Miami is for me...

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Miami is a little over one hour from where we are in West Palm Beach. The beaches are not much different just more populated. But since we had to go, we spent the afternoon there. It was the sunniest day we had since we got here on the 11 thank God cause we find it is warm enough without the sun beaming down on us, even when we can jump in the water to cool off. We are told that it is because we are not used to it...but we believe it is a good thing that we came here for a while before heading off to South America where it is a lot warmer. Our body will be accustomed to it a little. We had lunch at a place called the Waldorf. It is a Restaurant amongst the very many lined up along the Boulivard facing the beach. It was a monday so lunch menu was half price but still pricy for our taste and the beer was 8 dollars. Let's just say we only had a couple. The food was o.k. at least they had vegitarian.  The atmosphere however was great. Lots of people, Restaurant was full, people with pythons and or exotic birds past by to con you into paying 20 dollars to pose with their prey...lots of good music and expansive boutiqes but nothing else.  Because of the economic status Miami is suffering too. Yes no doubt Miami is great but we prefer it here in West Palm Beach because it is not so crowded and we can bike or walk everywhere safely.  Here people are telling us that it is very quiet this time of year it is usually much busier but because of the economy many snowbirds are staying away and as Manny our host says a lot of people are going back to their country because jobs are scarce now especially in the hospitality industry where most of them are employed. There are so many houses here in foreclosure, it's unbelievable. If we wanted to own a house again, which we don't, we could get a real good deal here...O.K. back to Miami, we had booked a cruise to South America scheduled to depart on January 4th and arriving in Brazil on the 19th which suited our purpose really well. Instead of being on a plane doing nothing , a cruise sounded very exiting. However, upon doing our research, we found out, which the nice cruise people omited to tell us, is that Brazil will not let you in without a tourist visa. So we went directly to the Brazil consulate to apply. When we got there we were informed that we needed the proof of arrival and departure from Brazil, a set of recent passport photos and our passports. We had everything but the ittenirary from the ship which they emailed to us but I could not open the damn thing...so the girl at the consulate was very kind and allowed us to call them to fax in what we needed. We have to go pick up our visas tomorrow if everything is fine with our papers because they decide if you get the visa or not. So again we will spend the day in Miami.  Ian especially likes it here because he gets to go swimming each morning even though we are 5 miles from the beach he jumps on Manny's mountain bike and spends the morning there meeting people and enjoying the water. People here are so friendly. Manny works from 4 to 12 so in the evening we go to the beach then familiarize ourselves with the surrounding streets.  We often stop by the bridge to talk to people fishing for Blue run, pearch and other kinds of fish. A lot of people take advantage of this. It is nice to see. He also really enjoyed N.Y. and so did I. I actually miss it...Manny lived in N.Y. for 3 years before coming here and always talks about it and says he will go back soon.  He does not love N.Y. he is "in love" with N.Y. I think it's nice. He came here because he received a better job.  He is really funny and we get along really well. He calls this place the cemetary because there are a lot of older people here and most people die here. But the way I see it they live long and die happy.  Our friend Joni's mother lives here 6 months per year. She bought a condo and says she loves it. She is in her 80s and jaunts around and drives everywhere she wants better than I can. We visited her our second day here and she has a magnificient condo right on the beach.  Actually she bought 2 condos and had the wall torn down to enlarge the place so she has the biggest one on the block.  And her condo sits right on the golf course and has awsome views in all directions. She took us to lunch to a place called the Sand Dunes and it was just marvelous.  Aside from really enjoying it here and exploring and spending time with Manny, there is not much more to report. So until next time, seize the day,Hasta Luego,

Ian just chillin at Manny's where we are staying.
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Rose and Ian

I took some pics but not that many. There is way too much that is beautiful.