It was 30 years ago this week that Simon’s first book was published, and led to a career in Orlando travel-writing that continues to this day. The Brit Guide to Orlando & Walt Disney World was unique in that it was aimed purely at the UK market to Central Florida, which no-one (surprisingly) had tried before. Our “little project” has since led to half a lifetime in the travel world, with book sales in excess of half a million, and counting!
There have been other travel adventures, to be sure, including trips to Alaska, Hawaii, Chile and Slovenia, plus our epic Year On The Road RV adventure, which this blog is named for. But Orlando has always been the abiding driving force, a constant in our world of regular globe-trotting.
The Brit Guide was always Simon’s specialty, though, an ever-evolving collection of user-friendly content, images and style that owed a lot to his newspaper background, but added his own personal experiences as a holiday-maker to the overall mix. In 2004, it led to him moving from the UK to Florida, to continue his love affair with the destination (and meet the love of his life!), which branched out into coverage for a wide range of media, including the BBC, the Telegraph, Independent and Sky Travel.
There were more books, online content aplenty and, of course, social media. Simon has appeared on TV, radio and various podcasts, and continues to write for a number of different outlets, despite now being in his Medicare years (which he hates!). Happily, there is also a new Orlando book in the offing, picking up where the Brit Guide left off in 2024. We’ll have more about that in due course, but, in the meantime, our new book – 111 Places in Orlando That You Must Not Miss – continues to be another major strand to the Veness Travel Media output, and something that has been really well received here in The City Beautiful.
All in all, it has been an action-packed 30 years of Orlando and much, much more, and we hope to bring even more to you in the next decade or so (God willing). So, just because the Brit Guide faded away last year, that doesn’t mean the end of our relationship with British visitors. It will just be re-born in a whole new package. Just like Orlando does every year!
The grand entrance to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic. Truly epic.
If there is a most epic section of Universal Orlando’s new Epic Universe, it has to be the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic. From the moment you step inside this most immersive of worlds, you are transported to an authentic 1920s version of Paris that is breathtaking to behold. And that’s before you take in a single attraction or food or beverage sample. There is a stunning array of design, detail and imagination everywhere you look, and an inherent beauty to the artistry that surrounds you. This seven-minute snapshot video (hopefully) encompasses all that is best about this extraordinary theme park:
And there’s that word again: Beauty. This is an utterly beautiful park, with an astounding level of detail that is all-encompassing. It feels like no expense was spared to create a vivid and lasting impression of imagination and creativity, and it all culminates in this one world from the Potter-verse. Universal absolutely caught lightning in a bottle with their first two Wizarding Worlds, but this one is on a whole different level of immersion, not so much a theme park as a time machine that transports guests to another time and place. Just sit back and enjoy the journey…
The rich, astonishing, beautiful look of Ministry of MagicThe inside detail of Ministry of Magic. Just look at the detail in that floor!21st century Florida or 1920s Paris? You decide…!It just might be Paris, hey…?
While there’s no Brit Guide for 2025 (scroll back to January’s entry for those sad details), we can use the blog to update a few things that we think are worth highlighting this year, and here’s something for the repeat-visitor factor…
Orlando is all about amazing experiences. From the theme parks to the supermarkets, everything is larger than life and twice as exciting. So it makes sense that anything new is going to grab our attention and demand we check it out. Things like the new Apéro Bar at the glorious Conrad Hotel just outside Walt Disney World.
You know you’ve arr5ived somewhere special when you drive up to the swish Conrad Orlando hotel, which is part of the mammoth Evermore Resort, with its Crystal Lagoon
It’s no real surprise that a fancy hotel will have a just-as-fancy feature bar or restaurant, whether it’s a classic Disney hotel restaurant like Citricos at the Grand Floridian or the fabulous steaks of A Land Remembered restaurant at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort on Universal Boulevard (still the best steaks we’ve had in Orlando).
Funnily enough, the bars at some of these hotels have tended to be something of the Cinderella of their food and beverage line-up, with far less attention paid to an elegant pre or post-dinner beverage experience than the dinner itself. That has changed a bit in recent years with the advent of eye-catching venues like Universal’s rooftop Bar 17 Bistro and the fantastic AC Sky Bar at the AC Hotel in downtown Orlando, but it is still a bit unusual for hotels to lavish their full decorative might on the lobby bar, or similar.
The rooftop vibe at Universal Orlando’s magnificent Bar 17 Bistro
Applause for Apéro
The Apéro Bar absolutely smashes that failing into little tiny pieces. Not only does it provide the kind of chic, eye-catching venue that wouldn’t be out of place in a James Bond film, it goes the extra mile in providing drinks and food items that are as good as the setting itself, which evokes a blissful Italian Riviera ambiance by day and by night.
We’re no strangers to the occasional cocktail or two; it’s an Orlando speciality that goes back almost to the opening of the theme parks themselves. But Apéro goes much further in offering an all-round icon of high style for that special evening out. Even the glassware is a distinct cut above the usual martini and rocks glasses that we’re used to seeing.
To start with, it occupies an ideal location within the Conrad, on the lower level looking out over the spectacular crystal lagoon at the heart of the resort, a seeming ocean of brilliant blue that disappears into the distance. (For the record, the lagoon covers a whopping eight acres and is the brainchild of a South American company that uses proprietary technology to create super-size pools. This one is big enough to accommodate paddle-boarders!).
The fabulous view from the Apero Bar’s lagoon-view location
The airy space that Apéro occupies is also designed to invoke an al fresco style while keeping everyone super-cool in its cosy air-conditioned confines. The venue features warm woods and gold accents, notably in the unusual lamps that range across the marbled bar top and the moody ceiling lighting that casts a particularly golden glow over proceedings. The rectangular bar has seating on all four sides, with a lowered section at one end that encourages casual dining.
What’s on the menu?
Ah yes, the menu. It probably comes as no revelation to find excellent cuisine at a five-star hotel, but the Apéro menu is carefully curated to provide some of the best tastes – in both drinks and dishes – that the hotel offers, without going to the formality of the main dining room. We find holidays are more conducive to the laid-back vibe of upscale bar food, and we especially enjoy small-plate bar dining when accompanied by delectable drinks.
A setting fitting for 007 himself – the super-chic bar-lounge of the Conrad Orlando’s Apero Bar
And the hotel’s chefs really know how to turn on the style when it comes to some magnificent mixology and Mediterranean-inspired dishes that hit all the right notes for flavour without overdoing the bulk.
We’ll start with the drinks (as you do!), and freely admit that we were treated to some real highlights. The cocktails are divided into five sections for Negroni (four notable variations), Sbagliati (or unusual mixes of Negroni that would be considered “happy accidents” by most mixologists), Spritz (all with sparkling elements of some kind), Americani (a quartet of classics) and Spirit-Free. The Svegliato is a delicious coffee negroni, while the Banana Splitz is just outright fun! There is also a notable Italian wine selection that is sure to appeal to connoisseurs.
Ready for a cocktail? The Apero Bar boasts fab Italian-influenced concoctions, like their Birra Americano – a mix of Nardini Bitter, Mancino Vermouth Chinato, Alchermes, Cardamon and Lager Foam
There are just 11 food menu items, and three desserts, but they run the gamut of relatively simple salads, pizza, chicken wings and a signature burger (albeit all with a stylish touch) to fab burrata, arancini, Italian tuna poke and a superb cheese charcuterie board. We found the chicken wings, burrata and tuna poke absolutely delicious, while nearby fellow diners sang the praises of the arancini and charcuterie.
For dessert, we were tempted by both the Bread Pudding and Tahitian Vanilla Crème Brulee, but our barman, Francisco, insisted we try the Rocher, and boy was he ever right! This outrageously decadent over-sized ball of chocolate Frangelico semifreddo, salted caramel, chocolate cake, chocolate fudge sauce and macadamia nuts is simply our new favourite dessert anywhere in Orlando, and there’s a fair bit of competition for that.
The highlight dessert – that outrageously delicious, chocolate sensation Rocher
The Deets
Apéro Bar is open from 2pm to midnight Monday-Thursday and 1pm to midnight Friday to Sunday, with food served from 2.30pm to midnight every day. There is only valet parking at the hotel, but the rate is reduced to $10 for guests dining at Apéro.
In summary, this is far and away one of the most elegant – and downright tasty – bars we have sampled in Florida, or anywhere else for that matter. It has masses of style, and the tastes to match. And, for that special occasion or anniversary celebration, it takes some beating.
Here’s another look at our recently-completed RV adventure across the US from our exclusive series for The Independent, highlighting the section of the journey across southern Arizona and into New Mexico, with amazing sights that included Sedona, Tucson, Tombstone and the stunning migratory sandhill cranes of the Willcox Playa Wildlife Area:
While we were in South Texas, you may remember we got the chance to visit Boca Chica Beach, home of the official Gateway to Mars. Well, official in the mind of Elon Musk, anyway. This is where you’ll find Starbase, which is Musk’s bid to create his own spaceport, capable ultimately of sending people to Mars. Starbase is currently the focus of his Starship heavy-launch project, and it was truly amazing that we were able to stand right next to it and take this video of the set-up…
The journey itself might be over, and our “A Year On The Road” RV adventure is officially in the books, but you can still catch up with all the excitement and intrigue on our YouTube channel, which now has almost 100 snapshot videos of different aspects of the trip in the bag.
Javelinas! Jevelinas! Finally, we get to see Javelinas!
From Pictured Rocks National Seashore in Michigan to Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon, plus dozens of fascinating places and experiences in between, this is our chance to wow you with the visuals of this epic RV journey across 23 states.
Back in Orlando again, it’s time to tot up the final mileage and trace our entire route (in 2 maps) around the US. We reached West Glacier, Montana, at our furthest distance from Orlando at almost 2,700 miles away, albeit we reached there via a distinctly circuitous route that involved fully 12 states!
The first 7 months saw us take in by far the biggest ‘chunk’ of our year-long route, including side-trips into Colorado and Southern California by car, as well as parts of Northern Arizonaand New Mexico
The “return journey” from there was also far from a straight line, taking in another 10 states before completing what was essentially a giant circle of the Midwest, the North, South West and Southern states. For much of the last 5 months we were close to the Gulf of Mexico before coming back into Florida via Pensacola and the Panhandle area, where we were definitely able to relax a bit (albeit keeping more than one eye on staying out of the way of some seriously stormy weather).
The final five months took us from the heart of New Mexico down to the far south-western corner of Texas, then right around the Gulf of Mexico via Galveston, New Orleans, Biloxi and Gulf Shores
So, with no further ado and a bit of a fanfare – “Ta RA!!!!!” – our final mileage comes to, wait for it…35,186 miles since we left home on May 14, 2023. In our RV, Fati, we traveled a total distance of 9,846 miles, while in our trusty little Ford Fiesta, Nippy, we added a whopping additional 25,840.
Somehow, we’re all still in one piece, albeit Fati has been in for several repairs and 2 full services, while Nippy is heading for a fourth service today and has needed new tires, windshield wipers and two air filters (!). Needless to say, we are immensely proud of our Ford-engined Winnebago RV, as well as our little Fiesta, and they both now deserve a good rest.
Finally back in Florida, we spent a quiet week in a beautiful little RV campground in Milton in the Panhandle before turning south for the last leg of the year-long trip
Will we have more travels to report anytime soon? The debate is now on at Chez Veness! We DO have a fair bit of work to catch up on first, but there is already talk of an East Coast RV tour, as well as a possible trip out West to the areas we missed this time, namely Washington, Oregon and Northern California, as well as more of Colorado.
So, stay tuned for further travel bulletins, and, if you have liked and enjoyed our blogs, please leave us a comment and be sure to check out our YouTube channel for a series of snapshot videos of the trip on this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP5dY0TcznDGkOY8BQUkpQg
When is a campground only 29 miles away from your previous location but a million miles away from harsh reality? When it’s The Hideaway Retreat in Navarre, Florida, an oasis of magnolia trees, white sand beach, and the blue, blue, blue of the ocean.
Okay, so maybe it’s on the Santa Rosa Sound, not the ocean, but the effect is the same. A self-proclaimed “shabby chic” retreat that offers rare shade in the Sunshine State, the Hideaway scared us at first for its close-together trees, then proved to be far more straightforward than we imagined, and a gem of a place we’ll return to if we ever get the chance.
When you live in an RV, every noise matters. We know all of our noises, from the occasional hum of the fridge as it tries to freeze everything solid to the gentle click of the light switches and the metal “pop” as the slides or the jacks settle in during cold weather. But the muffled thumping we kept hearing eluded us. What the hell was it?
This isn’t the source of the thumping noise. It’s a squirrel (clinging to the sawed-off part of the trunk) that swore at us for a full five minutes because we were parked so close to its tree. We eventually came to an agreement, and he/she moved on.
It drove us to distraction until we asked one of the staff and they told us it was testing that takes place at the Hurlburt Air Force Base Special Operations Command’s training grounds, just across the Sound. They’re blowing things up, but don’t worry; after a while you won’t hear it anymore. Which was (partly) true. It was simply one of those background noises that makes RVers (okay, us) wonder if something on their rig is eager to meet a mobile mechanic and will cost many, many hard-earned dollars.
The strip of land at the far side of the Sound is the training grounds. It looks far in the photo, but it’s not, really.
That problem solved, Simon had never seen the movie The Truman Show, but was aware Seaside, Florida, not far away, was the setting for the fictional town of Seahaven, so we had a drive along the coast the next day with that town as our goal. When we arrived, we couldn’t escape the feeling that it was very much like the formerly-Disney-owned town of Celebration, which some say looks like a Normal Rockwell painting and others say is more along the lines of The Stepford Wives.
Row after row of condos and single-family homes, and nearly all of them were painted white.
This is a single family home. And it isn’t even the biggest along the shoreline in this area.
Unfair movie comparisons aside, Seaside clearly has money. It also has a lot of community amenities, including an intriguing area featuring permanent kiosks and food trucks that would have been perfect for lunch.
But we’d already eaten, having stopped at Beach Camp Brewpub, not realizing Seaside was so close. Still, Simon had a huge bowl of gumbo and a beer, Susan went for a cup of Brunswick Stew and iced tea, and we split sides of cheese grits and collard greens, all of which were delicious. Simon being Simon, Sticky Toffee Bread Pudding rounded off a fine meal.
Thick and rich and scarfable!
Trio of deliciousness!
Yes, yes, yes! But more caramel sauce, please.
The next day we had hiking and a boat tour on our radar, for a bit of exercise and the chance to get out on the water. Arcadia Mill has a three-quarter-mile-long, dog-friendly boardwalk through what was once antebellum Florida’s first water-powered industrial complex. Very little remains of that logging endeavor, other than a few ruins of retaining walls, but it’s a gorgeous walk through the forest, with peaceful streams running languidly across our path. True balm for the soul.
Venomous snakes, bears, slippery boardwalks, and 24-hour surveillance. This should be fun!
Why do we love views like this one so much? Perfection!
We started the adventure with a little picnic of sandwiches, carrots, and fruit, then did the full loop, with Ruthie making the trek in her wagon.
After consulting her vet about the more advanced laryngeal paralysis our pup is experiencing, walks are now out of the question for her, but she seems to appreciate getting around comfortably when the path isn’t too bumpy.
Who’s a beautiful girl? YOU ARE!
The boat tour? Well, that didn’t really work out. Simon wanted to “drop by” and find out more about it, but when we arrived it was someone’s house. No one came out when we pulled into the driveway. It all got very awkward, with shades of our horrible coffee debacle in Leiter, Wyoming, so we backed out and agreed we’d better call first.
While we couldn’t go boating (renting is cost-prohibitive here), we did take time to head down to the Destin marina for a view of the famous Crab Island. It was once a real “island” in the North Channel, but much of it washed away, and now it’s a massive sand bar with four-foot-deep water, making it an ideal spot for boaters who want to chill out or party.
A tiny, tiny portion of the “island.”
We could see it well from the marina, but had an even better view as we crossed over the William T. Marler Bridge (Highway 98). It was jam-packed on that sunny Friday afternoon, with weather in the high 80s, and we imagine it’s shoulder-to-shoulder and boat-to-boat in high summer.
Those with a keen eye will have noticed the floating tiki huts. During busy times, mobile food and drink boats (not you, alcohol) putter out to the island and offer their wares. This little shaved ice and ice cream boat was just coming back to the mainland for refills.
But possibly the best thing we did in Navarre was hang out near the beach at our campground, eating ice cream, having a drink, and watching through our binoculars as boats went by. Only a few times during this trip have we just kicked back and acted like real campers. We could get used to it.
Regular blog readers will know our grand year-long RV adventure is being serialized in the UK’s Independent newspaper, and the latest instalment is now online.
It covers the northern part of our Arizona travels, and you can find it on this link:
Veness Travel Media 