Miami - Art Deco

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Hi there, sorry I haven't been in touch for a while but I have been in a communication blackspot!

Miami is the home to the beautiful and the rich. As the bus drives to my hostel we drive past huge apartment blocks, waterfront residentials, yachts and cruise ships. No more so than South Beach where I am staying. My hostel is wedged between designer clothes shops and one block away from the famous Ocean Drive and beach. At night the Art Deco buildings which line Ocean Drive are illuminated as convertable cars cruise up and down.Expensive resturants feed the tourists - It feels like I have just walked onto a set of a movie. Versace had a house here, now it is a private members club...I walk past often to try and get a glimpse of what goes on in there...
A beach front apartment or ‘condo’ costs around $1800000 to buy and around $4000 a month....you can understand why the streets are lined with expensive cars.
The lifeguard huts dotted around the sand are painted bright colours and I half expect David Hasselhoff to come out running in his red shorts!
Today I experienced something really glamorous....I did my laundry in an American coin operated Laundry Mat. It was a whole new insight into American life. Although Miami is in America it has a distinct hispanic culture. In fact so much so, that in parts of Miami, only spanish is spoken. It is also close to Cuba so they have their own Cuban district.
I went to the Miami Seaquarium the home of Flipper the Dolphin. They have dolphins doing acrobatics along with a Killer Whale called Lolita....it’s very touristy but good fun.
I also take a trip to Key West, as we drive along the one road that leads into the Keys I am reminded by the amount of drive thro’s they have in the USA....so far i have seen drive thro’s for Fast food, Pharmacy, Bank, Weddings.....it seems that you won’t actually need to get out of your car soon.....the drive thro toilet might be interesting though.
Key West is a beautiful place....it feels like a 100 degrees, but it is filled with history, shops and resturants. You could actually while away days in the place...since I only had 4 hours i contented myself with taking pictures, visting Ernest Hemmingways house (and cats), visiting the most southern part of the USA and eating Key Lime Pie (I’m adicted).
The driver of our bus is a maniac, he is constantly on his mobile, wearing no seatbelt (although there is a big sign saying buckle up in front of him), fiddling with the radio and if he is not doing this he is typing on his laptop! It’s like one of those old movies where the actor is supposed to be driving but not actually looking at the road!
The one thing that bugs me in America is their ability to show a price for an item, you take it to the counter and they add 30% tax on....why can’t they do as we do and advertise the price with tax....it makes life a lot easier.
Ok my itinerary was working like clockwork until this morning....I woke up at 2am realising that I had a flight booked to Seattle at 7am. I don't know what happened but I must have lost track of the days.......luckily I was able to pack my bag and get the flight on time! I think I may be turning blonde!

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