(You should probably click the title to read this, because it's a
monster of an entry and the page'll probably lag. Just sayin'.)
(Also, that weird font part in the middle -- I AM TOO LAZY TO RETYPE ALL THAT so screw it. c:)
Friday August 27, 2010Oh my god. Ohhh myyyyy goddddd.
Wizarding World of Harry Potter = ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Where to start. I don’t know where to start, sooo much fun omg omg omg omg ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Okay, so fine, it wasn’t as awesome as I expected because we couldn’t actually go
inside Hogwarts, except when we’re lining up for the Forbidden Journey ride thingy but
I’m getting ahead of myself okay so most of the place was Hogsmeade (some wizard village near the school, for you sad uninformed peoples) and it was kinda funny ‘cause they built it to look like it was Hogsmeade in winter with all the snow and everything, but it was really hot and humid outside ‘cause it’s frickin
Florida in August so that was kind of ironic. There were a lot of stores from the books (Zonko’s, Honeydukes, Dervish and Banges or something or other, Owl Post, Ollivanders, and a bunch of others) and stuff like Hog’s Head (which only served alcoholic stuff, ｓｏ ｗｅ ｄｉｄｎ＇ｔ ｅｖｅｎ ｂｏｔｈｅｒ ｇｏｉｎｇ ｉｎ ｔｈｅｒｅ （ｗｔｆ ｔｈｅ ｗｏｒｄ ｄｏｃｕｍｅｎｔ Ｉ＇ｍ ｔｙｐｉｎｇ ｉｎ ｒｉｇｈｔ ｎｏｗ ｉｓ ｓｃｒｅｗｉｎｇ ｗｉｔｈ ｔｈｅ ｆｏｎｔ ｓｏ ｎｏｗ ｉｔ ｌｏｏｋｓ ａｌｌ ｓｐａｃｅｄ ｏｕｔ ａｎｄ ｕｇｌｙ ＦＦＦＦＵＵＵＵＵ Ｉ ｈａｔｅ ｍｙ ｄａｄ＇ｓ ｌａｐｔｏｐ Ｄ＜） （ａｎｄ ｔｈｅ ｂｒａｃｋｅｔｓ ｄｏｎ＇ｔ ｗｏｒｋ ｐｒｏｐｅｒｌｙ ｅｉｔｈｅｒ ｏｋａｙ ｔｈｉｓ ｒｅａｌｌｙ ｓｕｃｋｓ）） ｓｏ ｙｅａｈ． Ａｌｓｏ， Ｔｈｒｅｅ Ｂｒｏｏｍｓｔｉｃｋｓ， ｗｈｉｃｈ ｓｅｒｖｅｄ ｐｒｅｔｔｙ ｍｕｃｈ ａｌｌ Ｂｒｉｔｉｓｈ ｓｔｕｆｆ （ｆｉｓｈ ａｎｄ ｃｈｉｐｓ ｗｅｒｅ ｐｒｅｔｔｙ ｓａｌｔｙ， ｓｈｅｐａｒｄ＇ｓ ｐｉｅ ｗａｓ ｍｕｓｈｙ ｂｕｔ ｏｔｈｅｒｗｉｓｅ ｒｅａｌｌｙ ｇｏｏｄ， ｔｈｅ Ｃｏｒｎｉｓｈ ｐａｓｔｙ ｔｈｉｎｇｉｅｓ ｏｒ ｗｈａｔｅｖｅｒ ｔｈｅｙ ｗｅｒｅ ｄｉｄｎ＇ｔ ｔａｓｔｅ ｖｅｒｙ ｇｏｏｄ ａｔ ａｌｌ．．． ｏｒ ｍａｙｂｅ ｔｈｅｓｅ ｐｅｏｐｌｅ ａｒｅ ｊｕｓｔ ｂａｄ ａｔ ｍａｋｉｎｇ Ｂｒｉｔｉｓｈ ｆｏｏｄ．） Ｏｈ， ａｎｄ ｔｈｅｙ ｓｅｒｖｅｄ Ｂｕｔｔｅｒｂｅｅｒ ａｎｄ ｐｕｍｐｋｉｎ ｊｕｉｃｅ ｔｏｏ ＜３ Ｐｕｍｐｋｉｎ ｊｕｉｃｅ ｔａｓｔｅｓ ｔｏｏ ｍｕｃｈ ｌｉｋｅ ｃｉｎｎａｍｏｎ， ｂｕｔｔｅｒｂｅｅｒ ｉｓ ｂａｓｉｃａｌｌｙ ｓｏｄａ／ｒｏｏｔｂｅｅｒ ｗｉｔｈ ｂｕｔｔｅｒｙ．．． ｆｏａｍ ｓｔｕｆｆ ｏｎ ｔｏｐ ｘＤ Ｂｕｔ ｉｔ＇ｓ ｆｒｉｃｋｉｎ ＜ｉ＞ｄｅｌｉｃｉｏｕｓ＜／ｉ＞ ｓｏ ｉｔ＇ｓ ｏｋａｙ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Ｂａｔｈｒｏｏｍｓ ａｒｅ ｃａｌｌｅｄ ＂Ｐｕｂｌｉｃ Ｃｏｎｖｅｎｉｅｎｃｅｓ＂ ａｎｄ ｙｏｕ ｃａｎ ｈｅａｒ Ｍｏａｎｉｎｇ Ｍｙｒｔｌｅ＇ｓ ｖｏｉｃｅ ｅｃｈｏｉｎｇ ａｒｏｕｎｄ ｉｎ ｔｈｅｒｅ （ｉｎ ｔｈｅ ｇｉｒｌ＇ｓ ａｔ ｌｅａｓｔ， ｏｂｖｉｏｕｓｌｙ Ｉ ｈａｖｅｎ＇ｔ ｌｏｏｋｅｄ ｉｎｔｏ ｔｈｅ ｇｕｙ＇ｓ ｘＤ） ａｎｄ ｔｈｅｒｅ ａｒｅ ｃａｒｔｓ ｓｅｌｌｉｎｇ ｂｕｔｔｅｒｂｅｅｒ ａｎｄ ｏｔｈｅｒ ｄｒｉｎｋｓ ａｎｄ ｓｔｕｆｆ ａｎｄ ａｌｌ ｔｈｅ ｓｔａｆｆ ａｒｅ ｄｒｅｓｓｅｄ ｅｉｔｈｅｒ ｉｎ ｗｉｚａｒｄｙ ｏｕｔｆｉｔｓ ｏｒ Ｈｏｇｗａｒｔｓ ｕｎｉｆｏｒｍｓ， ａｎｄ ｔｈｅｙ ｃａｌｌ all ｔｈｅ ｇｕｅｓｔｓ ＂Ｍｕｇｇｌｅｓ＂ ｘＤ Ａｌｓｏ， ｔｈｅｒｅ ｉｓ ａ ＂Ｈｏｇｗａｒｔｓ ｃｈｏｉｒ＂ （ｗｈｙ ｄｏ Ｉ ｋｅｅｐ ｔｙｐｉｎｇ Ｈｏｇｗａｒｄｓ） ｗｈｉｃｈ ｉｓ ｂａｓｉｃａｌｌｙ ｆｉｖｅ ｐｅｏｐｌｅ ｃｏｍｉｎｇ ｏｕｔ ｉｎ ｔｈｉｓ ｐｌａｚａ－ｙ ａｒｅａ ｉｎ ｕｎｉｆｏｒｍｓ ａｎｄ ｓｉｎｇｉｎｇ ｓｏｎｇｓ acapella， ｗｈｉｃｈ ｉｓ ａ ＴＯＴＡＬＬＹ ＡＷＥＳＯＭＥ ＪＯＢ ＥＸＣＥＰＴ ＦＯＲ ＴＨＥ ＦＡＣＴ ＴＨＡＴ ＩＴ＇Ｓ ＳＷＥＬＴＥＲＩＮＧ ＯＵＴＳＩＤＥ ＡＮＤ ＴＨＥＹ ＨＡＶＥ ＴＯ ＷＥＡＲ ＴＨＥＳＥ ＢＬＡＣＫ－ＣＯＬＯＵＲＥＤ ＳＴＵＦＦＹ－ＬＯＯＫＩＮＧ ＯＵＴＦＩＴＳ ＴＨＡＴ ＬＯＯＫ ＲＥＡＬＬＹ ＵＮＣＯＭＦＯＲＴＡＢＬＥ ＩＮ ＴＨＥ ＦＬＯＲＩＤＡ ＨＥＡＴ ｏｋａｙ Ｉ＇ｍ ｄｏｎｅ ｃａｐｓｒａｐｉｎｇ
Ｕｈｍｍｍ， ｗｈａｔ ｅｌｓｅ． Ｔｈｅｒｅ ｗｅｒｅ ａ ｆｅｗ ｒｉｄｅｓ ｔｈｅｒｅ， ｔｈｅ ｂｅｓｔ ｗａｓ ＜ｉ＞ｅａｓｉｌｙ＜／ｉ＞ ｔｈｉｓ ｏｎｅ ｃａｌｌｅｄ ＂Ｈａｒｒｙ Ｐｏｔｔｅｒ ａｎｄ ｔｈｅ Ｆｏｒｂｉｄｄｅｎ Ｊｏｕｒｎｅｙ“ ｗｈｉｃｈ ｓｏｕｎｄｓ ｒｉｄｉｃｕｌｏｕｓｌｙ ｃｈｅｅｓｙ Ｉ ｋｎｏｗ， ｂｕｔ ｉｔ＇ｓ ｒｉｄｉｃｕｌｏｕｓｌｙ ａｗｅｓｏｍｅ ｓｏ ｉｔ＇ｓ ｏｋａｙ． Ｂａｓｉｃａｌｌｙ ｉｔ＇ｓ ｌｉｋｅ ａ ｃｏｍｂｉｎａｔｉｏｎ ｏｆ ａｎ Ｉｍａｘ ａｎｄ ａ ｒｉｄｅ； ｙｏｕ ｇｅｔ ｉｎ ｔｈｅｓｅ sideways-facing ｃａｒｔ ｔｈｉｎｇｉｅｓ （ｎｏｔ ｒｅａｌｌｙ ｃａｒｔｓ ｐｅｒ ｓｅ， ｂｕｔ ｄｏｎ＇ｔ ｋｎｏｗ ｗｈａｔ ｅｌｓｅ ｔｏ ｃａｌｌ ｔｈｅｍ） ａｎｄ ｔｈｅｒｅ＇ｓ ａ ｓａｆｅｔｙ ｂａｒ ａｎｄ ｅｖｅｒｙｔｈｉｎｇ， ａｎｄ ｔｈｅｙ ｓｈｏｗ ｙｏｕ ａ ｇｉａｎｔ ｓｃｒｅｅｎ ａｎｄ Ｈｅｒｍｉｏｎｅ＇ｓ ｖｏｉｃｅ ｗｈｉｓｐｅｒｉｎｇ ｉｎ ｙｏｕｒ ｅａｒ ａｎｄ ｔｈｅｎ ｓｕｒｒｏｕｎｄ ｓｏｕｎｄ ａｎｄ ｉｔ ｌｏｏｋｓ ｌｉｋｅ ｙｏｕ＇ｒｅ ａｃｔｕａｌｌｙ ｈｕｒｔｌｉｎｇ ｔｈｒｏｕｇｈ ａ ｔｕｎｎｅｌ ａｎｄ ｆｌｙｉｎｇ ａｒｏｕｎｄ ｔｈｅ ｃａｓｔｌｅ ａｎｄ ｔｈｅ Ｑｕｉｄｄｉｔｃｈ ｐｉｔｃｈ ａｎｄ ｗａｔｃｈｉｎｇ Ｍａｌｆｏｙ ｂｅ ａ ｄｉｃｋ ａｎｄ ｂｅｉｎｇ ｃｈａｓｅｄ ｂｙ ａ Ｈｕｎｇａｒｉａｎ Ｈｏｒｎｔａｉｌ ａｎｄ ｄｅｍｅｎｔｏｒｓ ａｎｄ ｇｅｔｔｉｎｇ ｌｏｓｔ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ Ｆｏｒｂｉｄｄｅｎ Ｆｏｒｅｓｔ ｗｉｔｈ ＜ｓ＞ｆｕｃｋｉｎｇ＜／ｓ＞ Ａｃｒｏｍａｎｔｕｌａｓ （ｒｅａｄ： ｇｉａｎｔ ｓｐｉｄｅｒｓ） ＜ｉ＞ｓｐｉｔｔｉｎｇ＜／ｉ＞ ａｔ ｙｏｕ ａｎｄ ｔｈｅｎ Ｉ think you go in the chamber of secrets or something or other and there’s a giant frickin head of some dude which I think may or may not be Salazar fucking Slytherin sorry Fanderson but I’m on a roll here and I’m so excited just talking about it and I’m not even at the Dragon Challenge rollercoaster yet which was RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME ohhhh myyyy godddd why am I not a witch WHY DO I NOT HAVE A FUCKING LETTER OF ADMITTANCE TO HOGWARTS oh wait if that means going through all that fosrs instead of just in a cart thingy with giant models of dragons that spit HEATED RED STEAM AT YOUR FACE and moar giant models of HAGRID’S FUCKING ACROMANTULAS LOOKING LIKE THEY’RE ABOUT TO HAVE YOU FOR FOODS and GIANT DEMENTORS STICKING THEIR GIANT HOODED FREAKY MODEL SELVES IN YOUR FACE and flying through THE FRICKIN CHAMBER OF SECRETS OR SOMETHING OR OTHER AND HAVING IT CAVE IN AROUND YOU WITH HARRY FUCKING POTTER (whoops accidentally typed “Potty” there SORRY HARRY ACCIDENT I PROMISE DON’T AVADA KEDAVRA ME OR ANYTHING :c) FLYING HIS MERRY WAY AROUND ON HIS FIREBOLT IN FRONT OF YOU AND THEN YOU SOMEHOW MANAGE TO GET OUT ALIVE AND THEN SWOOP ACROSS THE LAKE AND THERE ARE OWLS FLYING AROUND AND THEN YOU FLY INTO THE CASTLE AND THERE ARE A BUNCH OF HOGWARTS PEOPLE STANDING THERE AND APPLAUDING YOU AND OH HEY LOOK IT’S GINNY AND RON AND HERMIONE AND FRED OR GEORGE I CAN’T TELL AND WTF IT’S FUCKING DUMBLEDORE HE’S ALIVE OHHHH MYYYYY GODDDDDDDD
Course, it’s a really popular attraction, and the people who made the place (designers? Producers? I dunno) anticipated this, so they put a bunch of COOL STUFFS around the waiting line so you can look at it and take pictures and whatever while you’re waiting for twenty minutes to get on the ride. I think first was... the dungeons? With Snape’s Potions classroom and the Mirror of Erised – oh wait no wait that was after Sprout’s greenhouse with her little baby Mandrakes and Tentecula or whatever the hell
I don’t know these things okay and THEN it’s the dungeons with really bad lighting and all that freaky stuff. Uhm, there’s a bunch of rooms with talking portraits, including one with the four founders of Hogwarts arguing with each other and Slytherin is being a RACIST BASTARD and talking about us POOR INNOCENT MUGGLES and saying that we’re stupid and terrible and he’s hoping we’ll leave or something. YEAH RIGHT AS IF okay moving on. Uhm, and then it’s the... Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom? And a bunch of statues of Hippogriffs or something? To be honest, I didn’t know what half the stuff in the place was because I’m not
that obsessed (hehe Shandershon) but I could definitely tell when we reached Dumbledore’s office but there’s no gargoyle blocking the place (prolly cuz of us
Muggles) but there
was the Pensieve and all that (no Fawkes, for some reason) and then... Binns’s classroom? I don’t know, but Harry, Ron and Hermione showed up (in a
video obviously Radcliffe and Grint and Watson don’t have time in their BUSY CELEBRITY LIVES to stand around talking to tourists all day) and they lectured us for a bit and then Ron somehow made it snow (LOL) and Hermione went like WTF and put it out and then they put on the Invisibility Cloak and then we moved on. Also, Sorting Hat was there, oh and the glass... column thingies that hold the house points (Gryffindor in the lead, then Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw) and I think that’s about it. And then the actual ride, which I already gushed about :D
Okay, so what next. We went on that ride twice because it was JUST THAT AWESOME and then we went back to our hotel (bout five minute drive xD) and took a nap and went back to go on the rollercoasters. First was Flight of the Hippogriff, which is supposed to be a family-friendly ride, so it wasn’t that intense. Saw Hagrid’s place, could hear Fang barking around inside his hut, lots of pumpkins around, and Buckbeak was tethered in the back (passed him while the coaster climbed up). (Oh yeah, that reminds me, in Hogsmeade there was also a little billboard that had a picture of Sirius Black, with the “HAVE YOU SEEN THIS WIZARD” caption and everything, so I guess this is set pre-Prisoner of Azkaban? But then again the Dragon Challenge (I’ll get to that) is Triwizard Tournament-centric, which means it takes place
after Sirius and Beaky escape, but I think thinking too hard about this timeline will make my head hurt so never mind.) So where was I. Oh yeah, Hippogriff. So, my dad gets motionsick so he took a bit of Gravol before we left the hotel because I was so intent on dragging him on a rollercoaster. Turns out even the non-intense Hippogriff ride was too much for him so he just stayed behind while my mom and I rode the Dragon Challenge coasters. Both of them.
To elaborate: the coaster(s) is/are basically supposed to simulate riding a dragon – there’s the Hungarian Horntail and the Chinese Fireball, and they’re two separate coasters that go off at the same time and they loop around each other and it’s SO AWESOME because it really feels like the dragons are fighting each other or something with sharp turns and dives and twists and loops and sometimes they graze right past each other and GAHHHHHH
Okay I’m good. Uhmm, so yeah, the lineup wasn’t that long for this one because it was already pretty late into the afternoon and most people either left Universal Studios or they went somewhere else in the park. They were still prepared with cool stuff around the path though; a bunch of banners for the Triwizard champions, saying stuff like SUPPORT HARRY POTTER or FLEUR FOR THE CUP or DIGGORY FOR CHAMPION or KRUM (random language which I’m guessing is Bulgarian) and yeah, and then there was Mr Weasley’s flying Ford Angelia randomly sitting there and beeping at us (???) and then we went into a cave, saw the Goblet of Fire and the actual Triwizard cup (very dirty, that thing) and then we got lost. LOL okay actually me and my mom were following these other two people running around the empty paths and the railings and stuff and there were people behind us following
us and those two people in front kept going around in circles in the dark and then everyone was like WTF and then someone finally found the right path and we got to the actual coaster. We chose the Horntail first, which was AWESOME but I did feel a little dizzy afterwards (which was weird; usually I don’t get motionsick at all, which is why my parents are always so wont to stick me in the back of the car since it’s more bumpy back there) but my mom was fine and right after we walked out she was like LOL THAT WAS FUN LET’S GO AGAIN THE RED ONE NOW and I was like LOL OKAY FINE so we went on the Fireball. And then I got another butterbeer afterwards.
Oh yeah, and the gift shop is called “Filch’s Emporium.” I don’t know why I find that funny.
Didn’t go into Ollivander’s or that Dervish robe shop thingy because you had to line up and wait your turn since the shops can’t handle so many people at once and the lineups were humongousssssss so we didn’t bother. (Sorry Shandershon.) And then my dad wanted to see some Spiderman ride thingy like the Forbidden Journey, which was weird and kind of confusing because I had no idea what the hell was going on since I hardly know anything about Spiderman. Dad seemed to enjoy it though, so good for him?
Internet access is only free downstairs in the hotel lobby, so I’m typing this entry in a Word doc right now (the font is back to normal now; Shift+Space to fix it, Rach) and I probably won’t post it until I get back, which’ll be kind of weird timing, and oh yeah, I bought a bag of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans and the ginger and butter ones taste disgusting. Don’t touch those yellow ones ever again, Rach. Even if the really good custard ones are also yellow. >:c
I think that’s about it for now. Universal Studios was fun fun fun ♥ ♥ ♥
Next stop: Miami and the Everglades! And then the actual cruise! And then scuba diving (no sharks pls)! And then home sweet home (and internets) ♥
Should prolly go to sleep now, it’s almost ten and we’re waking up early tomorrow to drive four
fucking (I’ll stop now) hours to Miami. So yeah, I’m out. Night people ♥
August 31, 2010In which Rachel blogs...
IN SPACE ON A SHIP!
Sorry bout not writing for a while, but we’ve been
very very busy with
awesome things. Namely,
we are a cruise and it is awesome omg omg omg omg omg omg (LATER EDIT: okay we are not a cruise, we are ON a cruise, my bad xD) No internet though which sucks and which means I have to write this in a Word doc again. Bleh. Also, I have to be careful not to press Shift-space or just Shift by itself because that’ll make the font weird and change the typing language to Chinese respectively.
But enough about my dad’s suck laptop because
we have more important things to talk about. Where to start though. Okay so, the cruise ship we’re on right now is called the Carnival Valor, which is a weird name but WHO CARES IT’S A FRICKING CRUISE SHIP okay. It’s
ridiculously American history-centric, with stuff like carved president faces on the walls, and golden eagle statues next to the elevators, and murals of famous American achievers like Neil Armstrong and Harriet Tubman beside the cabin doors. And the general colour scheme of the whole ship is reminiscent of the American flag, slightly modified as to not be blindingly bright and eye-raping (a burnt orange-ish colour for red, pale grey for white, and a really dark navy blue for – what else? – blue). And the floor tiles are arranged so that they look like the American flag, and they just kind of repeatedly tile the flag all over the floors, and it looks a bit weird, but I do like the colours. :3
The best thing about the cruise (other than the actual destinations and whatnot) is the food, hands down. No seriously, all of it’s included in the $600 or whatever it cost to get on this thing, and there’s an almost-24-hour-except-maybe-at-night-when-everyone’s-trying-to-sleep-through-the-theatre-music-pounding-on-the-third-floor-which-happens-to-be-right-above-us-wtf-terrible-cabin-placement-but-yeah buffet. They change menus everyday save for the basic stuff like dinner rolls or lemonade or iced tea (which is literally
cold tea by the way; I found that funny). Oh, and ice cream. Yeah, the ice cream here is good, even if there’s only chocolate and vanilla (LATER EDIT: Okay, now they added strawberry too, but it’s still three flavours. And the strawberry is LOW FAT YOGHURT OR SOMETHING OR OTHER but that’s irrelevant. Anyway.) And when you’re done with your eating, you just leave all the plates and cups and stuff (and leftovers if you have any SHAME ON YOU PEOPLE FOR WASTING FOOD >:c) and the loads of ship staff will take care of cleanup. Even if you’re in the middle of your meal, if they see an (almost) empty plate, they’ll be all like “OH ARE YOU DONE WITH THAT? :D :D :D :D :D” and if yes then they’ll take it. I know that’s standard behaviour for buffets and restaurants and stuff, but it’s still awesome that you get that kind of service for EVERY SINGLE MEAL OF THE DAY for a WHOLE ENTIRE WEEK ♥
... Well, sorta. Dinner’s kinda different, usually we don’t eat at the buffet for dinner. See, you can sign up for this kind of “proper dinner” thingy (don’t know what else to describe it as) and you go to this nice big dining room place (there’re two on the ship, named after Lincoln and Washington, following the whole American theme of the place) and the people bring you fancy menus (they also change everyday, for the most part) and you order stuff and they’ll bring it to you. You get assigned to a table and you sit at that table every day for the entire week, and I think generally the same people serve you every time (I can’t remember our waiter’s name off the top of my head right now... it starts with a G? We’ve only been on this cruise for two days YOU STOP JUDGING ME IMMEDIATELY.) Unfortunately, they can’t be bothered to make lots of separate little tables for four and stuff, so most groups just get stuffed all on one big round table and they make total strangers eat together and stare at each other awkwardly over the tops of their lobster tails and spaghetti. We happened to be assigned to one of those huge strangers-sitting-together tables ONOEZ THE TRAGEDYYYYYY
Okay, it’s actually not that bad, even though the two other families we sit with (there’s one other one but they only showed up for the first day) mostly keep to themselves – a mother and daughter who looks maybe about our age, and a dad and another daughter who looks about twelve or so (LATER EDIT: My bad, she’s six. I’M SORRY SHE LOOKS REALLY BIG FOR HER AGE
DO NOT JUDGE ME I AM GOOD.) – and we all do the aforementioned staring-at-each-other-awkwardly-over-our-food thing for the past two nights (
discreetly of course, because it’s
rude to stare /brick’d). It’s not like we’re trying to be hostile to each other or anything though, the mother and daughter pair even shared a seat with us in the Ivanhoe Theatre last night (which is
clearly a theatre WHO WOULD’VE GUESSED?) and then after that we waited for a few minutes for things to get set up and then there was this AWESOME SHOW with AWESOME COORDINATED
AND SEXY DANCERS and two AH-MAZING SINGERS WITH AH-MAZING TONES AND RANGES and the AWESOME CRUISE DIRECTOR WITH THE SEXY VOICE (no seriously, it’s extremely sexy, and you get to hear it over the PA everyday YAYYYYY ♥ ♥ ♥) MC’ING THE THING and an AWESOME BUT REALLY LOUD BAND WITH A SAX AND A FLUTE AND EVERYTHING and IT DON’T MEAN A THING IF IT AIN’T GOT THAT SWING and GIANT POOFY PARROT COSTUMES and a BIG RED TALKING SOFA and ohhhhh myyyyyy godddddd I love this cruise.
Room service is awesome too, because they give us free chocolate every night and they can fold
fucking elephants out of towels (no seriously) which gives them automatic awesomesauce points. Oh, and I sleep in a bunk bed because these cabins are pretty tiny, and we have no windows. :c
Yesterday, I watched the sun set. Today, I watched the sun rise. It was very nice. I took pictures. ♥
I tried tanning yesterday. I forgot the put sunscreen on my shoulders and now I have a sunburn. NO SRSLY HOW COOL IS THAT :D /brick’d
Hehe, almost two pages in the Word doc already and I haven’t even talked about the offshore stuff yet. :D
Okay so, today we made our first stop to a place called Cayman Island(s?), which is either an island or a group of islands, I’m not sure. (LATER EDIT: Great Cayman Islands is an islands.) We had to take a boat to the land from the ship, a process called “tendering.” Only took a few minutes, the ship’s
parked anchored not too far away from port. It was really hot. It was sunny. The water was ridiculously clear and blue, and we saw a school of tiny black-and-yellow striped fishies (and another giant one, which may or may not have been trying to eat them). We took a bus to this other saltwater lagoon place, and these nice people boated our tour group out in the water, few kilometers out, I’m guessing. Water was actually really shallow, only bout a metre or two deep, and it was clear enough so you could see orange coral-ish blobs on the bottom. We also saw a humongous turtle swimming around, but it was kind of a way off; only the shell was visible but it poked its head out of the water once or twice. Was awesome and adorable anyway ♥
So we sail in this small boat for a few minutes, and then we, along with about three or four other different tour boats, reach this particularly clear and shallow area and everyone’s in their swimsuits and everyone gets in the water. Really salty, but only comes up to about my waist when the waves aren’t in action, so not like we needed goggles or flippers or anything. The sand at the bottom felt nice on the feet too. And then... (dramatic pause) came the
real reason we sailed all the way out there:
FUCKING STINGRAYS. LIKE FIFTY ACTUAL LIVE
STINGRAYS SWIMMING AROUND OUR LEGS AND
INVESTIGATING US.
They were all dispersed among the different tour groups and gliding their merry ways around the bottom of the lagoon. And I wasn’t lying about them investigating us, they were brushing against our legs with their giant flappy thingies and everything. The tour guide people said that that’s how they greet people and how they express their curiosity about us, and they won’t actually attack us or sting us or anything unless you flail around like an idiot and accidentally step on one or something. The four tour guides even went down there and actually
lifted the stingrays half out of the water and let us pet them and hold them and feed them and – no seriously -
kiss them. (I didn’t do the kiss, they were too slimy and sandpapery for my tastes. And apparently your lips temporarily swell up and become numb afterwards, which was kinda off-putting, even if it’s temporary. :P) And they sort of just swam around us and flopped around in people’s arms and brushed their slimy selves against our legs and people were screaming and laughing and taking pictures and some people got out their snorkel gear and went underwater to take a closer look and it was
so so so so so so so so so so SO adorable and cute and adorable and awesome and I can’t even find a word to properly describe the sheer GAHHHH-ness of it all
ohhhh myyyy goddddddd you guys should
seriously go to the Caribbeans sometime and do a tour in Stingray City (that’s what the place is called, the people said there are over a hundred stingrays hanging around the area; probably attracted by the constant food and snacks they keep there) and you guys should all
go into the pretty blue water and
go pet a fucking stingray omg I love this cruise.
Second part of the tour of the Caymans wasn’t quite as cute or impressive, but it was still pretty cool. Probably because that was my first time snorkeling
properly without drowning in a pool full of sharks. (My dad claimed he saw a shark in the reef we explored today though. I’m not sure if I should be skeptical or worried or excited or all three.) So yeah, basically the tour guide people sailed us out to this reef place that borders the really
deep (as in maybe a thousand feet or more) part of the ocean/water/whatever it was, and basically they were like “okay, those white foamy waves over there are the boundaries and you will probably drown or get eaten or something if you pass them, now get off my boat.” Again, the water wasn’t that deep (two and a half metres-ish, I think) and there was lots of coral at the bottom, which means lots of
pretty and colourful fishies swimming around down there and fighting over the food. It wasn’t really
mindblowing or anything, but it was still really awesome and again I just don’t know how to properly describe the sheer
epicness of just watching the pretty ocean fishies, so the best I can do is say that you should
seriously go on a cruise sometime and snorkel in a reef area and it will be
one of the coolest things you ever do in your life and you will not forget it for a
long long long long long long long long time. Oh, and try to convince your parents that you can swim
just fine without a lifejacket if you have flippers and snorkel gear, thank you very much (if you’re like me and it’s actually true, of course) and also that you should be able to swim more than a metre and a half from your parents without them panicking and losing their heads and thinking you’ve drowned. >>
Tomorrow, we’re off to a beach place in the Honduras, and we’re going to try snorkeling again because mom just can’t seem to get the hang of it and she’s all like “NO I REFUSE YOU D<”. Oh, and also, ZIP LINE. I kinda want to and don’t want to do it all at the same time, but hey
guess what Rachel, you are doing it anyway and you are possibly going to like it if you don’t fall off the line and die. So too bad. 8)
Ship’s starting to sail away from the Caymans. BRB WATCHING TAKEOFF
Thursday September 2, 2010Guhh.
Either I’m getting sick, or I’m getting
seasick, or I swallowed too much salt water and sand at the beach today, or those snails I ate for dinner tonight were undercooked.
No seriously, they serve escargots for dinner on this ship. And penne silicone or whatever it’s called, some fancy name like that. (It’s a pasta, by the way.)
But now I have a headache and a stomachache and I don’t know why and I’m
definitely not having fun. THIS IS NOT FUN. Dx
In other news, the housekeeping (cabinkeeping?) staff on here are really pro. They fold not only elephants, but also dinosaurs and bunnies (I think that was a bunny o_O) and monkeys out of towels too. And they’re still giving us chocolate. ♥
(I feel like I’m going to throw up. Prolly seasickness. Never thought I’d see the day.)
In other news, the dinner waiters and waitresses on this ship are awesome too, the end. You know why? Because they
randomly break into dance in the middle of dinner and wear funny wigs and masks and hats and stand up on little cylindrical podiums and blast Low by Flo Rida and some other song that I don’t know the name of throughout the whole dining room and some waiter dude on a podium even stripped off his vest and started waving his butt at the people sitting at the table next to him (which admittedly was kind of awkward BUT STILL) and everyone was laughing and cheering and taking pictures and videotaping and it was
pure awesomeness and I really really really really
really love this cruise.
... Bleh, I really am feeling sick right now. Gonna sign off early tonight. G’night people. Two more days left.
Friday September 3 2010Good job, Mexico.
The public toilets in Mexico require money. 50 cents USD or 5 pesos per person.
So yeah, we’re in Cozumel right now, and I ended up not blogging much yesterday because I had to take Advil and some other medicine tablet thingy that I think was supposed to be for colds and then I went to bed early. But I’m good now, so it’s okay. C:
So right now, I’m in our cabin typing madly away on this laptop while my parents go out again (we just came back from an outing to eat lunch) and the reason I’m not going with them is because Mexico is
scary. Well fine, scary might be too dramatic a word. Discomforting, maybe? Anyway,
the point is, there are lots of salespeople here that sit and stand outside the entrances of their shops, and when they see you they’re all like “OLA COME INTO MY SHOP COME COME COME >8D” and they wave at you and chase you until you pass the building and then they pounce on the next person. They’re very aggressive and the whole thing is unsettling, to say the least. :c
(FEW MINUTES LATER) Okay, I’m getting distracted again. Apparently the cabin TVs have cable and movies. BRB WATCHING TV 8)
Monday September 6 2010GUYS GUYS GUYS.
I AM FUCKING
BACK.
OMG OMG OMG ALSDKJFALKSDJFLAKSJDFL LASDJFLAKSDJFLKADS NO WORDS NO WORDS OKAY IS IT TIME FOR A LIST? IT IS TIME FOR A LIST.
THINGS THAT RACHEL SHOULD GUSH ABOUT WHEN SHE IS CALMER AND NOT DIRTY AND IS ACTUALLY ABLE TO FORM A COHERENT THOUGHT ABOUT THIS TRIP- Caymans are done.
- Next is Roatan, Honduras.
- ZIPLINING OMG SCARY.
- BEACH OMG DIRTYYYYYY EW DO NOT WANT
- THEN WHERE. OH YEAH, BELIZE, WHICH IS ACTUALLY A COUNTRY ALL BY ITSELF
- SNORKELING IN LIKE WHAT IS APPARENTLY THE SECOND LARGEST BARRIER REEF IN THE WORLD. THE FIRST IS IN AUSTRALIA, A LA FINDING NEMO. MUST GO TO AUSTRALIA SOMETIME
AND BE SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE WITH AWESOME FUNNY ACCENTS- OMG BEACH ON A ~*~PRIVATE ISLAND~*~
- NOSRSLY
- IT'S STILL DIRTY THOUGH.
- AND PAINFUL. BROKEN SHELLS ALL OVER THE SAND. DO NOT WANT.
- MET SOME HIGH SCHOOL PEOPLE WHO GO TO LANGSTAFF. RIGHT HERE IN ONTARIO OMG YAY FELLOW CANADIANS ♥
- OKAY BELIZE IS NOT THAT IMPORTANT. WHAT ELSE.
- MEXICO. DONE. DO NOT WANT KTHX
- I GOT A SUNBURN ON MY SHOULDER. A REALLY BAD ONE. OMG
HOW COOL IS THAT- I ALSO GOT A SWIMSUIT TAN.
- ACTUALLY, I GOT TANNED ALL OVER, PERIOD.
- OMG NIGHTLY SHOWS
- OMG WEIRD COSTUMES
- OMG SEXY
- OMG HOW THE HELL DO THEY DANCE LIKE THAT AND SING PERFECTLY IN-TUNE AT THE SAME TIME
- SKILLAGES DO WANT
- OMG LOVE & MARRIAGE SHOW
- OMG 60 SECONDS OR LESS
- OMG BINGO
- OMG BIG TEX THE CRUISE DIRECTOR WITH THE SEXY VOICE (no that is not his real name but everyone calls him that, or just Tex)
- OMG OTHER
AWESOME ENTERTAINMENT STAFF
- THE ONLY ONE WITHOUT A FUNNY ACCENT IS A LADY FROM CANADA
WHICH AUTOMATICALLY MAKES HER AWESOME SO IT DOESN'T MATTER THAT SHE'S THE ONLY ONE WITHOUT A FUNNY ACCENT.
- OH WAIT, NEVER MIND THERE'S THIS OTHER GUY WITHOUT A FUNNY ACCENT EITHER BUT SOMETIMES HE SLIPS IN AND OUT OF A BRITISH ACCENT
SO IT STILL COUNTS- (end capsrape) Okay I'm good.
- On a random note: lemme see if I can remember all their names.
- There are five of them. I think.
- Marly (the one girl) and Laurence and Jerryd and Matt and Dan.
- That's five, innit?
- I probably spelled them right.
- Probably.
- THEY HAD NAME TAGS OKAY.
- Oh, and one of the above guys is nineteen.
- No idea why he's working on a cruise ship at that age.
- Said guy is also from Australia.
- Which means
omg awesome accent ♥
- He's also very tall.
- And nice.
- And funny.
- And a good sport.
- And
extremely cute. ♥
- Though your mileage may vary.
- I'll stop now.
-
You should stop judging me immediately.-
I apologise for being almost sixteen years old and having estrogens.- Yeah.
- I feel like typing up various hilarious quotes from these people.
-
They are just that awesome.- Heh.
- :D
- Hi.
- Ew, my hair is all disgusting.
- No idea how that's relevant.
- Okay blog entry terminating nao
- Will write more tomorrow. Or possibly later tonight.
- TOO HYPER TO GO TO SLEEP.
- BECAUSE I AM
BACK HOME WITH PROPER SHOWERS AND INTERWEBS AND MSN AND CLEAN TOILETS AND CANADIAN MONEY AND WORRYING ABOUT SCHOOL AND WTF FIRST PERIOD LUNCH AND OMG I BOUGHT YOU GUYS
SOUVENIRS AND WAIT SATURDAY IS THE 11TH ISN'T IT OMG EATON CENTRE HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO GET THERE
I WILL POSSIBLY HAVE A PUBLIC TRANSIT ADVENTURE WITH YOU GUYS OKAY WORRY ABOUT THAT LATER BECAUSE RIGHT NOW
I AM FUCKING BACK HOME AND I AM GOING TO SHOWER AND THEN EXPLAIN STUFF AND GUSH ABOUT THE CRUISE BECAUSE IT WAS JUST THAT AWESOME AND YOU GUYS SHOULD SRSLY GO ON ONE SOMEDAY BECAUSE LASDJLASJDFLKAJSDLFADFADSL NO WORDS OKAY BRB I AM DISGUSTING RIGHT NOW GOING TO SHOWER NAO KTHX BYEEDIT: Okay I lied, I didn't go shower because I was too busy updating myself on things I missed on the interwebs while I was gone
will explain things tomorrow promise and will possibly put pictures too stay tuned :D
