Let The Memories Continue! – Day 15
The day started lazily, as we, once again, found ourselves at the breakfast station at Drury. The spread was the same, but we were still not tired of it. Ashley still had great fun making waffles for the family. Today was also the first day we found butter for our waffles, which accompanied the maple syrup nicely. Soon after, we were on our way to Ridge Island Groves yet again. With the weather looking sunny and cloudless, we were certain that we would be able to take the tour of the Orange Farms today.
We arrived at Polk City, which is very serene and peaceful part of Florida. Thankfully, the weather was on our side this time around, and we were able to (finally!) take the tour of the orange farms. We jumped into a heavily modified club car and toured the insides of the farm. To our surprise, the farm not only plants Oranges, but also cattle, other plants and even chicken in its compounds. We were each given a bag to fill with oranges, and Ashley had a wonderful time plucking Oranges from the trees around us. The oranges we were plucking were of the Page variety, and they are very sweet and juicy. We have previously sampled them at the store, and it was my personal favourite out of all the other varieties on offer. Each bag was an approximate 1.5 kilograms at the end of our adventure. We also made a short trip to look at the other animals at the farm, before stopping off once again at the main store. We loaded each of our individual bags into the car and set off for lunch.
We had booked a reservation for Sanaa, located at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, which was a Disney resort with free roaming animals such as giraffe and ostrich in the middle of the hotel’s compound. Sanaa was an Indian-influenced African restaurant with views of the wildlife, and it was simply stunning. We ordered the Indian-style Bread Service, comprising of Naan bread and nine different dip sauces. Our favorite would be the Garlic flavoured Naan with the Chilli Sambal sauce that was on offer. It reminded us very much of the meals we have in Singapore. I ordered a Rice dish, with Butter Chicken and Seafood Curry, while my parents shared the Grilled Lamb Kefta served on naan bun, both of which were amazing. The two curries of my meal were both flavorful and sharp, while the lamb patty in the burger was extremely tender and chewy. Ashley ordered the Mac’n Cheese as usual. As an extra, this restaurant has an unique dessert for kids. A “Do-it-Yourself” cookie, where you can decorate your own dessert. Ashley utterly adored the concept, and even ate the entire cookie that she had created. Unfortunately, we did not get a window seat, and were unable to look at the animals from our table. Even so, we enjoyed our lunch very much.
After this, we had time to burn, so we decided to visit The Florida Mall. It turns out that it was not comprised of separate malls after all, but was a massive shopping complex, flanked by several separate outlets. We toured the inside of the mall, and visited several shops. We bought some apparel from H&M and browsed several others. The mall itself is vast, and filled with entertainment features. Ashley was even able to obtain her “Splat” toy that she was eyeing from the Orlando Premium outlet. We left the massive complex, having everything that we needed.
As we still had some time before dinner, we decided to pop in yet again at the Orlando Premium Outlet at International Drive. However, it was a short trip and we did not purchase anything, as no new stock had arrived.
Needing to wake up early the next day for the Hot Air Balloon ride, we vouched for an early and quick dinner. (ZA : Stopping along the way to get Krispy Kreme doughnuts for breakfast on the go tomorrow) We rushed back to Drury for our complimentary “Kickback” dinner. The spread was basic but good tasting. It comprised of Penne Marinara, Meatballs and baked potatoes. Although basic, we enjoyed our quick dinner, and tucked in for the night, knowing that it would be an early day tomorrow.
