4th and 5th August 2008 Orlando, Florida
This wasn't our first time to Florida but it was our first time staying in a villa rather than a hotel. It was also our first time going out there with friends.
In the past we (we being us three plus Chris, Kerry and Carys) had agreed that the year Chris turned 40 we would all go to Florida. Flying from Manchester with Virgin we set off to Orlando.
We all wanted to visit the Disney Parks so had those tickets pre-booked. We (that's just the three of us this time) also had booked in advance to swim with the dolphins at Discovery Cove.
Our First Day
Having decided that our first full day in Florida would be a rest day, to get over the long trip, we spent much of it messing about in the pool before going out to stock up on supplies and get something to eat.
Shopping
Shopping proved to be quite interesting. In case you got hungry whilst in amongst all that food they had thoughtfully put a McDonalds inside so you could fill your stomach whilst filling your trolley. Those Americans, they think of everything!
Eating Out
Chris is the sort of person that can get sunburnt in a thunderstorm. This explains why he is sometimes referred to as "Lobster boy". Below is how he looked after just one day in the sun.
It appears that he has had the last laugh though by opening his own range of seafood restaurants whilst we weren't looking. It would of been rude not to pay a visit.
Our Villa
We stayed at Solana Villa in Davenport, Orlando approx 20mins away from the main attractions.
The only way to describe the villa was brilliant. It had four big bedrooms, three bathrooms, a games room and its own pool with a spa. In short plenty of space for the 6 of us.
We didn't have the villa all to ourselves though. We had to share it with a few lizards and a number of large buzzard like birds.
