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Italy
May 1, 2007
Ring a ding ding! Here I am,
getting back to my roots and kicking it old school at the Italy
Pavilion bell tower. After a jaunt of globe-hopping, nothing recharges
my batteries like slipping into a fresh tunic and parking my pedestal
among the flowers. Some gnomes prefer vegetable gardens, but I've
always been a mums and daisies sort of chap.
I
also met two lovely ragazze who help visiting children make paper
masks. Kidcot, they call it. As mater and pater tour World Showcase for
the flowers and architecture, the little nippers cover their masks with
stickers, stamps, and the stray cannoli fingerprint.
Germany
April 27, 2007
Guten Tag, meine Damen und
Herren! I have arrived in Epcot's Germany Pavilion and am positively
overflowing with Gemütlichkeit and schnitzel! Immediately, I find
myself drawn to the miniature Garden Railway. I love how the tiny
trains scoot through replicas of German mountainside villages. Thus
far, I have resisted the natural urges of a gnome who finds himself
suddenly Godzilla-sized.
I hear the railway was originally built
for a previous International Flower & Garden Festival, but kept
full-time because guests demanded it. We must next band together and
demand more of those penny-flattening machines! Since arriving, I have
already squished 25 pennies and plan on making a tambourine.
Outpost
April 26, 2007
Hakuna Matata, blog buddies! I
have just hiked through Epcot's Africa Outpost. As you no doubt
remember from earlier dispatches, dozens of Disney topiary are spread
through the park. A Disney's PhotoPass photographer snapped this shot
of me perched on the noggin of King Mufasa from "The Lion King."
I've
never been one to let grass grow under my feet (literally), so I'm
actually learning quite a lot about gardening while roaming Epcot.
Example: While I start my day with a muffin and cup of tea, Rafiki and
Mufasa prefer a spritz of hose water and a discrete pruning. You can
pick up your own tips by watching the Walt Disney World gardening
videos on the right side of your screen.
China
April 23, 2007
Ni hao, pretty pandas! As you can see, I have
acquired a smattering of Mandarin during my visit to Epcot's China
Pavilion. (Cesuo zai nar?) During the Epcot International Flower &
Garden Festival, World Showcase is simply filled with flowers and
greenery. I just visited a garden of small topiaries representing the
Chinese zodiac. My sign? "Free Fudge!"
I quite enjoy the Chinese penjing gardens. Similar to
Japanese bonsai, the tiny tableaus balance yin and yang, revealing
nature's true spirit. I also tower over them like Paul Bunyan on
vitamin supplements. It's so rare that gnomes get to tower.
While roaming the grounds, I spotted a Chinese
character I thought would make a lovely tattoo for my bulging bicep. A
kind man at Lotus Blossom Café has since informed me the symbol means
"red bean ice cream." Pity that just last month, I swore off
desert-based inkwork. The banana split across my shoulder blades must
suffice for now.
Norway
April 20, 2007
Today, fellow jet setters, our
travels take us to Norway -- which is right between Mexico and China.
No the cheese hasn't slid off The Roaming Gnome's pizza. I am visiting
Epcot's World Showcase in Walt Disney World, where Morocco and Japan
are neighbors as well.
I've
found the most agreeable group of locals. You could say that we see eye
to eye on many matters. My Old Norse is rusty, but I know a little
Icelandic and they know how to make a tasty kringla, so we get by. I
believe many global disagreements could be solved by yummy cookies. Mexico
April 17, 2007
Ahoy, my fellow sailors of the internet seas! I have
presently found port in Epcot's Mexico pavilion. Behind me, you see one
of World Showcase's largest landmarks, a fifty-step pyramid similar to
the temple of Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec god of creativity and fertility.
This Epcot recreation is also home to a tongue-tickling Tacos al Pastor.
During
the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival, Mexico is filled
with orchids and bougainvillea. A bonus that will last beyond the
festival -- the boat ride through the Mexico pavilion now stars The
Three Caballeros! I once crossed paths with Panchito in Acapulco. That
rooster knows the best beaches! "Hot stuff," I believe he called it.
Tony Orlando
April 12, 2007
I'm as giddy as a duck in a sailor
suit! I'm typing to you, fresh from a private performance by Tony
Orlando. (Knock three times on the ceiling if you love him as much as I
do!) Here at the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival,
hitmakers of the '60s and '70s play live concerts each day. Dear, sweet
Tony told me that he reads this diary, and invited me to rehearsal.
Tony and his magnificent mustache are still in fine form, After the
mini-concert, Tony graciously posed for a photo which will reside in a
place of honor next to my collection of novelty coffee mugs.
Butterfly Garden
April 11, 2007
Greetings again from the Sunshine State and the Epcot
International Flower & Garden Festival! Here's a lovely snapshot of
myself and a new friend I call Sir Flappington von Stickyfeet or
"Flappy" for short. I believe Flappy's friendship may be connected to
my apricot body spray, but the lovely people here at Disney assure me
that it is my magnetic personality . . . and my honeydew-scented beard
conditioner.
More than 500 Florida flutterbys reside in this
garden, drawn to the sweet blossoms. As a young gnome, I built a
similar howler monkey garden, but the town council frowned upon my
youthful innovation. I still correspond with one lemur who now works in
IT. (Hello, Z-Dog!)
The Festival Begins
April 5, 2007
Greetings, my cuddly kittens! It is
I, The Roaming Gnome! Travelocity recently gifted me one of these
laptop wireless high-speed dingle-dongles, so I have taken to blogging
and roaming simultaneously.
I presently find myself surrounded by pirates,
princesses and posies at Walt Disney World in Florida. The Epcot
International Flower & Garden Festival is in full bloom. In fact,
Epcot is presently filled with enough blooms to put a bumblebee in
honey heaven.
Those crafty Disney World folk have somehow
maneuvered a pirate ship made of bark and flowers right up to Epcot's
front gate. I have provided action photos elsewhere on this page. That
Tinkerbell is one tall tomato. She's a fairy and I'm a gnome. I may ask
if she'll tiptoe through the tulips.
In the coming weeks, I have enticed Disney World
horticulturists to offer video tips for my loyal green (and brown)
thumb readers, so watch this space. I promise more blogging and photos
from Epcot in the coming weeks!
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