As mentioned in a previous post about Epcot (and reminder info for those who may not know), Epcot has a mini-taste of various world countries set up around the perimeter of the lake. England, Canada, Norway, Mexico, Spain, China, Japan, the US, France, Canada, Morrocco, etc. Some are little more than decorative outposts for trinkets and shopping, some are designed to have indoor shows or rides, some set up with restaurants. My favorite three places are Mexico, Morrocco and Japan . . .Morr and Jap conveniently located next door to each other, which can be unfortunate because I tend to speed my way around to get to them and might miss something new on the way. Tunnel vision, what can I say?

Most of the photos are in the DW 2008 album, but I've put a few here, too.

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Mexico is little more than a stucco step pyramid design with a cultural art showcase just inside the door, and further in an "outdoor" street market . . . the entire thing is indoors, so it's lit to be a night venue, with a canal at the back, a cafe/restaurant off to the right (outdoor dining, heh heh), and the center is kitsch market finds via "street vendor carts" with the occasional treasure thrown in. (This is where I bought your painted fish, Pam!) To the left is the entrance to an indoor boat ride featuring the Three Amigos (Disney version with Donald Duck, NOT Chevy Chase). It's a great stopping point to get out of the summer heat for a bit.




Norway--the place to go if you need trolls or viking paraphernalia. Also, planted rooftops.



China--next to the drawbridge about 1/3 the way around (we got stuck waiting--time for people watching and photo ops!). China has this huge temple entrance and a couple of buildings--I've never been inside, but I think they do some show or something in the pavilion area. The archetecture and design is incredibly colorful--the culture emphasizes more meaning/symbology via color, the artwork is more "loose" and dreamlike as compared to Japan across the lake. I got some interesting photos of lanterns among the greenery . . .some speakers disguised as lanterns, too.



Got across the bridge, bypassed the few Tribal outposts from Africa (forget if they actually specified a country or region--mostly wood carvings), and skip into Germany. They have a little miniature railway set (yep, it works) off the main path. We snacked on pretzels w/ mustard and beer and watched the trains circle around a few times. The tiny town was apparently under attack by marauding geckos . . . the boys narrated godzilla stories based on what the geckos were checking out. Hilarious--the lizards were in trees, rooftops, sneaking over little boulders, etc. I can hear a tiny town ale-wife now: "Husband, did you hear that skittering across the rooftop?" (The ale-wife pulls the bedsheets up to her nose, then a pale monstrous lizard belly crawls over and pauses just outside the bedroom window. Riotous screaming and mass hysteria follow in the tiny god-forsaken, godzilla-infested mountain town. There were NO survivors.)



Caught a fife and drum show outside the Capitol building, then went in for a brief acappella choir show, and continued on in for some entertaining animated robot stage production about American history. Snapped photos the entire time, the boys helped . . . after, more people watching while letting the bulk of the post-show crowd dissipate. Turkey legs!!



Japan--yay, shopping!!! Must buy Pocky for Paul, denied myself a small tea set (didn't see anything that really called to me), so I'll just have to pick one up next time. They also have oyster farming on site somewhere and they bring in seeded oysters for folks to pick out ($5 each) in the main shopping area and be surprised with whatever is inside. They get you on the cost of settings/chain, though. Also, note to anyone dealing with chemo: I bought my mom a large silk square used for Japanese gift wrapping--it was 100% silk, had an awesome design, and was a nice heavy weight for cooler climates (relative to FL)--thought she could use it for spring/summer as a head scarf since silk is both insulating and breathable. She LOVED it--said it was the best scarf she had and didn't irrate her scalp or make her head feel hot . . . and to this day she still wears it as a head scarf when it's cold instead of a hat. $10 - 15



Morrocco is my favorite photo spot. Food's okay--not big on onions. Fell in LOVE with the pistachio baklava--have to find a recipe!!! Mostly, I go for the architecture. On the surface it looks like a tiny cafe and that's it, but there's a path around the side that opens up to a whole maze-like series of stores and sitting areas (one that looks like an open bath-house). I dig the metalwork--hence lots of shots of light fixtures--heh!