Hi
So we rented a car to head down to Tampa for a night and then Miami for a few days. Driving on the opposite side of the road was a little unnerving, but we got there in the end!
Tampa
We decided to stop off in Tampa as our friends Drew and Maria live here (who we met in Africa). As it was along the way, we thought we would stop off and say hi. They cooked us a lovely meal in their condo which is situated in St Petersburg, along the gulf coast. It’s a beautiful place as it is along the water and has a lot of sunshine.
We then mooched over to John’s Pass which is a small village and boardwalk situated on Madeira Beach. There are lots of restaurants, shops and of course you can go on many different boat excursions. We even managed to spot some dolphins!
Miami
After a long(ish) day of driving, we made it to Miami. Yey! We were here only for a few days and it was more than enough, especially since it’s pretty expensive. The main attraction is the beach, which was awesome. The sea is an awesome temperature and it was like being in a bath the whole time. We stayed along South Beach and were only a 5 minute walk away from the sandy beach. We also picked up a friend along the way. Her name is Florence (don’t worry, we will pop her soon)!
Miami is influenced heavily by Cuban traditions and cultures, so we thought we would do a little tour around ‘Little Havana’. To make this tour even better, it was a food tour. It was our first food tour and it was great! As well as getting to learn more about the history and culture, you get to eat too! We went with Miami Culinary Tours who were really good.
The day started with a Cuban coffee, which is like an espresso but with sugar in. Very sweet and definitely gives a little kick. This was accompanied by a lovely fried meat empanada. A lovely little snack indeed. Our second course was followed by the Cuban Sandwich, an epic ham, roast pork and cheese sarnie topped off with some mustard. It was scrumptious!
A food tour wouldn’t be complete without some alcohol, so were taken to a lovely bar where we had some refreshing mojitos at the Ball & Chain Bar & Lounge. This place has a lot of history and even Billie Holiday performed here. After some more sightseeing, we then had another drink from a local fruit market. It was Guarapo Juice, which is a kind of sugar cane juice.
As the tour drew to an end, we were treated to dessert! Our first sweet treat was a Guava pastelito (a sweet pastry filled with Guava fruit). It was really nice as it wasn’t overly sweet. Our last food item was some ice cream from the popular Azucar shop.
As well as all the food, we went to some of the hotspots in Little Havana. This included Domino Park where members of the community would come and hang out to play Dominos! We also stopped by a cigar making shop, where the employees are allowed to smoke as they roll!
Overall, an awesome day! We are off to LA to try and find some celebs!