I had been dreading the bus ride to Miami, FL. I typically get quite car sick, and after being so sick from the plane and the rides - I figured car sickness was inevitable. I took a couple of Gravol, and intended on sleeping. I slept about half way, and then stayed up to enjoy the sights. Surprisingly, I wasn't feeling the least bit car sick. I can honestly say that driving into Miami in the middle of the night is one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen. It was remarkable.
The idea with the Florida Express is that you can buy a location pick-up/drop-off ticket which is cheaper than the door-to-door ticket. For the door-to-door option, your location has to be within a certain area. Char and I just bought the location pick-up/drop-off ticket, and figured we'd take a cab to our hotel when we got to Miami. In Orlando, when we met our bus driver Char jokingly mentioned he should drop us off at our hotel in Miami. He laughed and said he'd see what he could do. After the four hour drive, and numerous stops - I assumed he'd forgotten that comment. I was wrong. The bus driver pulled right up to our hotel and dropped Char and I are the curb. I was surprised by his kindness, but I was also thankful. I was tired, and I just wanted to curl up.
Cortney and her mom had checked into the Villa Paradiso earlier that day. They had come from the opposite side of Canada, and had spent the day in Miami. When Char and I arrived, we put our stuff down and basically crawled into bed. It wasn't your usual introduction, but there would be plenty of time for that in the morning.
Thursday, December 1st, 2011
I am very thankful for Cortney and her type A personality. She had done a fantastic job planning our day in Miami, FL. She had picked a hotel in a prime location. It was only a three minute walk from the nightclub the Backstreet Boys would be at that evening, and a short walk from the beach. We also had plenty to see within walking distance. We walked around Miami all day - not once did we have to pay for a cab.
We started with breakfast at a cute café near the beach. Cortney had read rave reviews online, and it was reasonably priced. It was a good pick! I ordered eggs benedict - a breakfast must for me - and it was tasty. I also ordered a Ginger Ale, not a usual breakfast drink but I was still trying to settle my tummy. I am sure it was more nerves at this point. I found one thing odd about the staff - they were all male. Not one female. Even the hostess was male. I had never seen that before!
True to form, Cortney had mapped out a route we could walk, shop and see some of the tourist spots of South Beach. If there is one thing I know about Cortney, it's that she has a real talent for planning and organizing. Without her, I might have wasted my time in Miami. We did some souvenir shopping, and then headed to the beach a little later in the day. The beach was beautiful! I can't remember the last time I had been to the ocean, or walked with my toes in the sand.. I loved every minute of our walk along the beach. I only wish my mom could have been there - she adores the ocean.
When we were finished at the beach, we headed to a place called Big Pink. Cortney had found it online, and it had such a large menu that there was something for everyone! And the portion sizes were monstrous. The bucket of fries really were small tin buckets of fries. We ended up ordering WAY too much food - there was hardly room for it on our table! We packed up our left overs, and began our walk back to the hotel.
As if reading my mind, Cortney had mapped out a route back to the hotel that took us past two shops that I was dieing to see. I have this dirty little secret - I love the Kardashians. Khloe and Kortney, more so. I watch all their 'reality' TV shows, and knew one of their Dash stores was in Miami. I had no intention of going in, but we decided to anyway. Since we were in, I figured I had to buy some sort of souvenir. Since a bottle of water was an insane $10, I opted for a more practical product - perfume. It was an impulse buy, and I don't think I've worn the perfume since Miami. The next shop - that mother is thankful I never made it into - was Miami Ink. I only saw it across the street, but it was still neat. I am obsessed with Ami James! Although he was probably in New York at the time.
It had been a long, long day of walking and shopping. Normally I'd be ready for bed, but I had no time to think of how exhausted I was. It was time for the pre-cruise party at the CAMEO Nightclub. We had booked our hotel in Miami months in advance. There hadn't been a pre-cruise party announcement or anything of the sort, and like magic - our hotel ended up being a three minute walk from CAMEO. Charlene and I had been super lucky and gotten VIPs for the party, so we headed to the nightclub earlier than Cortney and her mom. They would meet us there later. So after quick showers and wardrobe changes, Char and I made our way to the nightclub. The first of what was sure to be many nights of Backstreet craziness..
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