Miami & Fort Lauderdale -USA 13/1/17 – 16/1/17

[T] Next stop Miami. On the way we stopped off at a national fossil park where we had a brief wander round, quite strange to walk about and see the fossil’s in the rocks we were walking on. Once our bags were dropped off at the Sorrento Villas in North Beach we went in search of lunch and found a great Mediterranean restaurant full of all things Egyptian, Moroccan, Turkish and Greek [including nightly belly dancers]. After lunch we headed for South Beach. We took the free trolley bus and took a short walk on the very windy beach. Then onto the strip, which was full of restaurants, bars, market stalls, shops, loud music and drag shows. We found the Carlyle Hotel where they filmed The Bird Cage with Robin Williams and had a cocktail. The place is all boarded up with picture stills from the movie and various other stars. We stopped by and watched a hilarious donna summer drag act, very entertaining, reminded me a bit of ‘Dorothy’s Sister’ bar in Ponsonby which i think has now closed. We had great food and drinks in a proper stainless steel ‘Diner’ and talking to others in there this was where they filmed a Will Smith video. 2 famous sites in one night! And lastly a drink in the Voodoo roof top bar.
Next day we got the bus to downtown Miami as we had booked for another escape room game, this time it was a European company called Fox in a Box and we once again had chosen the hardest room! The was the Zombie Lab where we had to work out clues to find the antidote to save mankind. Great fun again, this one having way more thinking to do than the last. And we did it with 7 minutes to spare!! Then a couple of free mono rail trips later we found the street art park which was brilliant. All kinds of different art work on walls and sides of buildings. An early finish and we headed back for a few drinks at the motel.
Today we headed to Fort Lauderdale, we stay here as we fly out from here but Fiona & Steve fly from Miami. We took a walk to the marina and found ourselves in the middle of a street festival for Martin Luther King Jn day, great pumping music and dancing. After a stroll to find a restaurant we came across numerous huge Iguanas just lounging by the waters edge. Then on our way back we passed a stage where the festival had ended with gospel singers belting out numbers. Considering we couldn’t find much to do according to any web sites we had a pretty nice couple of hours here.
Just been to the Diner next door for key lime pie, when the waitress bought it over she looked at it and said ‘that’s not key lime pie’ and took it away. When she bought it back it had lime syrup over it, she plonked it down and said ‘now it is’!!
Florida has been an amazing place to stay and a fantastic end to our world trip, made even more fabulous as we travelled around here for 3 weeks with our BFF’s Fiona and Steve. Didn’t think Florida could get cold, but for a few days it definitely was, but that was ok as it is their winter in January. Most days were bright and sunny and a calm 25’ as apposed to the 40+’ they get in their summer months. Florida is certainly more than just theme parks, and if you rent a car, as most folk do when visiting here, the extra mileage is well worth it. Google is full of interesting suggestions on places to visit, and we didn’t have time to get round nearly half it has to offer. So if like us you want to see both the East and West coasts of Florida, (and yes they are very different), get in the car and start your adventure.

This was our first time doing a travel blog, any blog, and we have really enjoyed doing it. It has been a great way for our friends and family to keep up with where we have been and what we have done. It is also a great way for us to remember everything as we have packed so much into this 14 months. On average we have moved on every 3 days, tiring but so worth it for the amount we have seen and done. Please leave us a final comment, it has been a real pleasure knowing you have followed us. With much love Tina and Roy.