After a rainy, cold and above all boring winter, we decided to treat ourselves to this holiday, organised by following the weather so as not to risk finding ourselves in Florida hounded by bad weather, but let's start the story, departure on 2 March for Miami with a stopover in Zurich, a calm and not very comfortable flight even though the 10 hours and 40 minutes make themselves felt, especially if the passenger in front never puts his seat back up; we were lucky to have an empty seat in the middle row so we had more freedom of movement; arrived in Miami the usual immigration check, and off to collect the car and arrive after about 40 minutes in Florida City for the night at the Travelodge; the motel is quite clean, has a nice breakfast room and the price is honest ($90 taxes included) I must say that in my modest opinion the hotel is clean, functional etc. etc.
but it's still a modest motel with somewhat dated rooms. In the morning wake-up at 5 am, breakfast at 6.30 and then we set off, first stop at Key Largo in a Kmart to do a bit of shopping including a pack of water and beach towels; first stop, a State Park near Key Largo (John Pennekamp), $6.50, and off we go, 20 minutes later we're out; the place is very beautiful but it's suited to snorkelling and, despite it being 26 degrees, I didn't have the courage, unlike others, to jump into the water; we did another beach, also very beautiful, between Key Largo and Islamorada, a very pretty public beach; we arrived and there wasn't a soul, coral sand and blue sea; after lunch, heading down towards Key West, we stopped at another public beach called Sombrero Beach, very beautiful and, like the others, with very few people; the day was beautiful even if there's a very annoying wind.
This evening we went to see the famous sunset at Mallory Square in Key West, a great crowd of people and, more than a sunset, it was a north wind (from the strong cold wind) For the night we chose the Comfort Inn for its location; the property is the classic motel, rooms on two floors, parking in front of the door; the property is quite expensive ($170) for the type of service it offers, but it must be said that we are 3 km from Mallory Square. The hotel offers wireless connection, breakfast and parking near the room.
The next morning we set off again from Key West to reach Naples, where we booked for two days a beautiful La Quinta; along the way we stopped at Bahia Honda, a beautiful state park on the Overseas Hwy, crystal-clear water, palms, very white sand; unfortunately the water is freezing so no swimming for now; the park is perfectly equipped for visitors, with showers, toilets and trails among the mangroves. From the old bridge you get a magnificent 180-degree view of the Seven Mile Bridge as well as miles of coastline.
Overnight stop at the Ramada Inn in Florida City; this hotel would be a good property although its position on US1 penalises it greatly in terms of noise; in any case the rooms facing the rear are the best solution as they are much quieter; the rooms have a beautiful 37-inch LCD TV, free wireless connection, good mattresses and a decent breakfast; by the pool there are very comfortable sunbeds with cushions; the negative things are yellowish stains on the walls, a bathroom not perfectly clean with mould stains on the ceiling; moreover the door was very damaged; the pool should be heated but they probably forgot to turn on the hot water; another not-so-pleasant thing is the power cables left in plain sight under the desk; if the management decides to renovate it, it could be an excellent property.
The following day we crossed the whole of the Everglades via I75, making a diversion for the Bill Swamp, a small park in the middle of the marshes, very beautiful; we did the airboat ride and saw a few alligators, raccoons, a herd of wild boars and some swamp buffalo; we arrived in Naples around 2 pm, a swim in the pool and then a wander around Tin City, an area of the old port turned into a shopping and restaurant centre, very characteristic even if the prices take away the poetry of a sunset over the sea.
This morning we have another day at the beach planned, since the temperatures and the summer weather allow it; Lowdermilk Park Beach, a beautiful very white beach; we parked in the nearby garage ($8 for the whole day) At 9.30 there wasn't a soul; afterwards droves of old folk began to arrive; the odd thing is that they stopped near the access to the toilets, while 30 metres away the beach was completely empty; we stayed on the beach until 12.30 and then devoted ourselves to an afternoon of unbridled shopping at the outlet in Miromar, about 30 km from Naples.
La Quinta is an excellent hotel, a very large clean room, with good mattresses, wireless and every comfort for a stay; for me it would have been a 4-star review if my bank's SMS service hadn't warned me of a charge of $110 that was neither notified nor authorised; having asked for explanations at reception, they informed us that the $110 is a pre-authorised charge for a possible purchase of pay-TV films or phone calls; they assured us it would be refunded within 72 hours The hotel has a small heated pool and offers a not very varied breakfast; as for location it's on 5th, practically about 3 km from the centre of Naples, very easy to find.
New day and again sea and sun; today we went to Sanibel; we had already seen it the previous year but the weather was bad, so we decided to see it in its full splendour; the beach and the sea are beautiful even if the promotional photos promise more than it actually is; after a day in the sun we set off for Bradenton, where, having arrived at the Quality Inn we had booked, we found the little surprise of a cancelled reservation; having had to slog for a couple of hours looking for a hotel, in any case it went fine; the little town is nothing special and the hotel area is a very outlying and busy area; we found the hotel in Sun City, about 30 km from Bradenton, a good Comfort Inn on I75, nothing special but given the time (9 pm) and the no-vacancy at many hotels, let's say we were lucky.
The hotel is quite recent; certainly it's not the Hilton but it has all the features of a motel on the motorway; we were given the suite; the room was quite well kept, a nice living area and two queen beds; at the back of the room a small kitchen with all the appliances and the table with chairs; the hotel has free wireless and a heated pool; in front of reception in the morning a continental buffet breakfast is served. In conclusion a good property on the motorway, clean and convenient This morning we left Sun City heading for Clearwater; from there we went to Honeymoon Island and Caladesi Island; here too I reiterate the fact that the promotional photos overrate the places; in any case such places, and perhaps more beautiful ones, can also be found back home, for example in the Uccellina park at Argentario, on Elba or in Sardinia.
From Honeymoon you enter the state park ($5) and from there you take a little boat ($10 return) and in 10 minutes you arrive at Caladesi; this too is a protected area; the beach is of very fine coral sand, like talcum powder; the sea is very beautiful even if today it was a bit rough; the feature of Caladesi is the enormous number of shells on the beach; much sought after are the sand dollar shells, shaped like a 25-cent coin. In the afternoon we set off for Kissimmee and after about 1.50 hours we arrived at the hotel; the property is the same choice as last year, a room of
Day 12 Mar 2009
17 volte Vacanzeinamerica ( seconda parte )
The hotel is in an excellent location, slightly tucked away from Irlo Bronson, the rooms are decent and the staff are quite attentive to requests—I say quite because a rather strange episode happened; basically I checked in after booking a pool-view room, the clerk gave us a room at the back of the property telling us there weren't any others and that the next morning he would move us to the requested room. We go into the room and I notice the carpet full of stains, with a huge stain on the side of the bed, the lamps dusty and with two burnt-out bulbs. We went downstairs asking to change rooms, the girl (it was someone else) gave us the pool-view room as booked and in excellent condition. The room is quite large, has air conditioning and a ceiling fan, a nice 32" LCD TV and wireless connection, at the back of the room a small sink, the fridge, the microwave and the safe.
The hotel didn't include breakfast, but there's a bar near the lobby where for the modest sum of $10!!! you can have breakfast; I'd advise having it outside, on Irlo Bronson there's both Ponderosa and Sizzler where for half the price you eat double. Another thing that isn't very clear is the hotel tax, about $14, which is mentioned neither at booking nor at check-in; basically this tax covers the transport costs for the parks, the hotel entertainment and entry to the Water Park. This hotel has a very convenient and lovely area for spending a day outdoors among pools and water slides. In conclusion, a good property, inexpensive, clean, although they should warn you about the hotel tax beforehand or include it in the price.
A day at the pool in total relaxation, swims, sun, slides and a course to do with inner tubes carried by the current; in the evening more shopping at the Premium Outlet on Vineland Av. and afterwards Downtown Disney, a particularity: compared to last year the area has grown and there are several new shops and restaurants. This morning we went to DeLeon Springs, a nature area 70 km from Orlando, a paradise amidst these thousand-year-old trees (Bald Cypress) where the Spring Youth is found, that is the fountain of youth, a hole in the middle of this pool from which pure thermal water comes out; the water is about 22 degrees so great for swimming in summer, less so now, although my little girl didn't wait a second to dive in. Entry costs $5 and parking is free; in the area there's an old Spanish furnace for sugar production, now used as a very characteristic restaurant.
In this area you can rent canoes or take an organized boat tour of the lake; beyond the natural pool swimming is forbidden because there are alligators. Back at the hotel, dinner at Ponderosa and then a stroll along International Drive to end the evening playing mini golf. Today we went to Cocoa Beach, we took the opportunity of the day at the sea with the Shuttle launch from the Kennedy Space Center scheduled for 21:20; unfortunately at 14:00 they postponed the launch for technical reasons, a shame, it would have been a spectacle to see the Discovery launch from 10 km away, oh well, maybe next time. The holiday is quickly drawing to a close, tomorrow we're leaving for Ft. Lauderdale and then to Miami airport.
For dinner we chose the Longhorn chain, a beautiful steakhouse with very good meat; I had the LongHorn Porterhouse, a big 22 oz steak, the waitress asked me if I was very hungry, the girl doesn't know that I can eat a 1.3 kg Florentine steak without any problem:D Last day, we left for Ft. Lauderdale and after about 3 hours we arrived at Sawgrass Mills, a huge shopping mall, last purchases and then off to return the car and check in at the airport; the return flight as usual is a tragedy, uncomfortable seats and difficulty sleeping, lately even Swiss is trying to save on catering by offering very poor meals, but what can you do, that's the price of traveling in economy. In conclusion, a fantastic trip, very relaxing and fun; maybe I'd avoid the last 4 days in Kissimmee as a base and instead make stops in different places, but again, maybe next time.
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