Et-tot

A little over a week ago, Greg and I did our second round of Disney and spent a day at Epcot, or, as the 4-year-daughter of my good friend calls it, Et-tot.

The first area of Epcot has futuristic rides and is focused a lot on technology. My favorite ride was Test Track, were you design your own car and the ride gives you your ratings as you drive around. The schnazzy racecar that Greg and I designed definitely bested the truck-like invention of the small children who sat in front of us. Perhaps I should not have gloated, but I sort of did. 

The next part of Epcot is a bunch of buildings and rides and shows and restaurants that showcase countries from around the world, all situated around a lake. All of the workers at the country stations are actually native to the country in question. It was fun to interact with them. 

Inside the ancient Mayan temple in Mexico: 

Outside in front of the entrance:

We contemplated Greg's heritage as we meandered through Norway. Here's a shout-out to you, Iselin. You should come work in Florida. 

China: 

Italy (I think): 

Morocco, the abode of Aladdin and Jasmine. The tiled courtyards actually reminded Greg of Spain: 

Japan: 

Another fun day at Disney, all in all. The architecture really reminded Greg and I how much we want to travel some day. We got lucky and were just in the right place at the right time to watch a lot of the street shows they put on. There was a Chinese acrobat and dance company that was really amazing and fun to watch, and a renaissance Italian flag-waving show, which was more entertaining than it sounds, and Japanese drummers and other stuff I'm sure I've forgotten. 

There was only one disappointment...there are food booths set up around the lake, and we didn't bring a lot of other food with us because we thought we could get a good meal from taste-testing a few of the $3 plates from a bunch of different countries. We made the mistake of paying $6.50 for a few bites of lamb doused in a super weird mint pesto and crushed up potato chips, courtesy of Australia. I mean, I like Australians as much as anybody, but we were kind of disillusioned after that. We ended up giving up on the food carts and ate lunch in China. 

Lunch in China. No big deal.