Miami

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Our last overnight trip on Amtrak took us to Miami, we rolled in at around 6pm and made our way to our hotel on the famous Espanola Way in Miami Beach. We took a taxi from the station and Cat nearly had a heart attack as the meter rolled past first $20 and then $30 up to nearly $40! There wasn't a great deal of choice in the matter, there were not many buses from a deserted train station in an industrial area on a Saturday evening! The hotel was nice, if a little faded, it was probably much more glamourous in its prime. Previously we've experienced shared and private bathroom facilities, but the Clay Hotel offered something new, a 'semi-private!' We shared a bathroom with the room next door, every time you needed the loo you had to unlockyour door to get in and then lock their door so they couldn't surprise you, then when you were done, you had to unlock their door and lock yours again! I think it's easier just having a shared bathroom, it's a bit strange having your neighbour fiddling with the lock on your door during the night when they get up to go to the loo!

The first thing we noticed about Miami was the large number of people who looked ridiculous! Lots and lots of people walking around in silly clothes and posing. Our simple short and t-shirt combos were clearly not up to scratch! Miami is very South American, with a heavy Cuban presence and Spanish seemed as though it was the first language in many areas. There was not a great deal to excite us in Miami, the beach seemed to be the main attraction, which neither of us were that keen to spend our time there! We did see the sterotypical scantilly clad roller blading lady which was funny! There were a lot of past it and/or larger than life people there wearing far too few clothes!

We strolled around some of the streets looking at the art-deco buildings and did a fair amount of window shopping which Cat seemed to enjoy. During the hottest part of the day we retired to the cinema to watch a Will Ferrell film called 'Step-Brothers' which was pretty funny. Due to the train times we only had one day in Miami before heading up to Orlando. Miami was nice and probably would be more fun if you had a limitless supply of money! Onwards to Mickey!

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