The One With Friendsfest 2018

Ok so anybody who knows me knows that I am a MASSIVE Friends fan! I watch it when I'm happy, I watch it when I'm sad, I watch it when I'm bored, pretty much at every opportunity! (Thank you Comedy Central!) I cry at the proposals, the babies being born and obviously the "We Were on A Break!" moment, and I laugh at every one of Chandler's jokes. I love "Mondler" (relationship goals!) and I was secretly rooting for Rachel and Joey, although I do love Rachel and Ross and I'm glad she got off the plane!

So I was ecstatic when Shaun surprised me with tickets to this year's Friendsfest a few weeks ago, it was especially thoughtful considering Shaun *whispers* is not a Friends fan!

We went to the one in Glasgow and it was, in the words of Ross, "just like I dreamed it!" There were places where you could recreate scenes from the show (including the famous "PIVOT!" scene!), and dress up with costumes and props for pictures. There was always a staff member on hand to take pictures with your phone which was a huge plus!!



They had a full-size Central Perk set where you could get your picture taken with Phoebe's guitar, behind the counter and of course on the famous sofa! You could even get your picture taken in Phoebe's grandmother's cab!

Food-wise there are a few different places (all Friends-themed of course!) but we'd already eaten so we weren't hungry enough to try anything!

They had clips of the show showing on a big screen with a couple of rows of deck chairs in front and some chairs with tables behind so you could relax with a drink and while we were there two members of the Comedy Central team came on stage to teach us how to do "the routine!"

Enjoying the sunshine

My only criticism is the fact that they have the cheek to charge £7.50 for a cocktail, which is usually more or less reasonable for this type of thing, however all you get is a small plastic cup (think water cooler cups) half filled with pre-made cocktail mix and the rest is all ice chips! Sooo disappointing and if I'd seen someone else get one before me I definitely wouldn't have bothered!

£7.50!!

Heehee, Vasa and Moostercard!

My absolute favourite thing though was the set tour. They have actual full-size sets of Monica, Ross and Joey's apartments where you can just wander around, take pictures and recreate your favourite scenes! There's also the infamous hallway between Monica's and Joey's! 

DANGERRRRRR!!!

Look what was in Monica's fridge!

Ross' apartment

While you're waiting for the tour to begin there are plenty of props from the show to look at, including Phoebe's guitar, Ross' "list" and the Uberweiss box, which I'm told is worth £4,000 today!

If you touch it, she'll have to pound on you a little bit!

Only local though, not international!

I wouldn't say it's an all day thing, we spent about 2 hours there but you can stay as long as you want and just hang out. What I loved about it though is that you know that everybody's there for the same reason and you have that one thing in common with everybody there and it makes for such a great atmosphere!

As always at these things, you "exit through the gift shop", and I was very impressed at the merchandise! £15 for a tshirt which I didn't think was too bad, a few different styles of mugs, umbrellas from the main credits, posters, magnets, keyrings, Friends Monopoly, Friends Trivial Pursuit, "Mockolate" and a "How YOU Doin'?" doormat! So there's something there for everyone.

I hope you enjoyed my little spontaneous post and if anybody has any questions feel free to comment below and I'll do my best to answer them!

He asked... I said yes!

Since I mentioned in the description that Shaun and I are engaged, I thought I would make my first post a bit personal and tell the story of how it happened. (Sick buckets at the ready!)

It happened back in December 2017, the 2nd to be exact. The day before, we had travelled to Paris because we were going to Disneyland for the weekend. We almost didn't make it because we were stuck in a traffic jam for hours but thankfully it was cleared and we made our flight in time! I was really looking forward to a long weekend away, and it was just going to be the two of us. Or so I thought... 😂

Surprise #1

We got to our hotel, the Radisson Blu, and Shaun went to check in, making sure I sat away from the front desk with the cases, which I thought was a bit odd at the time but it all makes sense now! 

All checked in, we went up to our room and it was then that Shaun told me he'd paid extra to upgrade us! What a lovely surprise 😊 Our room was lovely and they provided us with bathrobes and slippers so we could head down to the pool without having to use the changing rooms! So needless to say that was our first port of call! 

Surprise #2

After our dip we unpacked and headed into the Disney village for a wander and some food. Awesome place by the way! We got back about 9pm and I quite fancied going to the bar for a drink (which is something I never usually do!) but Shaun seemed a little reluctant and what I didn't realise at the time was he was trying to stall me! I'd mentioned to him that I needed more of those little milks you get for your teas & coffees (you never get enough in hotels do you?) so he fake-phoned reception to ask them to bring some up. ("We can't go down to the bar until they come up with the milk!") A short while later, my patience wearing thin, there was a knock at the door. I went to answer it but instead of a member of staff with some more milk, it was two of our best friends, Gillian and Jamie! Apparently they'd been planning it for weeks and I had no idea! t turns out that when Shaun was "upgrading" us, he'd actually told the receptionist what he had planned and that Gillian & Jamie were coming to surprise me so she upgraded us all for nothing so we'd be in rooms opposite each other!

Surprise #3

Saturday morning arrived and we headed into Disneyland. It was Gillian & Jamie's first time so we loved watching their reactions, they were so excited! Lunch time came and Shaun suggested we get photos outside the castle before we ate, so off we went. (I love how he knew me so well that he waited until lunch time to take the photos so I'd had plenty time to wake up properly, I am NOT a morning person!) We took Gillian & Jamie's photos first and then they took ours. We were standing posing and Shaun nudged me and pointed over to my left and said "look, there's Mickey!" 

Of course I looked round and when I looked back again he was down on one knee with the ring in his hand! I was so shocked and emotional I barely registered what he said, I burst into tears immediately and didn't stop for a good ten minutes!! He was pleased with my reaction but it certainly didn't make for attractive photos! 😂 (or an attractive video, scroll to the bottom to see that! 😂)

Radisson Blu were fantastic, our friends had told them what Shaun had planned and they left us a bottle of champagne in our room and made a lovely swan out of towels and left it on our bed!

And here's the video...

Have you got an exciting engagement story? Let me know in the comments!