How excited was i when we got off the plane!

The airport was really tough to get through though, the passport control took an over an hour of standing and waiting to get checked by a really grumpy bloke who too his job fat too seriously. We went to check out the train information which was far to complicated for our poor tired brains so ended up taking a shuttle bus which was expensive but worth it. I was so surprised at just how beautiful the City was, so clean and green and spread out. It actually looked like we were traveling through a model village it was just so perfect. He took us straight to our hotel - Jan Juan, which was the cheapest. It was still not a cheap place (for backpackers anyway) but the room was really clean and tidy and had a microwave and fridge - bonus. We dumped our stuff in the room and got changed as the weather was really hot then went out for some food as we hadn't eaten since the plane. The walk around just took my breath away, everything is all Art Deco style with pastel colours, huge beautiful hotels and palm trees - it was like stepping back in time as they were all so perfectly preserved. The weather is hot but has a wonderful breeze so not uncomfortable, so we had some lunch sat outside watching people walk past. Some were a bit of a sight though, specially the older ladies as they don' t seem to want to grow old gracefully. Other girls just don't wear anything,. there are all sorts of all ages rollerblading everywhere or sKateboarding. Everyone just looked healthy and happy and to be honest i felt so much more relaxed and happy than i have felt in quite a while.

Had some b'fast next door which turned out to be a bit nasty then went for a walk in park which was on the beach front. Loads of people blading and running, weight training and bench pressing - there are a lot of poesy men around these parts - body image is everything. We had a lay down in the shade under all the trees filled with noisy birds and parrots, Toby went off for a walk whilst i just chilled out. It was then i noticed a woman whizzing past on some sort of contraption that looked pretty new, when i told Toby about this a little later he got really excited and explained what they were - Segways. Ok i wasn't as excited as him though, but had to chase him down the path whilst he went to find out if you could hire them - found a bloke who did and told us where the shop was, that's on tomorrows agenda then. On Tobys early wandering he had come across a whole strip of restaurants and sand castles which he wanted to show me, especially the man stood outside the Tropical Bar who had 2 beautiful birds, a macaw and Cockatoo. The Macaw was so friendly and i fell in love with him straight away - he was a very happy bird and loved to be loved. The tropical bar had all the women walking around in see through leopard skin outfits with just thongs showing through, the men had trousers and a shirt on - something not right about that. We had a couple of bottles of Coronas which we have wanted for so long so they tasted bloody good - very expensive though, that ended up substituting as lunch. Wandered around for the rest of the day looking at the buildings and just drinking up all the sights and sounds and the feel good factor. Went back to the hotel and had a good hours worth in the pool doing lots of lengths - felt good to be swimming again. Dinner time we went out to a lovely restaurant so that Toby could have some Sushi which he had wanted to try for a while whilst i settled for Thai, all in the same place of course. Mine was lovely and his looked really interesting but not my cup of tea. Went back the hotel ad crashed out.

Got up and showered then packed and heading down to the other hostel - Clay Hotel, to check in. The place looked really nice, especially the reception area, looked like the rooms were going to be nice. The girl gave us a swipe card and sheets then told us to go back out the building, down the road past the restaurant and then through the black gates, which we did. It was like a maze of alleyways and rooms leading off from everywhere, my accommodation consisted of two rooms divided by a kitchen and bathroom with 4 beds in each - not a bad set up but very very cluttered and my bed was covered in other peoples stuff which i soon cleared off. All girls dorm and most were quite young so very untidy, one older lady who seemed to live there was like the mum of the dorm as she seemed to tidy everyone's stuff up all the time. We had a ballerina in the room on the bed above me. there was a skinny woman who hid every time she ate anything and a couple of others who kept themselves to themselves. I met up with toby 10mins later and he didn't look very happy, seems his room is a right hole and very smelly - blokes for you! This seemed to put him in a bit of a bad mood for most of the day unfortunately for me....... We had a quick b'fast of fruit and yogurt then went to find ourselves the Segway shop to see if we could hire out one each - turns out we couldn't but they did do a City tour of $34 each which we agreed to do. I hadn't seen a segway up until the day before when i saw a lady zoom past on on. They are basically a platform which you stand on with 2wheels and a stick with handle bars which had a steering control thing which turns up and down for left and right. You can stand completely still on these things balancing on 2 wheels and just keep turning around on the spot. To move forward and backwards you just lean forward or back. You have 4 keys, each of which makes you go faster and that's about it. oh yes the 2 batteries are in the platform. We had to have a little practice in the showroom - and i felt like such a jerk on this thing but it took a little getting used to, very sensitive and have to have balance. 2 others had also joined our merry group so before long there were 5 of us going out on these Segways. I must admit the idea of them is bad really - just a lazy way to get around and i thought that so many people were over weight anyway that these things would make it worse, but it seems you have to be of a certain weight to go on one and not heavy. I suppose if more people had one and didn't use cars and busses then that would cut down on pollution but i don't really know......... Anyway with that in my mind we headed out down towards the beach front getting lots of comments and stares from people - they did look weird and the guide gave us all a running commentary on the area and showed us Versaces old house where he was shot. After 15mins on the things we were given the faster keys, as we had all got confidant by now. The guide then turned us around and we went up to the end of the beach detouring around the harbour way, it was all so stunning - i really have never been in a City so beautiful. Lots of photos then headed back to the shop and give back the Segways which i have to admit were an awful lot of fun. We said goodbye and walked across the road to a traditional Art Deco American diner - proper silver old cabin place full of stalls and chrome - really very very cool, it was like stepping back into the 50s. We both had a huge salad which we had to take a photo of cause they were that big. Toby then wanted to go straight down to the beach for a lay down but i went back to the hostel first to don the bikini and get some sun screen then went and found him. Funny enough he had parked himself not too far away from a scantily clad lady who seemed to have attracted a lot of male company and who wanted to get their photo taken with this little lady. When she stood up i could see why - she had the body of a porn star and seemed to be modeling like she had done this before......doesn't do much for the old ego when she is donning a yellow thonged bikini that just holds it all in, brown and toned to perfection and i'm sat on the beach with my bikini covered in 30+ sunscreen and my big Llama hat i got in Peru - not very attractive. Anyway we stayed on the beach for an hour, Toby sleeping and me reading when we were approached by a coloured girl wanting a cigarette. Half an hour later when we were about to leave she went up to Toby and called him 'Master' then asked for a hug, which he complied. then wondered off - weird.

Went back to the hostel and then later sat around by the kitchen outside and had some bagels and cream cheese and started chatting to a few other people also staying in the hostel. All from different parts of the world, one of the guys who had lived in the UK for 3 yrs and was from somewhere in America, was really friendly. They all went out for a drinking session whilst i went to my room to read and have some Milo which i had found in the supermarket earlier - bloody lovely. Toby went off to do his own thing so didn't see him for the rest of the evening. I ended up sitting outside on the step chatting to the older Spanish (mother lady) who chatted away in Spanish and i looked i understood every word. A big group came back all looking worse for wear and very loud so i took my Milo and book back inside and to bed.

Woke up early but couldn't get into the shower for ages due to the other girls getting ready to either go to work or to Ballet classes - women! I met up with Toby outside the kitchen area where they had a few seats and tables at 9am for some B'fast of bagels and some cereal then went out to look for a Harley hire shop. We knew it was on 18th street but didn't realise the road would be so big or split up over a river. So we walked around for ages trying to find the place, eventually we did though, and what a place! they had so many cool bikes and all of them were soooooooooooooooooooo big, oh dear how on earth was i going to fit on one of those things. We had an idea of getting one bike between us and taking turns to ride and pillion. The bloke who worked there seemed really nice and extremely helpful and was quite surprised when i said i would be riding as well. He said he wouldn't have any smaller bikes available for the next day, which is when we wanted to hire it from. He took me outside to this monster of a bike and told me to try it out for size. It wasn't too bad when sat on the thing but my little arms just couldn't reach the handle bars comfortably so he took me indoors to try out a Low Rider which was still big but just the right size for me and my arms - very comfortable, if only my mum could see me now!. I was then told to try out the Fat Boy bike which was, again too big for me. I could drive the thing but it wasn't as comfortable as the Low Rider. The blokey suggested we take both the bikes which of course we would love to do if it weren't for the money, so he offered us a deal we couldn't refuse of $400 for both bikes for 3 days - very good deal. So it was settled i had the Low Rider and Toby had the Fat Boy - 2 beautiful bikes and i was really excited.

We then walked back to the pedestrian part to the book shop so we could read up on the rules of the road whilst having a sandwich and drink. Whilst sitting there drinking my lemonade, who should walk in the door, but Cliff Richard...... I said to Tobes 'oh look that's Cliff' and then we both just carried on drinking and reading. He did say hello to me though when I was looking for a new Dean Koontz book - looks fantastic for his age and very laid back and cool.

I phoned my mum to tell her about the bikes and she nearly had kittens - ooops, i then told her about Cliff which calmed her down a bit....... We then went to an internet place to check my account as mother had put some Xmas money in there for us - thanks mummy. Found out that the bikes we had hired were both 1450s - the biggest bike i have had so far. I then left toby there and went and bought some pasta for dinner and then went back to my room to do my diary.

Went out in the evening to a club which a whole bunch of us got given complimentary tickets to. Seems the club opposite the hotel are in cahoots with each other otherwise it would have cost $30 each to get in. We got given a couple of tickets allowing us 2 free drinks each so we all had rum and coke to start with only to find out it was just coke with not a hint of alcohol.......... the second drink was a little better. The two Irish girls, Pearl and Melanie wandered off for a walk around the club whist John the Ozzy guy went off with Dan the American guy (our little gang) which left me and Toby stood on the wall watching everyone wander past. A hell of a lot of collagen and plastic boobs and buts with low tops and shorts skirts wandering around the place. The men were all huge and very muscled up, some to the extreme. Made our UK guys look like midgets, they were all so tall. I couldn't get into the whole thing as the music just wasn't doing it for me so was just happy to watch. I ended up standing next to a 7ft coloured guy who was just massive and really very sweet, got talking to him and he was really interested in our travels etc. But every 5mins someone kept coming up to him and asking to take his photo or just happy to shake his hand, everyone seemed to know who he was apart from us it seems. I did ask but he just said he sold insurance............................

It was a constant stream of people all of whom were so excited to see him and shake his hand, girls were coming up to me and apologising and asking if i minded if they had there photo taken with him etc, i couldn't give a shit! Turns out he was a football player called Lawrence Taylor? i know nothing about American Football so meant nothing to me. We ended up talking to him for a couple of hours and he was so amazed about our diary and what we had seen, really nice bloke. At midnight he decided to leave with his agent as he was tired so gave me a huge hug and disappeared. We left a few mins after feeling tired, so just went back to our dorms and to bed.

Woke up early and met Jonesy for B'fast of cereal and coffee then Toby went to collect his bike for 9am leaving me to sit and read in the sun. He came back a couple of hours later with an extra helmut in his puds and ready to hit the road. We had both packed up our bags and just put enough clothes etc into a bag each that would fit on the bikes which meant taking out all the camping stuff apart from the tent as we had far too much. We then went to put all of it in storage and checked out of our rooms. The big old Fat Boy was sat outside the front waiting for us to hop on, must admit i was nervous as Toby hadn't done pillion before but he was just brilliant and didn't make one mistake. Within 10mins heading down to Fort Lauderdale i felt very relaxed and enjoyed to ride. The journey down seemed to take ages and the whole idea was to pop into the American Airline company over there and see if we could change our flight tickets. We drove all the way over only to find out it was shut - damn!. So we had a quick light lunch of salad whilst everyone around us was eating grease and chips and general lardy stuff then drove all the way back to the bike rental shop to pick up my bike - by now i was nervous and had a really bad stomach - i really suffer badly with the ole nerves! We arrived at the rental shop about 3.00pm as the bloke said the bike would be coming back in around that time, but it wasn't brought back until gone 4pm so i was in a right old state by now. Toby told me to expect a little bike test before i take the thing away just so i could get to know the clutch and weight etc, i really didn't want to drop the bike or do something stupid which luckily i didn't. It was such a big bike, 1400 cc size engine is the biggest i'm sure i will ever get to ride. We said our thanks and donned our helmets then went straight the garage to fill up as the man before hadn't filled up properly. By now it was 5pm and the traffic was back to back, not a good time to hit the roads and it was going to get dark soon. We filled up and then went to leave the forecourt having to make a sharp and slow turn right onto the road and into slow moving and busy road. Well i obviously moved a little too slow and turned a little too sharply to the rights and the weight of the bike just took over. Yes i fell off and the bike fell over - within the first 5mind of getting the bike and i drop the bastard,. all on the chrome exhaust and polished bits. A lovely bloke got out of his car and picked up the bike for me whilst Toby ran over and moved it to the side a little, The traffic was chocka so everyone saw me make a fantastic arse of myself. Luckily the bike wasn't damaged. the only thing was my pride. I must admit all i saw when i fell off were dollar signs in my eyes - oh the cost, oh the insurance etc. Well i straightened myself out tightened my helmet and got straight back on and headed off into the traffic determined not to be afraid. I whizzed off ahead of Toby so had to pull over and wait for bit, noticing the bike kept cutting out, Did this for a while which was a little disconcerting but then used some choke and it was fine again. The plan was to travel down the Everglades and camp around there somewhere but the traffic was soooooo bad it took over 2 hrs just to get to the outskirts of the City, and by now it was dark. We rode for about 3hrs in total then went to find a hotel of somewhere to stay as we were both knackered. The first hotel was fully booked and the second (next door) was charging $169 plus tax for a double - bloody terrible but we just had to take it cause neither could ride any more especially in the dark and traffic.The room was average and i really couldn't understand why it was so expensive. We both couldn't get the water taps to work in the sink so rang up reception who sent up a really nice bloke to sort it out. We had been sooooo stupid ! he just walked straight in and turned the thing on, not as simple as left and right. He then explained the area was having a huge car racing event going on which is why so many people were on the road and the fact that all accommodation in the whole surrounding area was taken by the fans,. we were lucky to find the room we had. Also explains why it was so expensive,. they double the cost - not such good timing. But then if we had carried on traveling we certainly wouldn't have found a place to stay........ maybe we should have left the next day first thing in the morning. I poured a hot bath whilst Toby purchased some crappy MacDonald's - i had a salad leaving Toby to eat 2 big mac meals! Had an early night feeling like i had done 3 rounds with Mike Tyson.

Woke and went down stairs for B'fast which was just awful and even and plastic cutlery and paper plates - how they could charge that much for a room then give you cold coffee and paper plates and donuts is beyond me. We packed up the bikes and were on the road by 10am ready for another day of adventure, i was still really nervous but getting used to the bike and starting to enjoy myself. We decided to drive straight down to Key West and then do the Everglades on the way back up, just until the car racing thing was finished. The drive was amazing and the bridges leading out to the sea onto all the distance islands was amazing. Florida Keys is a whole bunch of islands in a line which they joined up with these huge bridges - pretty impressive stuff. The weather was hot and the sky was blue, the sea was aquamarine and beautiful. Everywhere you looked was something interesting and wonderful, the pelicans were in abundance and would just hover next to the side of the bridge. You could almost reach out and touch them - they are such big birds. The towns had the usual tacky stuff but somehow didn't look wrong or too ugly, it was all just lovely. We finally made it all the way down to the last island and had a drive around the town looking for campsites which we new were around the area. The town was lovely and full of huge white colonial houses now been turned into hotels or restaurants with grand gardens and wonderful shops and interesting stalls. The whole place was buzzing with life, people just got around on push bikes or mopeds and were all just so laid back and relaxed. We rode down to the harbour where there was a campsite but they were charging $50 just to park your tent on some gravel so we declined and found another park just outside the town which was cheaper but not nice at all. So on we rode until finding a campsite we liked which was still a little expensive but a nice spot. It must have been around 6pm by the time we got the tent up and and had a shower, both gasping for a cold beer. We took one bike back into town both with no helmets which felt really nice.
Spent the evening in a couple of bars, one of which had an English guy singing dirty songs and just being crude, he was quite funny but did play on the American soldiers and the boys fighting over on the other side of the world, ranted about Saddam etc. This got all the Americans riled up and hooting and cheering which was the aim, i think. We then listened to a young lad called Paul who sang a few songs, the crowd were really getting into the whole thing - a lot more outgoing and fun filled than the English people. After a couple of beers we went and had a walk around. the place is fantastic at night time, full of bars with live music and many cafes and restaurants We decided on some dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe and ordered a starter for one person so we cold share , only for it to come out the size of a small continent! how they can say that was for one person i don't know. Actually that is something i have noticed whilst being here is the amount of food everywhere, the quantity, portions, fattening foods everywhere. You go into the shop and you can get any kind of salad dressing and toppings for waffles and pancakes, peanut butter with jam mixed in or chocolate spread. You really can get anything and they have very little healthy food.

less of the ranting......

The salad i had then ordered was ridiculous in size and after spending 30mins eating the thing it still hadn't looked like it had been touched..... so i had to leave it. We cruised back to the campsite on the bike which was wonderful, looking up at the stars on a warm night whilst sitting on the back of a Harley, wind blowing your hair - dream come true for me.

Had a terrible nights sleep.

Looked a bit rainy and windy when we got up so just took one bike back into town for a last look around and some b'fast. It did start to rain which isn't good, i hate riding in the rain with the slippery roads. We went and had our picture taken down at the furthest most point of Continental USA then went back to the campsite and quickly packed away the tent before it started tipping down over our campsite. We went and sat in the games area watching the weather channel for half an hour waiting for the rain to ease off, which it did luckily. We then hopped on the bikes around midday and started making tracks to the Everglades. The weather got a lot better the further out of town we got, but the wind was dreadful and it took all my strength just to hang onto the bike, especially on the bridges!

On the way we stopped off at one of the many many places that sold the famous Key Lime Pie so we could say we had tried some - it was bloody lovely but a little sickly. Back in Homestead we stopped for some fuel and some supplies then headed into the National Everglades park where we found ourselves a wonderful camping ground and pitched our tent for the night. The park was wonderful, on way through i saw so many herons and egrets and some dear. The sun was just starting to set and the wind had died down so it was perfect riding conditions, peaceful and no other cars.

Lots of mosquito's though much to our disgust, managed to give us a few bites before donning our bushman repellent. We watched the sun go down over the swamps whilst eating our sandwiches then Toby went into the tent whilst i watched the stars come out before joining him.

What a beautiful morning, the sun was shining and not a cloud in the sky! A few mossies though giving us a couple more bites to add to our collection. We got dressed and left everything in the tent then jumped onto our bikes and roared off down the road for a 40 mile journey to Flamingo Bay where they had a few lodges and a hotel, for b'fast. Sarena cruising the Everglades (1,336 kb). The journey was fantastic and it was great to have no lids and no bags on our backs. The roads were empty and i just fell in love with the Everglades, such a wonderful and peaceful place. We passed so many birds and animals just bimbling around, also hit quite a few big insects which hurt like hell when whizzing along and they whack you in the face.

We finally found Flamingo which really didn't have much there but did have a fab place for b'fast - buffet style, fatal as we were both very hungry. I did manage to pack a load of fruit and donuts in my bag for later before heading back to the campsite. Stopped off on the way to look at an eco pond which was beautiful and had a whole flock of white herons sitting in a tree looking like huge flowers. We packed up the tent then back on the bikes again, this time with helmets and headed to just outside the National Park to an Alligator park. We first went and watched the feeding of these monsters - they were the biggest ones i had ever seen! The feeder man went into the enclosure with all of them, must have been at least 150 of the buggers all laying around on the shore or wallowing in the water. The only thing he went in with was a large stick which he would tap on their backs and get them moving into the water. He then fed them some chicken portions but as he had his back turned an alligator came up behind and stole his cap which he had left on the floor. He jumped on the beasts back and tried to wrestle the hat out of his mouth but the alligator wasn't having any of it and nearly dragged him into the water. No way was the man getting his hat back!

We then went for an airboat ride, the boat carried about 20people at a time. It was a gentle ride to begin with so we could see all the turtles that were swimming around in the river, they had little hooked noses and were very funny looking. Saw lots of alligators and birds. The guide, who was really funny then took us off onto one of the side streams and started to speed up. It wasn't a scary ride at all but good fun and a little wet as he did a few spins.

After the boat ride we went to the snake show where the same guy who fed the alligators showed us a few snakes and to try to teach us a little about them. It seems it's very very easy and common to buy baby snakes in a pet shop then the owners realise they can't cope with them when they get bigger so let them out in the back garden - mmmmm that sounds sensible. Now they are wondering why the family pets and small children are going missing because these snakes are eating the buggers,. why don't they change the law so you can't buy and sell snakes from a corner pet store? The last snake he showed us was a wonderful albino Python who was just the most beautiful creature, I held her and couldn't believe how strong and powerful she was, would an awful why to die being squeezed to death by her.

We said our thanks then rushed back to the bikes and headed back to Miami so we could drop our bikes back, not that either of us wanted to - maybe we could just post them home....

dropped them off with no hassle then walked back to the hostel and spent the evening sat outside with a load of others including the 3 UK girls from my room and the Irish gals who were very loud, funny and friendly. I cooked some dinner then we both drank a few cold corona's and had a good evening watching everyone else get drunk before they all headed out to a club and we went to bed.

Didn't get to sleep until 2am just reading and enjoying having the room to myself for a couple of hours. The girls didn't get back in until 5am and were actually very quiet. I didn't wake up until near 10am feeling a little groggy, so went out looking for Toby but couldn't find him anywhere so i went and bought some B'fast and sat down to eat when he walked around the corner. Seems he had been out sorting out tickets and transport for the next few days - he is very organised. But he was in a foul mood so we just did our own things for the rest of the day, meeting up now and then for a quick scowl. I did my dairy and then found out why he was in a foul mood - i hadn't said thank you properly for the having the bike - sorry.

Sat and read around by the kitchen area for a lot of the day occasionally talking to Mathew and Dan who would come and sit for a while. Toby was still in a foul mood which was made even worse when he went up to the internet cafe and i said i would come and meet him a later. We had crossed info though and i went to the wrong internet place and thought he had already left when i couldn't see him. I went back to the hotel where he turned up 15mins later demanding to know why i didn't turn up! this made him really uptight so we decided to just stay apart for most of the day so that i couldn't annoy him any more. I went for walk along the beach and took in the last sights of Miami before having to leave on Friday.

Went to sit on my own in the afternoon to do some more reading only to be joined by the maddest bloke.......... he started off by making some sense about work etc and then started talking about sex and how he shaved his pubes, had threesomes with his ex girlfriend and how everyone should have an open relationship. He then thought i was giving him 'the sign' and wanted to show me how he had made a tent out of his bunk bed............mmmmm i don't think so! i walked off and made my excuses and leaving him to annoy someone else with his crap. Turns out to be one of the many mad Americans we have met whilst being in Miami - most people are very outspoken and open and don't seem to have any qualms about being loud and verbal outside or just in public, something the English just aren't very good at, which is also an annoying trait as we come across as snobby and unfriendly.

Did loads of washing which we were both desperate to do after the biking trip then spent the evening just sitting around and drinking Corona's having a laugh with the rest of the inmates.

Woke up early and had a quick B'fast with Toby who was now in a much better mood. Then finished packing and checked out of the hotel and walked up to the bus stop to catch the bus to the train station. The journey took over an hour and made me feel extremely nauseous, curdled coffee and natural yogurt - ain't a good mix!

Checked in our bags then sat and waited to board the train for 15mins then gathered our stuff and were shown on board. The train had to be the nicest one and have ever been on, we had so much leg room and could put the seats right back, even had a socket for the computer. Unfortunately it is my time of the month so even Toby's breathing was irritating the hell out of me................

The ride was great and we soon arrived in Orlando and couldn't work out the best way to get to our hostel as the bus routes were all just too confusing so ended up catching the shuttle bus which was a mini van that charges the earth. After driving around for hours dropping everyone off (we were the last as usual) we finally arrived at the Palmlake resort which looked like a motel type place. The owner wasn't around so we sat and chatted for a while to a couple of regulars, one of them was an Indian guy called Shasel who was very friendly and offered to drop us off at Down Town Disney in the morning where he worked. We sat and chatted staying there until AJ turned up. Turns out the place is great and has a fully equipped kitchen and a huge garden with pool backing onto a lake. We got given a discount for a room for the week and was so much cheaper that Miami. We dumped our bags in the room then quickly got changed to pop over the bar for a drink, as JC said it was a really cool place to go. The bar was fantastic and was jam packed full of atmosphere and fun. There wasn't an inch of space that wasn't filled with something, whether on the wall or ceiling and was full of locals all seeming to have fun. The bar just looked like a run down old bungalow from the outside and really didn't fit in with the rest of the area at all. The roads are lined with neon lights advertising steak houses and grills and every kind of food or bar, anything your heart desires basically. Not a place for healthy people! Anyway this little bar was sort of set back in with some trees and turns out that not many people no about the place apart from the Disney crowd who frequent the bar. So it turns out the place is full of people who work at Disney and are having leaving parties or b'day parties.

I got talking to a lovely older guy who was sat next to me at the bar and was traveling around in a big trailer thing and was a real sweety. He seemed to know just about everybody else in the place and introduced us to a guy called Thomas who was having a leaving bash. He turns out to be an absolute sweetheart who entertained us all for the whole evening, introducing us later to his friend and client, Kerry who was up for a good evening! We ended up having so much fun that we didn't bother with dinner and just stayed for a few more hours. We also got chatting to a guy called Steve who talked politics non stop and a girl called Cheryl who laughed all the time and invited us over for thanksgiving! Tom had told us to go to Disney on Sunday and he would sign us in on his pass so we didn't have to pay! how nice are these people...... you could just turn around and start chatting to everyone and they would all be just so happy to talk and get to know you.

We didn't end up leaving until 11.30 with lots of hugs all round and said we would meet up with Tom on Sunday morning then went back across the road where we fell into bed.

Got up early to meet up with Shasel for 8am so he could give us a lift to Down Town Disney, but at 8.30am he still hadn't turned up. AJ thought that maybe he had forgotten it was Sat morning and wasn't working so we ended up getting a lift up to the info centre with an older lady who was working at the Disney Convention that was on. We waved our goodbyes in the car park after dropping us off feeling exhausted at her talking non stop for the whole journey and not understanding a work of what she was saying. We walked into the info centre just for some ideas and times but ended up buying a ticket to Universal Studios for that day. We then caught the bus and walked for a bit, walking into the gates at around 11am and raring to go.

I won't go through the whole day as Toby has written about the rides and what we did, but i will say i have never seen so many fat people and family's in my whole life - it was a real eye opener. The park didn't seem to have any healthy food restaurants so everyone had to eat burgers and chips, candy etc.

It was an impressive place though and really good fun, the way it was built and the whole street sets were very good. We spent the day going from one thing to the next (see Toby's diary) all of which were very tame and not scary at all so i was getting itchy to do something a bit tummy turning but they were all 3D and animatronics stuff. Did get to see Shrek though which made me instantly think of our Friend, Beau so had my photo taken with him - thats for you Mate!!

By 4pm we were both tired and wanted to get back so caught the bus which ended up to be a confusing mess so caught a taxi which was expensive but so much easier.

I went and bought some food for dinner and managed to cook up a fab dinner. Toby went to bed at 8.20pm whilst i managed to stay up until 10.30pm with a bottle of white and got talking to a guy staying at the hostel who also worked for Disney and said he had a pass to get us in for free if we wanted........ great another day for free, what with Toms free pass as well. I also got talking to a friend of AJ's who was passing through and owned a few clothes outlets and wanted me to do some modeling for him ( i get paid and keep some clothes) gosh we are doing well !!

Wahey another day of parks! had a really big B'fast with us eating tons of marmite that Toby had found in the supermarket - yummy yummy

Caught the bus to MGM and then paged Tom to say we were at the gates. 10mins later he comes down all suited and booted and gets us into the park so with big thanks and hugs all round we arrange to meet up later in the week then let him get back to work whilst we investigate the park.

This one had a lot more adventurous rides within it which we soon found ourselves on, the Tower of Terror was really good and so was the roller coaster - still not the worst i have been on though. I did start getting a headache during the day not helped by thousands of kids with foul manners talking to their parents like shite and me wanting to run them all over. Lots of queuing in this place but if you used the fast pass system, which we did, it saves a hell of a lot of time.

Once again the whole lay out and building of the park was fantastic - yes cheesy and plastic but not all bad. I had promised Toby i was going to get into the whole cheese thing, but could do nothing but moan about the tantrum kids, fat parents, amount of bad food, and people wearing whole disney outfits to the park. Some had denim shirts and shorts, T-shirts, disney shoes, jewellery, handbags etc and you just knew they wore this out all the time.

How horrible am I, i tried my best but the headache was persistent and i was feeling hormonal and tired. Toby said to pop to Epcot which the pass Tom had given us would also get us in for free. We went and phoned Cheryl leaving a message saying we couldn't make it for Thanksgiving, just didn't have the time do it all but said we would catch up again soon. We then caught a bus taking us to Epcot which i found to be the best so far. This was a little less cheesy and a lot bigger and spaced out thus not running into so many tantrum kids.

We got ourselves a fast pass to Mission Space which we weren't allowed to use for another 3 hrs so went and had a look at the Country areas. This was part of the park which they had built different parts depicting different countries. So they had England and Japan, Mexico, Morocco etc, first port of call was to the England area and we found a whole village with streets and pubs and a harry ramsdon chip shop. Couldn't ask for much more than that, grabbed ourselves some fish and chips and went to sit in the little English garden filled with lavender and privet hedges. It was brilliant and once again built really cleverly. We soon moved onto the other Countries which were just as fascinating but by now was getting dark so really couldn't see as much as we wanted. Spent the next couple of hours walking around and taking the whole place in, it was lovely at night time though with all the lights and the huge lakes and water fountains and waterfalls all lit up.

Toby wanted to stay until 9pm so we could see the fireworks that they have at the end of everyday and supposed to be amazing but i honestly could have gone home there and then i was that knackered. We hadn't stopped walking for 9hrs by now and my back was killing me. We did manage to get onto the Mission Space ride at 8.15pm using our fast pass, it was extremely clever and the feeling of weightlessness was great.

We did see so much more but Toby has gone into detail so won't repeat the whole day for you again!! At 9pm they set off the fireworks, and yes it was spectacular and we all ooed and aaaahed, then all ran to the entrance to get the monorail then train back to home. Didn't get back until 10.30pm and both collapsed into bed.

Still need to find some scary rides though!!

No theme parks today so had a lay in until 9am then had a monster b'fast of toast and marmite then didn't do much for most of the morning but read my book which i have to say is one of the best i have ever read. In the afternoon we went and played adventure golf just up the road, turns out to be a huge place made to look like the congo with lots of rope bridges, rivers and waterfalls. That passed a few hours before heading back to the hostel where i wrote my diary then had salad for dinner and a few pints over the bar opposite with a few people from the Hostel and i ended up trying the local specialty called the Big Bamboo - lethal.

Met up with Mat who was also staying at the hostel and working for Disney which meant he could get us in for free - result! It was his day off as well but seemed keen on going in with us for the day. We all caught the bus in and didn't get to the park until 11ish, went to the Magic Kingdom first. We caught the ferry over with a million other people then spent the next 5hrs with a squillion kids and pushchair's and not a lot of space to walk. This park is obviously for the younger children so we bypassed some of the areas, did go on a roller coaster which wasn't scary at all and on the Haunted Mansion ride taken from the new film. Best one i thought was the Brear Rabbit water ride which had drop at the end of the ride, 5stories high and really gut wrenching - just my cup of tea..... ended up getting really wet. We all then went to Epcot (again) so that we could see some more of the park but in daylight. First place we went to was the English pub and bought a pint of snakebite each, which Mat got very drunk on, not being the hardened UK drinker. Walked around for a few more hours and just got time to see some more things before it got dark again then all decided to go back to the hostel for about 7.30.

Shasel had cooked a huge Indian cuisine which he offered to everyone, so had some authentic Indian food for dinner then went to bed once again exhausted

Called Clare but no answer...

Made arrangements to meet up with Shasel in Down Town disney where he worked for lunch. By the time we had done some washing thought and messed around we didn't leave the hostel until late. We then caught the bus and went to the wrong stop so had to catch another bus which made us later. Didn't get to meet up with Shasel in the end which we felt really bad about so went to look for his place of work and still couldn't find him. Went and had a look around the rest of the park. This was more like a town with shops, restaurants, cinemas, bars etc, so we went and bought some tickets for 2 films. The first film was the Haunted Mansion which was pretty crap and the second was for The Missing which wasn't until 7pm so we went and had a couple of drinks at the Blues Bar. The second film was really good and well worth going to see.

Didn't come out until 9.30pm then went back to the Blues Bar for some dinner which wasn't all that impressive then caught a taxi home and to bed.

Happy Thanksgiving!...........

Rang Clare again but still no answer...

Weather had turned cold but still very sunny and blue skies but had to wear jeans instead of my summer attire. Aaron had bought loads of food and was putting on a Thanksgiving dinner in the evening for everyone which was extremely kind of him. Everyone pitched in and helped donating a few bits here and there then at 5pm we all sat down and had a fantastic dinner of honeyed ham, turkey, stuffing, veggies,. potatoes. corn, cranberry, gravy, salad...... and then an assortment of puddies It was bloody lovely and we all ate to the max especially CK, the Japanese girl who seemed to eat all day and was still eating her dinner 2hrs later! didn't have a late night, both feeling stuffed and tired

Once again didn't do much in the day or evening but vegged and read, just enjoyed the weather and the company.

Didn't do much all day but did spend a little time in the sun by the pool but got bored of that after 20mins and went back indoors for some book reading. Toby phoned Tom and organised to meet him over the Big Bamboo later on in the evening. It was Nicky's last day so she came over with us for some goodbye drinkies, getting me to drink 'car bombs' and ' long island tea' both of which were lethal. Tom came over at 8ish and it all got better from then on. More people came in the later it got, all of whom we had met on the first night of the Big Bamboo experience so had a good crowd and lots of fun. Nicky ended up getting quite pissed, i was ok for a change! also met an English couple who entertained us for a little while. Didn't get back until 2ish but Nicky came in our room for a while and we talked crap until 3 and i chucked her out.

Didn't sleep a wink all night so couldn't wait to get up as soon as it got light and went for some coffee and b'fast. Tom came and picked us up at 1pm and took us out to TGI Fridays where we all gorged ourselves, Tom paid for all of us which we weren't expecting but very much appreciated. Then he took us back to his place which he shared with his best mate. He had told us how his house mate collected all this pottery called collection 56 which was set in the 50's but wasn't quite prepared for the Xmas ensemble which greeted us on entering. He had set up half of the lounge room with massive tables which he had then laid out his collection and made a whole town out of it all with snow and lights and Xmas trees etc. The whole thing was amazing and you really could have studied it for hour and still not seen everything. There were diners. theatres, snowmen, children. houses, churches the whole lot. Even had moving sledges and skaters!!! when we moved into the rest of the house there were still hundreds more of the collection, resting on shelves and cupboards, all buildings and houses which i thought were really nice, maybe a bit too many but i liked the design. Tom showed us around the rest of the house with huge bedrooms and a wonderful patio with pool covered in a massive net covering to stop them pesky insects in the summer. We spent the rest of the day chilling out and watching TV enjoying a terrible series called, ' For better or worse' where a group of mates and a wedding planner organise their friends big day - really addictive watching, whilst cringey at the same time. We decided to get home at about 6.30pm but not before Tom had dug out some free tickets to Busch Park saving us yet another fortune.

He dropped us back to the hostel and we had lots of hugs goodbye making him promise to stay in touch and to come and stay with us when he travels to the UK - make sure you do Tom! he then gave us a card and told us not to open it until he had gone. When he drove off i opened the card and $50 fell out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he had got us a wonderful goodbye card and some booze money -wishing us all the best, has to be one of the kindest things anyone has done

You really didn't need to do that Thomas, it was thoughtful and generous and so very sweet. Make sure you pay us a visit when in the UK so we can repay all your kindness and love you gave us.

Well we had our free tickets to Busch Park thanks to Tom so caught a shuttle bus from Old Disney, taking us nearly 2hrs to get to the park. Couldn't believe how empty the park was and how better it was all set out, a lot less cheesier and tacky then Disney. We first went to some of the Zoo section of the park taking in Gorillas and reptiles - the settings for all the animals were fantastic with plenty of space and very beautiful. I was like a small child taking in all the gardens, plants, birds, flowers and animals and was enjoying it so much more than the parks we had been to. We then went to try out a small roller coaster which was still quite scary but got us into the feel of it all. Then it was the water rides which we got soaked on, then the big roller coasters which i have to say was the best fun and really really gut wrenching - just what i was looking for! those things used to scare the shit out of me and i wouldn't step one foot in one but now i just love them. Spent the whole day on rides or looking at the animals, going on Safari around the 'Sarengeti' where all the animals roamed loose on huge areas of grass land made to look and feel like Africa.

The last ride of the day was a roller coaster, ranked in the top 3 coasters in the world so you can imagine what it was like and just how scary it was - my favourite.

Went to a bird show and got to see a huge Condor which flew over our heads giving us a close up of just how huge their wing spans are. Also got to see and hear a parrot which had been performing for 20years and was very very funny doing a routine with it's owner and sounded like a human.

The bus picked us up at 6pm giving us just enough time to do the whole park, even though i could have done it all again! When we got home Toby had a horrible Burger King whilst i had a salad then an early night feeling all tuckered out! thanks Tom..........

Woke up early and went and had some b'fast and said goodbye to Shasel before he went off to work. Packed our bags and then went over to the supermarket to get some supplies for the train as food and drink is quite expensive on board. Caught the bus at 10.30am then transferred onto another bus which we stayed on for an hour and a half until our stop. Checked in our bags at the train station and then boarded the biggest train i have ever seen with 2 floors and a viewing car and settled down for the 20hr journey. ONce again i was so impressed with the train and it's facilities. The bathrooms even had a separate room to do all your pampering in. They had a snack car which sold beer and loads of snack foods with a seating area, a scenic car which had a glass roof and sides with seats facing outwards, and a proper dining buffet car that looked just like a posh restaurant inside. All seats had as much space as last time so you could just stretch out etc - not anything like BR.................... I ate loads of sucky sweets called Jolly Ranchers which i hadn't had since leaving home, and i love em! problem is they taste so good you can't help sucking them really hard which makes all the top of your mouth really sore.#

Toby got chatting to a very loud man who wrote poetry and wanted some info about computer stuff so i left em to it and went for a coffee but they were still at it when i got back. We ate most of the food we had bought then tried to get some sleep at about 8.30pm

Really didn't get any shut eye so i was glad to see the dawn coming up......... at 6am though a bloke next to us decided to switch his computer on and listen to some funny show thing full blast and piss himself laughing which woke everyone up in the carriage - nice.

The train ended up being 4 hours late which was a bit annoying, we then caught a couple of buses taking us to the India House hostel which we had heard mixed reports about. Some said it was really cool whilst some people had heard it was really dodgy and some person had been murdered etc. Though we would find out for ourselves, so trapesed on in and got a room for a few days. Reed, the manager took outside and gave us the 'shack' which was a snug wooden cabin which just had a bed and a light but it was fi