Summer 2014 - Tampa, Florida

Since I was a baby I have been going to Tampa, Florida. I am fortunate enough to say that it is has been our family's holiday destination since before I was born, and this year we visited again.

We decided to go for 3 and a half weeks this Summer which is a very long time, but honestly? I could have easily gone for longer. Feeling the heat hit you as you walk outside, the amazing smell after the daily thunder storms and even the fascination in people's faces when you tell them that you are from the UK all add to the adoration that I have for the place.  Where we are located is away from Orlando, so no British accents for us! It sounds strange, but it is kind of nice to know that you are the only British person around, and you feel almost like a celebrity.  Note I said almost.  

For this holiday we decided to try something a little different: prior to actually going to where we stay, we decided to go on a cruise with Carnival.  Now, I have been on cruises before and they are all amazing, especially Royal Caribbean (I will do a separate blog post on that) but I have never experienced such a great atmosphere in one small place than I have on Carnival.  A particular fond memory for me is going up to the top deck at about 10pm and witnessing what can only be described as a fiesta.  Families and people of all ages dancing to Uptown Funk whilst eating Mexican food and just generally having an amazing time in the middle of nowhere.  Let's just say that you wouldn't normally see that on another cruise! There was easily 300 people on the deck that night, all trying to beat the longest conga line at sea (If they succeeded then well done! I was stuffing my face with fajitas at the time).

The cruise was set to travel for 5 nights with 2 stops: Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico.  Both ports of call were amazing, and despite getting sunburnt, were a couple of my favourite stops that I have ever done on any cruise.  Grand Cayman, Jamaica was a shopping port as as soon as you left the port you were in the downtown area.  It was interesting to walk around and see a part of Jamaica that I had never seen before, and drinking cocktails at 11am was definitely a highlight.

The next stop was, as mentioned, Cozumel! This stop is by far my favourite stop due to the fact that we found an amazing resort which unfortunately I can't remember the name of.  Mexico was definitely a beach stop, although you did have the option of going to downtown which we decided not to do.  The sea there was crystal clear, with fish swimming around your feet. It was my idea of paradise.  My favourite food is Mexican, so of course we had to have some for lunch! We decided to have a bit of everything as it was so cheap, so opted for fish tacos, mixed fajitas, nachos and coconut shrimp that the locals recommended.  Honestly? Eating it on the beach with live music in the heat was just perfection.

After the cruise, we went straight to Disney World.  I persuaded my family to go to Magic Kingdom and I am so glad that we went as last time I went was 5 years ago.  It is safe to say that it doesn't matter what age you are, you are never too old to go to Disney World.  There is something there for the whole family and we had an absolutely fantastic day out! We arrived at 11am and left at 12am. Being on our feet that long killed all of our legs, but it was worth it to stay that long to see the fireworks at the end.  We collapsed in the middle of Main Street with a clear view of the show Wishes and I am so glad that we did!

For the duration of our stay we spent doing the general holiday activities: shopping, relaxing and of course, eating! We are due to go back in March, and are visiting Washington as well.

Beckora x