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Summer 2008 Vacation - Miami Beach

Miami beach was a fluke, an unplanned destination - It wasn't until we found out that a cruise is planned according to cruise schedules and not on our availability (clueless cruisers) did we realize that we're stuck in Miami for 4 days with nowhere to go.

We asked for travel advise from friends who've been there and got a redundant reply...shopping, the beach, hitting the overcharging bars and discos. To complicate matters and due to late booking we did not manage to get a hotel in South Beach (SoBe) - everything was fully booked. Not wanting to risk sleeping on the street or worse, a hotel for twice its regular peak season price (grimace).

To make a long story short, we stayed at the North Beach (NoBe) area at the only available hotel that includes breakfast in their room rates (we didn't want to wake up having to think about where to get our coffee, at the very least). Apologies that I cannot be more specific with regards to the rates as we got all these in a neat but not so little package.

NORTH BEACH, MIAMI

Hotel: Marco Polo Beach Resort (Ramada), North Beach Miami - 19201 Collins AveSunny Isles Beach, FL 33160

A rather homey hotel....in the sense that it smells like home and that is if you fry a lot of fish at home. There's a stench to the place that is neither pleasing nor revolting. At the very least, it smells as stale as a home no one's lived in for awhile, make that a long while. The gym and the spa as well, even though situated in a separate building, also carried a stench but more sewer like. I swear i ran out of the steam room after a few seconds of being there and I have a strong stomach for smells. Except for that, it was perfectly fine as like any old hotel, the rooms have been constructed twice the size of new ones today. We had pleeeenty of room for our luggage, the 2 queen size beds it came with, a fridge, a microwave oven, a coffee maker and an ironing board and iron. It is after all touted to be a beachfront business hotel.

Only one caveat, even if you have pre-paid, you still need to pay extra $8.00 per day (clearly an unpleasant surprise) per room (we had 2) as 'resort fee' that covers access to the beach and use of the pool, a pool we only used for 1 day in our 4 day stay, while the beach can be accessed by the public from outside on both sides of the hotel, go figure.

The hotel may be worn out but the view from the rooms more than made up for it, besides, we were out most of the time, if not on the beach, in SoBe or the Aventura mall and was only there to sleep.

Breakfast was nothing to write home about. Bagel, bagel and more bagel, a lot of cream cheese and peanut butter, some yogurt, importantly coffee, a couple of fruit varieties, milk and juices (definitely not fresh). Not Southbeach (the diet) but it did tide us over until we can get to Denny's or some other place.

The beach fronting the hotel is really nice (I heard they were one of the first hotels in the area when everybody else was crowding SoBe - hmmm there is a 70s feel to the hotel).

Quiet, peaceful and not so touristy. Most of the people staying at the hotel stayed near the pool, so we practically had the beach to ourselves the whole time.

There were places on the beach that were marked with yellow tapes, not unlike those they use in detective movies to mark the crime scene. It meant that there were turtle eggs there and was therefore off limits. The beach up north being quiet did not mean less exciting. There was a day when we were evacuated from the water, together with 6 other beaches due to something or other, like the proximity of lightning, but mostly about algaes (the water was being tested at that time), complete with horns blaring, sirens and hard-bodied lifeguards (conveniently stationed right in front of the hotel) going back and forth the beach to get everyone out of the water.

Not sure who mimicked who first, them or Miami Vice. Police cars were everywhere and I've seen about 4 different busts of one kind or another (traffic, drug, DUI, etc) in my 4 days stay.

Back to the hotel, the service was so-so, not much to speak of, specially at the front desk. The concierge was very helpful while the breakfast staff was very stressed (mostly Eastern Europeans).

Speaking of service, an unfortunate (uncalled for) incident happened 2 weeks after our first week of stay in Marco Polo. We went back to Marco Polo for one night from Orlando at the end of our trip to await our flight to Managua for the following day. Arriving from Orlando at midnight, we knew that there won't be time for us to use the hotel amenities between that time and running to the airport at 12nn. We therefore asked the guy at the front desk if the extra $8 per room fee can be waived. He said that it shouldn't be problem and told us to just request for it during check out. In the morning, at about 10 am, we skipped the hotel breakfast and headed straight to denny's for bacon, eggs and pancakes, a last hurrah, but before going out asked the front desk again about the 'resort fee' and was told the same (by a different person). When we finally checked out, the lady (another one, sigh) at the front desk said:'no, it's not possible' and Tim (calmly) repeated what the other 2 said (one happened to be there right beside her). She turned to the other person and gave her the 'if looks can kill' look and bellowed at T: 'NO, THEY CANNOT DO THAT, I'M THE MANAGER HERE!' I kid you not. I know this same lady from breakfast barking orders at the breakfast staff....why they are stressed, or worse, nervous - never would have thought that she was the hotel manager until she shouted for all the lobby to hear. T took her name: Mora Anderson. I don't think that is how a hotel manager should act, not only towards the customer but most importantly to her staff. You know what they say about power....We have been game about all these so far until she happened. Incidentally, I met a Filipina who works there (the first week of our stay) and we said hello. She told me that she only had 3 days to go because she quit, I didn't ask why. Now, I can only imagine it's not the happiest environment to be working in.

Places to go and see:
The best Pizza on this side of the beach: Pizzaz - a block away from Marco Polo (on the opposite side of the road) according to it's owner, which could very well be true as his tiny restaurant was packed with customers lining up for both take-out and dine-in, while the lone delivery guy kept going back and forth to deliver. T did say they make one of the best Calzones he's ever had and this guy knows his Calzone. Huge servings, reasonable prices - about $2 + tax for a humongous slice. Not knowing how huge the servings were we ordered a Calzone, a small Pepperoni and a small meat lover's pizza (+ drinks, about $45 in all)...turned out good for at least 6 - 8 persons.

Aventura Mall - 5 minute by bus - Miami Dade Transit Line S, ($1.50 adult; 0.75 child) from Marco Polo (The bus stops right in front of the hotel). We found the shops at this mall rather expensive compared to the shops in the SoBe area but they do have an interesting fast food area. Coming from Nicaragua, even fastfood Chinese looked exciting.

The Spanish Monastery - 16711 W Dixie HwyNorth Miami Bch, FL 33160 (Take the bus to Aventura Mall and from there take #3 (Dixie Highway). About a couple of blocks from the bus stop you will find the Monastery on your left.

Entrance Fee: $5 adult; $2 child - What's interesting about this Monastery originally built in Sacramenia in Segovia, Spain, named after a Cisterian monk Bernard of Clairvaux is that when William Randolph Hearst bought it in 1925, he had it dismantled stone by stone and shipped to the US.

Today, the monastery holds a church, a beautiful garden, has a museum and is popular among couples as a romantic wedding venue.

4 days is too short to include a visit to the Everglades and / or keywest, or so we thought at that time, so we just hung out in SoBe, ate and shopped on Lincoln and Washington and partied a bit on Ocean Drive.

SOUTH BEACH, MIAMI

The Beach (of course). Bring water and / or Soda to the beach and if planning to stay for a longer period, somthing to munch on. The kiosks on the beach sell small bottles of water for $3 and soda for $4. Miami has always been a transit point to us and therefore had no idea how it really looked like. I pictured beach front restaurants and bars - if more than 200 meters and crossing a street is considered beach front.

Ocean Drive - A given where all the bars and restaurants are. Don't miss the pricey (like everything else on Ocean Drive) Piña Colada at Ocean's Ten, one of the better ones we've had for a long time.

Art deco District - Hard to tell that you've arrived, unless you can

recognize buildings from the 60s or 70s. We didn't know that we've been walking within the district for more than 10 mins until we asked.

Washington and Collins Ave - For shopping and alternative dining. Collins is where you find the designer shops. From North Beach Take the S Downtown (about 55 mins travel time; runs every 20 mins) - $1.50 adult; $0.75 child - get off James St. and Collins Ave.

Jerry's Famous Deli - Walking 45 blocks can sure wet one's appetite. Don't miss Jerry's Famous Deli on Lincoln and Española Way, if big, juicy burgers topped with Swiss cheese and Jalapeños, enormous salads and refillable drinks is your cup of tea. Why 45 blocks? From 1st to 15th streets on washington, Lincoln and Ocean Drive, by my calculation is about that. Well, it felt like it anyway.

We still have no qualms staying in North Beach, in fact I liked being there better than Southbeach, and knowing what we know now maybe not in Marco Polo anymore.

Summer 2008 Vacation

As I have written previously, this summer vacation came about as a gift to V for his 13th birthday - Disney World, at least. The cruise was entirely my idea. We didn't realize how tall an order it was until all the figures came in. Miami was an accident as we booked our tickets to Miami (deciding firmly that we'll choose from ships berthed there for our cruise) well in advance - like 4 months before - due to a good promo that Taca had.

So, there we were with tickets (return) for Miami on hand and still clueless on how to schedule both Disney World and the cruise. Having no idea about cruising, we ended up with a week in Miami to await embarkation day on our preferred cruise. We chose our cruise based on their destinations and not on the ship or cost. It being peak season and having booked late....very late, in fact, we had to pay full price on everything pushing our cost (total vacation package) to 5 figures (for 4 people), thus my preoccupation.

Once in a lifetime we thought as dog knows where we will be posted next.

Our vacation was for the first time totally on our travel agent's hand and yes he delivered. We gave him a hard time but by dog, he delivered. Having returned from the vacation that turned out better than we expected, I'm glad we entrusted him the task. We pre-booked everything...from hotels to (all) transports to park tickets and all cruise costs including service charges. So unlike us but we figured that not having the luxury of time to look for service providers once we get there, we might as well book and pay everything in advance to be able to concentrate on the activities.

As for the documentation and procedure I was complaining about, it was mainly because this time we were traveling with a couple more minors not our own. T's 16 yr old niece was joining us for the whole shebang from Denmark while V's (also 13) schoolmate was traveling with us to Miami (and back) to visit relatives, both without their parents. It was tedious as both US immigration and the ports of destination (cruise) requires a lot of legal documents for us to travel with them. I was afraid we didn't have enough documentation with us (one can never be sure with these new immigration and child trafficking laws) thus missing the cruise and forfeiting our hard-earned payment. Documentation which at the end they did not even bother to check, anyway, sigh.

Now, with that out of the way, on to the travel details. Next post please...

Managua shopping tip #3

Finally a real sale at 'Guess' Las Galerias, Managua! 50% off on everything except watches, until new stocks come in (could be anytime soon, I was told).

Check it out before they change their minds.

The 'Carrion' department store which also carries good brands at reasonable (by Managua standards) prices are having a promo of 'buy 2 take 1 free', until the 20th of this month (not applicable to perfumes and home furniture and decor).

The only Carrion I know is in Metro Centro but I'm sure there are others in other major shopping malls in Managua (except La Galeria as they compete with Siman).

A good time to shop with friends.

Not that it matters....

...(well, to my family, at least, I hope :)) but I'm back, for a couple of days now, in fact. This is our shortest vacation in terms of number of days of being away but the most activity-packed and fun-filled itinerary. I think we did what most people would do in 3 separate outings, so it feels like a 2 month hiatus.

I can feel I'm back passing gas stations on the way from the airport. What with soaring gas prices (as is everywhere), I came back to a whopping $C 27 per liter of diesel from the $C 25 I left behind only 3 weeks ago - a far cry from the $C 17 / liter when I came in Oct of 2006.

Hard to believe I've only been away for weeks all together. The last couple of days has been relegated to resting my black and blued leg muscles, downloading and uploading about 300 photos we promised to share with family, paying bills (oh the reality of it all), catching rodents that partied while we were away and just trying to get back to the rhythm of life in sleepy Managua.

It's good to sleep in my own bed again and the saving grace of all graces of being here....to see and enjoy the beautiful home made available to us (bless their soul).

I will be gathering strength (and wit - will try my best) the next few days to do a most challenging travel post that will review all the places we've been to and stayed at. There was apprehension on my part in the beginning - doing this type of vacation - as we were totally reliant on our travel agent on everything. We normally just wing it out, but not this time. Not only did it turn out well, surprisingly, we enjoyed it immensely.

Although not ready to come back (would have wanted to be away longer - force of habit), am glad I am, specially coming home to hundreds of email invites to one thing or another. Expats in Managua make effort to socialize and I'm looking forward to join them.

Stay tuned.