On our way to Miami today we stopped by Castranova Chocolate to meet Denise the chocolate maker. Like us, she makes handcrafted bean to bar chocolate from single origin beans. She also makes her own truffles and drinking chocolate. She is a delightful person and we enjoyed talking all things chocolate with her. I hope you get a chance to try her chocolate, it’s pretty dang good! We bought several bars, now only if we can keep them from melting in this heat - the best way is to eat them😏.
Next stop was the infamous South Beach Miami. It was a scorcher today, close to 100 degrees and not a cloud in sight. We had fun walking the strip and wandering around.
But, our real mission was to visit Lario’s Restaurant.
This restaurant holds a special place in our hearts. About 15 years ago, when I was working at Apple I traveled to Miami on a business trip with Ned tagging along. Since it was his first time in Miami I thought it would be fun to take him to some of the hot spots. We had drinks at Madonna’s bar and had a romantic dinner at Lario’s (Gloria Estafan’s Restaurant) where he tried a mojito for the first time. When it arrived Ned very sweetly asked, “What is spinach doing in my drink?” Oh man, how could I not fall in love with this guy? Made us laugh so hard. Ironically, Ned is a master at making mojitos now. If you haven’t had one of his mojitos hanging out on our back deck, come on by! Sooo good.
We spent a wonderful afternoon having Cuban sandwiches, drinking several mojitos and settled in for the people watching.
Okay, I was actually VERY selective in the pics I’ve posted here. Trust me, this is pretty tame and tasteful compared to some of the scantily clothed people walking by. This place is just alive with colorful clothes, food and people. Our Cuban waiter, Daniel, was actually getting a kick out of us taking pics of the scene. He started telling us stories of some of the things he’s seen working here.
Life goal: learn to work it like the people walking the strip in South Beach.
The Art Deco buildings are the best. I love seeing them lit up at night too with all their neon colors. Wish we could have hung out longer, but alas we needed to head out of the city before traffic really got worse. As it was, it took us 1.5 hours to travel 25 miles.
Tonight we are camped at a county park. It’s sooo friggin’ hot and we were really looking forward to jumping in the pool here. It’s closed...ugh. We’ve settled on hosing ourselves down with the water spigot. So, why this wonderful destination of a county park in the city of Miami? It’s proximity to the Miami Airport. Tomorrow we head out for Jamaica! Tonight is all about laundry, re-packing our bags, cleaning up Winnie and getting ready for the trip. I have no idea if we will have internet in Jamaica, so if you don’t hear from me for awhile...stay tuned. You know I’ll have a few good stories to tell.
