Here’s David’s second Florida postcard! An Adventure in the Sunshine State
OK, so we’re in Fort Lauderdale. But Miami is just down the road, right? So this morning we set off for a day in the home of giant cruise ships, Latin-influenced music and very thin people showing off their perfect bodies.
All were much in evidence as we breezed towards South Beach and then cruised up and down Ocean Drive. Actually we only meant to cruise one way, but the long search for a parking spot meant we ended up retracing our steps by mistake.
Once on foot Roz had the brilliant idea of an audio walking tour of South Beach’s famous Art Deco district. It was genuinely fascinating to learn how the Art Deco style was inspired by automobiles and ocean liners, and how close these beautiful buildings all came to being destroyed by developers in the 1970s.
It really was a great tour, and we really meant to finish it. But about three-quarters of the way through, the route took us right past Banana Republic – which just happened to have a 40% off one-day sale…
Forty-five minutes and not too many dollars later, we raced out of the store with no time to see the last three buildings on the tour, but with just enough time to get our audio sets back to the Art Deco Welcome Centre before it closed.
After watching the sun set on South Beach itself, and dipping our feet into the pleasantly warm sea, we made our way back to Ocean Drive for an enormous cocktail (for Roz) and an enormous dinner (for me). The drive back to Fort Lauderdale didn’t take long and the perfect end to the day came when I saw the football results and learned the mighty West Ham are now third in the league!
With thanks to Norwegian, Dollar Rent A Car and the Sonesta Fort Lauderdale.