Mexico City - Day 3: Bike Tour & Birthday Dinner

Perhaps we shouldn't have gone for that second episode of the cdrama last night...it is a bit hard to get the twins out of bed this morning. But I admit the show has been quite good! (Pursuit of Jade, for those who were wondering).

Anywho, back to our CDMX trip. Today, at the recommendation of an old friend and colleague, we booked a Centro Historico tour with Bikes & Munchies, combining history, eating, and a little exercise all at the same time. It did mean a slightly earlier start (9am meeting time), but honestly probably a good practice/warm-up for the 7:30 pyramid trip tomorrow!

The meeting point was in Roma Norte, at Bazar Fusion and we started the tour with a walk across the street for breakfast and coffee.

The first food item on the tour was a variety of chilaquiles, a very traditional breakfast dish always made with leftover tortillas. We had some chicken ones, some steak ones, some mushroom ones, and some egg ones. The first bite was delicious but as we dug to the bottom, the sauce got a little overpowering and overall a little bit sour for my tastes, but in my opinion still preferable to bacon and eggs!

With that, it was time to get fitted for our bikes and helmets and into our formation, two by two led by our leader Valentin. Caught a selfie at a stop!

I'd like to give a few rounds of credit here: first, to L, for wearing a backpack and lugging around her sketchbook the entire day. Second, to LaoLao and LaoYe for braving the tandem bike! And lastly to Jiujiu and Jiuma, for putting up with being last in a very slow bike caravan. 

Our first stop was the Monument to the Revolution, a which apparently doubles as a mausoleum to many revolutionary heroes, including Pancho Villa.

They happened to be setting up for a book fair right outside the monument -- in hindsight, I should have let the twins buy a Spanish book as a souvenir! Alas. Hopefully we will run into some more bookstores later on this trip. Language immersion moment Mama fail. 

Next we headed to the Palace of Fine Arts to check out some of the famous murals inside. It was a truly beautiful space with some really amazing pieces of art. 

We got a bit of history on Mexico's famous muralists from Valentin. Here's Diego Rivera's famous "Man, Controller of the Universe" which he had to recreate here after the original was torn down in Rockefeller Center in NYC after Rivera refused to remove the prominent figure of Lenin.

Right outside the Palace of Fine Arts is the Torre Latinoamericano, a marvel of engineering famous for surviving four separate 7.9, 8.1, and 7.1 and 7.7 level earthquakes without even a cracked window! Even more crazily, the last three (in 1985, 2017 and 2022), all happened on the same day! The city actually holds a nationwide drill on Sept. 19 to commemorate the large 1985 earthquake, and the two later ones actually happened shortly after everyone finished the national drill. You'd think, great, they know exactly what to do, but some people thought the sirens were just a false alarm from the drill! In any event, as Laolao noted -- maybe best to stay away from Mexico City on September 19...

After standing in the hot sun for awhile, we were feeling a bit wilted. Perfect timing for a juice stop! 

It smelled so nice in there - and everyone LOVED the juices. We had a mango passion fruit and a strawberry guava. 

Followed up with some tortas - one grilled veggies and one meat -- very tasty, every last bite was polished off. 

After this food stop, we headed to the central Zocolo for the large number of historical and politically significant buildings and sights there. Here is the National Palace, where the President lives. Because it is a real residence, public access is more limited so we won't be able to see the Diego Rivera murals there this trip.  

I couldn't help but snag a photo with the Supreme Court building. 

Some of us also got a quick glimpse of the inside of the National Cathedral - very pretty, decked out for Easter.

But the real star was the Templo Mayor and the collection of ruins. 

We didn't have time to go see the actual ruins, but we got a little bit of a history and archeology session standing from the National Cathedral plaza. Here's the depiction of what the site would have looked like in Aztec times...so much bloody sacrifice. Though Valentin was quick to point out that even though the decapitations and live killings seemed barbarian, the loss of life and brutality of modern warfare is arguably much much worse. 

There were a bunch of folks dressed in native garb offering to do purification cleanses for a small fee. Valentin said it was mostly a trap for tourists, but interesting to watch regardless!

At this point, we headed to our last food stop, tacos and more fruit waters. I forgot to take a photo of the tacos, they were this 24 hour long cooked pork, with fried and non fried versions. We would have eaten more except we had a dinner reservation for 4pm, so "second lunch" was a bit restrained. Two thumbs up again from all though!

And finally, we circled back to the starting point for a mezcal tasting. Conclusion: I am not a fan. Not sure anyone was a REAL fan. At least half of us mixed it with the fruit juices. 😆 

Valentin is a part time author as well and in honor of Laoye's birthday, he gifted him a copy of his book of ghost stories:

I would say all in all we were very satisfied with our bike and food tour experience. I would highly recommend as a great way to see the sights for a family who doesn't actually want to spend hours at the ruins or looking at art. This was a quick in, quick out type of thing -- checks the boxes on history and culture in a novel, memorable way. Certainly this was the longest L&R have cycled in their lives so far, after learning during pandemic, so good to know they still remember how to use a bike!

After the tour ended, we were in walking distance of the Ciudadela market, which I had read was worth checking out. So the half of us more interested in souvenir shopping went for a stroll to the market while the others headed back for a nap. I managed to find a couple more hair clips and R got herself some bracelets. It was a more manageable market than Coyoacan, in my opinion. 

By now it was time to do a quick wardrobe change and then head to Laoye's birthday dinner. 70 years, pretty momentous! We picked Esquina Comun for the occasion, a fairly small restaurant but the dishes were packed in flavors! 

Thanks to Jiujiu's Chase Reserve card, we were able to snag a reservation -- cheers to having the in!

Food-wise: in reverse order:

Donut with ice cream. We found the donut a little dry, but the ice cream got high marks. 

Steak with pea sauce, served with corn and bean cakes. I liked it...but it wasn't my favorite. Though I often wonder if I like mains less in larger meals just because I've gotten too full already. 

Calamari over rockfish, with cherry tomatoes, squash, and various spices. This was probably my least favorite dish to the evening. Not bad, just nothing to be that excited about. 

Shrimp crudo with avocado, roe, and fruit/citric juices. This was very good - I loved the light sweetness of the cerviche style cooked shrimp. It wasn't overly sour or sweet just a nice mix of flavors. 

Our favorite dish of the evening: stracciatella with squash blossom dumplings, sweet potatoes, and other root vegetables served over bread.  We liked it so much we ordered a third serving. 

 

Tuna poke - served on a corn tortilla cake thing. I liked the flavors, though I am a fan of poke generally so this would have been a hard one to miss for me. Such beautiful presentation!

To start, I think this was a carnitas or barbacoa tostado-y thing with avocado and radishes. Maybe their twist on steak tacos. The sauce was a little spicy for some of us but still a very tasty way to start the meal. 

Group photo -- we tried to use "Add me" from the pixel phone but failed...so got a passerby to do it the old fashioned way. 

We were within a few minutes of a Walmart at this point so we did another grocery run - yogurts, candy, veggies and fruits. R picked up about a half dozen mangoes. Much cheaper than the vendors...though she reports not as good. Must need to ripen them a little longer...

At this point, some of us were feeling the time zones again, so the original nuclear family headed out for a nightcap at Limantour. The drinks were nice...but definitely did NOT feel like a worlds top ten bar. That or I just don't appreciate alcohol enough!

Thankfully it was only a 12 minute walk from the rental, so at least we got another walk in for the day. Took us past this lovely establishment (took the photo for Baba):

By the time we got home, it was now after 10:30. So to bed we all went. Tomorrow is an early start for the day at Teotihuacan!

Mexico City - Day 2: Pastries & Coyoacan

I woke up after a fairly restful sleep -- it was a little hard getting to bed at first because of a yappy dog in one of the apartments around us but eventually they got tired. 

Today the main attraction was Casa Azul: Frida Khalo's house & workshop turned museum. We had tickets for a 2pm entrance which meant the morning was open for gastronomic exploration. Our original choice was Expendio de Maiz, this cool restaurant concept where you have no menu but instead eat whatever the kitchen is serving when you sit down and then continue eating until you're full (charged by the number of courses you stick it out for). They opened at 9, but unfortunately upon arrival at 10am, the waiting list was already 3 hours deep. Maybe not today... luckily we had a backup plan within walking distance - the famous Panaderia Rosetta. The line was daunting but for takeaway moved very quickly.

I have to admit I did not come in with high expectations. I am not a big bread or pastry fan, so not sure if it was me being on an empty stomach or if it was a matter of having very low expectations, but I was actually quite pleasantly surprised! We ordered six different pastries (guava roll - enjoyed it quite a bit, chocolate croissant - LOTS of chocolate inside, ricotta and cacao roll - good flavor, cinnamon roll - Baba said it was just okay, dulce de leche roll - R gives it two thumbs up, and a traditional concha - a little dry for me but L enjoyed it). This is the only photo I remembered to take:

After we were full of dough and sugar, we called for the UberXL to head to Coyoacan. Coyoacan is a bit apart from downtown Mexico City (for perspective, our rental was in Polanco, which is about an hour walking from Centro Historico - but Coyoacan would be 2.5 hours away walking). The neighborhood is often described as lively, bohemian feeling with lush and bustling public spaces. We arrived around 12:30 so had some time to kill before our museum reservation. Time for some market action!

I decided to try one of the fresh juices...but this was a miss. It was a combination juice with papaya and guava and something else...the papaya and guava I think were too strong. 

Happily, reviews on the shrimp tostados were much higher. Very fresh -- and the veggies on top were a nice change of pace after all the pastries. 

And then...more shopping. I wasn't a big fan of stuff in this market, it was more a time passer. The crowds were a bit much...but it was interesting seeing a working local market, with everything from handicrafts to fresh vegetables, spices, and candy. 

Around 1:30 or so, we decided to mosey over to the Frida Khalo museum. This was the hottest ticket in CDMX, when we were in line, a sign said that tickets were already sold out until the last week of April.

Good thing we went a little early too, because even with timed entry, the line was quite long. Reminded me a bit of Ghibli Museum in the "small museum, very specific focus, hard to get tickets, in a random neighborhood" feel. Luckily, the twins came prepared for line waiting. 

This is basically what they looked like whenever they weren't in motion. Waiting for food, in the ubers, while Mama was taking too long in the shops...sometimes even when walking they'd still be trying to read at the same time. I guess I should be supportive -- better reading than looking at YouTube shorts!

The estate where Frida spent most of her life was both grand and small at the same time. Technically the acreage was probably fairly large, it fit gardens, two museum sections, gift shop, cafeteria, etc...but everything you saw still seemed very quaint and personal - everywhere you looked, it seemed a plant was intentionally put there, or a stone pattern specifically designed thus, a plate or doorway painted a particular shade of red or blue or green. I suppose that is the heart of Frida's artistry -- you really did feel like this was the home of a true free spirit.

Sadly, the childhood polio combined with teenage tragic car accident and then countless surgeries over her life meant much of the museum reflected a life of significant pain and struggling. Here is a photo taken from the perspective of Frida's bed, on which lies her death mask, looking up at a mirror installed above the bed so that she could paint her self portraits while lying horizontally (due to her immobility after certain surgeries). 

This is the wheelchair from which she would paint, in front of a moveable easel gifted to her from Nelson Rockefeller. 

Her kitchen - I took a picture of this because that bowl in the middle of the shelf there is SO huge! The picture doesn't convey the immenseness of it -- I have no idea why you would ever need a bowl that size!

In so many of the rooms, there are these skeleton-like sculptures that are colorful and yet very macabre, focusing your attention on the delicate nature of the rib cage and spine -- I imagine intentionally, given how much that area pained her, both physically and emotionally (due to its impact on her inability to have children).

 

There was also a very cool separate exhibit showcasing her dresses and corsets as well as present day fashion examples that continue to take Frida as their inspiration. No photos of that area as the lighting is kept intentionally very low to preserve the dresses. 

I really enjoyed the museum so this is not meant to detract from the impressiveness of either the museum or Frida's art or experiences...but I couldn't help but wonder how much of her legacy is also due to the fact that she had the financial means to enable it all. I don't at all doubt her enigmatic and charismatic nature or the energy and expressiveness of her art -- clearly she had great allure to so many...but all of those surgeries could not have been cheap. All of the art supplies...the special corsets...the special furniture...and the ability to have been introduced to Diego by a family friend in the first place -- it makes you think about the other Fridas who have likely lived and passed away in anonymity because they did not have all of those resources. 

After we finished at Casa Azul, we headed towards the central square at Coyoacan, where we noshed on some street food while checking out the street performers and souvenir stalls. 

R enjoyed the fresh mangos so much that she ended getting two servings. Laoye on the other hand was a bit disappointed by the elote...he chose poorly and got one where the grilled corn had gone cold.

The colorful entrance to the Artisans Market Coyoacan with the coyote statue -- the name Coyoacan means those of the coyotes, I'm told. 

Some of us were...perhaps less than thrilled with the amount of market-ing today.

We had to reward Baba's patience with his version of an ice cream treat: beers and pizza. 

The pizza at Traficante was quite good but my favorite part of dinner was actually the watercress salad. That sounds crazy, but the roasted sesame and garlic dressing and radishes really made for a tasty combination! Photo of the kitchen hard at work:

We did a little more people watching after dinner (beat boxing act, comedian/juggling act, I even threw a couple darts at some under inflated balloons) but we knew that a thunderstorm was brewing...we managed to call and hop into the Uber JUST as the sky really opened up. 

And back at the rental, Jiujiu and Jiuma had arrived! Bring out of the card games! They had been up since 3am Mexico City time catching their flight from Boston though so no late night today. We all have a bike tour to catch in the AM anyhow.

Parting shot of me admiring my new earrings from the Coyoacan market!

Mexico City - Day 1: Arrival

Spring break is upon us again! This year, our spring break trip is to Mexico City - why Mexico City you ask? It is on a ton of Places to Go lists thanks to the food scene, history/cultural offerings, and easy accessibility from the US (so many friends/colleagues have gone or are planning to go soon) but in our case, this trip is also a birthday celebration. LaoYe is turning 70 this year and we asked him where he would like to go to celebrate and he suggested Mexico City -- no need to twist any of our arms!

So it's a big family trip -- Jiujiu and Jiuma, Laolao and Laoye, Baba and Mama and L/R. We don't even fit in a single UberXL. 

The flight out of SFO was a little delayed because of the runway construction but we ended up arriving not too far from schedule. Managed to finally watch Greatest Showman while on the flight - I'm a bit delayed in my movie watching. Nice songs!

Biggest tip for the MEX airport -- bathroom was STINKY. I didn't even go in and even from outside it was very pungent. So...go on the plane or hold it until you get to your hotel. 😆 The customs and immigration lines weren't too long but it still took us an hour or so to get through everything. The Uber picked us up very quickly though and we were off to our rental for the week. Very spacious -- plenty of beds. 

We unpacked and then walked over to Avenue Masaryk for dinner. It is a very clean, wide street with lots of high end shopping (eg, Tiffany) and restaurants. We ended up at Klein's (yes, so Mexico sounding eh?) but they served "homecooking" style food and were well reviewed. I forgot I was blogging this trip and took no photos. 😢 But I thought my sope dish was SUPER tasty. Everyone else liked their selections too (Baba got the chicken tacos, L&R the steak tacos, and Laolao and Laoye shared a club sandwich). After dinner (about $85 for the six of us, with some beers and waters), we walked over to the supermarket to pick up some fruit, cereal, and ice cream - the necessities obviously. 

And then back to the rental -- watched a few episodes of Zhu Yu (the new hit cdrama on Netflix, everyone seems to be recommending it so we decided to give it a shot) and then to bed. 

Tomorrow, Casa Azul and pastries!

Disney Destiny - Day 6: Final Thoughts

Today was possibly the smoothest departure/disembarkation process we've had in recent memory off of a Disney cruise. We got up, packed up the past of our things, headed up to the buffet for some last eats, and headed down to get off by 8:20 or so. The line moved super quickly (btw, we only had a single Key to the World card between us and they still managed to identify us all -- so don't panic if you've packed your Disney bands and lost your key cards 😊). We decided to catch a taxi instead of Uber since there wasn't a taxi upcharge for needing a minivan to fit all of us people and luggage. The actual fare on the meter was about $8.50 to the rental car station but the guy tried to claim he needed minimum $20 for the ride because of port charges etc. It was an obvious lie, but maybe I was just impressed by how easy things had gone all morning so I decided not to fight it and gave him a $20. 

The rental car situation also went very smoothly -- we were packed up and off to Character Warehouse by 8:45 I think. We actually got to the store before it opened and broke out the cards for a bit of Zheng Shang You in the empty mall food court. This was our only card playing during the entire vacation! 

We didn't get a ton at the store, but prices were definitely good compared to anything at the Parks or ship. I bought a teal DCL serving bowl and the twins got matching vintage style Monsters University sweaters. 

By 11 or so, we headed off to Miami -- Baba and I had some work meetings today so we spent the day at the Miami office; the twins went off for more shopping with LaoLao and LaoYe -- they apparently visited a Barnes and Noble -- I didn't even know those still existed IRL. 😆 

We had an 8:15pm flight so everyone slept a good bit on the plane. But generally pretty uneventful last day. 

Thoughts on the cruise!

1) DCL doing well to "grow up" with the twins. Admittedly Destiny was our first Wish-class ship with different activities, but I found myself leaving the ship legitimately wanting to take another DCL cruise. I think it might actually be the twins' interest levels. L deserves a lot of credit for forcing us out into various activities, like Silent Disco, animation, game shows, funnel vision - I think she really was sad that she couldn't go to some of the comedy shows, the lounges, and the adult speciality dining. R on the other hand really enjoyed all the movie watching and especially all the Broadway shows. Between the two of them, I felt like I was always choosing between activities...I only read a book on a lounge chair for maybe 30 min tops all cruise. 

2) Cruising with more people is good. Even though LaoLao and LaoYe weren't exactly the most Disney obsessed people, they added enough variation to interests that we did some things we wouldn't have done without them. Like the stretch class and Serenity Bay. So if you can, I would recommend cruising with more than your nuclear family -- it's just a nice way to spend time together while allowing subsets of folks to explore their own preferred activities. 

3) Food quality - I think I ate at the quick service BBQ at least 4 times. Those ribs were SO good. The dining rooms were fine...but even Enchante didn't leave me wow'd. I think going forward I won't bother with the adult dining rooms anymore (except maybe a Palo brunch for a social experience). I think this is me passing from "must eat the things that are high value!" to wanting to eat the things I actually think are done well. So prime rib, while it was fine, was probably middle of the pack for prime ribs I've had in my life. But those ribs man, so good! Definitely in the top quartile at least. I didn't realize until we left that I could have ordered chicken wings from room service! Next time, that's what I'm doing. I also loved that L and R have grown up enough that they actually order entrees I want to share or try. I think every meal we just rotated plates continuously. 😁 

4) Bahamas/Caribbean cruises -- the main issue is how long it takes to fly here. I really wish one of the bigger ships would come dock on the West Coast. Maybe by the time the twins are 18. They actually told me they preferred the recent Alaska cruise to this one, largely because it was longer and they had their-aged friends on the cruise. I think I preferred it because it was just so much easier to get on and home from the ship! But I can totally see myself doing a Florida cruise again in order to check out one of the other Wish class cruises. Like Treasure maybe. 

5) Crowding -- it was definitely a thing, especially at the shows, good seats required a lot of getting there early. After shows ended elevators also took forever. Baba felt a bit overwhelmed at points. BUT...I think there is quiet to be found if you want that. The adult pool areas were definitely quieter for example. It might also have felt the most crowded in the dining rooms. Because the tables and chairs felt really squeezed together. I think we might consider late seating for meals next time, especially if we cruise from east coast. We all were up until 11 every night anyhow, might as well get the show and dinner seatings with fewer babies and toddlers. 

6) Stateroom strategy - I recently discovered that 12 is the cutoff age for Disney discounting guests 3 and 4 in a stateroom. Meaning when I priced a 4 person balcony room vs. a 2 person balcony and a 2 person interior (across the hall), the difference for two staterooms was only about $400 more. If that pricing holds up, we definitely are going to move to two staterooms going forward. 

7) Photo package & Placeholder. You'd think that we, having almost reached platinum status at this point (two more cruises!) would not need to be reminded of these things...but we totally forgot to check out our photos (I meant to, but we never had time) and Baba forgot to purchase a placeholder (thankfully I had gotten one, but this means we can only get the discount for our own rooms and cant offer any to his friends). We took so many photos too! I almost decided just to keep the $250 package...but having never looked at them, didn't trust that they'd be worth it. Oh well. I think our group shots were pretty decent so I'll just have to happy with those!

8) Conflicting Events. I really wish we had done another back to back after this cruise. There were a bunch of things I didn't get to do that if I had a second cruise, I could have fit them in. Like the Loki takeover, more time on Castaway, catching the Tron movie, going to collect more of the charms, checking out the Haunted Mansion parlor. I actually think I'd prefer two 3 day back to backs over a full 7 day for this reason!

That's all I can think of for now -- in the name of business development -- feel free to email me at zoubavacations@gmail.com if you have more questions about the cruise or would like assistance booking one! 😆 

Next adventure - Mexico City spring break!

Disney Destiny - Day 5: Castaway

Today is our last full day on the ship - sadness. We are at Castaway today...I'm actually not sure how many times we've been to Castaway now. At least 5? Because I think there was one cruise that went here twice...and then we also did the back to back that both visited... So while it's nice, we don't feel so compelled to spend tons of time here or rush out to grab lounge spots. Our plan today was to go out, see the beach, read a bit perhaps under the umbrella, eat the bbq lunch, and then head back to the ship for more activities. 

Plan started out going pretty well...got the Mickey Churro waffles at the buffet...sunscreen'd up...and even took a few shots of the boat along the walkway to the tram. 

Anticipating prime beach time!

Well...when we got to beach, we realized that 1) this ship had a LOT more people...and 2) most of them came out early to stake out lounge spots. So it took us awhile to find some chairs in prime shade zones. Eventually we succeeded!

Well...not quite enough lounge chairs were available, so I took LaoLao over to the adult only Serenity Bay to check that out. It was markedly more peaceful, less crowded, and generally more relaxing. 

Even the food eating was more relaxing. And included grilled to order prime rib! (I'm pretty sure Cookies at the family beach did not serve prime rib). 

Baba has a work call this afternoon though, so he was eager to get back to the ship. I was feeling the ocean breeze and considered staying at the lounge chairs longer. The twins convinced me to brave the water, just to say we went in. This is photo proof that I went in because I was the photographer!

It is always impressive how blue green the water is here. I need to do a RCL cruise to compare cruise line private islands with their Perfect Day at Coco Cay.

At 1:15, we decided to call it for the day in terms of shore time (plus another silent dance party was starting at 3).  R excited to be riding the tram back -- she was a little sad we didn't do snorkeling...but the water was so cold!! Maybe come next cruise...in the summertime...

Since they had gotten a little wet already though, they decided to give the Aqua Mouse a shot (line was only about 10 min long!)

They're smiling...but as soon as they got off they were shivering and teeth chattering. 😆 Warm showers for all! And then off to deck 11 for some pre-dinner funnel vision...I can't believe this was the only 45 min we spent with funnel vision this cruise - a sign 5 nights was not enough!

So bit of a curveball at the end here, I started packing up our stuff...and realized the big suitcase Ian had taken to London had an entirely broken wheel where the plastic was coming apart with a big crack in the outer shell and exposed fabirc. I called Guest Services hoping for some duct tape...they told me to put it outside my door to see if the carpenter could do anything. When they confirmed he could not fix it, they went ahead and delivered us a brand new suitcase! It wasn't quite as nice as the model I had (plus it doesn't match our other bags now), but I was still very impressed with the lengths Guest Services will go to keeping guests lives easy and worry free!

I managed to get two bags fully packed before our last dining room meal. Again, sadness! We were back in Marvel, where the walls this time didn't have trivia but did have screens circling through various Marvel character drawings/renderings. The food...was overall not super impressive..but that might be because we've all gotten majorly stuffed over the course of the cruise. 

Nonetheless, here are some dishes and thoughts - first the appetizers. Mushroom ravioli. Flavor was good, but a little overcooked perhaps? Ravioli was a little hard to chew at times. 

Caprese salad - definitely NOT as good as burata caprese that we make at home. The balsamic glaze was particularly weak. 

The chicken satay -- R wasn't that impressed. The peanut sauce did not meet expectations. 

Lobster bisque - good flavor, low on actual chunks of lobster, but of the appetizers, this was one of the stronger ones. 

Onto the mains - honey salmon with soba noodles. The salmon was decent...but not as tender or flavorful as the ones from the first night. 

Beef Wellington - LaoLao was not a fan -- I think the mushroom paste layer threw her off. Ian thought it was passable. 

My chili crisp chicken salad. I really liked the Asian ponzu dressing. The chicken...was good in a Chinese fast food way. Not a bad choice for those looking for a lighter meal. 

Last dessert round! L has the celebration cake - not bad - 4/5. 

R got the peach pie with ice cream - also a 4/5.

Baba got the blueberry cheesecake -- a little sour, 3/5.

LaoLao got the coffee mousse -- no sugar added - people thought it reminded them of Asian cake frosting. Light, okay, but nothing special. 

LaoYe got the same cheesecake as Baba. Showing it here as the last dessert shot of the cruise!

I got a sundae for once -- chocolate everything!

Tonight was the final show: Frozen, the musical. We have seen Frozen umpteen times now so it wasn't as exciting to us as Hercules, but still enjoyable nonetheless. Shows are where Disney really shines I think. We actually ran into the dance crew practicing their sail away party dance as we were leaving on the last morning -- they work really hard! The dancers are really good!

We did one last activity tonight -- the Heard That game show. I forgot to bring my phone but L's moment of glory was beating this other kid in a lightning round of naming as many Disney Villains as she could. Our team crushed the competition!

Sadly that was the last activity...back to the stateroom...one last night of sleep...tomorrow we head back home!