Well!..I and Garima were tired..really tired of the snow here and we decided to escape. Not seeing the sun in weeks and gasping for warm weather, South Florida was the obvious choice. I took two days off from work and Garima also got weary of searching for a job. The chosen days were 27 Feb - March 3. Yes I know March 3 was a working day, but that's what I do for mini vacations. I try and take the red eye flight on the day of work for obvious reasons.
Feb 27, 28: Reached Ft Lauderdale on 27th night. Took our car, a blue PT Cruiser and drove to the hotel. Garima wanted the convertible, but those babies cost a lot and we were not going to drive around a lot anyways. The hotel was good enough to crash at night. The small Argentine joint in the hotel was great for breakfast next morning with the beach in sight and that priceless breeze.
28th was cool but it was still warm for people who were going around in freezing temperatures a day before. We checked out the North Miami beach, 10 steps from our hotel. We wanted to absorb all the goodies the first day itself but we knew we had to move on. The happening places in Miami were just 10 min from where we were.
We checked out the Lincoln Rd, which is a mall cum road and a great place for dining and shopping in Miami. It was a bit pricey but it was too early in the day to buy anything anyway. Next stop was South Beach, a 5 block walk from Lincoln Rd. The beach is awesome and very shallow for the better part and hence popular. It was less crowded on 28th, due to the cold. But we were just amazed.
At night, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino baby!. Its a great place with fabulous eateries. Live music and fun things to do. At the Casino, Garima started with $20 on 5c Mr. Cashman machine, was down to $4 and then she won $104!!! The restaurants become night clubs after 10:30pm
Feb 29: The day started with a great breakfast again and we found ourselves headed for the Miami zoo, one of the top ten in US. We had to shoot down other ideas due to the lack of time. The bike rental was helpful as we covered the whole zoo in 2 hours. They had African, Asia and American sectors...a huge place. The Giraffe feeding was very rewarding and boy it was getting warm!
We couldn't get enough of the beach and so we went back to the South Beach. This time we got our feet wet and sun bathed for a great 4 hours. Garima had good tan and some skin burns. Of course this time the beach was crowded.
We changed back at the hotel and it was time to check out the night life. What place better to start than Ocean Blvd. I took Garima to Mango which is a very famous cabaret bar famous for its Mojitos and wings and ofcourse salsa cabaret. Here is a video we shot. We shopped and walked and shopped. The sunset was the best we have seen after being atop on Mt. Cadillac in Maine.
March 1-2: Well, we went to my colleague's gorgeous place Gurmeet in Ft Lauderdale. His wife, Manjeet was great fun to be with. We were off to the Keys. Half way through we stopped at "Whale Harbor" a seafood buffet at Islamorada key. Where else can you have unlimited clams and crab legs and much more in $30. Best place to do windsurfing as the water is just 3 ft.
We were in a bit of panic when we reached Key West as hotel rooms were not a plenty. The nest thing was of course the Southernmost point of US. The night life is unbelievable. We walked while gushing booze down our throats, an activity banned and punishable in most other corners of the civilized world. Great bars, shopping and night clubs. Its as if all people do here is drink and have fun.
Water sports were great fun. Lunch was amazing at the Harbour. I bought great Hawaiian shirts which are hard to find in New England shops unless its designer stuff. Before we know it, its 5 pm and time to head back. In all it was a great get away and a very needed break.
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