Wednesday 18 September 2013

Vegas/Florida Vacation

Hi, Sorry I have been off the Blogosphere for a bit. So much change this year!! and have just not had time for crafts for the last few months. Seems like ages since I sold any shabby chic furniture. Also started my new job last week at Keele University after our big holiday in America !! It was FAB!!

Fremont St, Las Vegas
This was one of the best trips yet! A week gambling in Vegas, 3 nights chilling in the Florida Keys, and our last 4 days shopping in Orlando! We didn't even go anywhere near the strip this time as we found it overpriced and too touristy. We had a much better time off strip and stayed at The Eastside Cannery about 6 miles out. What a fantastic hotel! We were upgraded to a high floor corner room with views of both the Strip and the mountains ! We had 2 visits to Fremont St which is the best place to see the old style original casinos and easier to actually win some money there as the machines are "looser".

Beautiful chandelier at The Plaza Hotel (where we parked for Fremont St)

I won enough to pay for a couple of meals when we were there :0) and the buffet meals in the hotels were the best we have ever eaten, and so cheap!! Our favourite was the Feast Buffet at Boulder Station Casino (off strip). We had a 4 hour flight to Miami and picked up the rental car there. I had been so excited as we booked a Mustang for driving round Florida.When we went to pick it up from the parking garage the attendant told me to have my pick of a whole row of different coloured ones. Took me about half an hour to choose!!! We had a red rental car the first week so went for this lovely gun metal grey :0) Wish I could have brought it home with me.

Shopping in Tavernier, Florida Keys
We stayed at the same resort we visited last summer and it was even better as we were upgraded to a suite closer to the waterfront. It had it's own kitchen and living area and was also very close to the pool. It was lovely and peaceful, especially when most of the guests checked out after Labor Day weekend!

Waterfront at Atlantic Bay Resort. The water was so clear!

Lots of iguanas and peacocks walking about the resort
It was so relaxing sitting at the waterfont watching all the private fishing boats mooring and unloading their catches. Some of the fish they caught were over 3ft long! 
We also found a fantastic restaurant that was our favourite on the trip - Mrs Mac's Kitchen in Key Largo, which was just a few miles up the road from where we were staying . The interior of the restaurant was amazing! The lights over the tables were made from license plates, and the tables were glass topped with lots of holiday type souvenirs, shells etc under the glass like a display case. The light in the entrance was like a big octopus!!

Octopus Light in Mrs Mac's Kitchen

We had an amazing meal of broiled dolphin fish, prawns and scallops, followed my their world famous Key Lime Pie! It was out of this world, and I can't recommend this restaurant enough. Russell bought me one of their mugs to bring home :0)

Mrs Mac's Coffee and Key Lime Pie, so yummy!!
We were going to  drive all the way down to Key West, but it was scorching that day so we only went half way. On the way back we got caught in a tropical storm.They are something to see!!

Mustang in the Keys :0)
We had about a four hour drive up to Orlando where we also stayed at a hotel we had used before as it was so handy for everything, and included a free buffet breakfast. Marriott Fairfield Inn at Lake Buena Vista. We had 4 days there and enjoyed visiting our favourite shops at The Florida Mall, the best mall by far!
On our last day we had a wander round Celebration, a town built by the Disney Company. It was very picturesque and clean and the houses there were to die for. A bit on the pricey side though. There was a nice Farmers and Crafts Market we had a look round, and some nice shops. They even had a bakery for dogs!!!!

Celebration bakery for dogs!

Main St in Celebration
Our flight back to Manchester was a night flight and we didn't manage to get any sleep. The food was so bad we had upset stomachs, then we ran into turbulence !!! Were glad to get home and into bed for a sleep.

Other news is we sold our house the day before we left, so we have started packing. Trouble is, I have a shed full of lovely furniture still to be painted. I know I wont have time to get it done before we move, so a lot of it will have to go into storage until the new house is ready in January. I do however want to get the big heavy welsh dresser painted and sold before we go, so work will be starting on that this weekend.


Can't believe we are into the second half of September, and it is turning very autumny already! Before we know it it will be Christmas, then in March the big wedding in New York! Loads to do before then so I'd better get cracking!! It feels good to get back to my blogging again, and I will  post pics at the weekend of the dresser transformation. Looking forward to our brand new house too, which will be a blank canvas for decorating and styling.

Have a good week!

2 comments:

  1. Great! Mrs Mac's Kitchen looked really cool, like the octopus shade!

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  2. It was one of those places that you can't wait to go back to to try something else from their amazing menu, it was so hard to choose!!!They also have a breakfast place across the road. xx

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