So we’ve been here in Miami for a few days now – tomorrow we take our first train ride just upstate to Orlando.
Miami has been great. It’s pretty much as advertised – hot, sunny weather; miles of sandy beaches with warm ocean; a heavy latin-cuban influence. What’s been particularly nice for us on this trip so far is that we had very little planned for our few days here – just relax and enjoy our surroundings.
With the jet-lag we’ve been getting up quite early – Connie was up at 3:15 this morning. Each morning we’ve gone to the beach as the sun is rising — this photo was taken on our first morning with the fantastic sunrise at 6am.
Our hotel (Tropics Hotel on Collins Ave in South Beach) was nice if a little worn. It’s a cross between a hotel and a hostel – large rooms each with ensuite but also an open kitchen area beside the pool. And speaking of the pool, it was probably the warmest swimming pool we’ve ever been in — glorious! The ocean, too, was lovely and warm but not too rough – nearly perfect I would say.
On Tuesday we rented bikes and cycled alongside the ocean path. Rachel went for a run this morning down to the bottom of the South Beach peninsula.
After three nights at the Tropics Hotel, tonight we’ve moved to a different hotel closer to Miami itself, ready for us to catch an early-morning train to Orlando. Our hotel here is a newer Hampton hotel; we’re particularly anticipating the free hot breakfast tomorrow morning.
Marble the Mouse
We’ve attempted to start one little tradition by taking along a little ceramic mouse that we bought at a craft fair in Bristol. His name is Marble and we’ll be taking pictures of him in various locales on our trip. Here’s Marble on a postcard of Miami Beach, enjoying the sun
Tomorrow we’re off to Orlando where we’ll be for just a couple of days before moving on to New York. It will be our first time on the train so we’ll get a taste what’s to come. One minor inconvenience is that I have yet to sort out a SIM for my phone which means that I’m not able to get online and post as much as I would like. Hopefully this will get sorted out in the next few days.