1.  The weather — it is literally perfect almost all the time.

2.  Vibrant Gaslamp Quarter — we spent a night here and had a blast.  The Marriott was very nice, and there were plenty of fun bars and restaurants, as well as shopping in a pedestrian-friendly area.

3.  Hotel Del Coronado — this place is an institution and a great way to spend all or part of a day.

4.  La Jolla — this beautiful area is alive with restaurants, galleries, beautiful views and great shopping.

5.  Grand del Mar — we loved staying at this Tuscan-inspired luxury resort with its beautiful, spacious rooms, caring staff, spa and attention to detail.

6.  Getting out on the water — we did this with a group and were fascinated by both the scenery and the naval history.

7.  San Diego Zoo — world class and well worth a visit.

8.  Walking the city — San Diego is very pedestrian-oriented and we enjoyed getting to know different areas on foot.

9.  Torrey Pines — we stopped in for a drink in the welcoming bar and took in the beauty of the golf course.

10.  The locals — everyone we met was friendly and helpful.

Snorkeling (and hopefully seeing sea turtles) at Hanauma Bay, Oahu, Hawaii.  We’re heading to Hawaii soon and cannot wait; one of our goals is to snorkel and this great spot.

Exploring the ruins at Chichen Itza.  We love all kinds of history so this is right up our alley – plus we hear there are some gorgeous beaches not too far away.

Friday, October 5, 2012

We left work a little early and arrived in Louisville about 7:30 p.m.  Check in at the Courtyard was quick and we were dropping the bags in the room in no time.  We like both the location and the staff here and will continue to return.

The Courtyard is walking distance from most of downtown Louisville.  Cabs are also available and parking in the convenient attached garage is free for hotel guests.

Once settled in, we had a drink in the Courtyard’s bar so we could say hello to one of our favorite bartenders. (We really like that Courtyard is implementing this concept.)  We then walked across the street to Doc Crow’s Southern Smokehouse and Raw Bar for dinner.  This was our first visit but it will not be our last – we loved this restaurant!  We opted to sit at the bar and were immediately impressed with the bourbon selection.

Hilary chose a Manhattan, while Lyndon went for bourbon and Diet Coke.  Both were excellent.  We spent some time looking over the southern-inspired menu and eventually made our choices.   The fried oyster appetizer was delicious.  Lyndon had the Top Shelf Burger, a blend of short ribs, brisket and sirloin – it definitely lived up to its name.  Hilary had the fried pork chop with mashed potatoes and gravy; this was another winner and the pork chops managed to be juicy and crunchy at the same time.  We had no room for dessert but each had a glass of wine before heading out.

After such a filling meal, we decided to walk around the area.  We are not sure whether we stopped in anywhere else, but we eventually made it back to the Courtyard and turned in for the night.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

We were up about 8:00 a.m. so we could get a walk in before heading to Keeneland, which is about an hour away from Louisville.  We left Louisville about 11:00 a.m. and arrived at Keeneland a little after noon.

We parked relatively close, not way out in the fields like our October 2011 trip.  We located will call and retrieved our tickets.  We were seated in one of the dining rooms and also had access to box seats for the races.  The Donegal Racing folks provided paddock passes for the Dixieana Futurity – but more on that later.

The room was nice and we were at a table with a pretty good view of the track.  There was a buffet and you could order wine, beer and cocktails.  The buffet was very tasty and the wine selection was good for this type of venue.

We watched several races before going to the gift shop and walking the grounds .  The gift shop near the entrance at Keeneland is excellent; Hilary in particular could drop a lot of cash here.  Just before the horses headed to the paddock for the Dixieana Futurity, we donned our passes and went into the paddock to wish Craving Karats well.  It was amazing to be so close to the horses and we had a ball.

After that, we went with a couple of other people to watch a race from another track in which a Donegal horse was running.  (That horse did not do well, either.)

We were invited to stop by the Thoroughbred Club of America (located very near Keeneland) and of course we could not refuse.  We had one false move trying to find it but got there in plenty of time to watch some races on TV.  We grabbed a couple of glasses of champagne before locating our friends.  The place was packed but totally cool; we were so thrilled to have been invited.

We drove back to Louisville in time for our 8:00 p.m. dinner reservation at Jeff Ruby’s.  If you have read our prior Louisville reports, you know we love this place.  Dinner was lovely as usual; we had a cold seafood appetizer then split a steak.  We followed dinner with a visit to the Old Seelbach Bar, a must-do if you are in Louisville.

We also stopped by Eddie Merlot’s for a martini, before we headed to dreamland.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

We did not want to linger too long in Louisville, so we could be home at a decent time.  We got up, walked and grabbed coffee before going back to pack.  We stopped for brunch at Bristol Bar & Grille, which is a cute local place but the food was not very good.  We think we’ll go back and just have a drink at the bar.

We left Louisville by 1 p.m. and had no issues on our drive home.

Cruising and exploring the Galapagos Islands.  This remarkable place is high on our bucket list and with Silversea debuting the Silver Galapagos in 2013, it may be time to book!

Turks and Caicos.  We’re dreaming of beaches this time of year (ok, we’re dreaming of beaches any time of year) and this one looks perfect.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Our Southwest flight was scheduled to leave St. Louis at 2:55 p.m. but was delayed about half an hour.  We hoped to score an exit row but ended up with aisle seats across from each other toward the back of the plane.  The flight was uneventful and went by quickly.

We landed about 6:00 p.m. Orlando time, picked up the car from Hertz (love Gold service) and arrived at Marriott World Center by 7:30 p.m.  We valeted the car, which was well worth $25.56 per day; the self-parking wasn’t much cheaper and wasn’t convenient at all.

Lyndon checked in while Hilary found a seat in the bustling lobby bar and tried in vain to flag down a server. (All the seats at the bar itself were taken.) Lyndon’s check in was quick; when he got to the bar we saw an opening and grabbed two glasses of champagne before heading to our room.

We were disappointed this Marriott does not offer a meaningful platinum upgrade and does not have a club lounge.  Lyndon was told this property does not upgrade platinum members to suites of any kind so, since we had booked the highest regular room category, there weren’t any upgrades available.  We got a king room for the great pre-paid AAA rate of $109, so we weren’t complaining.

The room was standard Marriott with a nice balcony and nice view.

We thought the bathroom was a little small but it was perfectly serviceable.  Everything was clean and in working order so we dropped our bags and drove to Downtown Disney.  We had told the valet we’d be leaving soon and they were kind enough to leave the car out front.  We found service at this property to be very good, with the valets always going the extra mile.  We will certainly stay here again.

Marriott World Center is an easy drive from Walt Disney World.  We thought we might have trouble finding a parking spot, given it was Friday night, but we were lucky and snagged one right away.  Downtown Disney was busy but not uncomfortably crowded.

Our first stop was Basin so Hilary could pick up bath bombs.  The store was recently remodeled and looks a little more airy and light.  That done, we headed to Days of Christmas to get ornaments for a friend and for us.  We wanted 2012 ornaments and that is what we purchased, but we were not overly thrilled with the selection.  Hilary noticed several ornaments that have been around for years, particularly those depicting the four theme parks – it would be great to see some new ones.  We really wish this location sold an ornament for each resort; we’d love to have one from each place we have stayed.  (We do have one from Port Orleans French Quarter but others have been tough to find, even at the resorts themselves.  Disney seems to be bringing back resort-specific merchandise so we are hopeful.)

We moved on to the Stone Crab Lounge at Fulton’s Crab House, a tradition for us.  It was crowded but we found spots at the bar, though we had to stand.  (We did not mind since we had been sitting on a plane or in a car for most of the day.) We split a bowl of clam chowder and each enjoyed our beverage of choice.  The chowder was good but not as good as the last few times we’ve been here.   The Cosmopolitan, however, was still excellent.

We did some walking then stopped at the Hole in the Wall next to Cooke’s of Dublin.  We’d never been here and it is a really cute outdoor bar.  There is also table seating, which was full of Cooke’s customers.  We each had a drink and continued our tour of Downtown Disney.

We stopped in some other shops, spending the most time at Mickey’s Pantry.  We loaded up on spices the last time we were here, so this time we got a small cutting board and Mickey potholder.  We continued to the bar at Wolfgang Puck’s in search of a light dinner.  Since the St. Louis Cardinals were in the playoffs, we wanted to see the game and this turned out to be the ideal spot.  The bar wasn’t crowded and we had a wonderful bartender.  We enjoyed sushi and spring rolls, along with a glass of wine. (The food was very good and Wolfgang Puck’s has a nice wine selection.  We highly recommend it.) When the bartender found out where we were from, she brought out a server who is also from Missouri – it turns out we know the server’s step-brother!  Sing it with us:  “It’s a small world after all”.

During a lull in the game, we drove to the Waldorf-Astoria and were just in time for one drink at Peacock Alley.

There was a lovely jazz trio playing and we really enjoyed ourselves.  (And the Cardinals won!) Though we haven’t stayed at the Waldorf, we certainly want to one day.  It is elegant but not stuffy and the service is impeccable.  Plus, it is in the Bonnet Creek Resort, which might as well be on Disney property.

We made our way back to the Marriott and called it a night sometime after 11:30 p.m.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

We were up at a decent hour and Lyndon went to the lobby for Starbuck’s.  However, the line was over 50 long (yes, he counted) so we decided to wait until we got to Hollywood Studios.  We drove, arriving a little after 9 a.m., purchased two-day tickets (no park hopper) and searched for breakfast. (Parking was $14.) The line was long at Starring Rolls, so we opted for Fairfax Fair.  The breakfast sandwich and fruit were not bad; we cannot recall if we got espresso here or at another location but it was surprisingly good.

Lyndon wasn’t in the mood to ride anything, so Hilary got a Fastpass for Tower of Terror (her favorite ride at WDW).  Her window was about an hour away, so we took some time to stroll around the Studios – we haven’t done this in a long time and we enjoyed checking out the Streets of America and other things you may miss when running from ride to ride.  We stopped by Toy Story Midway Mania but Fastpasses were gone for the day and the line was (as expected) insane.

During our circumnavigation of the park, Hilary rode Star Tours—The Adventure Continues while Lyndon made a couple of phone calls.  As with the last time Hilary rode the newest version of this ride, she was on the end of a row and this seemed to lessen the special effects.  Overall, she likes the ride but isn’t blown away by it.

We moved on to the Tune In Lounge (adjacent to 50s Prime Time Cafe) for a drink, hoping to grab a seat at the bar since it had just opened.  The bar was full but we found a nearby couch; unfortunately service was non-existent so we ended up leaving.  We walked a bit more, getting a Fastpass for Rock n’ Roller Coaster.

Hilary used her Tower of Terror Fastpass and had a great ride with lots of drops.  She quickly looked around the gift shop then met Lyndon outside.  We like the clever hotel-themed merchandise at this location but have yet to purchase anything.

We had a noon reservation at the Hollywood Brown Derby so that was our next stop.

We were seated after about 10 minutes in the back upper portion of the restaurant, giving us a really nice view.  Hilary started with an expertly-made Manhattan, while Lyndon opted for a red wine flight. (We have mentioned this in prior trip reports, but we love that Disney has embraced the wine flight.)  We both enjoyed our choices; we really wish the Brown Derby had a lounge since the cocktails and wine selection are quite good.  For lunch, we split the Cobb salad (a must; we literally talk about it all the time), the potato leek soup and the Crispy Phyllo Napoleon of Bleu Affine (a mushroom pastry concoction).  Everything was delicious, as usual.

We nixed Rock n’ Roller Coaster in favor of taking the boat to the Swan and Dolphin.  We saw the Food & Wine Classic being set up and marveled at the size of the event.  We walked to the Boardwalk and each got an espresso at Boardwalk Bakery.  Our next stop was the bar at the ESPN Club since Lyndon wanted to check college football scores.  It was crowded but we got one seat at the bar; Lyndon settled in while Hilary looked in a couple of shops before joining him.

We walked the loop around Crescent Lake, and wandered into the Yacht Club.

We admired the lobby (we want that globe!), perused the gift shop and stopped in at Crew’s Cup Lounge for a drink.  Next were a walk back to the Studios and a return to the Marriott World Center.

We decided to take a nap, which turned out to be a fantastic idea.  Refreshed, we got ready for our evening out and left for the Swan and Dolphin (via cab) at about 6:30 p.m.  We were very impressed with the Food & Wine Classic and hope to attend annually.  The amount and variety of wine was almost staggering and we tried several we liked.  Our only complaint might be there weren’t enough food choices, especially in proportion to the wine offerings.  The food, though, was really good and we especially liked the pork belly from Cib’s Smokehouse and the shrimp and grits from Bluezoo.  There were three excellent bands, which made for a fun and upbeat atmosphere.

As the party was winding down, we headed to the bar at Bluezoo (in the Dolphin) for a martini (Hilary) and a gin and tonic (Lyndon).  A talented female trio was playing and we lingered awhile, eventually returning to the Marriott by cab.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

We slept in a little and got coffee from Starbuck’s – the lines from the day before were gone.  We got ready and drove to EPCOT about 9:30 a.m.  We were able to do a lot this day and were impressed by the ground we covered.

Our first order of business was a Fastpass for Soarin’.  That accomplished, we rode Living with the Land, followed by a soda and sinful red velvet whoopie pie at Sunshine Seasons.  Seriously, this is one delicious pastry!

We made our way to World Showcase, where we checked out Food & Wine Festival merchandise and purchased the wrist gift card to use at the booths.  (This was wonderful; much easier than digging for money/room key/credit card and the amount you don’t use can be used anywhere Disney gift cards are accepted.)

We started with Canada and got in line at their booth about 5 minutes before opening.  We (as always) loved the cheese soup, which paired well with a split Moosehead.  Neither of us had had Moosehead in years and we agreed we should order it more often.

(We did not write down the time of our Soarin’ Fastpass, but at some point we left World Showcase and had a great ride on Soarin’, then returned to the Food & Wine Festival.)

We failed to take detailed notes, so we are not sure in what order we sampled but we loved the Coq au Vin in France, which may have been the best Festival offering we tried. The meatballs in Scandinavia were also very good, as was the grilled beef skewer in Argentina.  Hilary was thrilled Scandinavia offered the Iron Horse Fairytale Cuvee sparkling wine, which is one of her favorites.  (It is produced in California so we are not sure why they stuck it in Scandinavia but we are not complaining.) Three things we did not like at all:  the beef rendang (too much coconut) and the Singapore Sling (too much – gasp—booze) from the South Korea booth; and the Fisherman’s Pie from Ireland (the mashed potato topping was great but the seafood tasted like it came from a can).

While we did not take full advantage of the Food & Wine Festival, we tried the things that most appealed to us and we’ve been a couple of times in the past.  While we really enjoy it, we don’t feel the need to stop at each booth. Plus, we were there on a busy day and waiting in long lines wasn’t on our vacation agenda – if it had been a slower time, we probably would have stopped at more booths.  We really like some of the permanent food and drink offerings at EPCOT so we took advantage of those, too.

A must on each trip is the Rose and Crown pub in the United Kingdom, one of our favorite spots in Walt Disney World.  We had an excellent gin and tonic and enjoyed the boisterous atmosphere.  We made another stop here later in the day.

After a couple of walks around World Showcase, we stopped at Tutto Gusto in Italy.  We were very excited to try this place and it did not disappoint.  We had a charming server from Rome and each enjoyed a wine flight (all red for Lyndon, a mix of red and white for Hilary) along with an order of absolutely delectable cannelloni.

The decor here is rustic and very inviting – we could have lingered for a long time.

We walked to France and got champagne at Le Vins de France. We took this outside and had great timing as Saveur Amusant was just beginning.  This is a lot of fun to watch and we’re amazed by the guy who climbs the chairs.    After the show, we had a ham and gruyere quiche from Boulangerie Patisserie along with a shared Kronenbourg (one of our favorite beers and sometimes tough to find at home).  The quiche was as good as we remembered and we’re excited for the expansion of the bakery.

We stopped in Norway, where we browsed the shops and rode Maelstrom.  This was fun but neither of us remembered how short it is.  And yes, we skipped the movie.  We also checked out the Mexico pavilion, as it is always cool and inviting.  Hilary wanted a margarita from Le Cava del Tequila but there was a long line just to get in the door.

One of our last stops was the Chase Lounge at the Festival Center.  We grabbed a couple of glasses of champagne, tea towels and a Festival trivet in the main shop then moved on to the small Chase Lounge.   It was not too crowded and Lyndon was able to charge his phone while we sipped our champagne.  Back out in the main area, we stumbled on Cutco knives and ended up buying a set of three.  (They have since arrived and are fantastic.  We love to cook and have been searching for good knives.)

After purchasing our knives, we drove to the TTC and parked the car, leaving our purchases in the trunk.  We hopped a boat to Wilderness Lodge where we got a shared drink at Trout Pass and strolled around the grounds.  We also went into the Wilderness Lodge Villas and found the lobby and other public areas charming – in all our trips to Wilderness Lodge we’d never taken time to see the Villas.  We returned to the main lodge and settled in at Territory Lounge for fondue (good, but needs to be hotter), edamame (delicious) and cocktails.  We would discover later that we left our credit card.

We especially like the fireplace in the lobby here:

We took a boat to the Magic Kingdom since we had tickets for Mickey ‘s Not So Scary Halloween Party.  The decorations were great and we caught some of the Boo to You parade.  We lucked into a table just past Main Street and near the water so we hung onto it while waiting for Hallowishes.  We probably waited about half an hour, during which time Lyndon surprised Hilary with a hot fudge sundae.  We hardly ever have ice cream and this was really good.

We were glad we waited because Hallowishes was incredible.  We loved the perimeter fireworks.  (Our camera doesn’t take great photos at night but there are lots of great pictures online.  It is definitely time to invest in a better camera!)

After the fireworks, we headed to Space Mountain which was a walk-on.  (If you like rides, this is where the separate party ticket is worth it.)  This was faster than either of us recalled but tons of fun.   We also rode Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Dumbo (we really liked the new set up and neither of us had ridden since we were kids), Tea Cups (wow – you can really spin those babies), Peter Pan, Tomorrowland Transit Authority and Jungle Cruise.

Notes are non-existent after this but we stayed until at least midnight before retrieving the car from the TTC and diving back to the Marriott.  Velocity was still open so we got a snack (nachos, we think) to go, which we enjoyed sitting on our balcony.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Lyndon went down for coffee while Hilary packed and got ready.  We checked out and drove to Wilderness Lodge to be reunited with our credit card; we had called earlier and it was waiting for us at the front desk.  We admired the Lodge a bit more and bid Walt Disney World goodbye to drive to Celebration.

We had not been here before but we will be back; we’re thinking of staying here for our first or last night on one of our next trips.  We walked around and had lunch at Celebration Town Tavern.  This was great and the portions were large; we lingered over lunch while reading the paper.  Our final stop before driving to the airport was the Celebration Hotel, where we sat in the eclectic lobby with a glass of wine.  There was a wedding party at the bar and the groom appeared to be Scottish; it was fun to see the kilts.

All too soon, we had to head for the airport.  Car rental return and our flight home went off without a hitch.  We will definitely be doing a similar trip next October but hope to get back to Orlando at least one other time in 2013.

Annecy, France known as the Venice of the Alps.  This place looks utterly charming and we’d love to go someday.  Perhaps a trip to France needs to make it onto the calendar!

Here’s how we did:

-visit at least one country new to both of us — we were not able to accomplish this, partly due to scheduling issues

-visit a US city new to both of us — this did not happen either, but we’ll be exploring Tampa in 2013

-pack lighter and smarter — accomplished!

-purchase a new camera and take better (and more) photographs – no new camera yet we’ve been taking more photos with the camera we have and our iphones

-ramp up this website — partly accomplished; stay tuned for more!

-visit the Caribbean and totally unplug for a few days — accomplished; Aruba over Labor Day weekend was great

-work on learning another language — Hilary has been working on her French intermittently and is considering taking lessons

Staying and playing at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas — which is exactly what we’ll be doing as you are reading this!  We love Vegas and the Cosmopolitan is one of our favorite resorts.  The rooms are comfortable, beautifully decorated and large; service is good and the video poker bars are some of the best on the Strip.