mooning over miami

yes, i've been gone from here...just kind of living life. but today, after two cups of coffee and feeling a bit jittery, ( and francis at a friend's house), i just had the urge to put these photos up from summer. middle school starts for francis next week, so this last week of "summer" we'll try to live it up, if the sun could just come out again and maybe stay there for a little while...

so what happened was: the day after school got out in june, we flew out east: francis to go to camp for the first time, and greg and i to head to miami, for our first getaway sans the kid. we didn't quite know what to expect, the destination being a rather last minute decision. i did try to research up on the area for things to do, and hotels (which now with the reviews feature, you're left feeling like you have a 50/50 chance of having a great time, or a horrible time, no in-between!) one thing i did not think to look up was the weather. florida = sun, right? well, as luck with the nyssens would have it: june in florida is the beginning of hurricane season, and after the first day there (of 110 degrees), the storms rolled in and unleashed torrential rain, thunder and lightning, every single day. and then they'd roll out. so we did get our sun. just sandwiched in-between some of the most fantastic shows of thunder and lightning i have ever seen. greg (being a northwest boy, and thus not being used to storms like this, like i have) was at first, quite terrified, and then, once that wore off, quite dense. and i like an idiot, followed him out onto the beach numerous times, for: pictures. me all the while telling him: when the lightning strikes, do you think it will hit the lifeguard station, the beach umbrellas, or us first? (he didn't get the hint, and i think we got lucky!)

we stayed at this little boutique hotel one block from the beach, called the catalina hotel and beach club, which we found here. (again, according to the reviews, people either loved it or hated it, but i really think it depends on the kind of traveler you are, and the amenities you are looking for.) us? we loved it. it was a pretty romantic place to stay, good food, comfy beds, free beach chairs and bike usage, and..oh yeah...free happy hour!
(more photos on my flickr...)





we were north of south beach, the art deco district, by a few blocks, so every day we hit the beach and every night we got dinner and walked all over town. we enjoyed the hot nights, loud music pumping out of hotel bars, gelato, the old (and often crumbling)architecture, the many accents we heard along the way, and of course, people watching. we even designated our favorite restaurant: sibilla, eating here twice, coming back just for the pizza.

after arriving to miami a little nervous, truly not knowing what to expect, we were very pleasantly surprised. there was, of course, the heat.(yes!) and many europeans on the beach. it felt like the most tropical international place one could get while still being in the united states. and all the servers we encountered were friendly and very relaxed. the pool guy chatted to us while we collected our towels for the beach, exclaiming over the sheer beauty of hurricanes. there's danger, of course. but a spectacular thing to witness, he said. the power of mother nature. (i was ready to take his word for it!) all in all, we had a wonderful time, despite the rain, (or including the hot sheeting rain) and we would happily do it again.