Christmas Day-Florida Style

     This was our 7th Christmas in Orlando. I can't believe my daughter has been out of college 7 years and I also can't believe I still live in Illinois! There are things that I really miss about being "home" for Christmas. I miss the rest of my family, the noise, the chaos and seeing everyone else unwrap presents. What I do enjoy, is the weather and the fact that we have our Christmas dinner and take a walk with so many beautiful things to see. Once again, we did the Cape May Seafood Buffet at the Walt Disney World Beach Club Resort. We talk every year about trying something different and we all love the holiday traditional foods along with all that seafood so much, we keep going back. I just took a picture of my dessert plate (that is all you really care about isn't it). I didn't eat every bite, but I certainly tasted them all. 

     I love the beach theme at this resort. They always have the chocolate carousel and this year they added a few other chocolate beach sculptures. Do you see the sand castle on the horse's back?

     After dinner, the sun was just starting to set. The Beach Club is truly located in a beautiful spot. There is a small beach next to the lake, you can see several other resorts and walk all the way around the lake boardwalk. 

We stopped to see the tree inside the Dolphin Resort. 

The train was running around the base 

and it was like a magnet to small children.

     This is one of my favorite photos. I took it standing inside the Dolphin Resort, looking out at their massive fountain. The water changes color constantly and I love how it looks with the chandelier. 

     The walkway of palm trees leads from the Dolphin Resort to the Swan Resort. You can see the above mentioned Dolphin fountain in these pictures. The palms "dance" with color as Christmas carols play. 

     By the time our walk was over, it was dark and there was a lovely glow as the buildings are reflected in the lake. It was a perfect day in paradise. 

Oh What a Beautiful Morning...

     We were in Orlando for 2 weeks over the holiday. Much of that time was in a hotel, but we moved out of the hotel on Christmas Eve and spent 4 nights at our daughter's condo. My husband gets up very early and he would go get a newspaper and a cup of coffee, leaving us to sleep in. One morning, at just moments past dawn, my phone rang. He said, "go outside now and take your camera". I grabbed the camera and ran outside barefoot in my pjs...not knowing what to expect. What I saw took my breath away. I guess it is very common in the Orlando area, but it is a rare sight for us. They have balloon ride tours and we just happened to catch a group of them sailing right over head. Some of them were so close they were waving and talking to me (in my pjs, with bed head) and some were fairly high in the air. The air was slightly cool, the sun had just come up and the sky was brilliant with balloon color. *Sigh*

Welcome to Gaylord Palms

     One of our favorite places to visit is the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville. We have been going there for years. When we first started going there, it was the Opryland Hotel and was much smaller than it is today. When Gaylord opened the Gaylord Palms Hotel in Orlando, we couldn't wait to see what creative things they would do at their new location. We have never stayed there, but we did visit several years ago when it was new. On Christmas Eve, before we took the golf cart for a spin around the Disney Campground, we decided to visit again and see what the hotel looked like at Christmas. We were not disappointed. 

     If you aren't familiar with the Gaylord Hotels, they are huge and divided into separate themed areas. You are truly transported while you are inside and there are things to see everywhere you look. There are always water elements, as you can see the beautiful fish swimming above. 

The Christmas decorations were elegant and 

matched the theme of the area in which they were located. 

Performers sang carols while we strolled through the hotel.

Look closely at the above picture, do you see the stingray?

The alligators are live.

 Do you see what this is?

     During the holidays, the Gaylord hotels have a show called ICE, that has ice sculptures in a variety of shapes and sizes. We didn't go through it. The tickets are expensive and my daughter did it once and said it was fun, cold and over in 15 minutes. So, we saved that $120 dollars and enjoyed what we could see for the price of parking. It truly is a beautiful hotel and well worth paying to park to tour it. The only reason we haven't stayed there is the location is further from our daughter, but we may just have to try it one of these days. It is almost like being in a theme park, only relaxing and no rides!

Food, Glorious Food

     It just wouldn't be my blog if I didn't post a few foodie pictures from our trip. As I go back through some of my pictures, I remember every bite. Like most people, I have been trying to eat a little healthier (and get off the pounds from the trip) so my pictures even make me hungry! Enjoy...without the calories!

     We always celebrate Christmas with my dad before we put him on a plane and send him home to my sister's house for Christmas. This was our second year having our celebration meal at Maggiano's Little Italy. This is a chain restaurant and if there is one near you...go there! They serve a family style meal that is such a great value and the food is excellent. There is so much food that the girls take home enough to have at least two more meals. This year we had everything from Chicken Marsala, Salmon and a Bowtie Pasta to Tomato Caprese, Spinach Salad and Creme Brulee...plus another appetizer, entree and dessert. It isn't a meal...it is an event. You can also order off the menu.

One of our favorite places to eat is Tommy Bahama's. 

The food is always interesting and just pretty! 

     My daughter and I shared a couple of appetizers. 

Coconut Crusted Crab Cakes with a slaw and

 Macadamia Nut Encrusted Goat Cheese with Flatbread. Yum. 

My dad had the Blackberry Brandy BBQ Pork Sandwich

My husband had the Blackened Fish Tacos

We all shared the Cinnamon and Sugar Plantains with Salsa

     This year we were able to head to Siesta Key, FL for a night the weekend before Christmas. We actually put my dad on a plane early Saturday morning and then we went to his home (without him) for the night. It is about 2 hours from Orlando. We had a few things we needed to take care of  and I also just wanted to spend a little time "at home" because I hadn't been there in quite a while. It is hard to explain how it felt to walk into my parent's home after over a year. The only way I can describe it is like a warm hug. I'm lucky to have a place to go that still feels like my mom. I slept in her bed, I knew where everything was located and as I walked around, I remembered so much about where she bought each item or who gave her something as a gift. Dad has made a few changes, but it is still home to my sister and me. The one thing I learned as our family moved around is that home is really where your parents live...it doesn't have to be the house you grew up in. I feel blessed that I had a chance to enjoy such a peaceful 24 hours. 

     One of our favorite places to go on Siesta Key, is the Broken Egg for breakfast. So, after having lunch and dinner at ocean front restaurants on Saturday, we headed out for brunch Sunday morning to the Broken Egg. 

This was my breakfast...perfection!

The basics-boring, but good I guess!

Gingerbread pancakes...have you ever seen anything so huge?

Bacon Benedict Florentine...yummy!

     We also had to make one trip to the little sushi place near my daughter's home. My dad wasn't convinced that he wanted sushi, but after eating here he loved it. I've tried it several places since my first experience here on our last visit and this is the best I've found. It is in a strip mall with no atmosphere...but, the sushi chef certainly knows what he is doing!

     The next few pictures aren't very good. It was too dark to see much and even harder with a camera. I wanted to share a few pictures of the new Fantasyland at The Magic Kingdom. It had just opened when we were there and it was so crowded. The drink below is from Gaston's Tavern and is called LeFou's Brew, named after Gaston's sidekick in "Beauty and the Beast". It is apple juice with toasted marshmallow and passion fruit-mango foam. I didn't think it sounded all that good, but I was pleasantly surprised. 

     Walt Disney World's newest castle is located in The New Fantasyland. It is the Beast's Castle and houses the Be Our Guest restaurant. I understand that the interior is amazing, but because it was new and it was Christmas, they would only let people with reservations for dinner inside. 

     Fantasyland is also home to the new Under The Sea-Journey of the Little Mermaid attraction. My dad and my husband did this and said it was very cute. My daughter loves it. We could barely see to walk around the area. It was a dark night and it was very crowded. I can't wait to go back in the daylight during an off season. That ends our culinary tour with a few highlights of some of the foods we enjoyed. I guess you can see why I really need to be on a diet when I'm not in Orlando! 

I am joining Michael @ Rattlebridge Farm for Foodie Friday.

Please visit her for some of the best recipes in the Land of Blog!