After shutting the boat up tight for a couple weeks, we headed up to South Beach, Miami to spend the night before heading back to the UK - a little vacation before the vacation! We stayed at the recently renovated La Flora hotel, one block back from the beach. The room was simple but nicely done.
Since we were on land, we went for a walk! The beach there is great, good walking and lots to watch! We also hit one of the pedestrian shopping streets so I could pick up some Harissa from Williams and Sonoma which I will carry over to the UK and back again (we tried to buy this online, but I am NOT paying $17 shipping for an $8 product!). Harissa is a sauce / paste made of crushed Moroccan peppers which if you like spicy food is fabulous - absolutely addictive! Good with meat, good with veg, good even with eggs. Mustafa's is the brand carried by WS and it is one of the best (outside of the homemade one at the Chelsea Farmers Market) that I've found.
Dinner was amusing. We'd done the Ocean Drive restaurants on the past few trips so wanted something different. Started out looking for a chinese, but that was too scary and e
nded up at an Argentinian steak house - should be okay, right? Um...maybe not. Actually the food was good, the waitress was surly and the check arrived just as we finished our last bite. From now on we are going to set expectations with our waitstaff - if you expect a tip, do not bring the check until we ask for it. How can you have a leisurely dinner when the salad arrives with the starter, the main arrives two bites into the salad and the bill is slapped down on the table before you're even half way through the main never mind dessert and coffee?!
nded up at an Argentinian steak house - should be okay, right? Um...maybe not. Actually the food was good, the waitress was surly and the check arrived just as we finished our last bite. From now on we are going to set expectations with our waitstaff - if you expect a tip, do not bring the check until we ask for it. How can you have a leisurely dinner when the salad arrives with the starter, the main arrives two bites into the salad and the bill is slapped down on the table before you're even half way through the main never mind dessert and coffee?!Back to the hotel for a good rest before the next day's flight to London. Whoops, one thing they forgot to mention in the brochure! There is an all night BOOM-BOOM Disco directly behind the hotel and immediately behind our room - oh, goody! Needless to say, there was not much sleep for us.
There's always something good though - since we were already up, we went for a 6 a.m. breakfast with all the trimmings at the News Cafe (I love Cafe con Leche) and finished in time to sit on the beach and watch the sun rise.
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