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It is Florida in December. Where can you go to find your inner eskimo? Someplace cold, with ice, and snow? Gaylord Palms Resort Hotel in Orlando, that’s where. This was our second time here, the first bringing my mother here before Covid.
This time we had our friends, Jed, Ashley, and Luke coming down too the Disney area with their family. They were so close and they wanted to see us (and us them), so we arranged to meet them for the ICE exhibit. The theme this year was “Peanuts” and every part of the exhibit was made of ice. The temperature in the exhibit center is 9 degrees. Our friends are from North Carolina and that is cold for them, think about the locals.
Fortunately, even though our blood has thinned, we knew what to expect and brought the gloves and hats and ear muffs. We knew the facility also provided parkas in all sizes (including mine and Jed’s). And of course, there are rules to follow, the most important, do not lick the exhibits.
As always, the sculptures were amazing. They had the artists showing off their skills in one area, an ice slide in another, a clear ice nativity in its own space and much more. The exhibits were in some places interactive, being able to walk around and crawl through. Outside this space, there was a Christmas Village shop, gingerbread decorating, visits with Mrs and Mr Claus themselves and even snow ball “fights” (you threw at targets, not each other).
Afterwards, we wanted more time with each other and decided to hit up one of our favorite restaurants in Orlando, Cafe Tu Tu Tango. It is a favorite for the art as well as the food. The tapas-style makes the plates small and sharable so everyone gets to try a little something. Find something you like, order more; find something you don’t, try something else. We never leave hungry and the bill is easy to split, evenly.
We love our friends and their visits. We sometimes wish they were closer and we have plans to take an extended trip with them again soon.
