Nataliya and Seth's Orlando Vacation

I suggested we try one of these breakfast buffets so we headed out to Ponderosa Steakhouse. It was mediocre but we got our fill. By this ninth day, we were pretty much Disney's out. We'd used up all our passes and were looking for something different to do.

We had heard about Splendid China and thought that this might be interesting to check out. So we headed there, hoping for the best. The literature stated that there was a lot to see, including samples of what the Great Wall and the Forbidden City were like. There was also supposed to be shops and shows throughout the day.

When we were able to park right next to the place, we started to wonder how good this exhibit was. We walked inside the main area and it was quiet. You half-expected tumbleweeds to blow across the main area. (Later I would learn that the park averages between 100 and 200 visitors a day and only exists now because of it being subsidized by a Days Inn next to and associated with the park.) Only one shop was open; a store filled with animal hides, many sewn together to form designs. A man was standing outside of the shop, and we walked over to see if he knew any information. To our surprise, he was looking after the shop and he wasn't even Chinese. I don't mean to harp on race, but if you're going into a Chinese exhibit, you'd expect to meet up with an individual of Chinese descent. Regardless, he seemed pretty knowledgeable. To our dismay, he didn't want us to leave. He wasn't pressuring us to buy anything - he just seemed to want someone - anyone - to talk to.

We walked around until a gate prevented us from entering further. We'd had our taste of the place, but now they wanted $28 each. That was enough to send us back to our car and head out. If we paid that much, we would feel obligated to stay there all day, and we didn't want to do that. It might have been great inside, but the sales pitch was not very good. The Chinese acrobatic shows might have been impressive, but we'd just seen Cirque du Soleil a few days prior.

We then got in the car and saw signs for some giant flea market. By the time we got there, we had seen about five signs that all advertised the flea market, but listed a different number of booths, ranging from 250 down to 150. We walked through, didn't buy anything, and we then we left.

Then we headed towards the Belz Factory Outlets. Again, we walked around but didn't buy anything. (We do that a lot...)

After resting at the hotel room, we headed out for dinner at Moonfish. I wasn't feeling so hot with a persistent sore throat, and I finished half my meal. The food was very good, though. With doggie bag in hand, we headed back to the hotel and packed for the trip home.