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Miami Beach, FL

HOME COOKED MEALS AND BUTTERBEER:
That moment we had been waiting for had finally arrived. With our homemade sign held high, Allison and Adriaan, our lifelong friends ran through the arrival gates at Miami International Airport. It was a special moment. I gave Allison the biggest hug. It felt as though it was yesterday we had seen them. We left the airport bound for breakfast in South Beach, Miami in our Mustang convertible, looking pretty cool next to the hundreds of other rented Mustangs.
We had a whole week together in a two bedroom apartment in Orlando where we spent a lot of time just chilling out. We ventured out for swims in the pool, mini golf, the beach, surfing and then retired back home for home cooked meals, cocktails, beer pong, more cocktails and cooking lessons for me (Dave says, “thanks Allison”). Home cook meals are a novelty for us but it was important to mix it up and take Allison and Adriaan to a few fast food chains to give them a true American experience. A Diner, Taco Bell, Denny’s, Pop Eyes and Waffle House were a few we chose. This week was really important, for the four of us to spend long awaited quality time together. Even if ‘just chilling out’ didn’t make for the most exciting blog reading, it was perfect! I could have gone into more detail about the huge beer pong night but that’s probably one to keep to ourselves. I will say, Allison and Adriaan did very well drinking 99% of my beers after 3 days with no sleep. What are friends for!

The four of us went to Disney World on one of the days. Although it was really a ‘for the kids’ theme park, we had an enjoyable day. The queues were extremely long and the sun was hot so we split the day into two. After dinner, we returned to watch the the Nighttime Spectacular shows. An electric light parade followed a light show. Famous Disney songs and the voices of Disney characters matched the light show projected on to the life size Cinderella Castle, followed by a fireworks extravaganza. Disney World is once in a lifetime ‘must see’ attraction. The parades and fireworks made the day.

Allison and Adriaan chose Seaworld for their second theme park and we chose Universal Studios. We all sat through a 2 hour timeshare presentation to get half price theme park tickets. It was well worth it for a large price saving, even though the pushy Italian salesman made my blood boil. The four of us will never be able to hear the words “…the luxury condo is so luxury that it’s luxury.. and luxury it is..” again without thinking of the Italian with bad hair and shiny rings. With that extra money saved, Dave and I went to both parks; Universal Studios and Universal’s Islands of Adventure. We arrived before opening and left after closing. An epic 11 hour day. They have this great single rider option for all the rides. We clicked onto the fact that if we sat behind each other on the rides, rather than next to each other, we would wait 5 minutes for each ride rather than 45-90minutes. How did no one else see this? This time saved meant we got to go on most of the rides, about 20 of them. Universal is a great place for all ages to have maximum enjoyment. Two of the roller coasters were the scariest we’ve ever been on. The Hulk for example, we accelerated from zero to 40 mph in two seconds flat. The force was equal to that of a jet taking off of an aircraft carrier. The world turned upside down as we experienced a weightless “zero g” roll. Not a bad effort for someone who doesn’t enjoy coasters!
The Spider-Man and Transformer rides were a little boy’s dream but also perfect for adults – scaling skyscrapers and plummeting to the pavement below in a simulated 400-foot free fall. There are heaps of moving, motion-based ride vehicles, 3-D and 4D experiences, live action and water rides that left us saturated. During the Simpsons experience, we were cartoons on a 3D roller coaster in Krusty Land before Sideshow Bob destroyed the coaster and sent us flying through Springfield. To complete the experience, outside the 3D ride, Universal actually recreated the town of Springfield, complete with Moe’s beer, Krusty Burger, Kwik-E-Mart and other iconic shops that were actually functioning businesses.
The award winning Harry Potter ride used state-of-the-art technology to create a feeling of weightlessness flying though the world of Hogwarts. The ride was situated inside Hogwarts (a life sized castle). To get to the ride entrance required wandering through the winding corridors and familiar passageways that led to iconic locations such as Dumbledore’s office. Books moved by themselves, it snowed in the corridors and portraits on the walls moved and spoke in eerie tones. Outside the castle were two duelling roller coasters that simultaneously battled until the end. Apart from the rides and the castle experience, there was also a street of crooked houses and shops designed to look and feel like Hogsmeade. This set up is one of the most impressive man made things I’d ever seen. Butter beer, pumpkin fizz and lollies flavoured with magic were just a few of the unique flavours in this magical place.

UNLIMITED FOOD AT SEA:
We were very excited to take Allison and Adriaan on a cruise in the beautiful Caribbean. Only a few months ago we swapped ships to ensure we weren’t on another floating morgue but on a ship that they would remember. The Norwegian Epic, one of the world’s newest and largest, was the perfect pick. Three water slides, three bowling allies, an ice bar, a comedy club, a jazz club, two adult sun decks and tiny pools, a basketball court and soccer field, a circus, a video arcade and a number of climbing walls. Our rooms, next to each other, had balconies to ensure we got the most out of life at sea. Allison and Adriaan got a lot of use out of theirs, sipping wine after dark. We used ours as a Chinese Laundry, as any traveller does.

We fitted a heck of a lot into the four sea days, even if it was a heck of a lot of relaxing and eating. The general theme of sea days consisted of:
-Three course breakfasts followed by light entertainment such as game shows, demonstrations and presentations.
-Three course buffet lunches followed by watersides, sunbathing and frozen daiquiris. Adriaan would often slide in an afternoon burger or a couple of cakes and I would find a way to get my hands on mac and cheese.
-Three course dinners in front of a live band, before the evening’s show. The first night had lobster and prawns which set a high standard for the week. By the end of the week, Adriaan would eat dessert before dinner to ensure he had room for the 10 cakes.
– Just incase we were still hungry, the day always finished with crepes and coffee before bed.

After a month of cruising in the Caribbean, I’d say we have seen our fair share of ship’s entertainment. The quality of the Norwegian Epic is a step above the rest. There certainly was enough entertainment to keep us busy. The Blue Man group was by far the best show we had ever seen on a cruise ship. Fluorescent paint, hundreds of kilometres of white toilet paper, strobe lights and blue – random – men. The cast of the Legends in Concert show was so believable, Katy Perry couldn’t sing but Elvis rocked the house. Dave and I went to a Comedy Hypnosis show. The duelling pianos in the Howl at the Moon bar was better than that in Vegas. So much so, after 2 hours we went to bed while Allison and Adriaan enjoyed the music until the early hours of the morning.

THREE DRUNKEN PORTS:
Although we did shore excursions to try and see some of the countryside, somehow it always came back to Jamaican rum and Mexican tequila
– Jamaica Mon! In the morning, we tubed down a river through a rainforest followed by an afternoon at a private beach club. Live music, unlimited Jamaican rum, beer and food. It was our local guide who topped the days events. She gave us stories on what it’s actually like to live in Jamaica. With a minimum wage of $56 per week in the busy season and petrol prices higher than Australia, life is difficult for most Jamaicans. She gave birth to her child on a
bench in a hospital because there weren’t enough beds. It’s very sad considering shore excursion companies are often owned by overseas investors, charging customers top dollar and paying employees minimum wage. This problem isn’t isolated to Jamaica. The same story was told in all of the 12 Caribbean islands we have now visited. Tipping is essential for their survival.
On a lighter note, once we arrived back to the ship, Dave gave himself a drunken haircut. Rum punch led to this new ‘hairdresser’ having an early night, so it was Allison and Adriaan who took me out for a wiggle at the White Hot Dance Party.
– Hola Amigo! Costa Maya is on mainland Mexico. $1 beers, complementary welcome tequila shots and margaritas, sunbathing, snorkelling, tequilarias, sun and turquoise waters. That’s pretty much the port of Costa Maya!
– As for Cozumel, it has tequila, not fish. What is it about Mexico and free tequila? A complimentary welcome / farewell shot is as common as dollar Coronas in the souvenir shops and $5 extra large frozen margaritas. Needless to say, the Mexican ‘generosity’ meant we made it back to the ship with 20seconds to spare….and maybe got chased onto the boat by the port officials. I should have started the day from the beginning but my throbbing head says the later events were the cause. Just after breakfast, we set out on a powerboat to three reefs for a morning on the Mexican reefs. Sadly the weather was pretty ****** therefore the fish forgot to come out to play. That is why I’ve decided Cozumel is more about the tequila and not the fish.

Two weeks and a day since we met Allison and Adriaan at the airport, we prepare to farewell again. Thankfully, this time it’s only for 3 months not 9. Our first stop on this adventure was to South Beach, Miami. The last stop before we headed to the airport was also to South Beach, this time to spend 12 hours laying on the beach before our flights.
Similar to Bali, travelling with friends always adds to the experience. Once the holiday is over, we can share those memories forever. Thank you Allison and Adriaan for travelling half way around the world to hang out and create memories with us.

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