paris

From Ferry to Fairy

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Ok… maybe I borrowed the title from someone else… but it sums up this last weekend so nicely…. Melody and I made another trip to the land of magic and happy endings! We took the ferry over on Friday afternoon with a nice calm sea and the beautiful white cliffs of Dover behind us.

White Cliffs of Dover

We knew we would have a full day at Disney the following day, so we didn’t mind the fact that we would be arriving late in the evening at the hotel. We had also stopped off at a supermarket along the way to get some provisions for the weekend, but nothing quite beats an early morning cup of coffee!

Morning Coffee

I don’t actually like rides as my stomach is very sensitive and I easily get motion sick, but I love do love watching all the different types of people. Plus going on the fairytale rides such as ‘It’s a Small World’ and ‘Peter Pans’ Flight’. We were also insanely lucky as the weather was beautiful. We were glad we didn’t listen to the weather forecast, which had suggested rain, thunderstorms and cold temperatures.

Taking Instagram pictures at the different ‘walls of Disney’ and seeing all the different characters are all part of the fun that makes up a day at Disneyland Paris.

We love going on the water rides such as ‘Thunder Mesa’ and the fairytale boats…did I mention we were so lucky with the weather?

The traditional cookie and castle pictures have to be taken…no matter how many times we visit, these are traditions that will always be kept…

The day finished for us with the ‘Disney Stars on Parade’. We didn’t stay for the fireworks spectacle, as in the summer months they are at 11pm! This time however, we just wanted to get some food and put our feet up!! We had walked around and stood for hours! The burning sensation reminding us of every step we took.

Sunday was always going to be a quick visit before heading back to the ferry… the weather really turned, which was forecasted, but we managed to have some sunshine before the looming thunderstorm hit! So a quick walk around Walt Disney Studios to see the Marvel characters as it was the Marvel season…. give me fairytales and happy endings over Marvel anytime though!

When it was time to hit the road, the thunderstorm was overhead and so we decided to leave a little earlier than planned, just in case. We attempted to avoid the many potholes on the road and make it back to the ferry in time.

We will see you again soon Disney! I can’t get enough of all the magic! It really is the happiest place on earth!

Happiest Place on Earth

mirandatap11 Comment

When you think of your happy place, what comes to mind? Maybe a great cup of coffee shared with a friend? Having a special dinner with the family? Doing something you really love? Spending time with that special someone?

For my daughter it’s Disney I think… hence the title… a visit to the happiest place on Earth… Disneyland near Paris…

I had promised to visit for her birthday but life got in the way… off we went this weekend though!

We were blessed with the most beautiful weather for February… feels like Spring time. Blue skies, mild temperature… a great day for exploring (which mostly means walking around and watching every parade)

Mickey stuff everywhere!!! Including cookies, marshmallows etc.. we had to try something!

A little boat ride through frontier land is one of my favourite things to do.. usually no waiting, and a moment of peace…

Disney parades with all the dancing and beautiful floats is another highlight… we try to find good spots with great views.. even if we have to wait a half hour!

Character spotting was not terribly successful, although we did see Baloo from Junglebook

We decided not to stay for the fireworks.. the park was really busy… below just a few snaps of the lights and the castle… can’t miss that…

Is Disney the happiest place? Maybe not… but it may be a close second…

What’s your happy place?

When Everything is Going Right…​

melodytap1 Comment

I woke up today in Costa Rica and just had a feeling that things were going to go well today! It is not often that I have this feeling as I am normally a pessimist, a glass half empty kind of girl. But not today for some reason…Today I woke up with a glass half full feeling.

As some of you are aware, I was still waiting to hear back about my master’s degree as I had handed it in a couple months prior. I had received an email to say that my results would be published from today (6th December 2017). So with this new feeling of positivity, I logged in at 4:45am and to my amazement (not to my mothers though!) I had passed!!!! I’d done it! I had completed a Masters in Science by Research in Zoo Conservation Biology. It had been an extremely tough 2 years with lots of struggles, but I had done it and no one could take that away from me anymore!

Now, not everything has been smooth sailing for me over the last couple weeks…After having broken my finger in Boston whilst whale watching, I managed to get a job, but the first day of officially starting it, I had contracted a nasty chest infection with a high fever. Not an ideal start…Dad luckily was able to cover me whilst I was sick in bed. Finally, after a week and a half of it not getting any better, I finally gave in and started on some antibiotics. It still took another 2 weeks before it finally cleared up enough but by this time I was already able to work.

A month later and I was getting ready to pack my bags and head to Costa Rica to finally see mum again, after almost 2 months of not seeing her! The following morning, the alarm went off just before 4am and dad and I climbed into the car and headed to the airport. I was still early so I was able to have a bit of breakfast with dad before I went through security…Going through security I followed all the rules and took out my large electronics and liquids, but my rucksack was still pulled to the side to be searched. I suddenly started to panic wondering what I had left in my rucksack that would set off alarm bells. Turns out they couldn’t understand the gimble and case that my GoPro was in… So off I went to the gate, the closer I got, however, the louder the commotion and I wasn’t sure what was happening. It took me a couple minutes to find out that the pilot had come out just before I got to the gate to let everyone know that we weren’t taking off at 6:30am but that he wasn’t sure when we would! Amsterdam was apparently covered in frost and fog which meant that no planes were allowed to take off or land…This normally wouldn’t have been an issue, if I didn’t have very short layovers in both Amsterdam and Paris before flying on to Costa Rica. I straight away started panicking and thinking of worst case scenarios.

Long story short, the flight left for Amsterdam 2 hours later than planned and we arrived in Amsterdam the time I was meant to take off for Paris. But during the flight, we were already told that most flights from Amsterdam were also delayed! So slight panic over…Turned out that my delay in Amsterdam was another hour and a half! The fun bit was landing in Paris however, I had 30 minutes to make my connection…Now those of you who have flown through Charles de Gaulle airport know that it is huge!!! I had to go through passport control and take a bus to the right terminal! 30 minutes suddenly didn’t seem long enough at all! Luckily, whilst I was waiting for the bus, I overheard some couples talking who were all going to Costa Rica as well! A group of 30 of us were all trying to get on the same plane! Again we did make it and before I knew it I was in the air on the way…

 

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Almost 11 hours later, we land in Costa Rica and I thought, now I can relax…Sod’s Law struck again…My suitcases didn’t arrive…I was severely overdressed for the weather…hmmm…now what! I was told that hopefully, my suitcases would arrive the following day, and luckily I had packed a clean t-shirt and underwear in my carry-on. So at least I had something!

Fast forward a couple days and one of my suitcases arrived 3 days later and the other one arrived this morning (4 days later). So now I can fully enjoy Costa Rica and relax!!! The first time that I can properly relax in about 5 years…

What is a way that you love to relax? Let me know in the comments and message privately!

 

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~ I asked God “Why are you taking me through troubled water?” He replied “Because your enemies can’t swim!” ~