Wine, friendship, crème brulee and dinner on the Seine! COMPLETED - Page 8 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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What a great tour of the city! Looks beautiful as always.
Glad you could make your stops along the way and get everything you needed.
Eeyore!!!
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Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
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Saturday 22 March – part four: does anyone want anything sweet?
Hazel showed me some of the purchases that she brought back with her from the States, and they were great. As she said, it was nice to show them to someone who shared her enthusiasm, although I still don’t know how she got them all back!
The next on the agenda was lunch with the shrimp! We divided it up and then I sat next to Hazel to give her a demonstration of how to do it and she was off and running with it. Rory didn’t like the shrimp at all, complaining that it smelt… fish does in fairness, so he wasn’t wrong on that count! I said that the cat would be in here, sniffing it out, but apparently he doesn’t like fish… Instead it was the dog who was after Rory’s ham. Oh boy, those big doe eyes! He lucked out in the end and got some…
Once we were done eating, we settled down for some down time, as we were all exhausted. Graeme headed off to take Peter to the station, as he was heading into Paris for the afternoon, while the rest of us just chilled.
I took the opportunity to get some photos of the garden. Unfortunately, much as I love cherry blossom, it’s one of my allergies, and boy did I know about that this weekend! I was constantly popping Piriton to keep my hayfever at bay – and eventually so was Hazel. I think we solved the puzzle of why she hadn’t been feeling great for a while. It seems she’s got some of the same allergies as me.
When the cat came in, he immediately adopted Mark, who did his best Dr. Doolittle impression, as you can see…
And of course Scott didn’t want to be left out either!
When Graeme got back, Hazel asked if anyone wanted something sweet and of course I was right there! We both headed out and walked into town to hit one of the local bakeries. It’s a lovely little place and we discussed its history and the fact that once upon a time, many years ago, the kings and queens from Versailles came out here as it’s only about a 10 minute drive away from here. I loved the feel of it and all the colours on the trees here. Sadly, it was a bit windy and I don’t think it will be long before a lot of the blossom is on the ground.
We headed to a bakery and it was closed, but Hazel told me not to worry, as there was another one, but she just wasn’t sure whether it sold macaroons. My mind was set at rest the second we walked in, as this was the sight that greeted me.
Next to it thought was just as appealing. Wow, what to choose? I immediately knew that I wouldn’t just be leaving with just macaroons. I had to get something else. Our purchases made (don’t worry, you’ll find out what they were later on…) and we headed back to their house.
Ok, here’s what we got… aren’t the boxes amazing?
I did ask Hazel about this, as I didn’t see any machine to do this and neither did she, so the woman behind the counter must’ve done these by hand. Unbelievable!
And here’s what was inside…
I made a hidden Mickey out of mine!
I got two coffee macaroons for me, two pistachio ones for Mark, and the others were for Rory and Peter. Hazel and I got a chocolate meringue, which did what it said on the tin. It was covered in chocolate and was meringue inside it and it was gorgeous. I got Mark an apple tart and Graeme got an apricot one. It was exactly what we all needed, given that dinner tonight would be a late one, with it only being served up from 8:30pm onwards. Usually, that’s getting close to our bed time, never mind eating!
It's so nice to see that it's spring somewhere. Sorry about your hay fever, but the cherry blossoms and forsythia are so beautiful. We're not there yet here-- this morning the sidewalks are all iced-over-- but soon, I hope. That pretty cat didn't lose any time finding a comfy lap. Seeing those treats from the bakery this morning is torture!
Hazel, I love your purchases! The artwork is wonderful. How long before you can hang it in the new house?
Your breakfast on the train looked so good! I loved the pictures and architecture of Paris. It is always neat to see how the architecture goes from very Modern to Old World so quickly. It was also nice to see the pictures of green grass and cherry blossoms too as 8 more inches of snow fell at my house over the weekend. It's nice to know that Spring is somewhere. Lastly, I would be in so much trouble if I had that amazing bakery within walking distance to my house like Hazel does!
Beautiful spring photos! The blossoms are so pretty, but not so fun for allergies. The cat is funny, no fish, huh? He's cute though!
Oh boy, walking distance to two bakeries? I'd have to do a lot more running. Too tempting!
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Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
Hazel's Disney purchases are all so beautiful. We have the AKL/Kidani Village print in our newly redone safari bathroom. Like Laurie, it is so nice to see spring somewhere as none of our blooming trees are anywhere near blooming yet. Luke and I both have allergies to quiet of few of the blooming trees, and I especially dislike the aroma put off my Bradford Pear trees. Your sweets all look so and the boxes they were packaged in are adorable.
It is pretty much spring here - we were up to the high 60s yesterday!
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Sorry about your hay fever, but the cherry blossoms and forsythia are so beautiful.
Oh I absolutely adore cherry blossom. It's just unfortunate it has this effect on me.
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We're not there yet here-- this morning the sidewalks are all iced-over-- but soon, I hope.
Good grief - is this winter never going to end for you? It's April in the morning for goodness sake!
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That pretty cat didn't lose any time finding a comfy lap. Seeing those treats from the bakery this morning is torture!
Sorry about that...
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Hazel, I love your purchases! The artwork is wonderful. How long before you can hang it in the new house?
I can't remember whether what I photographed was going up in her car - in which case it may already be up. Otherwise, if it's going in Graeme's, it will be another few days, otherwise I think June sometime - if I remember right?
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