My lovely friend Victor was here for a couple of days, and so we spent all of them together and had a fantastic time.
On his first day here I got him and his parents into Epcot, and it was a treat to be able to perform them. Having him there definitely made my Valentine's Day easier since I am very far away from my boyfriend right now.
Victor and I met through the theatre scene in Victoria BC, where we were both born and raised. He has since gone on to perform in the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. We have the same birthday, and with that we keep our connection close to our hearts.
The evening of Feb 14th I went on several rides with Victor and his Dad, I love when friends meet you after you're done your shift and they have fast passes all ready to go :)
I was recognized in the line up for "Soarin' " which surprised me as the ride is quite far away from the Italian Pavilion. It was nice to go on some of the rides at Epcot, as I never get a chance to. Once you're finished working for the day you just want to go home, so it was nice to be a 'tourist' with my friends.
On Feb 15th, after my day at Disney was done, I was invited over for dinner at Victor's friends home with whom his parents and him were staying at. Jerry and Marta were their house-hosts and friends, and they used to work for Disney as architects. They designed and built their own home, it was amazing inside and out. Jerry was the architect for the Canadian Pavilion at Epcot, parts of Euro-Disney, as well as other areas of the Magic Kingdom and parts of Disneyland in California. They had several pieces of artwork within their home by Disney artists which was a treat to be able to see.
On my 'weekend' Victor and I spent my first day off at the Animal and Magic Kingdom. I was spotted by one of the ushers for "The Expedition" roller coaster at the Animal Kingdom, telling me he loved the "Ziti Sisters" show, which tickled me. The ride, however, made me weak in the knees for the rest of the day. I wasn't emotionally or physically prepared for that roller coaster!
It was a wonderful day spent with my friend :)
Victor has since left for the remainder of his trip with his parents elsewhere, but I cherish the brief visit we had. Orlando is a very weird place to be in, and it was very interesting to re-view it through Victor's eyes. His perception and firsthand glimpse into this city of the deep South was very similar to mine. I recall him calling it a 'Twilight Zone' as well.
Speaking of small world's, Michael Shapcott was visiting my home city of Victoria BC this past week, and not only is he a specialist for Toronto housing/homelessness, and in Victoria BC to support local groups in their housing/homelessness work, BUT he's also an accordion player!
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| Photo credit: Michael Shapcott's FB profile :) |
I'm happy to report that I'm a hot topic at City Hall :)
I was informed by my friend Philippe Lucas (Victoria Greens Politician) that Mr. Shapcott brought me up, out-of-the-blue, during a meeting he had at City Hall, expressing his disappointment that I wasn't there in Victoria BC.
I recommend you follow Michael on Twitter: http://twitter.com/michaelshapcott
