I remember B & I huddling in the cold at the steps just outside of Amsterdam Hostel (where he was to spend the next 2 nights alone) at 2am, waiting for my Super Shuttle to arrive.

It came, I hopped on, put my bags down and looked back longingly at Bervin...

only to find my view completely blocked by 4 huge women staring at this skinny asian girl (me) sharing the shuttle with them.

...Anti-climatic.

Checked my bags, got a hot chocolate + a chocolate croissant,

and took off.

Sharissa and I coordinated our flights so that we would arrive at Orlando (MCO) at the same time. (Actually she coordinated everything. I am the sleeping partner in this relationship.)

It was such a dramatic reunion - I literally jumped on her and clung on like a koala when I saw her at the airport.

SHERRRRRISSSERRRRRRRRRRRR!

Got our 2014 Chevvy Cruze at the rental pick-up (not before having a loooong and drawn out discussion on whether we should take the silver or the black car - but, but, silver's so boring! but like, black attracts bird shit! but black is more sleek!! #bimbos) and off we went, for #sharissacatusa2014!

*cues Wiz Khalifa's Young, Wild & Free*

(lol I'm really enjoying this gif thing)

Anyway, onward to...

 Part I: KATIE'S HOME!

So we drove for a bit, and pulled up at the address that Katie gave us feeling completely unsure. We thought we had driven up to the wrong house because of how huuuuuuggge the compound was.



This photo was taken after another dramatic koala-clinging, monkey-jumping kind of hello.





Wtf her place is the size of my entire neighbourhood in Singapore. It's ridiculous! .....!!!

Anyway, after a grand tour of her home (with what seemed like a thousand lovebugs copulating IN OUR FACES,) we went to Publix to get ingredients for dinner.



Katie's riiiiide. SO MUCH SWAGGG I be like...



yup.



Car (not ours) covered in dead lovebugs. Apparently they're so soft and squishy that they DIE the moment they hit your car, and are a pain to remove. The bugs kept flying into us while we were on our tour around the compound, but we didn't even dare to so much as swat them for fear that they'd get smeared all over our hands. Eurgh, even the thought of it is disgusting.

Photos do this dream home no justice. This house looks absolutely perfect in reality. It's a shame that we didn't get a picture of the little American knick knacks that Katie put up for us to welcome us back.
I LOVE YOU, KATIE!!! I KNOW YOU'RE GONNA READ THIS!!!

Katie made quesadillas for dinner (with home made guac and salsa!!!!!  ...!!!) and Sharissa baked a chewy, almost molten chocolate centered cake.

I, was in charge of taste testing and distracting Beebs, the most soulful dog I've ever met.



Beeebs!



Afterwards we hit the hot tub (TELL ME, IS THIS THE PERFECT HOME OR WHAT?!) for a good, long soak before calling it a night.

We woke up bright and early the next day, got dressed in our Disney clothes, got excited like a bunch of 12 year olds, and made our way to Disney World.



(Saying bye to BB)

Saying bye to Katie & Beebs.
I loved that dog. Apparently one day it just showed up at this house, and never left. (It's been a couple of years.) Its got perfect fur and the most soulful eyes I've ever seen on a dog. He's also super protective, and loves to cuddle (+ lick. + lay on the ground and stare at you while you cook.) Sigh. Perfect house with the perfect dog.

...but BYE FOR NOW, K MCNUTT!

PART II: DISNEYWORLD!

(this tumblr-worthy photo was taken on my iphone 5 and edited with VSCOcam, because I know you were wondering)

I added a hat because on hindsight, I WISH I HAD BROUGHT ONE. It was 32 degrees out, and the humidity....!!!!! THE HUMIDITY! (makes me fume just writing about it) It was as though I was back in Singapore already, which, like... wtf I just paid close to $2000 to escape the weather here, and YOU GIVE ME THIS!?

W H Y.

Shortly after I stopped complaining, it started to POUR. It was as if the person up there had heard me, and decided that I needed to be punished even further.

S & I ended up getting stuck in the gift shop, where they had these amazing looking candy apples...

and because it's completely illogical to not be enticed by these Minnie apples, we bought one to try....
and oh. my. god. I believe these apples must have hanging from a magic tree in a magic forest behind Magic Kingdom before they were plucked by little gnomes and transported to the shop -- our mouths exploded with rainbows and sparkles, and I swear I saw Sharissa's eyes turn gold for a second.

But that was the only good thing that came out of the rain. After the rain, the humidity level went up even higher (must have been 100%, considering how disgustingly wet and warm it felt.)

For rides, we took
the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (4/10), which was really just an unexciting roller coaster ride with a painfully long wait
It's a Small World (5/10), a slow but entertaining boat ride with dolls engaged in activities that supposedly represent the different continents in the world
Space Mountain (6/10), an indoor roller coaster ride in pitch darkness -- there's a lot to do while queuing, so this one's not as painful to queue for. Plus the fact indoor means... air-con!
Stitch's Great Escape (3/10), a.. um... well, basically, we were sent from room to room to be "briefed" as "security recruits", and finally strapped (rather uncomfortably) to our seats as we watched Lilo escape from his capsule. It was, quite literally, painfully boring (unless you're 8, then everything is wonderful and amazing), until the part where it went pitch black and the announcer said that they were having some technical difficulties, and that we had to come back later -- everyone was confused and thought it was part of the ride, but no.
and last but not least, the
Haunted Mansion (8/10), which had me fascinated and wishing I could exit my "Doom Buggy" to go closer to the displays. In my opinion, this was the only ride worth the wait (and your Fast Pass.)




(A wet Disney)

At first I was really upset with everyone for overselling Disney. In truth, it is boring and uninspiring. The fact that Mr. Walt Disney is an inspirational figure to me just made it even more disappointing. Plus we paid a whooping US$170 for our 2-day tickets, which left a big hole in our already shallow pockets.

But after some serious consideration, I think that as with all other theme parks, (1)bad weather and (2)a really big crowd with many families just make for a terrible experience. As a consolation, I tried convincing myself that even Harry Potter Land would suck with 100% humidity and a huge crowd. (...I wasn't very convinced, but okay. *shrugs*)

Later that night, after braving another round of heavy rain, we made it to the Fireworks show.





It was during the show that I understood (somewhat) why everyone is crazy about Disney.
The fireworks, along with the beautiful music, (I love Disney songs, and I remember their titles better than the movies they come from) made the entire night come alive, and made up for the otherwise disappointing day.

DAY 2 - DISNEY EPCOT





Me & my best flen, my best flen & me
:D



featuring my ridiculously long & unruly hair.



China



Japan



Disney Chocolate Frapppppp!



Italy, I think?

Me "EH EH! THAT ONE! What's that movie called ah? The 2 dogs? 2 dogs in Paris? ...Spaghetti dogs?"
S "Tsk. Lady & The Tramp la"
Me "THE TRAMP? THE MALE DOG IS THE TRAMP?!"
...clearly not Disney's #1 fan.








Inspired by the previous day's amazing experience of rainbows in our mouths, we bought another candy apple. It was only okay. I don't think there's a magic forest by Epcot.



Shortly after we finished this apple, it...started...TO POUR. AGAIN! .......AGAIN!!!!!!!

We were, once again, stuck in a gift shop.



When the rain stopped, we kinda decided that we've had enough of Disney, and so we took a good long look at the place, and left for good.

To be honest, I wish we hadn't gone to Disney at all, because I think the weather really killed what could have otherwise been an amazing experience. I've loved almost every single theme park I've ever been to -- yeah even the one at Genting, even though I was 17 the last time I went, and the rides were probably as old as, if not older than I was. (oh wait, S! The last time I went, it was with you, too!)

With all that said, I am going to close this entry, and start the next one off with ASHEVILLE (the thought of writing about Asheville makes me tingle with excitement.)

Till next time!