and this particular show is the first collaboration between Disney and Cirque Du Soleil. I would have to say it was totally mesmerising and quite beautiful and the Disney element of the show was subtle and quite moving. We would recommend it and in terms of tickets we bought seats near the back which were much cheaper than those at the front and they were perfect. The venue for the show is at Disney Springs. Disney Springs is a place we will always make a point of visiting and at night it is especially nice with all of the lights and reflections on the lake which are very pretty as well as it having a really fun and buzzing atmosphere with restaurants, bars and live music. Walking out of the theatre and being able to then stroll around and enjoy all that the area has to offer was a wonderful way to round of a fabulous night out.

The other place that we went to for the first time was Sunset Walk at Margaritaville. This was a total revelation to us as we had not heard of it before our friend told us about it as it has only been built within the last two years. We had a really nice meal there at Ford’s Garage followed by a very enjoyable stroll around the area which is very attractively lit up at night and has some good quality live music. It was so easy to get to from the villa and only took 25 minutes and it will be a place that will very much be part of our future itinerary when we are there again.

So now we are back in the UK, still not quite adjusted to the change in time zone which always takes us a few days to get used to. Amazingly the weather in England for the time of year has been really warm for the last few days and the blossoms are starting to come out on the trees and daffodils are in flower. All that is about to change tomorrow though as sleet and snow are due. Welcome home to good old UK weather in March!