skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Our final afternoon in Orlando saw us heading to Downtown to check out what Orlando is like away from the theme parks of International Drive. We started at the Orange County Regional History Center which has four floors of interesting and interactive displays spanning from the first humans to ever settle the region, all the way through to the boom of Disney and beyond. For just US$9 you can take an Audio Tour Guide through time to see and learn all about the Seminoles, the citrus farms, the theme parks and the crackers! (Which is a term for colonial era American pioneer settlers of Florida).
One of my favourite parts of the History Center has to be the poster proclaiming that in the late 1800's, the Crackers invented the first ever "ride-up", drive-through saloon. Thirsty cowmen didn't even have to dismount their horses to buy a drink! How awesome is that! :-D I also really enjoyed wandering around the preserved court-room, where Ted Bundy left his name on one of the tables. So much history about the actual History Center building too!
The History Center is absolutely filled with things to read and do - Katie and I had been given two hours to explore it and feel that we didn't even scratch the surface. We think we've been tagged as the do-anything-adrenaline-junkies, but we also really enjoy cruising around museums like this one, especially as 'outsiders' - the information at the History Center is presented really 'easily' and we were hooked. Definitely worth a couple of hours one afternoon if you are exploring Downtown Orlando (plus it's beautifully air-conditioned!).
From the History Center, we strolled along Orange Avenue towards the Plaza Cinema Cafe, passing several quality looking bars all strongly (perhaps even more so due to the warm Florida afternoon) calling us in to try some American beers. Arriving at the Plaza, we where whisked away up to the 16th floor for a meet and greet with some of the minds behind Downtown Orlando and the rapid development of the area. The skyline of Orlando has changed greatly in the last few years and these people are the ones responsible for that. It was really interesting - as a citizen, you just kind of think - hey, someone built a new building, cool... but to actually hear the whys and hows of those new buildings was great - for example, the new Orlando Magic Basketball Arena being built in the traditionally black part of Orlando - they are using locals to build that, and if the locals don't have the necessary skills, they get trained up in an apprenticeship so they can do the job. It's so much more than just 'let's put a building over there'.
Our final engagement as finalists in 67 Days of Smiles was a tough one, we had to have all this delicious Spanish food at Ceviche on Church Street. Man I love tapas. We spent two weeks travelling around Spain and were absolutely hooked on the stuff. Ceviche did a fantastic job of recreating the flavours from Catalonia; from calamari to chorizo, Pork Shanks to the signature Ceviche dish, I don't think you could go there and order a bad meal! It was also a fabulous atmosphere to sit and chat with the other finalists now that 'boot camp' was winding down. Really amazing to find ten couples, who although they're in competition with each other, could become such good mates in such a short period of time.
NEED TO KNOW
Learn
Orange County Regional History Center
Where: 65 E. Central Blvd, Downtown Orlando 32801
Web: http://thehistorycenter.org
Phone: 407 836 8500
Play
Plaza Cinema Cafe
Where: 189 S. Orange Avenue, Downtown Orlando 32801
Web: http://www.plazacinemacafe.com/
Phone: 321 558 2878
Eat
Ceviche Tapas Bar & Restaurant
Where: 125 W. Church Street, Downtown Orlando 32801
Web: http://www.ceviche.com/
Phone: 321 281 8140
My family is pretty scared of roller-coasters. I'm just putting that out there now. When we were told we were off to SeaWorld to try their amazing new coaster 'Manta', I have to admit I was about as excited as I was nervous! I knew we'd need to get some video because my folks would never believe I'd been on a coaster so huge! In the two and a half years that Daz and I have been dating, he has always promised to take me on a decent roller-coaster, but he has yet to deliver on that promise!
Greeted at the gates by Emily from SeaWorld and given our VIP passes (that's right, VIP PASSES!) we headed straight to Manta, via the newly-created manta ray aquarium. Although we were able to skip the long queue (testament to the popularity of Manta), it was evident that SeaWorld have really spent some time thinking about how to make the queuing experience interesting for those lining up for the ride - there were floor-to-ceiling aquariums with rays gliding peacefully past, schooling clownfish and sea dragons, and a massive Red Pacific octopus.
We arrived at the boarding platform for Manta and only had to wait for the current riders to finish before it was our turn, which meant little time for me to chicken out! For someone who hasn't really 'done' roller coasters before, to be asked to remove my shoes and dangly earrings before climbing into my seat was more than a little bizarre! Once you're locked into a sitting position, there's a whoosh and the entire seating platform swings up behind you so that you are lying horizontally, head-first and with your weight on your belly. Cue my first scream for the ride, and it hadn't even officially started yet! Manta is one of only a handful of 'flying coasters' in the world, and as the ride begins and you slowly climb a steep vertical section of track, it really does feel as though you are flying!
MANTA ROLLER-COASTER AT SEAWORLD
The entire ride was just amazing - my first 'pretzel loop', spinning around the track (both inside, outside, right-way-up and upside-down), soaring past a huge waterfall and dipping down to just inches from the water! I was instantly converted to a coaster-lover... though doubtful whether another ride would compare to Manta's uniqueness. I wanted to go again straight away but was convinced to take some time to see the dolphins, penguins and other fascinating creatures that are part of the SeaWorld experience. We loved the puffins - they were hilariously playful and so fast through the water.
After heading to the dolphin's pool, where they leaped into the air, splashing the people trying to feed them, we made our way to the Journey to Atlantis ride... less extreme than Manta, but still lots of fun (and the steep plunge was frightening enough to make me scream!). You are warned that you will get wet, and though we commented that we weren't as wet as expected after the big splash-down, a bit further into the ride we were absolutely drenched by a water cannon.
JOURNEY TO ATLANTIS LOG RIDE
From Journey to Atlantis, we headed to Kraken - a more traditional roller-coaster and one of the tallest and longest coasters going around (it's built by the same guys who created Manta, so our expectations were high!). Daz loved Kraken because you spend so much time upside down!
Then it was time for the Shamu 'Believe' show. We got there half an hour before the show was due to start and struggled to find seats - Shamu is one popular guy! The stage set-up was very impressive... there were four massive multimedia plasma screens and from our vantage point in the stadium we could see the killers whales both below and above the water. A word of advice for first-timers... the 'soak zone' really is just that! I had been to quite a few similar shows over the years, but I have never seen so many people get absolutely drenched... and it's not just those in the front rows. You've got to believe that this is Shamu's favourite part of the show - the wind-up he gets as he slaps his giant tail against the surface of the water allows him wet a good hundred people each time! Watch our video to see what we mean, and maybe leave the camera in your bag for this part of the show!
SHAMU - BELIEVEAfter the Believe show finished, we only had a short time before we were due back on the 67 Days of Smiles bus. We were keen to give Manta another go and ended up close to the back of the ride for a totally different experience to our first time. Knowing what to expect meant that we were able to take it all in a bit more - Daz had his arms out in front of him Superman-style and said that it really did feel like he was flying as we swooped up from some of the dips. What a fantastic ride... Manta has set my expectations for future roller-coasters sky-high and I can't wait to expand my experiences!
NEED TO KNOW
Play
SeaWorld Orlando
Where: 6000 Discovery Cove Way, Orlando 32819
Web: http://www.seaworld.com/orlando
Phone: 1 888 800 5447
Arrrgh-nother Arrrgh-merican cultural first for us Aussies as we headed to a themed dinner show. We were in a unique position compared to the other finalists in that we don’t really have the themed dinner show back home, so we’d never been to one before and the Pirate’s Dinner Adventure had us both guessing at what to expect.
You gather with all the other patrons in a giant room where there are snacks and a bar to keep you going before the show starts, along with a bounty of pirate-themed memorabilia of every description, all available for purchase so you can get into the swing of things with your new eye-patch or pirate flag.
The show starts out in the first room, and as part of the story-line, the audience is taken prisoner by some dastardly pirates. Being marched into the gigantic main room is pretty amazing; there is a life size pirate ship in the middle of the room! There are six different sections of the room, and each section has their own pirate to cheer for (or in Mikey and Clay’s case, to heckle endlessly!). We were in the orange section and our pirate Andre was an absolute beast of a man – props to the Canadians for their bravery in taunting this guy!
Of course the heckling was all in good fun; we cheered and roared for Andre as loudly as we could throughout the night. At Pirate’s, it’s way more fun to leave your sensibilities at the door and just join right in; that’s the whole point of the show! Billed as “the world’s most interactive dinner show”, it relies heavily on audience participation; especially from the kids, who are an integral part of the whole thing. For those with children, expect them to be asked to participate at some point in the evening, returning to your table sporting a smile from ear to ear!
I won’t go anywhere near spoiling the story for you; instead I’ll just discreetly swap the topic here over to the food. We were as unsure what to expect from the food as we were from the show. With so many people to cater for, we assumed the food would be average at best. Well I’m very pleased to report we were completely wrong with that assumption. Let’s be realistic and acknowledge that the food won’t go winning any Michelin stars anytime soon, but it’s definitely a decent meal that holds its own with the show and we walked away very satisfied with both our meal, and the experience as a whole.
If you are considering heading along to Pirate’s, I’d recommend getting online and booking in advance. Not only is the show incredibly popular (and therefore, booking in advance is probably a good idea) there are also some decent discounts available online, saving you some money (that you can then spend on your next pirate sword!).
NEED TO KNOW
Eat
Pirate's Dinner Adventure
Where: 6400 Carrier Drive, Orlando 32819
Web: http://www.piratesdinneradventure.com
Phone: 407 248 0590
After all the adrenaline-inducing activities we’d participated in early this morning, we were absolutely craving some food. The team at the Orlando CVB had organised for us to visit Taverna Opa, a Greek restaurant at Orlando Pointe. Katie and I were incredibly excited when we heard this... our home city of Melbourne, Australia, has a huge Greek community (the biggest outside of Athens!) so we really love our Greek food and Taverna Opa didn’t disappoint! It maintains the tradition of feeling like you’re sitting in your Greek friend’s kitchen rather than at a restaurant.
The food was authentic Greek fare, really well prepared and cooked so perfectly it made you think you could actually be on the islands of Santorini or Mykonos. Traditional Greek dips like tzatziki and freshly-made-at-the-table (by you!) hummus were quickly devoured before the main share-plates of calamari, grilled vegetables, fish and tender beef filled us up completely. I think that’s one of my favourite things about eating Greek... the food is so tasty, yet healthy, that you can keep eating and eating!
In traditional Greek style, the end of our meal was marked by the waiters throwing napkins while we danced the mighty Zorba around our tables. With the music pumping, you really got to experience the sense of community surrounding a good Greek meal.
If you’re on International Drive looking for somewhere tasty and authentic to eat, make Taverna Opa your next stop!
NEED TO KNOW
Eat
Taverna Opa
Where: 9101 International Drive Orlando, 32819
Web: http://www.opaorlando.com/home.php
Phone: 407 351 8660
For a complete change of pace after hang-gliding, we headed to SkyVenture Orlando, where you can experience the thrill of skydiving. SkyVenture is an indoor skydiving centre that gives you the sensation of freefall in a wind tunnel... you can avoid a time-consuming plane ride and an often bumpy landing while enjoying the ‘good stuff’ – an adrenaline rush without forcing yourself out of a plane a few thousand feet in the air!
Upon arrival, the instructor takes you through a quick safety session, highlighting a few key things to focus on while you’re “flying”. There are four simple hand signals we need to remember to allow us to control ourselves once in the wind tunnel. Of course, once you leap into the tunnel with the wind gusting around you at 200kph and the adrenaline starts pumping, it’s easy to forget what the signals mean (I did!) but you have an instructor by your side the entire time to coach you on technique and allow you to get the most of our your “flight”.
You’re kitted out with a fetching jumpsuit, goggles, helmet and earplugs (it’s noisy in the wind tunnel!). Once you are geared up and ready to go, the instructor takes you through the hand signals again, and then it’s time to take a literal leap of faith into the wind tunnel. Hovering above the ground with a fierce breeze rushing past you is a truly surreal experience. The instructor is right with you the entire time, their eyes fixed on you and every tiny movement you make. Once they coach you into the correct body position, you learn to use small movements to control your trajectory and the height that you’re hovering at. Directing yourself around the wind tunnel gives you a real sense of achievement, and I thought I was doing pretty well until the instructors gave us a quick demonstration of their skills after we had finished!
I’ve been tandem sky-diving before, and the SkyVenture sensation is exactly like the real thing, only better. Aside from the convenience factor, there was a greater sense of control and achievement compared with my outdoor experience – with tandem sky-diving, the instructor makes all the decisions, whereas at SkyVenture, it’s up to you to maintain the correct body position.
I took two 90-second flights within an hour (again, no plane ride means that you can really maximise your time). There are a variety of flight packages available for different budgets – starting at $49.95, most include at least 90 seconds of ‘tunnel-time’. You can buy extra time, although as a first-timer, I found that two 90-second timeslots were enough for one day... being pummelled by fast moving air is hard work!
The SkyVenture experience allows you to enjoy the rush of skydiving in a convenient, controlled environment. If you’re curious about sky-diving but not crazy enough to throw yourself out of a perfectly good plane, SkyVenture is definitely worth a visit!
NEED TO KNOW
Play
SkyVenture Orlando
Where: 6805 Visitors Circle, Orlando 32819
Web: http://skyventureorlando.com/
Phone: 407 903 1150
Waking up at 4:30am is everyone’s dream start to a day right?... right? C’mon! You get to fit so much more into your day. It’s also the best time of day for amazing outdoor activities like hang-gliding! We arrived at Wallaby Range Hang Gliding Flight Park before sunrise today. So early in the day, the air was incredibly still and the temperature perfect. If sky-diving is a bit extreme for you, hang-gliding could be just the ticket! The experience is a curious mix of peaceful, yet exhilarating.
My glider was pulled into the sky behind an ultra-light plane which was much smaller than my glider! We took off over the grass, the wheels bumping along the ground before we lifted into the air. You are very close to the ground, lying prone, suspended in a kind of sleeping-bag contraption next to the instructor. The first component of the flight involves a number of loops behind the plane as it drags you higher and higher into the Orlando air. The views are breathtaking and it feels like you can see forever over the lush green of the Florida landscape. Just as you have settled into the rhythm, the glider detaches from the plane and you begin your glide back to the ground.
The instructors at Wallaby Ranch are complete pros – mine had been flying gliders since 1974! – and are quick to explain how to steer and let you swoop and weave through the sky. You use your arms as levers to turn right and left, and pull your weight forward over the hand bar to go fast. It’s a surprisingly relaxed experience, though I found myself wishing I had better arm strength! After a time at the controls, the instructor asked if I liked rollercoasters and proceeded to take us through a series of crazy loops and spins as we returned back to earth. The flight was over quickly and after a smooth landing it was time to extract myself from my ‘sleeping bag’. An amazing experience and one I would love to have the opportunity to try again!
NEED TO KNOW
Play
Wallaby Ranch
Where: 1805 Deen Still Road, Davenport, FL. 33897
Web: http://www.wallaby.com
Phone: +1 (863) 424 0070
We stayed in an amazing house provided by All Star Vacation Homes during our 67 Days of Smiles boot camp. In Kissimmee, the five-bedroom house complete with pool, hot tub and games room was in a peaceful gated community a short drive from down town and the attractions of International Drive.
If I don't win 67 Days of Smiles, I want to become an interior decorator for All Star Vacation Homes... check out the video to see the incredible decor and super-fun themed bedrooms!
NEED TO KNOW
Stay
All Star Vacation Homes
Where: 7822 West Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, Kissimmee 34747
Web: http://www.allstarvacationhomes.com/
Phone: 407 997 0733
Today was supposed to be the let’s-take-it-easy-and-deal-with-our-jetlag day, but it didn’t really turn out that way – the lure of the theme park was too great! We headed to the Wet n’ Wild water park at lunchtime and stayed until close at 9.00pm. Wet n’ Wild was a short trip up International Drive (or “I-Drive” as the locals call it) on the I-Ride shuttle.
As the world’s theme park capital, Orlando does not disappoint! Wet n’ Wild Orlando is the biggest water park we’ve been to, and as we’re quickly learning... it’s fair to assume that everything is bigger in the States! Wet n’ Wild has a whole bunch of waterslides (enough to ensure you’re never queuing for too long) and we made it our mission to try each of them at least once. We loved them all, but our two favourites deserve a special mention: Bomb Bay and Disco H2O!
Bomb Bay is a six-storey vertical plunge... sounds scary right? It gets better! You get into a massive rocket at the top of the slide, standing with your legs crossed at the ankles and arms crossed across your chest. As you’re wondering how exactly you get onto the slide, the lifeguard explains that you are in fact standing on a trap door, which swings open and drops you vertically onto the slide! Standing there waiting for the lifeguard to hit the release button is fairly nerve-racking... the suspense of the wait is excruciating, then the floor falls away and down you go!
Disco H2O was amazing for a completely different reason – more fun than scary. It’s a disco inside a water slide... flashing lights, bright colours and tunes that hail from the part of your iPod that you’re slightly ashamed of (admit it, you do love ABBA!). If we’re ever lucky enough to have another day at Wet n’ Wild, Disco H2O would be the first ride we head for!
As far as food goes, Wet n’ Wild has you covered! Pizza, subs, burgers and hot dogs, along with slushies and ice-cream stands means you are spoilt for choice. We had a good old American hot dog for lunch and a pepperoni pizza from Manny’s Pizza for dinner, both of which were quite good! I would however, recommend that vegetarians look at bringing their own food, as options are pretty limited.
Wet n’ Wild set us back about US$130 for the day, including two meals, some ice-cream and a slushie each. If you’re on a budget, save money by bringing your own food.
We found that the lines for slides and food shortened dramatically after about 7pm, so if lining up is not your thing, consider the half price entry after 5pm offer (available until 14 August 2009).
NEED TO KNOW
Play
Wet n' Wild Orlando
Where: 6200 International Drive, Orlando 32819
Web: http://wetnwildorlando.com/index.html
Phone: 407 351 1800
How much sleep do you need to counter being awake for 30 hours? The answer is a lot!
We’ve just woken up in our very comfortable beds at the Rosen Plaza Hotel on International Drive. Fingers crossed our 30 hour day yesterday has been completely erased by some serious shut-eye and we don’t get any jet-lag (at the moment we’re both feeling rather fresh – excitement and adrenaline are probably helping us out here too!).
After arriving yesterday evening, we were met by Steve from the Orlando CVB. He took us on a whirlwind tour of International Drive so we could get our bearings before dropping us off at the Rosen Plaza Hotel. Our quick spin up and down one of Orlando’s most famous stretches of road raised one very perplexing question; how in the world where we going to choose which restaurant we wanted to have dinner at?! There were so many and so varied options. In the end we decided on Cuba Libre at Orlando Pointe and we weren’t disappointed!
From the staff greeting us at the door to the food itself, if this is what eating out is like in Orlando, I’m looking forwards to the next week even more! :-) We went all carnivorous and ordered the mixed meat grill (yes ma, we had side orders of vegetables :-p). The two cuts of steaks were sublime, especially the one that came out coiled up and skewered, talk about juicy! The most interesting taste we had though, one that was new to me, was actually served free with our bread – mango flavoured butter. It was really very good. Kinda amazing how even amongst as great a meal as we had last night, sometimes the smallest parts can have such an impact – kudos to Cuba Libre for such a great feed, and for looking after the little details too!
So, we had planned on being good today and resting up before the other finalists arrive... but... Wet n’ Wild is just up the road from us and its lure may prove too much for us to ignore. We’re going to see how we’re feeling after some breakfast.
And on that note – we’re out of here, off to find some food to get us started – I think I saw an all you can eat American breakfast sign at a place just down the road...
NEED TO KNOW
StayRosen Plaza Hotel
Where: 9700 International Drive, Orlando 32819
Web:http://www.rosenplaza.com/
Phone: 407 996 9700
Eat
Cuba Libre
Where: Pointe Orlando, 9101 International Drive, Orlando 32819
Web: http://www.cubalibrerestaurant.com/
Phone: 407 226 1600
Two days ago, the view out our hotel window was of the breathtaking Swiss Alps. It’s beyond us how the Tour de France riders make going up and down those mountains look so easy. Our journey to Orlando and 67 Days of Smiles started in Interlaken, Switzerland. It took us roughly 48 hours, two trains, three planes, five plane terminals and six time zones, but we’ve finally arrived... what an epic journey! Orlando wasted no time rolling out the welcome mat for us when we got here - 33C/92F! Thank you very much! :-)
We feel a little like we’ve missed the jump while we were in the air, being unable to get online. However, Katie and I will be catching up on some net time while trying to avoid jet lag tomorrow, taking it easy before everything really starts on Sunday.
Although our trip was long, it was one of the most talkative trips we’ve ever taken! We met an American family from Pennsylvania who were holidaying around Europe on the train from Interlaken to Geneva (Steelers fans), another American family who live in France and were on the way home to the States to visit family on the plane from Geneva to Paris (Raiders fans), and a Hungarian girl who is a skydiver photographer (what a cool job!) and was heading to see friends in Phoenix on the flight from Paris to NY.
Arriving into New York was awesome. I’ve never been to the US before (Katie visited the west coast years ago with her family) and to land in through JFK was kinda cool. As we changed terminals, we walked past the many, many TVs in the New York Sports Grill... so much sport!!! I was in serious danger of not making the flight to Orlando! :-) I’m a PE teacher and I love my sports... I’m a big NFL fan (go Eagles) although I don’t get too many chances to talk to people about it as it doesn’t have a huge following back in Australia. (Hence “which NFL team do you follow?” is one of my first questions to most Americans we meet while travelling!).
We’ve been reading up on Orlando and we’re getting ourselves more and more pumped as we go. Of course we knew Orlando was the theme-park capital of the world... Disney, Universal, Sea World and so on, but we’ve also discovered Orlando has a world-class philharmonic orchestra. Now while, I can’t claim a single musical bone exists in my body, I love live orchestra music, and I am always amazed at how many tunes I actually know once they’re being played!
Anyways, I’ve rambled on about not much for long enough; we’re ready to go this week, a little nervous, but absolutely buzzing with excitement! We’ll definitely be online tomorrow, so jump onto twitter and send us a tweet!
Cheers, Daz
Due to popular request, we've posted our entry video... please be kind :-)
G’day!Thanks for taking a look at our blog. You have probably arrived here via the Orlando CVB's 67 Days of Smiles website; we are both SUPER excited to be top 10 finalists. :) We've created this blog so that you can follow our experiences as we compete to become Orlando Smile Ambassadors - a job we believe we're perfect for! More information here.A bit of background on us...
We both call Melbourne, Australia home but have spent the last 15 months living in London and travelling as much as we can. We have been dating for 2 ½ years and it’s fair to say we’ve brought out the adventurous spirit in one another! We’re fun-loving, outdoorsy people who are always on the lookout for chances to throw ourselves into weird and wonderful situations, making sure we capture the highlights on camera.
We’ve surfed, snowboarded, kayaked, hot-air ballooned, snorkelled, hiked, skydived and rafted all over the world. We’ve rode roller coasters, elephants, quad bikes, donkeys, tuk-tuks, snowmobiles, camels and bobsleds. During the last six months, we’ve slept in a former Soviet prison in Latvia, on the River Nile on a boat that was little more than a floating mattress, and on a bed of ice and snow inside the Arctic Circle in Sweden!
We take holidays to explore new places, try new things, meet new people, and enjoy the wonders that the world has to offer. 67 Days of Smiles appeals to us an incredible opportunity to make countless new memories. Our flight to Orlando leaves tomorrow and we just can't wait!Follow us on twitter for on-the-go updates.
Our final afternoon in Orlando saw us heading to Downtown to check out what Orlando is like away from the theme parks of International Drive. We started at the Orange County Regional History Center which has four floors of interesting and interactive displays spanning from the first humans to ever settle the region, all the way through to the boom of Disney and beyond. For just US$9 you can take an Audio Tour Guide through time to see and learn all about the Seminoles, the citrus farms, the theme parks and the crackers! (Which is a term for colonial era American pioneer settlers of Florida).
The History Center is absolutely filled with things to read and do - Katie and I had been given two hours to explore it and feel that we didn't even scratch the surface. We think we've been tagged as the do-anything-adrenaline-junkies, but we also really enjoy cruising around museums like this one, especially as 'outsiders' - the information at the History Center is presented really 'easily' and we were hooked. Definitely worth a couple of hours one afternoon if you are exploring Downtown Orlando (plus it's beautifully air-conditioned!).
From the History Center, we strolled along Orange Avenue towards the Plaza Cinema Cafe, passing several quality looking bars all strongly (perhaps even more so due to the warm Florida afternoon) calling us in to try some American beers. Arriving at the Plaza, we where whisked away up to the 16th floor for a meet and greet with some of the minds behind Downtown Orlando and the rapid development of the area. The skyline of Orlando has changed greatly in the last few years and these people are the ones responsible for that. It was really interesting - as a citizen, you just kind of think - hey, someone built a new building, cool... but to actually hear the whys and hows of those new buildings was great - for example, the new Orlando Magic Basketball Arena being built in the traditionally black part of Orlando - they are using locals to build that, and if the locals don't have the necessary skills, they get trained up in an apprenticeship so they can do the job. It's so much more than just 'let's put a building over there'.
Our final engagement as finalists in 67 Days of Smiles was a tough one, we had to have all this delicious Spanish food at Ceviche on Church Street. Man I love tapas. We spent two weeks travelling around Spain and were absolutely hooked on the stuff. Ceviche did a fantastic job of recreating the flavours from Catalonia; from calamari to chorizo, Pork Shanks to the signature Ceviche dish, I don't think you could go there and order a bad meal! It was also a fabulous atmosphere to sit and chat with the other finalists now that 'boot camp' was winding down. Really amazing to find ten couples, who although they're in competition with each other, could become such good mates in such a short period of time. 
