Hi all,
First of all, if you're looking for my posts about Cuba, scroll down. I have posted each of the nine days in separate posts. They're well worth a read!
This morning we stood out on our balcony watching the sun rise above the buildings of Havana, and taking in the streets below for the last time. We had breakfast and then caught our taxi to the airport.
When we booked our flight to New Orleans via Miami, our options were either a five hour layover or a seven hour layover. We decided to take the seven hour layover and leave the airport to pass some time. We were lucky - everything went right. Our flight left on time and arrived early, and we enjoyed great views of Key West and the Everglades National Park from the plane. We were even in an exit row so had lots of leg room. Once we landed, we were third in line at US immigration. It took five minutes, and the man in front of us told us that last time he was there the line took 1.5 hours. Then ours bags came straight out, we rechecked them and got an Uber into the city.
It’s tricky when you’re leaving the airport during a layover. You don’t want to do too much and miss your plane, but you want to do enough that it makes it worthwhile having left the airport. We went first to the Bayside Marketplace where we hopped on a Miami mansions boat tour.
At this point, we both commented that Miami could not possibly be any more different to Havana. We had gone from laidback, simple and quiet to in your face, ads everywhere, loud announcements etc. The guide on the boat was so over the top, and we just weren’t used to it after nearly three weeks in the Caribbean. It was a bit of a shock to the system!
We still enjoyed the boat tour, but we were glad when he stopped talking! We saw lots of mansions, including those that belonged to or used to belong to Antonio Banderas, Jackie Chan, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Matt Damon, Shakira, Alicia Keyes, Al Capone, Will Smith, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Shaquille O’Neill, Rhianna and David Beckham. We also saw some filming locations for the movies ‘Bad Boys’ (a house) and ‘Iron Man 3’ (some huge cranes).
As we arrived back at the dock, we both agreed that Miami reminded us of the Gold Coast due to its huge buildings that all look the same, and its dispersed islands that are all connected by bridges. We got an Uber to the island that Miami Beach is on. We had Shake Shack to eat and then went for a quick walk to the beach. At this time, it was very windy and the sun was starting to set. So even though it would have been good to walk further and see some more Art Deco buildings, we had to head to the airport as it was approaching peak traffic time. We saw a couple of them and then got into another Uber back to the airport.
On the way, I called Nan and Pa. it took 20 minutes to drive from the airport on the way in, but about 40 on the way out. The TSA lines were huge as per usual so it was a good thing we allowed a bit more time. Once we joined the line, it seemed to double in length behind us and the display boards said the wait time was over 30 minutes.
Our flight was on time and we watched a movie so it went pretty quickly. We landed in New Orleans at 9.30pm and caught an Uber to our hotel. It's a restored Victorian Mansion, and when we arrived the lady on reception looked really confused. She said she didn't have any more bookings for tonight, but I showed her ours and it turned out to be the computer system's error. As a result, she has upgraded us to a huge room with a king bed, a huge, beautiful bathroom and a chandelier. We are in heaven - the bed is soooo comfortable! Love New Orleans already!
Love to all,
Claire
Xoxox
First of all, if you're looking for my posts about Cuba, scroll down. I have posted each of the nine days in separate posts. They're well worth a read!
This morning we stood out on our balcony watching the sun rise above the buildings of Havana, and taking in the streets below for the last time. We had breakfast and then caught our taxi to the airport.
When we booked our flight to New Orleans via Miami, our options were either a five hour layover or a seven hour layover. We decided to take the seven hour layover and leave the airport to pass some time. We were lucky - everything went right. Our flight left on time and arrived early, and we enjoyed great views of Key West and the Everglades National Park from the plane. We were even in an exit row so had lots of leg room. Once we landed, we were third in line at US immigration. It took five minutes, and the man in front of us told us that last time he was there the line took 1.5 hours. Then ours bags came straight out, we rechecked them and got an Uber into the city.
It’s tricky when you’re leaving the airport during a layover. You don’t want to do too much and miss your plane, but you want to do enough that it makes it worthwhile having left the airport. We went first to the Bayside Marketplace where we hopped on a Miami mansions boat tour.
At this point, we both commented that Miami could not possibly be any more different to Havana. We had gone from laidback, simple and quiet to in your face, ads everywhere, loud announcements etc. The guide on the boat was so over the top, and we just weren’t used to it after nearly three weeks in the Caribbean. It was a bit of a shock to the system!
We still enjoyed the boat tour, but we were glad when he stopped talking! We saw lots of mansions, including those that belonged to or used to belong to Antonio Banderas, Jackie Chan, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Matt Damon, Shakira, Alicia Keyes, Al Capone, Will Smith, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Shaquille O’Neill, Rhianna and David Beckham. We also saw some filming locations for the movies ‘Bad Boys’ (a house) and ‘Iron Man 3’ (some huge cranes).
As we arrived back at the dock, we both agreed that Miami reminded us of the Gold Coast due to its huge buildings that all look the same, and its dispersed islands that are all connected by bridges. We got an Uber to the island that Miami Beach is on. We had Shake Shack to eat and then went for a quick walk to the beach. At this time, it was very windy and the sun was starting to set. So even though it would have been good to walk further and see some more Art Deco buildings, we had to head to the airport as it was approaching peak traffic time. We saw a couple of them and then got into another Uber back to the airport.
On the way, I called Nan and Pa. it took 20 minutes to drive from the airport on the way in, but about 40 on the way out. The TSA lines were huge as per usual so it was a good thing we allowed a bit more time. Once we joined the line, it seemed to double in length behind us and the display boards said the wait time was over 30 minutes.
Our flight was on time and we watched a movie so it went pretty quickly. We landed in New Orleans at 9.30pm and caught an Uber to our hotel. It's a restored Victorian Mansion, and when we arrived the lady on reception looked really confused. She said she didn't have any more bookings for tonight, but I showed her ours and it turned out to be the computer system's error. As a result, she has upgraded us to a huge room with a king bed, a huge, beautiful bathroom and a chandelier. We are in heaven - the bed is soooo comfortable! Love New Orleans already!
Love to all,
Claire
Xoxox
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