Finding the hotel is fairly easy and we are soon able to move into our gorgeous rooms. Dad gets the little pool house while we have the spacious ground floor of a bigger building next to the pool. The whole compound is absolutely stunning with a very inviting pool and a beautiful main building with charming porches. As expected, the staff is outstandingly friendly. Dad [Weiterlesen]

As expected, we wake up pretty early and refreshed at about 7.20 h. No surprise considering it’s already 12.20 h at home. Breakfast is rather excellent and especially the do-it-yourself waffles go down a treat. I am a bore and go for a technicolor bowl of Fruit Loops. American Fruit Loops are so much better than Swiss ones, as over here in the US, they [Weiterlesen]

At 17.25 h, we finally touch down in Miami (23.25 h Swiss time). We are all quite knackered and desperate to get to the rental car. Thankfully, going through immigration is a breeze: right hand, left hand, smile for the camera, and off we go. I was rather surprised and would have expected much stricter and serious immigration controls. Getting to the rental car is [Weiterlesen]

Today is the big day: we’re leaving our place at eight thirty with an incredibly stuffed car. As always, the trip to the airport in Zurich seems to take ages. Check-in would have gone quite smoothly if it wasn’t for the bitchy check-in lady who announced that our luggage can now only weigh 23kg (46 pounds) and not a bit over even though we were [Weiterlesen]

It’s exactly 20 years since I first set foot on Florida ground. In 1992, I was visiting the Sunshine State with my parents and sisters for the first time. This was during our second trip to the USA that started in the mid-west (Albuquerque, Holbrook, Chinle, Moab, Cortez, Durango, Taos, Santa Fe) before continuing to Florida for two weeks. Seven years later, in 1999, I [Weiterlesen]

May 2012. Everything is booked. Our plane leaves on Monday from Zurich with destination Miami. We’ll embark on a roadtrip around Florida and spend some days in New Orleans before flying back home.

After doing everything on our list yesterday – rollercoasters, shops and restaurants in Disneyland Paris – we rather drive home early. Before, we stop by a huge shopping center at Val d’Europe near the park to stock up on food for the trip home… another boring, wishy-washy sandwich. I thought the French could do this better. Thanks to a toll motorway with few traffic, we [Weiterlesen]

We’re glad that Disneyland Paris only opens at 10am. We sleep late and make the short way to the entrance completely relaxed. Inside the park, there’s not as much Halloween decoration as we imagined. Contrary to former years, there’s no pumpkin extravaganza, cobwebs, bats or ghosts. There are only some pumpkins in Main Street and in front of the castle. Pity! After a chocolate bun [Weiterlesen]

(Available in German only at the moment.) Der heutige Tag wird wohl nicht als einer der tollsten Ferientage unseres Lebens in die Geschichte eingehen. Klar war es vielleicht nicht die brillanteste Idee, am Morgen noch 30 Minuten länger zu schlafen. Wir wussten ja, dass wir beim Eurotunnel für die Rückreise nach Frankreich ein Zwei-Stunden-Fenster haben (das wir natürlich trotzdem einhalten konnten). Was wir aber nicht [Weiterlesen]

Heute ist ausgiebiges (professionelles!) Shopping angesagt. Nach einem sehr gesunden Frühstück (Zimtrolle und Doughnut mit Schokomilch) geht’s auf nach Bluewater, in eines der grössten Einkaufszentren Europas. (Fast) auf dem Weg besorgen wir in einem Vorort von London orientalische Süssigkeiten für einen Arbeitsfreund von Thomas. In Bluewater angekommen überwältigt uns wieder einmal das unglaubliche Angebot an tollen Läden und wir ziehen, nachdem wir Caroline und Jack [Weiterlesen]