Travel the World at Epcot

With being a lover of travel, there is no better amusement park than Epcot at Disney in Orlando, Florida! Travel around the world on one ticket while experiencing an introduction to eleven different cultures from iconic sights, tastes and traditions. Who knows maybe your curiosities will lead you to international travels.

Canada

Coming into the park one of the first countries you will experience is OH Canada! From majestic sights of their national flag in the wind to rows of different maple syrups to try and shops stocked with warm clothing fit for gearing you up for your next ski trip, you will instantly feel like you are away on a cabin retreat. So expect to see imagery of wildlife including beavers and moose! But if camping isn’t your thing then hold out for views of the Hotel du Canada, a Victorian-style hotel with a lush garden to explore.

The United Kingdom

Next door to Canada is The United Kingdom. From pubs to sit in and grab fish and chips to fine tea shops filled with china, you truly get the feeling of the underground and the cute English countryside. A lot of visitors to the Disney parks plan their trips around what characters are there to meet. Well if you are interested in meeting Mary Poppins or the characters from Alice in Wonderland, this is your moment. I definitely know that I am proud to say that I met Alice!

France

After getting your pub on you might be in the mood to get a little fancy. You’re in luck because with a skyline that is pointed with the Eiffel Tower, you are now in France. Expect to find artists along the way painting and selling gorgeous works of art, mimes acting out a joyous skit, made from scratch pastries and tunes flowing from an accordion. But no need to worry if you don’t speak French, simply order your favorite coffee and you’re as french as you need to be. And for me, I grabbed a macaroon to go with it!

Morocco

In a perfect world France and Morocco would be next door neighbors but in reality only Disney got it right. Enjoy a magic carpet ride as you stroll along open air markets full of everything a boho loving heart enjoys, get interior design inspiration from the gorgeous tiled fountains and archways and lastly enjoy meeting Aladdin and Jasmine in the flesh, I know I did!

Japan

Next is Japan and it cannot be missed. From the looming blue-roofed pagoda inspired by the Horyuji Temple where you can experience drum shows from the Taiko Drummers to the large, red Torii Gates along the waters edge, Epcot captures the Japanese spirit. Also expect to spend some time here because while here you can get some hand-rolled sushi and shop the “kawaii” culture!

United States

In the United States section of the park called “American Adventure” you can go down history lane with a throwback to the founding of the country, a progression of America’s flag, the use of freedom of speech and it’s impact on the nation and art exhibition of the American Indian. Some of the food fare speaks to the nostalgic 50’s and includes hamburgers, hot dogs and the classic slice of apple pie with ice cream on the side.

Italy

In contrast to the United States and its short history is the long reign and existence of Italy. Italy’s section of the park nods to its history of art, architecture, wine and slow living. You can find a smell replica of the Trevi Foundtain, shop at the corner wine stand, taste lemoncello shaved ice and smell flowering rose bushes along your walk.

Germany

Give me all of the snacks in Germany town because its Oktoberfest and pretzels are for sale! Strolling up to this section of the park you will feel like you are in mixed world of fairy tales and ancient Medieval times from the clock tower to the coat of arms and banners over each door. You can take part in a street finger puppet production or sit back and enjoy some soccer. Either way I suggest finding some childlike joy while marveling at the handmade cuckoo clocks.

China

If you are feeling tired from all of your traveling, then China is for you! From relaxing stone statues in the zen garden to a 360 film titled “Reflections of China,” you can take a moment to rest while viewing virtual sights in nature in the beautiful country of China. After the movie is over and you’d like to continue resting, sit down and enjoy watching a live performance from the Jeweled Dragon Acrobats. Feeling inspired by the strength and skill of the Chinese? Then step over and meet the legend and warrior herself, Mulan!

Norway

This is a huge tip for all of the parents of Anna and Elsa fans. At Disney the Magic Kingdom you see this pair sisters on floats and singing on stage but the best place to meet them is at their home which happens to be in Norway at Epcot. Here you can have a meet and greet with the sisters, take on a Frozen themed ride and enjoy merchandise from the movies. Who knows maybe you’ll even run into Olaf!

Mexico

Depending on how you started your adventure in the park, Mexico may or may not be your last stop but if it is then what a way to go! This part of the park is full of music from Mariachi bands, Mexican food full of spices, a Mesoamerican pyramid pointing you up towards the heavens and a threatening volcano to set you right along your way!

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As you can see, there is a lot to experience in this fantastic park! Like I said at the start it is a great park for my fellow travel buffs but its great too if you want a more laid back experience that offers a wealth of insight to other walks of life.

You might not be interested in this park if you are looking to go on a lot of rides. At Epcot there are only a few rides to go on so definitely keep that in mind. But in case you didn’t know, that big golf ball looking structure at the beginning of the park actually does have a ride inside! So never fear my adventure loving friend.

And for my 21 and older friends, definitely google “Drinking around the World” for an extra creative way to experience this park!

Thank you for going on this exciting adventure with me! Whenever I think of Disney, I will always think of Epcot and want to go back. But because Disney has so much to offer there is one other park I want to try out! So next week please come back for my final amusement park trip and review at Disney’s Animal Kingdom!

-Kriss

Gent, Ghent, Gint

The city of Ghent, Belgium confuses me. Why? Because I’m not too sure the spelling of the city as a whole. From Google maps to local signs, it seems like everyone spells it differently. But what this city doesn’t confuse me on is my new found and deep love for it! Going into our time here I had zero expectations for it. I figured that it would be cute and a little bit slower paced compared to Brussels but as of today, it is my most favorite city in Europe!

Our commute to Ghent started off with gray skies that threatened to pour on us at any moment but by the time we got off of our train the sky was blue, no matter what direction you looked. My heart loved how everything looked, felt and smelled- but my stomach kept reminded me of its existence. So we walked to an address that I had previously found on the interwebs. We ordered breakfast sandwiches and french toast….but quickly found out that because of the language barrier (English to French) we had actually ordered some type of scone with berries and whip on top. It was a nice comedic moment for us that truly set the tone for the rest of the day.

But speaking of my Googling, I did have one main location that I wanted to visit while in Ghent and that was it’s well preserved Medieval Castle built in 1180 called The Gravensteen which offers its visitors panoramic views of the city. After brunch we set off in the direction of the Castle which took us over canals, through graffiti alleys, around modern architecture and cathedrals.

We walked over canals, smelled more chocolate in the air, sampled Gent’s famous candy called the Nose of Gent, heard church bells tolling and then we came upon our destination! With 10 euro each, we were able to climb up and explore every part of the castle. There were suits of armor, weapons of old, tales of torture, enough stained glass that my mom would melt over, winding spiral staircases and then the best view in the city. Aka cue the view!

Once we were back on the ground I knew what I wanted to do next and ironically it couldn’t take place on the ground but on the water. We found a canal touring company, tucked into our spot on the boat and saw another view of this lovely city. I highly recommend seeing any European city from this viewpoint but don’t get offended if you’re the only one of the three people proudly showing off your single language skills to your tour guide.

From weeping willows along the riverside to locals drinking wine and feeding pieces of baguettes off of their dinner plates to ducks, the lifestyle here in Ghent will truly leave you inspired, have you reevaluate how you spend your leisure time and make you want to find more joy in the simple things in life. To celebrate the ending of our day in Ghent and to start living out their way of life, we bought two decked out waffles and sat along another beautiful canal to enjoy the nightlife springing up around us.

Thank you all for sharing in my Ghent tales and support my love of travel! It truly is as they say “the only purchase we can make that makes us richer.” So to further enrich you here on the blog, next week I will be sharing Brugge, Belgium! Please stay tuned and if you would like email updates of new posts, please subscribe below!

-Kriss

Our Honeymoon Location Spoiler!

Hello beautiful people! We are officially 23 days until the wedding which means, to my delight, that we are a 25 days away from our Honeymoon!!!

It’s incredible how the time has gone, the memories we’ve made and all of the decisions that have happened for both our wedding day and our honeymoon trip! But we’ve kept the location on the DL! But not for long….

Jacob and I will be boarding a plane and traveling to Germany for our honeymoon! We will be based in in Berlin and we will be traveling during our time there to different locations in Germany.

The first location will be to Munich! There we plan on getting our fill of castles and classic Germany. This includes culture, music, food, beer halls and history that has taken place there!

The next location will be Cologne! We have lots of plans for a more artistic day spent there. We want to go to art museums, check out modern architecture and street art and try out some fusion cuisine.

Our last travel location will be the furthest from Berlin and that’s Amsterdam! We want to go on canal rides, sit in outdoor cafes, visit gorgeous greenhouses and other romantic places.

Besides these three day trips most of our time will be spent in Berlin, getting to know the life there better. This will be my third time to Berlin and honestly its a dream come true. In past trips I have gone with others and their partners and I’ve always said to myself that one day I want to experience Berlin with my special one- and here we are!

Picking our location was both overwhelming and also swift! We kept going back and forth with different states here in the US. I was feeling Nashville while he was feeling the west coast. This debate went on for a couple of weeks until one morning he came over to my house with an epiphany!

He woke up that morning and thought to himself “we’ve got the money, the time and the desire to go to Europe! And we should go!” After deciding, we booked our tickets and airbnb that following weekend.

So we are going and I cannot wait!!

-XOKriss

**travel images were taken by me on my last trip to Germany in 2015