The Best of Florida: Tour Miami, Keys, Everglades and Orlando

MIAMI

We leave home at 3:30 in the morning to go to Parkingo Malpensa to leave our car. Our Air Berlin flight with a stopover in Dusseldorf departs before 7:00 in the morning. We check in at the desk, since for flights to the United States, with Air Berlin, it is not possible to check in online. For almost all other destinations, however, online check-in is required. Otherwise a fee of 15 euros per person, per leg, is applied. Both of our flights are extremely punctual and we even arrive at our destination early. The Air Berlin planes all seem very new and the onboard service is super efficient with sufficiently good meals. Miami airport is quite large and sprawling. We have to walk kilometers on foot (without too many moving walkways) to reach passport control. Here the procedures are very slow, despite the numerous counters open and the line of people is truly huge.

We lose over 30 minutes for the immigration procedures. Our luggage is already waiting for us, unloaded from the conveyor belts, since too much time has passed. We collect everything and head to the car rental center, where the offices of all the companies are located. To reach this point we even have to take a train located in the airport, called MIA. Once there, obviously the line at the Dollar counter is the longest. Perhaps because it's the company that costs the least. After a fair wait, we can finally pick up our reserved car. They let us choose between 2 cars of the same size and we opt for a white Mazda 3. We finally leave this cursed airport, setting the navigator rented together with the car (truly advantageous price - see above) with the address of our hotel in Miami Beach. However, we discover that at that afternoon hour, the traffic to reach Miami Beach is sky-high.

We sit in quite a bit of nerve-wracking traffic. We finally reach our CREST HOTEL in Miami Beach. We immediately see that the hotel doesn't drive us crazy. However, it is in a fairly convenient position both for the center of Miami Beach and for Ocean Drive and the beaches. The thing we immediately appreciate is the public parking lot located right in front of the hotel, although quite expensive: 90 dollars for 3 days, with the possibility, however, of entering and leaving whenever we want and always having a guaranteed spot. The room isn't very nice. To tell the truth, it's not a simple room but a Studio, that is, a mini apartment with a kitchen (we hadn't asked for anything like that. A refrigerator was enough for us). Anyway, that way we have more space available. We rest a little with the efficient air conditioning system.

Here, in the United States, they really know how to cool rooms well. Not like in Italy, where you can't even feel the air conditioning. We, in summer, like air conditioning full blast and, in this, the Americans are masters. We go out for a quick dinner, at the closest place to the hotel that we find: a squalid place with pizza by the slice and similar things, run by people of who knows what ethnicity. We return to the hotel wiped out by the time difference (6 hours behind Italy) and having been awake for who knows how long, we go to sleep without paying attention to the time.

MIAMI

In fact we wake up very early; but we already knew that. And it will be like this for almost our whole vacation. When we finally manage to get used to the time difference, it will be time to leave again. At our hotel, mid-high price, about 130 euros a day for a triple room, breakfast isn't even included. But we, from home, had already identified a real vintage Diner a short distance from the hotel. After our previous 2 trips to the States, we can say that we ADORE old-style diners, with their mile-long menus, especially for breakfast. The 11th Street Diner is fantastic. We will go there for all our 3 days in Miami. Every day we try to choose a different specialty: Max and Clarissa choose savory with bacon, scrambled eggs and pancakes. For me, Daniela, strawberry pancakes, accompanied by maple syrup.

Supercharged with this substantial breakfast, we set off for our first exploration tour of Miami. First of all, we take advantage of the fact that it's quite early, to properly visit Ocean Drive. This is the main street of Miami Beach, the liveliest, the classic Art Deco-style seafront. Here there is also the famous Versace house, now closed, where he was murdered. We make a first pass on the beach: Clarissa rushes to do gymnastic exercises with the classic equipment placed somewhat everywhere along the street. Then we decide to go towards the beach where the lifeguards are placing deck chairs and umbrellas (which they put out and take in every day). We photograph the picturesque lifeguard towers, each painted with different colors from one another.

Clarissa takes advantage of the absence of the lifeguards (because it's early) to climb to the top of the towers and pretend to be the lifeguard. Then we head towards Miami, crossing the bridges where the luxurious villas of Miami's rich people stand, with yachts parked in front: all very beautiful and scenic. We photograph some of them. We quickly reach Bayside marketplace, a very pretty tourist harbor with lots of shops. We park without difficulty because the place has its own covered parking at affordable prices. We stroll among shops and little bridges and reach the Hard Rock, located in a dominant position. While Clarissa buys Hard Rock Miami t-shirts for herself and her friends, I sit on the pier admiring the view. Meanwhile the heat grows and grows and we sweat and sweat.

Then, all of a sudden, as also on the following days here in Florida, everything clouds over; the sky turns a menacing blue and, in four and four (in no time), it starts pouring for about 30 minutes. So we get back in the car and venture into Miami's chaotic road system, in search of the Harley dealership in Miami, Petersons. We have already been to other large cities in the United States: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston but none of these is as traffic-heavy and complicated for driving as Miami. Even following the efficient Garmin navigator to the letter (in the US they don't use Tom Toms but only Garmin) often you don't understand the directions and you turn onto the wrong ramps. Anyway, under pouring rain that prevents us from seeing almost anything, we manage to reach Harley Miami. We arrive and by now it has stopped raining. So we go in and buy the first t-shirts.

This will be just the beginning of a long series of Harley dealerships and shops that we will visit, as is our habit on trips abroad (Max is a Harley rider). We then return to Miami Beach, making a stop at Starbucks for a frappuccino and cake. Right after we go back to the Hotel: I, Daniela, decide to rest, while Max and Clarissa go to the beach for a first swim in the ocean. Then we all together take a dive, though pleasant, in the squalid pool of our hotel: a simple little blue rectangle, wedged in a mediocre position. For dinner, a long sandwich from Subway where it's possible to independently choose the contents of the sandwiches which are filled before our eyes (without surprises of unwanted foods).

This is followed by a stroll through the numerous souvenir shops of Miami Beach: our favorites are Alvin's (for Max and Clarissa) and Wings (for Daniela) where we buy a few little gifts for friends back home.

MIAMI

We go on the second day to the usual Diner for breakfast, where we are greeted with big hellos and smiles. The waiters treat us in a very friendly way, as if we were old friends, welcoming us with a warm "welcome back". Today, however, we order: Max the usual savory breakfast Clarissa a mega Waffle Daniela makes the pleasant acquaintance of the sublime French Fried Toast. Let me briefly describe them to you: they are big chunks of bread, fried, rolled in sugar and dusted with cinnamon. In the end the result is similar to a plate of fritters and I assure you they are delicious (almost better than Pancakes). Then we set off for the itinerary established for the day. First stop: Vizcaya. It is a luxurious residence on the seafront, richly furnished with scenic ornamental gardens and fountains.

It is used as a venue for weddings (I had already heard it mentioned on Real Time on "Say yes to the dress"). Even that day there was a bride who, like us, having arrived well before the opening time (it opens at 9:30 but the website said 9:00) was patiently waiting in line in front of the ticket office. We visit the numerous well-furnished rooms, arranged on 2 floors, with a large patio and central fountain (unfortunately it is not possible to take photos inside). Then we go out into the splendid gardens, in Venetian style, masterfully overlooking the sea. Just to change things up, it's very hot. But we visit everything anyway, comforted by the fact that, after this visit, the stop at the Venetian Pool awaits us. The Venetian Pool is located in the lovely neighborhood of Coral Gables, very quiet with pretty residential houses.

Our Mondadori Guide says that the Venetian Pool in Miami is the most beautiful public pool in the world. And I assure you that it really is! It was built in a coral rock quarry (in 1923) in Venetian style. The water temperature is perfect for us at that moment: a truly pleasant coolness for the heat accumulated by our bodies during the morning. We stay here also for lunch, in the cafeteria where it's possible to choose among various hot dishes. We then return to Miami Beach and take a quick swim at the beach. Quick because it's very hot at the beach and we don't have an umbrella. For dinner, we go back to Subway and, following that, a stop at Starbucks for frappuccino and cakes. Starbucks desserts are truly good!

KEY WEST

We go back for breakfast to the usual Diner, for the last time, unfortunately. Right after, we set off towards Key West. The journey is quite long, about 3 hours, but the Keys road is so suggestive that time passes quickly. It's a long and quiet 2-lane road that crosses the sea; to the right and left, only the sea of the Keys dotted, here and there, with pretty green islets. We make a first stop at Key Largo, at Dolphin Cove, to book the Swim with Dolphins for Clarissa, for the following day. In fact, this is the only activity of our trip that we weren't able to book from Italy, since they only accept phone reservations complete with dictating your Credit Card over the phone. We didn't feel like doing it by phone, all the more so since the price of this dolphin experience is considerable (about 200 dollars) and so we decided to stop by in person, hoping to still find available spots.

They are available and, the following day, Clarissa will do her much-desired activity with the dolphins. We continue and reach Key West. We first go to our hotel, FAIRFIELD INN, very nice to the point of declaring it, unanimously by all of us, the best of our trip. Only flaw, the somewhat "unlucky" location on the outskirts of Key West, far from the charm of the very beautiful and lively historic center. In fact Key West is beautiful; for me and Max the most beautiful destination of our trip to Florida, so much so that we decide to return there in the future to stay longer (maybe in another season. winter?). Too bad not to stay right in the center, maybe on the beautiful Duval Street, where there are all these characteristic little houses in colored wood, each more beautiful than the last and all worth photographing.

We notice that in the center there are many Bed & Breakfasts and very cute Guest Houses to keep in mind for the future. First stop is Hemingway's house. It is really a beautiful and interesting residence in Spanish colonial style, arranged on 2 floors, with furnished rooms and memorabilia of the most famous American writer of all time. Also beautiful is the lush garden with a pond and with the famous pool; the first pool built in Key West and which cost much more than the house itself. A peculiarity of the house as well as a big attraction for tourists is represented by the famous "Hemingway cats", descendants of the real cats owned by the author. In the house there are over 50 big cats, roaming somewhat everywhere, in the garden, in the courtyard or sprawled on the furniture of the house, super willing to be photographed by visitors.

Once out of here, we take a brief drive to better focus on the center of Key West and to do a minimum of planning for the evening, looking for places and parking. But then we have, as usual, too much heat and the beautiful lagoon pool of our hotel calls us. So we refresh ourselves in the clear, cool and sweet waters of this scenic pool. We go out early in the evening, parking in the convenient paid parking lot near Mallory Square (10 dollars for parking for the evening and payment exclusively by credit card at the parking meter). We notice in Mallory Square the already crowded throng of people waiting for the sunset for the famous applause to the sun. We are undecided: we don't know whether to also wait for the (unspecified) moment of the sunset and the applause or look for a place for dinner. We decide to dine right in a Cuban restaurant overlooking Mallory Square: La Maison de Pepe.

Characteristic place: Max chooses Cuban food. I and Clarissa, more traditionalist, normal American food. When we go out the sun has by now set. Darn: we missed the applause. Never mind! We then walk along the beautiful and lively Duval Street with all its characteristic venues and shops housed in the beautiful colored wooden houses typical of the place. First of all, obviously, the Harley shop in Key West, but then we also briefly stop at Sloppy Joe's, the famous Hemingway pub where, at that moment, live music is playing. Truly they play live in almost all the venues on the street. How beautiful and how cheerful. We also stop to watch the girls of Coyote Ugly dancing on the bar counter inviting brave and awkward tourists to also climb on the counter and shake their booties.

What a horrid spectacle! We also make a stop at the beautiful Hard Rock Café building but its shop, disappoints us a bit. We then return to the hotel to take advantage a little of the convenient free internet stations located in the Lobby. Some hotels (the best ones) offer this service. Others limit themselves to only free Wi-Fi but we didn't bring our PCs from home.

KEY LARGO

The breakfast at our Key West hotel is fabulous. The best of our trip, just as the Key West hotel is for us the best by far: great variety of sweet and savory foods and, moreover, the fun machines to make your own Waffle. My waffle turns out quite decent. Max's, however, has an irregular shape. Before leaving Key West we want to take one last stroll in the historic center to be able to appreciate it with the tranquility of the early morning. We park near the "southernmost point of the United States". We walk on the small beach and on the pier where "it is forbidden to be without smiling". We then retrace the road of the previous day to return to Key Largo where we will stay that day.

First though, a stop at the Whale harbor, a pretty tourist port, Whale Harbor, with many boats for fishing and for excursions to see the whales in addition to a colorful bridge pub, blue and yellow, where it's possible to eat, drink and admire the sea from the counter. Too bad it's not the right time to take advantage, but we nonetheless walk through the bridge venue, from one side to the other. We then arrive at our hotel, MARINA DEL MAR, surprised by the nice location of our room, with a small balcony overlooking the canal. The hotel completely overlooks a beautiful canal, full of boats coming and going. We like the view very much.

We wait for the time for the appointment with the dolphins, booked the day before at Dolphin Cove We arrive well in advance, suffering a bit from the heat. We endure a long and boring briefing in rapid-fire spoken English and then, finally, Clarissa can enter the water with 2 dolphins, the instructor, and stay there for about half an hour. The lesson is interesting and fun. Clarissa will remember this experience forever. The instructor will suggest all the activities to do with the pair of dolphins: jumps, towings, fast runs, to culminate with the famous dolphin kiss. I and Max, who are waiting, photograph and film from an observation point for paying companions (10 dollars per companion), not having the possibility of throwing ourselves into the water like Clarissa, we long for the moment of our daily swim in the pool.

However, the water of our hotel's pool is a little too warm for our tastes, though we appreciate the size of the pool itself, overlooking the famous canal and surrounded by a beautiful palm garden. For dinner, following the suggestion of a tourist publication found in the room, we decide to go to the Fish House in Key Largo. So tonight, a dinner based on fish, which doesn't disappoint us at all. At the end we decide to taste the famous typical dessert of the place: Key Lime Pie, a kind of lime and meringue Cheese Cake that, however, we don't like much. Better the classic Dunkin Donuts little donuts!

EVERGLADES- FORT PIERCE

The breakfast at our Hotel Marina is rather pitiful, with packaged croissants and bagels. The setting, however, is pleasant, with outdoor tables overlooking the canal. Today the boat excursion to the Everglades awaits us, which we booked from home through the website: We enter the Everglades Park with the car, paying an amount of 10 dollars per car. We make a first stop at the first Visitor Center, with a rich museum and located in a very pleasant setting, with a view of a pond and a beautiful wooden pier. We then travel the only possible road that will lead us to Flamingo, stopping at the marked panoramic points. We spot a few birds here and there. The place is very beautiful even if we advise you to get out of the car as little as possible because you will be immediately attacked by mosquitoes, horseflies and various insects.

The mere opening of the door or a window causes an immediate entry of insects into the car. We cover ourselves completely with Autan brought from home and use the ammonia stick for after-bites. However, once we reach the departure point of the excursion, we decide to buy a Spray repellent in the shop hoping it's more suitable. We reach the Flamingo Marina well in advance and wait at the Visitor Center for the departure time. Fortunately our boat has a cover with blue tarp, so shade is guaranteed. Moreover, while sailing, a bit of air circulates, so we're not at all uncomfortable. The excursion in the backwater areas of the Everglades is, at the level of landscape, quite beautiful: we see the famous mangroves, lakes, canals and lots of vegetation. However, at the level of fauna, one sees very little. We spot only a couple of alligators and a few birds. Nothing more.

The excursion lasts about 1 hour and 30 min. At the end, we get back in the car and retrace the same road as in the morning to exit the park and head towards Fort Pierce, where we will stay overnight. The stop in Fort Pierce is only a technical stop as it is located halfway between the Everglades and Orlando, where we will go tomorrow to visit Universal Studios. Fort Pierce is a quiet little town on the shore of an arm of the sea. Our hotel, seafront, is very pleasant and equipped with every comfort. The beautiful wooden piers in front of the hotel are where you can stay in tranquility to scan the sea and take beautiful photos by day and by night.

The hotel, Hutchinson Island Plaza Hotel & Suites, has everything we need: the usual room with 2 Queen beds facing the sea, a seafront pool, a very hot seafront whirlpool and convenient free internet stations for guests. Nothing to complain about. Allow me a small aside to explain the matter of beds in Florida. We have always booked rooms with n. 2 Queen beds which we thought, as from our previous trips to the USA, were normal double beds, the size of the Italian ones (since we are 3). Instead we discover right from the first hotel that, here in Florida, by Queen Bed is meant a bed just a little bigger than a "piazza e mezza" (a French bed, to make it clear) where I and my daughter, in the same bed, are always rather cramped. We would have done better to choose rooms with 2 King Size Beds even if the cost would have been higher.

It's Fort Pierce that isn't anything exceptional, instead and doesn't offer particular attractions. We look for a place for dinner and spot near the hotel a Diner, rather squalid, run by a grotesque husband and wife: Dave's. But the whole thing feels like "old America". There's no other customer besides us but we like the foods we order: hot sandwiches with turkey, bacon, ham and french fries. We spend little and remain so satisfied that we take photos inside and outside the place. We return to the beach of our hotel to walk on the piers with the evening lights. Nice.

ORLANDO

The breakfast at our Fort Pierce Hotel is good. At the buffet we even find small sandwiches already prepared with mini hamburgers and Cheddar cheese. We then leave the hotel very early, because we want to reach Universal Studios in Orlando as early as possible and 2 hours of car travel separate us. We arrive at the mega parking lot of Universal Studios around 9:30. The parking is rather expensive (15 dollars for the whole day) and a system of moving walkways and escalators leads us to the square in front of the entrance to the parks. We head towards Islands of Adventure, with our tickets already purchased via the internet, on the Universal Studios website. Universal Studios is divided into 2 different parks: Universal Studios (classic) and Island of Adventures, within which is the famous area dedicated to the world of Harry Potter, towards which we are headed.

Having already purchased and printed our tickets means we don't have to wait in line at the entrance. However, after entering, we notice that there are loads of people, especially in the Wizarding world of Harry Potter, towards which we are headed. Moreover, you always have to wait in quite a line for the various attractions: about 30 minutes of line for each single thing. Clarissa manages to do 4 attractions while we always wait patiently at the exit looking for covered places to shelter from the heat. It would have been nice to visit all the shops talked about in the Harry Potter films present in Diagon Alley, but you can only enter and shop in some of them. For example, to enter the famous wand shop, Olivander, there is a long line. In short, around 14:00 all 3 of us are nicely cooked and we head under the scorching sun towards the exit to retrieve our car.

To help remember the area of the parking lot where you leave the car, the parking lot is divided into zones with the names of typical Universal Studios characters (e.g., E.T., the one they gave us was "The Cat in the Hat" - but who is that?????? Beats me). We go to our hotel Ramada Plaza Resort & Suites International Drive Orlando, located a couple of km from Universal Studios, on International Drive. It is a large hotel and also seems fairly luxurious. Our nice room is located nicely on the 11th floor with large windows with a view of the pool and the lake below. A beautiful view that we will appreciate even more at night, with all the lights turning on and reflecting on the lake and the incomparable image of the reddish dawn over the lake. We obviously immediately rush to the pool. There is also an adjacent whirlpool tub which, however, is not turned on. Hmm.

After a while, however, everything clouds over, a strong wind rises, it starts to rain and we run off to the room to get ready for dinner. We have noticed around the hotel many "All you can eat" places, that is, restaurants where you pay a flat fee for the buffet and for drinks and then you can help yourself (or rather fill your plates), from the large buffet that displays various dishes from appetizer to dessert. It's all very good and we are very satisfied, also because, beyond a certain point, we can't eat. The same could be repeated at lunch too, with a large buffet for breakfast for a few dollars (5 dollars) but we, blundering badly, prefer to take advantage of our breakfast included in the room price. From the large windows of our room, we witness the best show that Orlando offers us: Orlando by night and, in the morning, an incredible reddish dawn.

Daytona and Palm Beach

Breakfast is quite disappointing: only coffee, bread and little else. We should have gone back to an "All you can Eat" as the negative Tripadvisor reviews advised. But the saddest thing is the fact that this is how our last full day in Florida begins. We leave the hotel and go straight to Daytona to visit the largest Harley dealership in the world. We arrive shortly after opening and buy t-shirts for everyone (but really everyone). Max obviously takes a ton of photos inside and outside and then we head towards Palm Beach, where we have booked the last hotel. The journey towards Palm Beach lasts about 3 hours. As soon as we arrive we immediately discover the difference between Palm Beach and West Palm Beach where our hotel is located. The first is obviously very beautiful and very luxurious, the second, where we will be, obviously rather squalid.

Our small HOTEL BIBA too, seems rather essential and tiny. Anyway we don't stand on ceremony: it has a pool, it has nice little courtyards with lots of palms and decent rooms. Today the weather is really bad for the whole day, so we can't even use the pool. I and Max, however, decide to go and visit Palm Beach, even if in the rain, while Clarissa stays at the hotel sleeping. Even with the gloomy weather, we see that Palm Beach is beautiful. The houses or rather the villas, all have a particular majestic architecture, with turrets, fountains, colonnades, sometimes similar to miniature castles. Our destination is the fabulous Flagler Museum, named after its rich owner who made his fortune in the world of oil, hotels and other sectors. The residence dates back to the early 1900s but is so well maintained that it seems to have been built yesterday.

Even the furniture and furnishings in vivid colors (a color for each room) give an idea of avant-garde. The house is very beautiful, the internal covered courtyard fantastic and the pavilion (recently built) in front of the lake that even houses the private railway car of the Flagler family, at the time of the beginnings of the development of the Railroad in the United States, is astounding. You can even climb onto the train car and view its rich furnishings. On the way out by car, we try to follow by car the itinerary proposed by the Mondadori Guide to visit historic Palm Beach. All very beautiful. Too bad for the weather that doesn't let us appreciate the seafront with the beaches at all. We return to the hotel to organize things for the imminent departure of the following day.

We then go out for dinner, however making first a stop at a large Walmart store where Max wants to buy some magazines. For dinner we choose a Wendy's chain fast food, very popular in this area, where we notice that the food quality is better compared to MacDonald's or Burger King.

RETURN

Today too there's no sun but, at least, for the moment it's not raining. The breakfast in our hotel Biba is surprising, so much so that it's rated the second best of the trip. And then consuming the good croissants and pastries (which we finally find) in the pleasant setting of the hotel's tropical garden, is incomparable. We leave the keys at the Reception and following the navigator we reach after about 1 hour the Miami airport, looking for the center for the return of the rental cars. We do everything without problems and patiently wait for the opening of the Air Berlin Check-ins. We thus discover that the plane, unlike the punctuality on the way out, has a delay of almost 2 hours and we fear for our stopover in Berlin, afraid of missing the Berlin-Malpensa flight.

But they assure us that this won't happen and indeed we manage to also catch the second plane (which in turn had a 20-minute delay) and arrive fairly punctually at home. Also the collection of our car at Parkingo is super efficient as always. It is precisely for this reason that we always use them. Obviously, at this point, one should write the classic concluding phrase that sums up a bit the whole vacation. In short, we can say that everything went well, everything as planned, we managed to do everything we had set out to do, but, but, but, TOO HOT. If you decide to go to Florida, go IN WINTER, because there it's never winter. DANI, MAX AND CLARISSA