Day 2: Harry Potter World

Hey yall!

So… I LOVE HARRY POTTER. I remember my sister recommending to me the books when we were in elementary school, but I brushed it off. I can’t believe myself! I am embarrassed to say this, but I didn’t read the first Harry Potter book until after I saw the movie. ANYWAY, the main thing I was looking forward to when we went to Orlando was Harry Potter World. I wanted Butterbeer. I wanted firewhiskey. I wanted a wand. I wanted a scarf. I wanted to see Hogwarts. I WANTED TO SEE EVERYTHING HARRY POTTER.

Hogsmeade

It was really magical. We went into Honeydukes and I got a some chocolate frogs. The decoration was amazing!!! I could not get enough of all the Harry Potter things.

Honeydukes

We went to the Three Broomsticks (COOL!!!!) to eat. The decoration there was, again, incredible. It looked just like it did in the movies! I ordered Cornish Pasties and….

Three Broomsticks

BUTTERBEER! And PUMPKIN JUICE!
The Butterbeer tasted just like I imagined (cream soda), but unfortunately it did not warm me from the inside. (that’s what makes butterbeer so magical!) I actually thought it would be lukewarm instead of cold. There were two options: normal or iced (like a slushy). I got it the normal way. It was good, but really sweet.
The Pumpkin Juice was ABSOLUTELY delicious! I imagined it to be really plain and taste like, well, pumpkin juice. This, however, tasted like fall. It tasted like cold apple cider, but really really good apple cider. It was sweet, but also it had spices that combated the sweetness. I can’t really describe it any other way than it tasting like fall.
Overall, I liked the Pumpkin Juice better than Butterbeer. Both were really sweet and since the marathon was the next day, I didn’t really drink much of either one. If I had a major sweet tooth, I would have enjoyed them more. Butterbeer will always have a special place in my heart, though.

Butterbeer: whipped cream on top; Pumpkin Juice: taller glass

My sister, mom and I are HUGE Harry Potter fans, so we were beyond excited to go on the infamous ‘Forbidden Journey’ ride. It’s actually not a real roller coaster; it’s a virtual coaster. It starts with snaking your way through the corridors (waiting in line) then arriving in a room where Harry, Ron and Hermione (holograms- but SO REALISTIC!) ask for your help. There is a line of four seats so once you are buckled in, the ride starts.

I’m not ashamed to admit that the first time I rode it, I closed my eyes the entire time. I am really scared of heights, so that’s my excuse. Well, I lied. I opened my eyes ONCE to see Harry leading me on a broom through the quidditch pictch and immediately shut them. After the ride, I instantly regretted closing my eyes because I love Harry Potter (how many times have I said that? haha) and wanted to hangout with Harry, Ron and Hermione! Fortunately, there is a ‘fast line’ that you can take so you don’t have to wait in the long lines. The catch? You ride with strangers instead of the people you came with. I didn’t think it was a big deal since my mom wanted to ride it again. I hoped we could sit beside each other but we weren’t able to.

The second time around, I opened my eyes! THE RIDE WAS AWESOME! We flew around with Harry and Ron trying to avoid a dragon (Norwegian Ridgeback), we flew through the quidditch pitch and saw Draco… there was so just much! It was seriously SO AWESOME! We ended up riding a total of three times.

There was a spot where I closed my eyes though…. Arogog! (sp? I don’t want to look it up because I don’t want to see pictures of spiders) I am very scared of spiders so I closed my eyes when I saw the first one. Apparently a picture is snapped at the moment the big spider is on screen.

The picture that I am posting is of the first ride. (yep, the one where my eyes are closed the entire time). When we saw the picture, we all burst out laughing. I cried because it was so funny. My dad’s eyes are closed, but he’s calm and concentrating on keeping them closed. My mom is smiling and looks excited to be there. My eyes are slammed shut (is that a saying?) and I am in a state of true terror. My sister’s eyes are also shut and she looks so scared and miserable. For us, that was the best picture of the trip. I can’t look at it or think about it without laughing! Also, I apologize for the quality of the photo. I didn’t scan it to the computer; it’s from my mom’s cell phone.

Thoroughly enjoying the ride

Here are some other pictures of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

Owl Post, a Mandrake, Hermione’s Yule Ball Dress, Hogwarts

I really hope you fellow Potterheads (and everyone else!) enjoyed this post. Thanks for stopping by!
-Kimi

Update and Day 1 of DISNEY!

Hey yall,

Sorry I have been away for a while, so much has been going on recently. I traveled to Orlando to do the Disney Marathon with my sister and then some family stuff happened, but I am back on track and ready to blog!

We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in Disney and it was great. I didn’t get a good picture of the our hotel, but I really enjoyed our time there. It had an African vibe and was very well decorated. Everyone who worked there, and anywhere in Disney, was SO polite and nice and just overall really friendly and helpful people. 

 

Really Cool Trashcan

Day 1: ESPN Expo and Magic Kingdom
We got in town late Thursday night. We didn’t have time to go anywhere so we stayed in and explored the hotel. We went to the ‘marketplace’ also known as the hotel convenience store to pick up some hydration and snacks. We ended up running into a fellow marathon participant who was so nice and told us where to pick up our packets. (ESPN Expo, there was a shuttle bus from our hotel that took us there) He suggested we go early since the lines would most likely be super long, so we decided to go first thing in the morning. 

The next morning, my sister and I woke up, had breakfast then took the shuttle to the ESPN Expo. 

Jeff Galloway!

ESPN Expo

The Expo was awesome! There were so many different booths with running/exercise equipment. There was a special section for RunDisney where various running shirts, sweatshirts and other souvenirs were available to buy. The highlight of the whole experience was meeting Jeff Galloway! He was incredibly humble, yet really personable as well! He suggested we use the ’30/30′ method (run 30 seconds, walk 30 seconds) to reduce knee pain. How cool! Jeff Galloway gave us marathon advice!

 

Magic Kingdom: The Many Faces of Cinderella’s Castle

After the expo, we went back to the hotel to get our parents and headed to the Magic Kingdom. If you have ever been to Disney World, you know that there are so many things to see and do. Anyway, we walked around and tried to see as much as we could before the park closed. Everything was really beautiful at night! The main thing that I loved was seeing a special show that was projected onto Cinderella’s castle.

Many Faces of Cinderella’s Castle

Many Faces of Cinderella’s Castle

The perfect end to the night was the magical fireworks show!

Grand Finale

Thanks for stopping by!
-Kimi

 

Weekend Recap: Phenomnomnominal Birthday Brunch!

Hey yall!

This weekend was exciting because
a) it was my birthday
b) I got to try out two new restaurants for brunch.

I can’t believe I’m 24! Mmmm I love chocolate.

First off, can I start by saying how much I love brunch?
Brunch. Breakfast, lunch. Breakfast and lunch. Eggs on everything. I love breakfast. Up until three days ago, breakfast was my favorite meal of the day. This is simply because I absolutely LOVE breakfast food: eggs, bacon, sausage, HASH BROWNS, biscuits, GRAVY, omelets, pancakes, waffles… EVERYTHING. I LOVE BREAKFAST FOOD SO MUCH.

Now, brunch is basically breakfast food, with lunch options as well. Oh, you want fried calamari as an appetizer then a breakfast meal? Sure we can do that. And I did.

PACIFIC TABLE

Saturday was my birthday, so Roo, my sister, took me out to brunch. We went to this restaurant called Pacific Table. (http://www.pacifictableftworth.com/) Sidenote: I automatically respect a restaurant with a nice looking website.

The restaurant was beautiful, fresh and modern. Since we were there for brunch and it was my birthday after all, my sister talked me into ordering a Bloody Mary. (I drank a lot back in college, but I toned it down a lot when I graduated in May, so I try to avoid alcohol. I’m old and get hungover easier! Plus it makes me fat. Or maybe, I just disreguarded my limits…) Anyway, it was especially delicious because it had a spicy kick that wasn’t overpowering. We ordered calamari as an appetizer because, well, that’s the beauty of brunch: you get breakfast food plus ‘normal’ food!

Now onto the main courses. Roo ordered the Lobster Eggs Benedict, *swoon*, and I ordered Jenny’s breakfast with ‘hashbrown cakes’ as a side. Jenny’s Breakfast consisted of one lemon ricotta pancake, two eggs any style, bacon and fruit. I needed another starch to sop up my over medium egg yolks, so I added a side of their hashbrown cakes. Everything tasted so delicious, especially the lemon ricotta pancake, but the hashbrown cakes were not crispy at all. But, that was alright because the standout dish was the lemon ricotta pancake. It was fluffy, but rich at the same time. It tasted like a lemon cake, but not as sweet. A++ for that.

Top left: Lobster Benedict; Top right: Bloody Mary
Bottom left: Pacific Table; Bottom right: Jenny’s Breakfast

Overall, my sister and I really enjoyed the place. It was an excellent way to start my 24th birthday!

BREAD WINNERS

Birthday Brunch #2 was on Sunday. Now you might be thinking, “Kimi, that is a little excessive… 2 birthday celebrations?! Plus it wasn’t even your birthday!” I will admit, that it was a bit much, but I will explain.

My sister had to be somewhere Saturday night so we had to do our sissypal only celebration in the morning. My actual birthday dinner is with my dad. He started a tradition when we were 13: he would take us out to dinner so he could show us how we should be treated when we started to date. This was the 11th year in our tradition.

Anyway, the reason I did a Sunday brunch was to celebrate with James, my boyfriend. He said I could pick what we did for my birthday, so I chose brunch. (My recent “I LOVE BRUNCH” epiphany was to blame). Unfortunately, James does not like breakfast foods, particularly eggs.

He ordered the Chicken Fajita Scramble (grilled chicken, jack cheese, onion, peppers, pico de gallo with flour tortillas) and he felt blah about it. I ordered the Fried Chicken & Waffles (jalapeno bacon cheddar waffles, crispy chicken, cream gravy, “henry’s hot sauce,” maple syrup) with a side of two over medium eggs. (again, I LOVE having egg yolks spill over my food)

I am pretty sure they forgot the hot sauce. Of course I added in ketchup with tabasco to it because, well, almost everything taste better with that combo. The waffles were good, but a little bit too crispy. The chicken, though, was perfectly cooked. The skin was crispy, but not too crispy. It was very well seasoned and was incredibly moist.  The crispy waffles weren’t too bad though, because you could just fork a piece of chicken on top then dunk the whole thing in gravy. Although I really think they were a bit dry since they were cooked so long.

Overall, I liked this place, but did not WOW me. It was delicious, but the waffle was too crispy and I did not get to try the sauce! I will say this though, the brunch menu has so many options! I want to try the Southern Eggs Benedict (pulled pork, frizzled onion, buttermilk biscuit, tabasco hollandaise) because it looks so promising. (http://www.breadwinnerscafe.com/menu/)

Chicken and Waffles from Breadwinners. Egg yolk spilin over everything… mmm

My weekend was great! Actually… it was PHENOMNOMNOMINAL!
I love brunch, it makes me very happy. I also am really enjoying this idea of “weekend recaps” on Mondays. I think I’ll stick to it!

What did yall do over the weekend? Any new food discoveries?

-Kimi

Happy 2014!

Happy 2014! My resolution to blog starts now:

Welcome to KimiEatstheWorld!

I am Kimi and I love to eat food, cook food,  look at food, and read about food.  Basically, I am passionate about anything food related. I also really enjoy working out. Since this is my first post, I wanted to first say hello and welcome! This blog is mainly going to feature food, but there will be a little bit of exercise posts thrown in there as well.

I want to share my food journey with you because I believe that food can bring people together, yet it can also take you to a place you’ve never been before. Itching to travel to Spain? Just whip up a seafood paella, put on some classical guitar music and pour a glass of your favorite Spanish wine and you’re there! Well, not really. But, food allows you to travel without really leaving your house.

On the other hand, my (self assigned) job is to eat the world. I want to travel to new places and eat the well known, regional foods. (I WILL travel to Italy and eat every pizza/pasta dish I get my hands on.)

Basically, I want to eat everything. Whether I am cooking or trying out a new restaurant (or going back to an old favorite: Zorba’s!), I am passionate about food and want to share the things I love with fellow self proclaimed foodies.

Thanks for stopping by! Check out my About Me section if you want to learn more.