Cruise is booked

We finally managed to book a cruise although it was touch and go due to the Snowbirds taking over the place. We got a balcony cabin and we’re off on the Carnival Triumph out of Miami on Sunday 8th February 2009, it stops at Ocho Rios Jamaica, Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands and Cozumel Mexico, looking forward to lunch at Pancho’s Backyard in Cozumel who make the best Margaritas in the Caribbean.

The Travel Agent here is working on some accommodation when we leave the apartment and we’re planning to head out west to Anna Marie Island for a few days then down through Sarasota and across to Naples where we have been before, and a final drive to Miami on Sunday morning.

Now that’s all booked up Theresa’s stress levels are coming down to a manageable level and its spooky, just after we booked this, she got a spam/junk email from Carnival Cruises advising if we booked a cruise with them before 31.1.09 we’d get a free upgrade. Their email came four hours after Carnival had confirmed our booking with the Travel Agents so we emailed Carnival direct saying thank you very much, we have just booked with you . . this our booking reference etc etc, look forward to our complimentary upgrade – we’ll see !!

Some very odd licensing laws

Whilst the complex we are on is new and very nice, there’s not a lot of development within walking distance, stacks of bars and restaurants within 10 minutes driving distance but drink drive etc etc ‘nuff said, I don’t want to sample the county jail.

The best restaurant within walking distance is called Applebees, like at TGI Friday set up but not as loud, loads of locals use it. They have some odd regulations here in the land of the free.
The other night we went in there and it happened to be happy hour (all evening) – we never knew that - honest, but it seems happy hour only applies to selected cocktails and wine.

Theresa ordered a Margarita – and got two, I ordered a Stella and got one . . . . so be it, we ordered a meal and the Stella and two Margaritas (neither was up to much), didn’t last long so we decided to have a bottle of vin blanc. Neither of us had our glasses with us and in the subdued light we pitched for a bottle of the one in the middle of the list of three.

The very polite high school waitress looked a bit concerned about that and hurried away, next minute the supervisor came across and said ‘I understand you want a bottle of so and so wine’, yes please, we said. He explained that they didn’t have a licence to sell wine by the bottle but we were welcome to sit here all night drinking by the glass 2 for one of the same wine we just tried to order – work that one out !!, as far as I could see all that achieved is that we never handled the bottle . . . . big deal - so we did.

Floridian Fine Dining

There is an old Native American Indian saying here that goes something like ‘When in Florida eat plenty Lobster’; several years ago we found this restaurant called Angels, its called that because when you go there you have arrived in heaven. It’s an eat as much as you can seafood restaurant, the price has gone up since we were here last but for $36 you can do just that and it includes every species of sea food you can think of - including Lobster.

They are not the biggest Lobsters I have seen, but you can genuinely sit there and eat as many as you want - all night if you want. Last time we were here, Paul and I had a competition who could eat the most Lobsters, I can’t remember who won that time but Theresa and I had a re-match last night. She managed just two, I was well into my third and took a breather, but I remembered the old Indian saying ‘When in Florida . . . by now the place had emptied out a bit and the staff were starting to clear away – I’ll have just one more.

I went up to the counter for the fourth time and joked with server ‘My wife says I can only have one more then we’ve got to go’, in a half-hearted effort to convince him I wasn’t just pigging out, ‘No problem buddy’, and he went out to the back and brought this enormous beast from the kitchen. ‘Enjoy’ he said . . . I suspect he was thinking ‘This’ll teach him !!’.

This was the sort of creature you see in horror movies and certainly wouldn’t want to have met when he was alive, if they were this size from the start I would have surrendered on three but having ordered it, its not polite to leave it we called him CLAWS. Theresa wouldn’t help me out, the waitress was hovering and I could read her mind - she was thinking just what Theresa was saying, but I did manage to finish it and the record stands at four – but I did double up on my cholesterol tablets just in case.

It’s a small world innit

Last Sunday night we went into a Brit bar fashioned out of a new build shop front a few doors away from the Indian Restaurant, we arrived at 10pm just as they were closing up, we had one drink and they were very apologetic that they were closing and explained they only shut at 10 on Sundays, come back any time we normally stay open until 2/3am.

It was about 10pm as we waddled out of Angels last night, we dumped the car at the apartment and walked back to the Brit bar. There was no way I could lay a pint on top of all that Lobster so we settled for a glass or two of white wine. The staff and the other punters soon recognise your accent and you get drawn into the conversation.

It turns out that the owner originally came from Bexleyheath, and he used to own several hamburger trailers that he had set up outside B&Q in Dartford and Charlton, we had used both. He sold up three years ago moved out here and set up the bar. His accountant was in Swanley and we spent a few hours talking over the old country and getting genned up on local places to eat and the likes.

By 12.30am I still hadn’t digested the fourth Lobster and we’d both had enough and called it a day and staggered off to bed.

Weather report – hot and sunny just as Florida should be, off to the beach today - hope its cold there . . . . .