Since first becoming a villa owner nearly 8 years ago I have always wanted to be in Florida for Thanksgiving. I think that was mainly because it was celebration we did not have in Britain and was quite fascinated to see what it was all about.
I also think I had had my appetite well and truly wetted with the excellent comedy 'Trains, Planes and Automobiles' as the hapless Steve Martin tries desperately to get back home for his family's Thanksgiving despite every obstacle in the book.
This year I had the opportunity to come out again for a late visit and seized it with both hands-well you would wouldn't you-even if it was just to get away from Britain's freezing November temperatures.
So I find myself on a very balmy 80degree day heading off to the excellent Mimi's restaurant at The Loop with friends and family. The roads were relatively quiet so I presumed those that weren't eating at home had trekked to the parks much earlier in the day. A lot of the other restaurants such as The Outback and Carrabas were closed-so I was well pleased that one of my favourites had decided to open.
When we got there, having previously booked our table, it was quite full but we waited less than 5 minutes to be seated.
The restaurant were serving a set Thanksgiving day menu-and I was delighted that their famous raisin bread had been included.
We then had a choice of various kinds of soup; corn chowder, chicken gumbo and the excellent french onion served with cheesy bread floating on the top.
Following that came a choice of salad-garden or caesar.
Then came the turkey dinner with stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, carrots and cranberry sauce and gravy. All piping hot and just delicious.
Finally there was a choice of puddings and my favourite bread and butter pudding was on the menu and it doesn't get any better than that! It was impossible to eat the huge slice though. In fact once lunch was over-I wasn't able to eat anything else for the rest of the day.
This beautiful meal came in at a princely $14-99-the equivalent of a UK £7-50. You would struggle to get just one course for that back home.
As the shops were closed for the day-we headed down to Downtown Disney and to the cinema. there was a nice crowd down there-just comfortable. After the film we just mingled for a while-the evening was still warm -a perfect end to a lovely day.
Prior to Thanksgiving day we had been shopping we noticed that some stores had already begun their sales and we felt there were many bargains to be had-but the biggest sales of all come on Black Friday-the day after Thanksgiving when stores really slash their prices and open as early as 4am for the dedicated bargain hunter.
All in all-a lovely celebration and a lovely time of year to come and try it.
I also think I had had my appetite well and truly wetted with the excellent comedy 'Trains, Planes and Automobiles' as the hapless Steve Martin tries desperately to get back home for his family's Thanksgiving despite every obstacle in the book.
This year I had the opportunity to come out again for a late visit and seized it with both hands-well you would wouldn't you-even if it was just to get away from Britain's freezing November temperatures.
So I find myself on a very balmy 80degree day heading off to the excellent Mimi's restaurant at The Loop with friends and family. The roads were relatively quiet so I presumed those that weren't eating at home had trekked to the parks much earlier in the day. A lot of the other restaurants such as The Outback and Carrabas were closed-so I was well pleased that one of my favourites had decided to open.
When we got there, having previously booked our table, it was quite full but we waited less than 5 minutes to be seated.
The restaurant were serving a set Thanksgiving day menu-and I was delighted that their famous raisin bread had been included.
We then had a choice of various kinds of soup; corn chowder, chicken gumbo and the excellent french onion served with cheesy bread floating on the top.
Following that came a choice of salad-garden or caesar.
Then came the turkey dinner with stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, carrots and cranberry sauce and gravy. All piping hot and just delicious.
Finally there was a choice of puddings and my favourite bread and butter pudding was on the menu and it doesn't get any better than that! It was impossible to eat the huge slice though. In fact once lunch was over-I wasn't able to eat anything else for the rest of the day.
This beautiful meal came in at a princely $14-99-the equivalent of a UK £7-50. You would struggle to get just one course for that back home.
As the shops were closed for the day-we headed down to Downtown Disney and to the cinema. there was a nice crowd down there-just comfortable. After the film we just mingled for a while-the evening was still warm -a perfect end to a lovely day.
Prior to Thanksgiving day we had been shopping we noticed that some stores had already begun their sales and we felt there were many bargains to be had-but the biggest sales of all come on Black Friday-the day after Thanksgiving when stores really slash their prices and open as early as 4am for the dedicated bargain hunter.
All in all-a lovely celebration and a lovely time of year to come and try it.