But it really just means “light rain,” which is what we had all day. And Libby and Rachel failed to pack any footwear for rain. Hence, we predict head colds quite soon. 

So, what does one do on a rainy day in Vienna? We slept in, had breakfast, jinked about online, and headed to the museum we were going to go to yesterday. I believe if I were to say it in English it would be Kuhn’s Historical Museum. Maybe?  I do like a good art and artifact museum, and despite the kids not wanting them, I got the whole family the telephone-like audio guides in English and turned them loose. Poor R felt rather sickly, so after an hour when Michael and Libby had finished their whirlwind tour, I let them all go back to the hotel for a few hours.

So I got to tour all by myself. The tour started in the Egyptian period.

I need my Rosetta Stone!

 

This stone carving still had almost all of the original colors on it. Quite neat!

 

I guess for some reason I didn’t realize that many mummy cases were made of painted wood. Why did I assume they were all made of stone?  But speaking of things made of stone, here is Toe-zymandius. King of Kings.

 

This is a hippo.  (duh) But, it is not a cute, children’s toy. Hippos, to the Egyptians, were evil and horrid and trampled crops and people. So they’d make hippos for the gods and have hippo killings to keep the balance of good and evil in check.

I still think it is rather cute, though.

 

(Sing this like Batman)

Nah, nah, nah, nah, Nah, nah, nah, nah CAT MUMMY!

 

Then, we moved into the Greek section. I have seen lots of marble statues carved, and I am always amazed that someone could make something so pretty with a chunk of stone. I have trouble even in Play-doh. Guess that is why no one will ever put my work in a museum.  Okay, now I’m laughing at what they could put in a museum that I’d make. I think it would have to involve paper plates and crayons. Oh, yes! Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair! (got to keep that Shelley theme going…)

 

 

Compare to the marble bust of Marcus Aurelius. Close, eh?

 

I forgot to mention that this museum was just as beautiful as the one we saw yesterday. I found out that the two buildings were designed and meant to be museums from the start, so they mimicked the architecture inside them.

  

 

Upstairs in the museum was an art gallery. There was a special display featuring Gustav Klimt. I decided that I like his stuff. It reminds me of Maxfield Parrish’s stuff. I realize that most people would know Klimt and not Parrish, but hey… Do you like his stuff?

    

 

I enjoyed this picture, though, a great deal. It is a close up of a bigger painting. It just reminded me of lots of little kids I know. (And I’m not naming any names!)

 

The final thing I saw was a bunch of dark ages treasures people just randomly found in Austria. “Some random shepherd came across this… Some farmer plowed his field and found this…” The only thing I ever dug up in my yard was the cable for the television.

 

I liked this little glass thing that someone dug up because they look like to glasses-wearing nerds. They didn’t have glasses-wearing nerds in the 700′s did they?

 

 

Thus ends my museum tour. Do you want to know what happened after? I am sure you’ll find out, as I plan to start writing another entry right now–”The Entry in which Mary Celebrates The Sound of Music in a Gastronomical Fashion.”

One major difference between being in England and being in Austria is not the lack of ice in drinks (ice is a rarity both places).  It’s the fact that in Austria, the signs are in German and people speak German. Very fast German!  Thankfully, every person we have met has had some experience with English. As the museum docent said to me yesterday in perfect English, “Yes, I speak some English, only high school English.”  If that is high school English, well, wow.

So far, I have felt the need to learn a few German words:

Hello- Hallo

Please- bitte

Thank you – danke

Women- Damen (thank HEAVENS for the picture of the girl with the skirt on the door!!

 

Excuse me – Entshuldigen Sie

Tap water – Hahn Wasser

Yes, one must ask for the right kind of water to avoid the mistake of getting mineral water or sparkling water. And most of the water is lukewarm, which doesn’t bother me too much, but Rachel and Libby are desperate for ice water. I was pleased with myself this morning when I asked the hostess at the hotel breakfast bar (who does not speak much English) for tap water for two, please. And she brought just what we wanted!

I have found, though, that some things are easy enough to guess at, even if you don’t know the language. Can you tell what you will find inside if you enter these buildings?

(Hint–the first word means “Austrian”)

Yep, that’s a bank!

Shoe repair

A drug store (apothecary?)

 

One thing that has amused me here in Vienna is that “Vienna” is really “Wien.”  And things Viennese are “Wiener.”  So, you can dance to the “Weiner Waltz.” And Vienna Sausages truly are wieners. We even saw a store called “Wiener World.” I haven’t gone in yet, so I am not sure what sort of store it is.

 

Last night, we had supper at a cafe. Rachel had spaghetti (again), and James and Michael had schnitzel with potatoes.

 

Libby had the exotic “toast.” When you order “toast” here, you really order a grilled ham (ham is “schinken” which is not to be confused with “Hahn-chen” which is chicken) and cheese sandwich. 

 

I had, well, I forget what the German word was, but it was potato dumplings with sauerkraut. Best sauerkraut ever! 

Anyhow, when I cut into the dumplings, they were stuffed with something. Being brave, I ate it, and it was sort of like hamburger, but sort of crunchy. Hmmm. Not a particularly clear taste of any spice.  After dinner, I asked the waitress what was in the dumplings. She did not understand English well. She said, “Meat. Bacon.” Hmmm. It might have been bland bacon. It might have been some other pork-based meat. I have no idea. I just figured I was in Europe at a restaurant, and they’d not put anything very inedible inside a dumpling, right? Right??

I don’t know that I’ll be so prolific in posting later on, but for now, I have the time.  After breakfast, we discovered that the kids were lying around online and watching Sponge Bob in German, so we decided to do something in the city.

ohhhh…..wer wohnt inner ananas ganz tief im meer?
spongebob schwammkopf!
ist saugstark und gelb und porös und zwar sehr?
spongebob schwammkopf!

 

We are staying on Lange Strasse.  Today, I found out that that funky “B” like letter (ß) is also just two letter “s.”  So, it could be Lange Straße.  Anyhow, we headed down the street.

And walked with James to his meetings.

 

The reason we are in Austria is that James got a Fullbright scholarship to teach math at Johannes Kepler University in Linz. Monday and Tuesday, however, he has orientation in Vienna.  The headquarters were only about a 15 minute walk, so we walked.  It was a beautiful day, and there were beautiful things to see.

    

 

We walked through the Museum Quarter. Handily, there are about seven or eight museums in this location as well as the Fullbright offices. There were several cool archways, and this one had some sort of piano music playing. The photos along the sides showed a man with a sardine can, so you can imagine the type of piano music I mean.

 

 

We got to the right place and dropped James at the door.

  

 

And then we headed out to tour a museum. We were going to go to The Kunsthistoriches Museum,

 

but it was closed on Mondays.  So, poor us. We had to go here instead.

 

This is the Natural History Museum, and it was an average natural history museum. We started out with looking at rocks.

         

 

And some rocks looked back at us!

 

Michael took the rocks for granite.

 

We enjoyed looking at all the animals. Is this a saber tooth tiger?

Nope, Chuck Testa.

There were a lot of people who did not speak German at the museum, so I did not feel so much like a conspicuous American. Some of us were amused by a mother who just posed her two somber pre-schoolers in front of displays and snapped pictures. We felt the need to recreate the shot.

 

And we decided to take a few shots of our own design.

     

 

I failed to mention that the entry way of the museum was just gorgeous! But you can decide for yourselves. 

      

 

 

There was a life-sized mechanical dinosaur that moved and blinked and roared. It is thing that will come back to haunt you in a dream later when you’ve eaten too much sauerkraut. But watching it do its thing was neat.

 

After our touring was done, we decided to stop at a grocery store for an afternoon snack. Libby passed on the “fish in a jar.”  Rachel got Pringles. They also had Barilla pasta, and the grocery store and all during breakfast at the hotel, they played American pop music with the real, English lyrics.

  

 

      

Despite the fact it sounded like someone was using a power drill intermittently all night long, we slept well enough. I slept well enough, I should say. Everyone else was up for a hour or two and got online. I’d wake up, say “Dang, it’s hot in this room,” kick off my blanket, and sleep again. Then I’d wake up and say, “Where’s my cuddly blanket?”, cover up, and repeat the process. I don’t know if this is all of Austria, but we have a firm, foam mattress with a sheet on it and a duvet covered in a white sheet fabric, and that is it for bed linens. 

 

We set our alarm for 9:30 and went down the stairs to breakfast.

 

What a way to be welcomed!  Neon!

 

The waitress/hostess was in black with a white apron. She asked me in German if I wanted coffee, tea, or something else which I didn’t understand. Tea sounds like “tea,” so I was all good. The rest of the family soon joined me, and we had a lovely breakfast. I was all excited to try my first soft-boiled egg, but by the time I got to the breakfast bar, they were not quite soft nor hard boiled from sitting in the warming tray. This was my breakfast. I always want to try new things. (Two different granola blends and the brown bread, which turned out only to be wheat bread.)

 

The food was fairly ordinary with a bit of an international flair: meat and cheese, different breads. There was plain, white sandwich bread for toast and cornflakes. So it felt rather like home to Michael.  He was happy to be able to order something in German. (Could I have a little coffee, please?)

Now, we are back in the room. James starts his orientation meetings for the Fullbright this afternoon. The kids and I plan to wander the streets of Vienna. Our goals? Take photos and buy baby powder.  Set the bar low, eh?  Apparently, we are only a block or two from the Parliament buildings here in Vienna. Some of us would rather just spend the day dozing (me included), but I think it is better to stay awake.

Hello, there. It’s time to dust off the Xanga blog for another round of international travels with the Sellers! (feel free to insert “squee” sounds here).

I write this from our hotel room in Vienna. I have to remind myself that it really is only 4:00 in the afternoon on Sunday in PA. My body doesn’t know which was is dawn!  So, what are the best bits so far… hmmm.

We left Saturday at 1:45 for Dulles airport near Washington, DC. We could have flown out of State College for not much more, but we wanted to fly British Air, and we did not want to have to plane hop too much.  Peep and Poppy went with us.

 

After stuffing ourselves at Bob Evans (chicken and noodles and mashed potatoes and biscuits), we got to the airport in plenty of time for our 10:30 pm flight. This time, we only had six large suitcases, five smaller suitcase carry-ons, and five backpacks/laptop bags. I still felt like a conspicuous American, which was still okay since I was in America at the time. I felt compelled to tell the British Air people that we were going for over two months. As if they cared why we had so much luggage!

 

 

We settled in on the airplane and fooled around with the camera.

    

I got queasy after takeoff. I am such a bad flyer.  But, they fed us a delicious lasagna dinner at 11:30 pm, and I felt so good after eating that I watched One Day, which I’d been wanting to see ever since I read the book.  Dozed a bit after that, but not for long as they served muffins and tea at 4:00. (Did not eat that. Blah.)

Got off at Heathrow (London) and just smiled and smiled. I was back in England! Even if it was diesel-scented, from-a-transport bus, high-price airport, I was back in England!  We were there about four hours and got on our next flight which was to Vienna. I slept the fitful sleep of someone on an airplane. Gee, so far this is a dull story for traveling internationally.

Oh! I forgot! I had to get patted down at Heathrow because I set off the metal detectors. The only reason I can think of is it was my braces. Har! It was not too creepy as it was a woman who did the patting down. After all my travels, it sort of felt like a mini-massage. And I made James’ suitcase get flagged and pulled there because I put in my eyeglasses screwdrivers. The guy who found it rolled his eyes and said, “I would not have flagged you for this!” 

We got to our hotel (pictures later) and went to a pizza place where Rachel had spaghetti, James and Michael and Libby all had plain pizza, and I had one with ham, mushrooms, artichoke, and black olives. It was odd because the ham was on a fourth, the mushrooms on a fourth, and so on. And the olives still had their pits in them. But WOW was it good! I ate a pizza as big as a regular dinner plate. And here, it is not Diet Coke. It’s Coca-Cola Light.

Now we are back in our hotel rooms showered and in pajamas and very, very sleepy. More later!

This morning, my mother texted me and said, “I can’t believe what happened at PSU. It was like a death in the family.”  And I know just what she meant. Before I tell you the story (which you doubtless already know), you have to know something about State College and Penn State. Although we are a “city” of over 100,000, approximately 50,000 of those residents are students or graduate students. Of the remaining 50,000 people, a pretty good percentage either work for the university, are business owners who rely on students, or are people who have graduated from Penn State.  And despite the size, State College feels very much like a small town. You may not know the name of every student on the street, but you know the names of the teachers, coaches, pastors, and community leaders. You know where they live, where they go to church, and probably even the names of their dogs. 

That is why our community was rocked a few days ago when the indictment against Jerry Sandusky was released.

This is Jerry Sandusky.

 

 

Who is this guy? Well, in our minds, up until a few days ago, Jerry Sandusky was a beloved community leader. He founded a charity for underprivileged kids, The Second Mile. He attended church. He and his wife adopted children. He was a former PSU football coach. He was one of the good guys. And when we found out that he was accused of molesting eight boys–by an eyewitness even–we were thrown for a loop.

Suddenly, Happy Valley (which is the nickname for State College/Penn State) didn’t seem so happy. We started looking at the friends we trusted. Are they child molesting monsters in hiding? What horror must this guy’s wife and family be going through? Were there other victims? How could this have happened?

Details of the case came out. Mike McQueary, a grad student at the time and now a member of PSU’s football coaching staff, saw Sandusky abusing a boy in the shower at PSU. McQueary unfortunately did not punch the living daylights out of Sandusky, but he did tell his own father what he saw, and they went to Joe Paterno, Penn State’s head football coach. Paterno reported the incident to the head of athletics and to the head of police services. Sandusky was no longer a coach at the university, so Paterno couldn’t fire him. However, Sandusky was banned from coming on to the PSU campus. 

It turns out, though, that the people who should have done something did not.

“Paterno notified the athletic director, Tim Curley, and a vice president, Gary Schultz, who in turn notified Spanier. Curley and Schultz have been charged with failing to report the incident to authorities, and Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly earlier this week refused to rule out charges against Spanier. Paterno is not a target of the criminal investigation, but the state police commissioner called his failure to contact police himself a lapse in ‘moral responsibility.’”  (http://www.marionstar.com/article/20111110/NEWS01/111110001/PSU-trustees-fire-Paterno-Spanier-students-riot)

 

Schultz and Curley already have been accused of lying. So, who knows what they told then-PSU-president Graham Spanier? Or what they told Paterno? 

The next day, Joe Paterno announced he was retiring. We all felt sad that this scandal had to be the last moment of his career. But we understood. He is an 84 year old man. Retirement could have happened 20 years ago. 

Then last night, at 10:15 pm, the Penn State Board of Trustees announced that they were firing Joe Paterno. FIRING JOE PATERNO??

 

That is when the students took to the streets.

 

 

State College doesn’t protest like most places do. The majority of the students just milled around with cell phones and ipod cameras taking pictures and shouting “JoePa!” Yes, there were rocks and bottles thrown, the poor WTAJ news van was flipped over (an action most people at PSU probably secretly agreed with due to the omnipresent media on campus for the past few days), and five light poles were broken due to students hanging on them. I’m not saying people behaved wisely. But for thousands and thousands of students flooding the streets, that’s not a lot of damage done.  But what did they hope to accomplish?

I read the news in my bedroom last night, and I wanted to hop in the car and go downtown, too. Why? I wanted to defend my school. I wanted to defend my town. This one man, this Jerry Sandusky, and the horrible, monstrous things he did to those boys, was a devastation. Not only did he destroy the lives of those boys and their families. His actions destroyed the legacy of a wonderful man who devoted his life to a university and a town.  He destroyed the trust people had in their neighbors. He destroyed the reputation of a fine charity and an excellent university. It was THAT destruction I wanted to protest. 

I hope we never forget the lessons here. Do more than what is required. If there is a wrong and you see it, do all you can to make it right. Protect children, not your reputation. Blame the right people, not the most convenient ones.

So what next? The dust will settle. Penn State will return to normal. But until then, we mourn for the children and their families and for a whole community–local and world-wide–who call themselves Penn Staters. 

 

 

Penn State students take to streets after Paterno, president lose jobs

By the CNN Wire Staff

November 10, 2011 1:47 a.m. EST

State College, Pennsylvania (CNN) — Hundreds spilled into the streets at Penn State early Thursday morning following news that football head coach Joe Paterno and the school’s president lost their jobs over a child sex abuse scandal at the university.

What started as an apparent celebration of Paterno turned raucous, as the crowd tipped over a news van and decried the media. The university said on its Facebook page that police issued a dispersal order for the Old Main and downtown areas, and “everyone must vacate both areas immediately.”

The disturbance came shortly after university trustees announced Wednesday night that Paterno, the winningest coach in major college football, and Penn State President Graham Spanier were out of their jobs, effective immediately.

“What can I say, I’m no longer the coach,” Paterno told about 15 students gathered outside his house late Wednesday night. “It’s going to take some time to get used to. It’s been 61 years.”

The crowd cheered and said, “We love you, Joe.”

“I love you, too!” Paterno replied.

Paterno’s wife, Sue, stood beside him on the front steps, visibly upset.

Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Tom Bradley will serve as interim head coach. Rod Erickson, executive vice president and provost of the school, will be interim president, school officials said.

Spanier has been president of the school since 1995.

Stunned Penn State students congregated after the announcement.

Paterno got the news of the unanimous decision early Wednesday evening in a telephone call made by Steve Garban, chairman of Penn State’s board of trustees.

Vice Chairman of Trustees John P. Surma said he hoped the school’s 95,000 students and hundreds of thousands of alumni would believe the decision “is in the best long-term interest of the university, which is much larger than athletic programs.”

Hours before the decision, Paterno, 84, issued a statement saying he was “absolutely devastated by the developments” involving a former assistant football coach and two university officials and that he would end his 46-year tenure as head football coach at the end of the season. The trustees decided to move that timetable up.

“I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief,” Paterno said. “With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.”

Paterno’s contract was set to expire at the end of the season. Some had called for him to resign immediately because of his response to allegations brought to him in 2002 by a graduate assistant, who said he had seen retired defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, now 67, sexually assaulting a young boy in a shower at the campus football complex.

Paterno reported the allegations to his boss. Pennsylvania’s attorney general said it appeared Paterno had met his obligations under state law, but critics have said the coach should have reported the suspected abuse to police.

Sandusky, who was arrested Saturday, is accused of sexual offenses, child endangerment and “corruption of a minor” involving eight boys, most or all of whom he met through The Second Mile, the charity he founded to help troubled youths, prosecutors said.

Two Penn State officials are accused of failing to report the alleged abuse.

The U.S. Department of Education said it will launch an investigation into whether Penn State failed to comply with an act requiring colleges and universities to disclose the number of reported criminal incidents on campus each year.

“If these allegations of sexual abuse are true then this is a horrible tragedy for those young boys. If it turns out that some people at the school knew of the abuse and did nothing or covered it up, that makes it even worse,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a statement. “Schools and school officials have a legal and moral responsibility to protect children and young people from violence and abuse.”

A tip line has been receiving calls from alleged victims of Sandusky, a source close to the investigation said, and police were attempting to verify the claims.

Penn State’s board of trustees said it would create a special committee to investigate the child rape allegations, which became public last week with the release of a grand jury report.

Sandusky’s involvement with The Second Mile provided him with access to “hundreds of boys, many of whom were vulnerable due to their social situations,” the grand jury said. The former coach is said to have engaged in fondling, oral and anal sex with boys over at least 15 years, according to the investigative grand jury’s summary of testimony.

The alleged abuse began in 2005 and lasted into 2008, and included overnight stays at Sandusky’s home, according to grand jury testimony.

Sandusky, who served 23 years as defensive coordinator for the Nittany Lions football team before retiring in 1999, is free on $100,000 bail.

 

After my exciting encounter with Captain Hook, I made my way back to the hotel to meet up with Mom so we could go to EPCOT. (Or maybe I met her at EPCOT? It’s been over a month since we went. And really, does it matter all that much?) Our goal was to see the World Showcase (as well as one can in the dark when it closes at 9) and to see the fireworks show.   First thing we saw were the sidewalks.

They built in fiber optic lights in different designs which flash on in patterns.  Little kids also liked them.

 

We got to the World Showcase and first went into the Mexico exhibit. It was designed to look like a Mexican marketplace, as you can clearly see.

Although we did not purchase anything, we did have a fun game of Big Hat, Little Hat.

   

 

Then, we went on the boat tour of Mexico.  Cool pyramids! And some of it reminded me of It’s a Small World.

 

Outside, it was getting dark, but these birds were white and easy to see. And they were fake, so all the better to be photographed between, my dear!

 

Our next country was Norway. It has the only other ride in World Showcase (Mexico’s boats being the other).  It’s actually a pretty neat tour–a log boat in water, you look for trolls, high seas adventure.  When it was over, you exit into (surprise, surprise) a gift shop!  We had fun in this one, too.

Trouble with Trolls? Not one bit!

 

I had a Viking warrior to protect me!

 

And if her fierceness didn’t drive them away, I could always just sing. That would send anyone running for the hills!

 

As I mentioned earlier, EPCOT (and thus World Showcase) closed at 9. We decided to head to Downtown Disney, a big shopping area and night-life area.  Mom had me pose with Tweedledum and Tweedledee. She says she makes everyone pose this way.

 

I don’t remember much about Downtown Disney. We went into a store. I was cold and tired and worn out and hungry. The last thing I ate was the hamburger and fries from the last entry. So, Mom recommended we split a sandwich from The Earl of Sandwich.  It was the best tuna melt I ever had in my life. Tuna melt and salt and vinegar chips and tea…I was so very happy.       

 

 

 

After that bit of joy, we headed back to our room and slept. Ahhh.  Then we woke up for more exciting adventures!

 

What? Another entry? Yes, indeed loyal readers, I have returned to continue the Disney adventure. But I must say, after seventy-two weeks of rain, I feel gloomy. So let’s see if these Disney pictures will spark memories of sunshine and happy days!

Our third day was spent at MGM Studios. I’d never been there, for, just like Animal Kingdom, it did not exist 25 years ago.  It’s a movie-themed park, mostly famous for The Tower of Terror (did that twice) and The Rocking Roller Coaster. (And also other stuff, but it was a nice segue!)  Mom had never gone on the Rocking Roller Coaster since it was an upside-down ride. But, I talked her into it. Before we got in line, we considered taking pictures in front of the ride where the big guitar is. “Wait,” I said, “Let’s wait until AFTER the ride, and then we can get your reaction to what you thought of it!”

She LOVED it! (and so did I)

Next we went to the 3D Toy Story ride. I’m not sure of the exact name, but it was lots of fun! You and your seat mate both don 3D glasses and have guns. The ride takes you to various 3D shooting galleries, and you blast away.  Both of us were fairly pathetic shots, but Mom beat me both times we went on the ride.

 

I don’t really remember a lot of rides at MGM. Maybe there aren’t that many? But we had a good time taking pictures outside of the Toy Story area. We had more fun than…

Well, you get the idea!

Mom really, really wanted a Slinky Dog. I noted that MGM Studios probably has the largest percentage of Slinky Dog sales of anywhere in the world.

 

Choose me! Choose me! We only lacked The Claw.

 

One show I was eager to see was Beauty and the Beast. It was a half hour version of the show. Now, last time I saw it was onstage at State High, and Nathan was Gaston. And guess what? Even with this not-nearly-as-handsome Gaston and people I didn’t know, it STILL made me cry!

 

We made late lunch reservations, so for a while, we just walked around MGM. They have it designed in parts to resemble a movie set with false-front buildings and streets painted in perspective and all. We are posing in front of a flat-panel background. Pretty neat, eh?

   

This wasn’t painted. It was real… or was it?

 

 

I thought it would be fun to go see the Narnia thing. Wasn’t sure what it was–a ride? A show? Turns out it was about a 15 minute preview of Prince Caspian. Sorry. Already saw the movie. Not interested in seeing it in clips.  The best part of it was the set. It was designed to look like the broken stone table. And after the movie clip was finished, they turned on the fog machine. Most people left the room, but I stayed for some cool pictures.

 

What was cool about the lion below was that although it looks like it was carved into the stone (or at least permanently there), it was just a trick of photography. During the show, the image changed into other figures which also looked carved into the rock, or there was no image at all.

 

It seemed like a gazillion, bazillion years before we got to have lunch. I was a crabby pants. But finally we got to go to the Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater. It was darkish and all the tables looked like cars (no roof) which all faced a big movie screen in the front which was showing clips of old cartoons and previews of black and white, very B, horror flicks. Evil Catwomen from Mars, Killer Robots from the Moon… epic!

 

But what I most wanted was food and drink!

 

    

 

After I was fed, I was much less crabby and was able to enjoy myself again.  We decided to take the back lot tour. I’m not sure of the official name, but you get on a bus/tram thing and ride through the MGM back lot where they show you props of things they used in Disney movies.  They also had a scene where a truck would catch on fire and there would be a waterfall thing and a bridge would shake. It was neat.

 

We had a lot of fun in the gift shop. Awards? For us? Oh, yes! What would YOU give us Oscars for?

 

 

 

After the excitement of posing with little, gold men, Mom decided to head back to the hotel for a nap. I stayed to finish out seeing things at MGM.  First thing I did was the Indiana Jones show.

 

Then, I went to a show on Disney animation. There were only six people watching the presentation, which was just crazy! After I stayed to ask a question about animation: Is it done all by computer now or is some done by hand? (answer: Both. Case in point, the two movies which are coming out this summer. Cars 2 was 100% computer animated. Winnie the Pooh movie was done by hand.)  I walked out to the display area to see what they had, and…and… THERE WERE CAPTAIN HOOK AND MR. SMEE!!! Now, if you had asked me who the only Disney character I wanted to see was, I would have said, “Captain Hook.”  And I got to see the Disney princesses the night before, so I figured, “Oh, well. You got to see something.” But there they were! In a random exhibit in MGM Studios!  I got in line all by myself and explained myself to the grandma and child in front of me. (Yes, I’m 41, but, IT’S CAPTAIN HOOK!)  Captain Hook “kissed” my hand and posed nicely. 

And then, there was Mickey Mouse, too!  I also got to witness Captain Hook going off-duty come over to Mickey Mouse and both of them did some sort of complex hand gesture, hip-shaking dance thing which probably meant, “I am getting off in 10 minutes. I cannot wait to escape this suit and elderly fans. Let’s go get a beer.”

 

But wait…there’s more! The night had yet to happen!

 

 

 

 It was night time on our second day. After a refreshing recharge (and change of clothes) in our room, we headed back out. At night, they shine different colors of lights on the castle so that sometimes it is purple, sometimes pink, sometimes other colors.

 

         

 

What drew us from our cozy hotel lair? We had dinner reservations at Mom’s favorite Disney restaurant, Ohana!

 

Ohana, as you probably could guess from the fact we are wearing leis, is a Polynesian place. It was one of the most interesting restaurants I’ve gone to. There is no menu. Your only options are “Yes, thank you,” “More, please,” or “No, thanks.”  First, they brought us some bread (no butter) which tasted slightly of pineapple. We ordered our drinks (sodas), and they brought us salad–just greens tossed in a dressing. It was simple and tasty. (Good thing, too, as we also had neither salt nor pepper.)  After the salad, they brought out pork dumplings with a sweet and sour sauce and chicken wings/little legs.

They were awfully good. The next course arrived. This appeared to be ramen noodles with broccoli and green beans. Once again, very tasty.

 

And then, the main course–insane amounts of meat! They cooked the meat on skewers and brought them around. There were four choices: pork, chicken, beef, and shrimp. And they were perfectly seasoned!

 I was pretty sure I didn’t care about the shrimp, and I ate one and confirmed my suspicions. I tried the other three, and I thought that chicken would be my favorite, until I had the beef. Then I had the pork. And I had more pork. And a little more…

But I had to save room for dessert. It may sound “iffy,” but OH MY!  It was pineapple bread pudding topped with bananas, caramel sauce, and ice cream. YUM!!

 

 

Now, what would a Polynesian restaurant be without music? We had a floor show where a Hawaiian woman would come out with her ukelele and play and sing and do fun stuff with the kids, like having kids push coconuts around the restaurant with brooms or learn how to hula. And we got leis. Leis for days…

 

  

 

After our supper, we decided to take advantage of The Magic Kingdom’s midnight closing time. We stood at the monorail gate and chatted, and all of a sudden, we heard a CLUNK. There is nothing louder than the sound of a child’s head hitting concrete at 10:30 at night. A little girl had been sitting/messing around on the gate and fell off backwards. OUCH! I hope that she was okay. 

When we got off the monorail, Mom was delighted to see that we had stumbled upon the Parade of the Seven Seas. She said that it had been years and years since she last saw it. The “parade” is a line of animated lights in the lagoon in between EPCOT and Magic Kingdom. The lights make it look like they are moving, and I think they might also be on moving platforms. Not sure about that. It was neat to see!

  

 

Into the park we headed. Main Street, USA, the first thing you see when you walk in the park, is so pretty at night. Mom showed me a building that she said used to be a store but now was something else. We went to investigate and were not sure what it was. There was a worker there, so we asked. She said that there was a movie on one side, but on the other, you could go in and meet the princesses. And tonight, the Frog Princess, Belle, and Cinderella were there. And there was no line. MEET THE PRINCESSES? NO LINE???? I was so excited!

There they stood in a room, and we walked right in.  I did feel a little stupid “meeting the princesses,” and I even told them so. But it was cool!  The first one was the Frog Princess. Not only did she look like her character, she acted like her. She said I had a nice dress, and we joked about shopping at Target (which she joked and pronounced as “Tar-Jhay” (French))

 

Next up was Belle, and she kept in character super well, talking about the characters in her story and asking if I knew them and if I had tried the “grey stuff,” and if I had a Wardrobe to help me choose my gowns.  I answered back as if she were the real Belle, but I did say, “I know it must be weird for a 41 year old woman to be excited about meeting the Disney princesses, but hey!”

 

The final princess was Cinderella. CINDERELLA!! My favorite of them all! She was just as vapid in person as she is in the movies, perhaps even more so.  We forced Mom to pose with me for this shot. She was not nearly as excited about meeting them as I was.

What did I take away from meeting them? If you ever want to feel really, really ugly, stand next to a Disney princess.  And supervise small, tired children around concrete and gates.