Sunday rolled in to swap shifts with a tired, hungover (from fun)
Saturday. Moses and I started our morning right with the resort’s
all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet. For it was, the buffet’s spread wasn’t all
that impressive, though the Mickey Mouse pancakes were definitely delightful.
Feels weird eating his face.
And for some of us Sunday means church. In Orlando, the Basilica of
the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe, was both the parish of
choice for visiting travellers as well as a tourist attraction in its own
right. After reading about it online, Moses and I made a little pilgrimage to
the minor basilica for mass.
When we got to the basilica after a long walk, it was too early for mass. We decided to check out the church's museum, which had two parts: an art gallery featuring original sacred paintings (no pics allowed) and a walk-through gallery featuring the history of Orlando and the parish itself. There was even a relic of St. Desiderius on display.
Sacred bones.
We left the museum and headed for the main church. I was mesmerised by the
its beautifully dignified architecture. Not having been to too many
different churches myself, it was my first time basking in one that emanated such
grandeur and, at the same time, prayerfulness. There was also a smaller chapel
next to the main church designated for daily mass. The sombreness of that
sacred space was so tangible I didn’t dare take pictures inside (I took one through the window, though).
The main church (top 2) and the chapel (bottom).
We stayed for mass (the choir sang Panis
Angelicus and it was awesome) and went on ahead to the gift store after the
recessional hymn. As we shopped for souvenirs and trinkets, it started to rain,
leaving us stranded for a little while. When the rain showed no sign of
subsiding, we decided to Uber back to the resort.
Once we were back we lazed around for a bit as the others figured out
how to get to our next destination. We took a bus to the Kissimmee area and
checked out the flea market there. There wasn't really anything interesting
there, though Shaun did leave with a new bag and some clothes.
After exploring all four segments of the indoor flea market, we walked
down the street to look for grub. We initially planned on visiting Ichiban, an
Asian buffet restaurant, but the queue was long and our stomachs were growling.
We settled for the Kabuki Oriental Buffet, which also served up all-you-can-eat
Asian cuisine. The food was good for the price we paid, and the spread was a
mix of Chinese, Japanese and Mexican. They even had dessert.
(Also, I forgot to take pictures.)
Satisfied with our dinner, we took a bus back to the resort, looking
forward to some TV, booze and our second day at Universal Studios.
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