It has taken until today to feel that my body clock is in US time. We have slept alot. However, today we woke again to a hot sunny day and once we got ready, we went for a walk through the shopping area, where I brought some shoes (pumps). Still cannot get used to them adding the tax on the product when you get to the tills!
We had a late breakfast, I had fruit, yoghurt and toast - needed something lighter! We then decided to take a bus sightseeing tour of Miami Beach and the City - after which we decided our choice of Miami Beach was the correct place to base our stay.
I have really liked Miami Beach and the people, even after just a short 'taster' visit. Already feels that its ages since we left the UK, so goodness knows what it will feel like after 64 days.
Friday, 20 January 2012
Depress.
That's depressurisation, not depression :-)
Villa Paradiso hotel in South Miami Beach, Florida, is aptly named - feeling pretty damn good right about now. Currently we're sitting in a lovely courtyard space next to the hotel in the cool of the night. The room is a self-catering apartment with excellent: air-con, bed, wi-fi, size, cleanliness and location. On that last point, we're on Collins Avenue just north of 14th Street (on the classic US layout of N-S Avenues and E-W Streets). Ocean Drive (N-S) and the long, deep beach are a block east of us, with so many restaurants plying for trade all day long. There's a cluster of shops a block north along Espanola Way (E-W), providing tonight's meal of pizza and beer "to go" (to this courtyard).
We went out to eat (well) last night on Ocean Drive, and walked around through much of today, catching some of the hotter-than-expected sun, particularly whilst strolling in the surf. I thought I should get a better camera for the sights the next months will bring, and chose a Sony WX9 for $200, available at Staples. Froogle said Best Buy had more stock (shout out for Gerald), and they had it on sale for $150! Checking UK prices, it looks like "£-$ parity" is alive and well.
We broke the rules (of timezone-crossing) by having a big "siesta" at the end of our walk, from around 4pm (9pm UK) to 9pm (2am). Oops. Then we woke and had the quite large meal. I'll update to say whether we managed to sleep afterward. [Update: We did manage to sleep through the U.S. night too - gosh, we must have been tired before we left!]
Most of South Beach was built in the Art Deco style in the first half of last century, and there are many great examples all around. Miami Beach is a separate city from Miami, which I didn't know.
It's looking like a good decision to start the trip here, which we only did because we had to change planes here on the way to Belize, and I thought: "if we have to get off there, we might as well see the place." In fact, this is a great place to put the brakes on after the turmoil of everything running up to the trip. It's American seaside - SO different from English seaside - so it's relaxing anyway. Also it's America, not the moon, so we don't feel the compulsion to go and "experience" everything.
One thing has impressed me above all. The people are SO helpful. Most respect goes to the lady bus driver on the "J" bus from MIA airport to Miami Beach. We told her where we needed to go and she actually waved down her colleague on the 120 bus, then helped to carry Clare's bag to the other bus and explained to the driver where we needed to be dropped. Imagine THAT in London!!!!
Villa Paradiso hotel in South Miami Beach, Florida, is aptly named - feeling pretty damn good right about now. Currently we're sitting in a lovely courtyard space next to the hotel in the cool of the night. The room is a self-catering apartment with excellent: air-con, bed, wi-fi, size, cleanliness and location. On that last point, we're on Collins Avenue just north of 14th Street (on the classic US layout of N-S Avenues and E-W Streets). Ocean Drive (N-S) and the long, deep beach are a block east of us, with so many restaurants plying for trade all day long. There's a cluster of shops a block north along Espanola Way (E-W), providing tonight's meal of pizza and beer "to go" (to this courtyard).
We went out to eat (well) last night on Ocean Drive, and walked around through much of today, catching some of the hotter-than-expected sun, particularly whilst strolling in the surf. I thought I should get a better camera for the sights the next months will bring, and chose a Sony WX9 for $200, available at Staples. Froogle said Best Buy had more stock (shout out for Gerald), and they had it on sale for $150! Checking UK prices, it looks like "£-$ parity" is alive and well.
We broke the rules (of timezone-crossing) by having a big "siesta" at the end of our walk, from around 4pm (9pm UK) to 9pm (2am). Oops. Then we woke and had the quite large meal. I'll update to say whether we managed to sleep afterward. [Update: We did manage to sleep through the U.S. night too - gosh, we must have been tired before we left!]
Most of South Beach was built in the Art Deco style in the first half of last century, and there are many great examples all around. Miami Beach is a separate city from Miami, which I didn't know.
It's looking like a good decision to start the trip here, which we only did because we had to change planes here on the way to Belize, and I thought: "if we have to get off there, we might as well see the place." In fact, this is a great place to put the brakes on after the turmoil of everything running up to the trip. It's American seaside - SO different from English seaside - so it's relaxing anyway. Also it's America, not the moon, so we don't feel the compulsion to go and "experience" everything.
One thing has impressed me above all. The people are SO helpful. Most respect goes to the lady bus driver on the "J" bus from MIA airport to Miami Beach. We told her where we needed to go and she actually waved down her colleague on the 120 bus, then helped to carry Clare's bag to the other bus and explained to the driver where we needed to be dropped. Imagine THAT in London!!!!
Thursday, 19 January 2012
First Day of Trip
Rob picked us up at 6am to take us to Heathrow to catch our flight to
Miami. Very emotional saying goodbye to him, my insides were in knots,
I could not eat or drink anything. He also a soppy sod, and got
emotional too. He will probably hate me for saying that!
Flight good and we landed about 2.20pm local time to a lovely warm 26 degrees. Once clear of immigration and customs, we got two buses (and one very short taxi ride) to our hotel Villas Paradiso on South Beach, literally a walk away from the sea. Once checked in, we decided to go out for an early dinner as we were both really tired after a long day travelling. We found a nice restaurant not far from the beach and enoyed the meal and a few drinks!
Back to our hotel and I was asleep by 8pm, but we both woke up about 4am as we are probably both still on English time. We are going to be really chilled out for the next couple of days, before we fly to Belize, and the only question we have at the time of typing this, is where shall be go for breakfast!
Flight good and we landed about 2.20pm local time to a lovely warm 26 degrees. Once clear of immigration and customs, we got two buses (and one very short taxi ride) to our hotel Villas Paradiso on South Beach, literally a walk away from the sea. Once checked in, we decided to go out for an early dinner as we were both really tired after a long day travelling. We found a nice restaurant not far from the beach and enoyed the meal and a few drinks!
Back to our hotel and I was asleep by 8pm, but we both woke up about 4am as we are probably both still on English time. We are going to be really chilled out for the next couple of days, before we fly to Belize, and the only question we have at the time of typing this, is where shall be go for breakfast!
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Away
We've reached Heathrow early; Clare likes to be early. I like to be "on time" (ho hum) but I've never yet missed a flight, as I've told Clare once or twice, and now gets repeated back to me unprompted, with "there's always a first time." Suppose I'd better try to keep my record or I'll never live it down.
I've travelled a lot in the past, but this feels different - departing for over two months in a single block. We're naturally nervous about what we may have forgotten, so we have cause to be glad about Clare's wish to break the trip into 3 legs, and the fact we're starting in Miami, where we can pick up extra things.
That didn't stop me fiddling with my packing and other final list items until 2am. Clare says she wanted to strangle me. The alarm went off at 5am, when I told Clare that midnight was still 24 hours away. Hope we get some sleep on the plane (although "smart advice" would be to stay awake, supposedly based on the idea that people, removed from having the light of dawn every 24 hours, naturally revert to a Circadian rhythm slightly longer than that.)
There have been so many "lasts" over the past few days. Something that was surprisingly prominent was handing in my security token for work. The laptop and mobile went with little thought, but handing in the token (representing ability to access stuff) really brought home that I'm leaving; full stop. I do hope I get to go back.
Anyway, here's the itinerary for "leg 1", as it is intended:
18 Jan - Miami
21 Jan - Belize
28 Jan - Lima, Peru
2 Feb - Amazon (Puerto Maldonado)
5 Feb - Cuzco
9 Feb - Machu Picchu
13 Feb - Lake Titicaca
15 Feb - La Paz, Bolivia
17 Feb - Buenos Aires, Argentina
21 Feb-21 Mar driving through Argentina & Chile
23 Mar - Home
I've travelled a lot in the past, but this feels different - departing for over two months in a single block. We're naturally nervous about what we may have forgotten, so we have cause to be glad about Clare's wish to break the trip into 3 legs, and the fact we're starting in Miami, where we can pick up extra things.
That didn't stop me fiddling with my packing and other final list items until 2am. Clare says she wanted to strangle me. The alarm went off at 5am, when I told Clare that midnight was still 24 hours away. Hope we get some sleep on the plane (although "smart advice" would be to stay awake, supposedly based on the idea that people, removed from having the light of dawn every 24 hours, naturally revert to a Circadian rhythm slightly longer than that.)
There have been so many "lasts" over the past few days. Something that was surprisingly prominent was handing in my security token for work. The laptop and mobile went with little thought, but handing in the token (representing ability to access stuff) really brought home that I'm leaving; full stop. I do hope I get to go back.
Anyway, here's the itinerary for "leg 1", as it is intended:
18 Jan - Miami
21 Jan - Belize
28 Jan - Lima, Peru
2 Feb - Amazon (Puerto Maldonado)
5 Feb - Cuzco
9 Feb - Machu Picchu
13 Feb - Lake Titicaca
15 Feb - La Paz, Bolivia
17 Feb - Buenos Aires, Argentina
21 Feb-21 Mar driving through Argentina & Chile
23 Mar - Home
Saturday, 14 January 2012
First day of long leave
Well, final day at work has come and gone, does not feel real that the next time I will see the inside of an office will be August. I have left my job(s) in the good hands of Mark and Nicky, good luck to you both. Thank you to everyone for my lovely send off and presents. Trust me, I will miss you all, but I will be back!
The 'famous five' came round for dinner on Friday evening, and we had great time, as we always do. Nicky J and Heaff, will miss our lunchtime banter, but I have to have something to look forward to on my return!
Next task is the packing for a variety of temperatures and climates and looking for the illusive sunglasses! Everything has been laid out in the spare room, with enough medical supplies to stock Boots, but as I am a babe magnet for mossies, better to be prepared!
Still feels unreal, but very exciting...........!
The 'famous five' came round for dinner on Friday evening, and we had great time, as we always do. Nicky J and Heaff, will miss our lunchtime banter, but I have to have something to look forward to on my return!
Next task is the packing for a variety of temperatures and climates and looking for the illusive sunglasses! Everything has been laid out in the spare room, with enough medical supplies to stock Boots, but as I am a babe magnet for mossies, better to be prepared!
Still feels unreal, but very exciting...........!
World of Lists
The past few months have been hectic: clearing lots of space in Dave's house; moving everything from Clare's house either to Dave's, the charity shop or waste disposal; getting ready to let Clare's house; Christmas and New Year complete with both families; forcing through Dave's career break arrangements; finishing off both our jobs and working out how to hand everything over to our replacements; not forgetting the myriad preparations necessary for our little trip.
It has been pretty stressful, but we appear to have survived (and could plausibly claim to have thrived, but let's not over-egg the pudding).
The whole thing has been driven by lists! More lists than I've ever seen before. Lists on backs of envelopes, lists on big sheets of paper, lists on smartphones and tablets. Bloody, wonderful lists. Places to empty brain turmoil out into, to make space for the generation of more. And then (please God) the gradual death of a thousand little pests, sitting there in rows on the page, shouting that you're not allowed to sit down and rest yet.
Even now, the day after we've both left our jobs, the lists aren't empty. I still have to get my last Rabies jab and go back into my office to drop off my work laptop and phone. I've lost a receipt for £150 of expenses that I won't be able to claim if I don't find it before we go.
Still, the lists are continually getting less and shorter. The biggest list left is the packing list, one that we've been drafting for weeks. I don't suppose I mind that list so much.
It has been pretty stressful, but we appear to have survived (and could plausibly claim to have thrived, but let's not over-egg the pudding).
The whole thing has been driven by lists! More lists than I've ever seen before. Lists on backs of envelopes, lists on big sheets of paper, lists on smartphones and tablets. Bloody, wonderful lists. Places to empty brain turmoil out into, to make space for the generation of more. And then (please God) the gradual death of a thousand little pests, sitting there in rows on the page, shouting that you're not allowed to sit down and rest yet.
Even now, the day after we've both left our jobs, the lists aren't empty. I still have to get my last Rabies jab and go back into my office to drop off my work laptop and phone. I've lost a receipt for £150 of expenses that I won't be able to claim if I don't find it before we go.
Still, the lists are continually getting less and shorter. The biggest list left is the packing list, one that we've been drafting for weeks. I don't suppose I mind that list so much.
Monday, 9 January 2012
A Journey of 60,000 Miles
From Clare:
9 days until we fly to Miami, so everything is getting manic at home and work. It has come around so quickly, and only seems like yesterday since we started planning this trip. Also still cannot believe that we have 7 months off work! This is going to be a trip of a lifetime, although it has still not sunk in yet really what we are doing, it will probably become real when we are on the plane.
From Dave:
I love the Great Circle Mapper at gc.kls2.com, and so I put on the three legs of our trip to see what they look like. You can paste the airport-chain lists below into their "Paths" box and see the maps and detail of the flights.
First leg:
Lhr-mia, Mia-bze, bze-mia, Mia-lim, lim-pem, pem-cuz, lpb-eze, eze-lhr = 17,593 Miles
Second leg:
Lhr-pek, pek-xiy, Xiy-iqn, yih-sha, sha-nrt, nrt-lhr = 13,478 Miles
Third leg:
Lhr-bkk, bkk-hkt, hkt-bkk, bkk-syd, syd-cns, cns-bne, bne-hti, Hti-syd, syd-nan, nan-hnl, hnl-lax, lax-jfk, jfk-Lhr = 28,647 Miles
That adds up to a grand total of 59,719 miles to be flown, and I'm pretty certain that we'll drive more than 281 miles as we travel round Argentina and Chile.
Mindblowing!!!
A few notes in closing:
9 days until we fly to Miami, so everything is getting manic at home and work. It has come around so quickly, and only seems like yesterday since we started planning this trip. Also still cannot believe that we have 7 months off work! This is going to be a trip of a lifetime, although it has still not sunk in yet really what we are doing, it will probably become real when we are on the plane.
From Dave:
I love the Great Circle Mapper at gc.kls2.com, and so I put on the three legs of our trip to see what they look like. You can paste the airport-chain lists below into their "Paths" box and see the maps and detail of the flights.
First leg:
Lhr-mia, Mia-bze, bze-mia, Mia-lim, lim-pem, pem-cuz, lpb-eze, eze-lhr = 17,593 Miles
Second leg:
Lhr-pek, pek-xiy, Xiy-iqn, yih-sha, sha-nrt, nrt-lhr = 13,478 Miles
Third leg:
Lhr-bkk, bkk-hkt, hkt-bkk, bkk-syd, syd-cns, cns-bne, bne-hti, Hti-syd, syd-nan, nan-hnl, hnl-lax, lax-jfk, jfk-Lhr = 28,647 Miles
That adds up to a grand total of 59,719 miles to be flown, and I'm pretty certain that we'll drive more than 281 miles as we travel round Argentina and Chile.
Mindblowing!!!
A few notes in closing:
- Thanks to Dave's employer, Atos, for granting a career break, so he doesn't need to worry about having a job to return to afterward.
- Thanks to Clare's employer, Waitrose, for giving her a long leave (with pay!!).
- Thanks to Crispin Speers & Partners, Dave's travel insurer through work, for stretching the maximum trip period to cover the whole of leg 1. Cheers!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)