15 apr 2014

Accommodation: motels



The motel seems like a truly underestimated type of accommodation. In books or movies you always hear people talking about a sleazy motel, a ramshackle motel, a creepy motel even, but a pleasant one rarely gets mentioned. Do they not exist? Why of course they do! You just have to be brave enough to take a risk. 
(Studiohourglass)

10 apr 2014

Rolling in money



Unfortunately we can’t all be rolling in money but if we were I’m sure we’d be travelling in style. And this means gloriously luxurious hotels. Since a little daydreaming never harmed anyone, this is what we’ll be focusing on today: crazy, over-the-top luxurious and, most of all, extremely expensive hotels in America.

This award-winning hotel and spa is truly a perfect place for decadent relaxation. If you’re a hands-on kind of person who likes to do things for yourself, stay far far away because here you can get a butler to run your bath for you with such skill that it will be the perfect bathing temperature when you walk in from your day on the slopes. He’ll even cover the foamy top with some rose petals. 
(Spavelous)
To add that personal feel (as if running your bath isn’t quite intimate enough), the staff make a point out of it to know each visitor by name.
Anyway of you think this is over the top luxury, just you wait.

A huge rooftop Jacuzzi/swimming pool overlooking the Strip, a rotating bed and an elevator made entirely out of glass. Ofcourse there’s also a bar, a fitness area and a sauna at your disposal. If you want to vacation like the ultimate Playboy, this is most definitely the place to be. 
(Thefinestwriter)
When staying in this luxurious suite, you can enjoy a 360° view of Manhattan from 52 stories high. Champagne, caviar and a personal chauffeur and butler are readily available to you 24 hours a day. You’ll definitely sleep like a baby in the $65.000 bed covered in sheets that are embroided with 24 karat gold threads.
Sounds good? The suite will set you back a mere $45.000 a night.

Take a look for yourself here


R & B

8 apr 2014

Cloud nine



Bonjorno!

Now that we have a clear vision of what places we’ll be visiting in Florida, it’s time to move on to the next important issue: accommodation. A good night’s sleep is vital to survive everyday life but on holiday it’s extra important. Looking like a (sleep)drunk badger might not be that much of a waste at work/school but when you’re on holiday you want to make the most out of every minute.
(LivingGreenMag)

27 mrt 2014

Thursday Tickle

Bonjorno! 

In the previous post we mentioned the enchanting effect Miami can have on people and that many have been inspired by this city. One of the most awesome and well-known songs that have been made is –at least according to us- Will Smith’s ‘Miami’. This song was a huge hit in the nineties and was one of the first singles that I bought from the music store. So today, in the spirit of everything Fresh Prince, we’re going to do a breakdown of this hit song to get you in the mood to par-tey!
Welcome to Miami! (DanielBrowne)

Here I am in the place where I come let go
Miami the base and the sunset low
Everyday like a mardi gras everybody party all day
No work all play okay.

Remember Duval Street? Although I doubt Mr. Smith will be spending his time there, the partying will probably be the hardest on Duval Street.

So we sip a little something lay the rest the spill
Me an Charlie at the bar running up a high bill
Nothin less than ill when we dress to kill
Everytime the ladies pass, they be like: Hi Will!

Dress to kill is most definitely the motto of Ocean Drive and other places where the glamorous folks hang out in Miami.

Can y'all feel me, all ages and races
Real sweet faces
Every different nation, Spanish, Haitian, Indian, Jamaican
Black, White, Cuban, and Asian.

You see? Even Will Smith assures you that this place is a fabulous melting pot of all different cultures.

I only came for two days of playing
But every time I come I always wind up staying
This the type of town I could spend a few days in
Miami the city that keeps the roof blazing

I doubt that we’ll be jumping to get away from this place. And if a superstar like Will wants to stay here, who are we to think otherwise?

Party in the city where the heat is on
All night on the beach till the break of dawn
Welcome to Miami, bienvenido a Miami
Bouncing in the club where the heat is on
All night on the beach till the break of dawn
I'm going to Miami
Welcome to Miami

Truly a great recap of what Miami is all about. Cause a party can be interpreted many ways so from a passionate Cuban dance party to a glamorous night out in one of the hottest clubs, Miami has it all. Better practice those dance moves.
Dance moves photo Will_zpsc710efdc.gif
(Gifsoup)

Yo I heard the rainstorms ain't nothin to mess with
But I can't feel a drip on the strip, it's a trip.

Guess he didn’t visit during hurricane season…

Ladies half-dressed, fully equipped
And they be screaming out: Will, we loved your last hit!

Beautiful bodies? Must be South beach. And Will did stack up the hits in his days so the babes have a good point.

So I'm thinking I'm a scoot me something hot
In this south-sea meringue melting pot
Hottest club in the city and it's right on the beach

Again with the melting pot and the glamourous clubbing spots. This man sure knows what he’s talking about.

Temperature get to ya it's about to reach
Five-hundred degrees
In the carribean seas, with the hot mommies
Screamin: ay, papi! 

It comes as a surprise to no one that it can get quite sweaty and hot in Florida and Miami is no exception.

Every time I come to town, they be spotting me
In the drop Bentley, ain't no stopping me
So, cash in your dough
And flow to this fashion show
Pound for pound anywhere you go
Yo ain't no city in the world like this
An if you ask how I know I gots to plead the fifth

Good advice from mr. Smith himself. Get your beach body ready and put on your best (fake) designer brands, guys!

Party in the city where the heat is on
All night on the beach till the break of dawn
Welcome to Miami (bienvenido a miami)
Bouncing in the club where the heat is on
All night on the beach till the break of dawn
I'm going to Miami
Welcome to Miami

Don't get me wrong, Chi-town got it going on
And New York is the city that we know don't sleep
And we all know that L.A. and Philly stay jiggy
But on the sneak, Miami bringing heat for real.

It’s not a competition in any way but Miami sure is killing it!

Y'all don't understand
I never seen so many Dominican women with cinnamon tans
Mira, this is the plan
Take a walk on the beach draw a heart in the sand
Gimmie your hand
Damn you look sexy.

Womanizer, womanizer, womanizer,…

Womanizer photo Toxic-Video-Britney_zps1109c753.gif
(Onsugar)



Let's go to my yacht in the West Keys
Ride my jet skis loungin in the palm trees
Cause you gotta have cheese for the summerhouse piece on South Beach
Water so clear you can see to the bottom
Hundred thousand dollar cars, every body got em
Ain't no surprise to see in the club to see Sly Stallone
Miami my second home

The perfect summary of what we hope to see in Miami!

As if this analysis wasn’t exciting enough for you, we’ll post the video of Will’s clip right here for you to enjoy. If that doesn’t get you in the mood for vacation, I don’t know what will.


R&B

25 mrt 2014

Florida route: part 3


Bonjorno!


Here it is, the last part of our detailed look into our route throughout Florida. Last week, we ended up in the Everglades and Homestead. From there on out we’ll do some island-hopping towards the insanity that is Key West and we’ll end our vacation amongst the beautiful people in bubbling, glamorous Miami.  Let’s get moving!
Florida Keys (Edtruthan)

This last part of our trip will definitely be the most unconventional. The Florida Keys are known not only for their key lime pie but also for their ‘kitschy’ lifestyle. The inhabitants of the Keys truly live life the way they want to and everyone’s quirky side isout there, loud and proud. It’s the perfect place to separate yourself from the rest of the USA and just chillax. &Let’s be honest here, who doesn’t like the sound of that?

20 mrt 2014

Gators galore



Bonjorno!


Since childhood I’ve been a big fan of all things mud and grime so diving into the Everglades should take this old hobby of mine to a whole new dimension.
Come on in, the water's fine (NBCNews)

The Everglades are basically flooded grasslands, thus forming what is called wetlands. Although is seems very eerily quiet and still, the glades are constantly in motion because at the base of this land lies not sand but water. Water flows from the centre of Florida downwards through the Everglades, ending in Florida Bay and eventually the Gulf of Mexico. Don’t expect the water to be as crystal clear as it is at the beaches though, because of the slow movement and vegetation, it’s more of a murky type of water that alligators like to call home.
The Everglades National Park is divided into three main sections: Ernest Coe (entrance near Homestead and Everglades city), Shark Valley (central of the Tamiami trail) and Gulf coast (on the northwest shore). Since we’re starting on the west coast near Naples, we’ll follow the Tamiami trail to the entrance of Shark Valley. From there on out we’ll head towards Homestead and visit the Royal Palm Visitor Centre. But ofcourse the main question you’re all asking yourselves is: what can we do over there? Hold your horses, cowboy, we’ll get right into that!

18 mrt 2014

Florida route: part 2



Bonjorno!

As promised, today we bring you the second part of our route in detail. Eventhough the second part consists of only two places, these places couldn’t be more opposites of each other. On one side you have the beautiful pristine beaches of Sanibel Island and on the other side there’s the slightly daunting mangroves of the Everglades. Two very different sides of nature! 
(Everglades city tours)

13 mrt 2014

Thursday Tickle



Bonjorno!

Mount your broomsticks everyone, because today we’re flying straight into the magical place that is The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. Accio Firebolt!

Phew, what a bumpy ride. Let’s keep our feet firmly on the ground for the time being while we explore our place of arrival. This place has a bit of a medieval feel, doesn’t it? That’s probably because of the cobblestone roads and artsy lanterns. Not to mention the ginormous castle right in front of you. Where are we, you say? Hogsmeade ofcourse! Walk with us, while we leave muggle territory far behind… .

11 mrt 2014

Florida route: part 1

Bonjorno!

We’re back with a more in dept view into our journey across Florida. During the next three weeks, we’ll give you a more detailed look into the places that we’ll want to visit and the different attracties that we want to check out when we’re there. On the menu today in part 1: Orlando, Crystal Rivers and the Tampa Bay area. Let’s get cracking.

Our holiday will begin in Orlando, the home of a whole lot of amusement parks. We’re not planning anything on our first day there so that we can take our time so get settled in, scurry around the neighbourhood and enjoy the fact that we safely made it over the ocean. The next two to three days will be filled with excitement when we visit the two parks at Universal Orlando Resort. There are a lot of things that I look forward to seeing in both these theme parks but some of my favourites are The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Seuss Landing and the Jurassic Park River Adventure ride (pure nostalgia, people). 

6 mrt 2014

Blowing bubbles

Bonjorno!



(Lolshelf)
For this week’s Thursday Tickle we’re continuing on with the nautical theme with some more in depth info about what Florida has to offer under water. With its tropical climate and crystal clear water, it’s no wonder that Florida is a great place for water activities such as kayaking, snorkeling or simply splashing around in the ocean. Therefore, today, we’ll be looking at some great places to get your snorkel on!


4 mrt 2014

General route



Bonjorno!


Here we are again at long last. &We’ve brought with us the long awaited post about our general route throughout Florida! Oh joy. Let’s get started, shall we?

When we took out a map of Florida to start planning our route, it quickly became obvious that it was going to be very difficult to tick every box on our wishlist. So, unfortunately and much to my dismay, we had to use the c-word. Compromise *shudders*.
Shudders. photo tumblr_mc0ciuprWo1rj82r7o1_400_zps3e683e69.gif
(Tumblr)

26 feb 2014

Time..

Bonjorno!

the plan was to have a general idea of where exactly in Florida we were going to roam around by now. Obviously, we've overestimated ourselves. We didn't take in to account the amount of time and effort this sort of planning requires. Again, no surprise there since this is the first time we're doing this sort of thing.
Anyway, I just wanted to upload a quick post to let you know that we have'nt given up, nor have we died or fallen ill. We're still alive and procrastinating!

So, basically, we won't be uploading anything in particular this week so that we can focus on getting our journey planned. Hopefully, we'll be able to give you guys a general idea of which places were going to visit whilst in Florida.

We'll leave you with a little apology video..





R & B

20 feb 2014

Thursday Tickle



Bonjorno!

Manatees!
Oh hi there (Manatee Guides)

Need I say more? I could fill up an entire blogpost with just pictures of these majestic creatures. Basically a cross between a hippo and a sea lion, the manatees are a definite must-see when in Florida.

18 feb 2014

The joys of paperwork: part 2



Bonjorno!


As promised, this week’s post will be devoted completely to the ESTA-application. Let’s start with the basics, shall we? What is this ESTA you speak of? Where did it come from? And what in God’s name is it doing here? All questions that we’ll try to answer for you today!

13 feb 2014

Thursday Tickle

Bonjorno!

This week’s Thursday Tickle is all about roller coasters, yaaay. It’s one of those things you really just can’t NOT do when you’re visiting Florida. Orlando is absolutely jam-packed with themeparks, including the famous Walt Disney World

11 feb 2014

Eww, paperwork

Bonjorno!

Now that we’ve finally taken the first step it’s time to move along with our planning. There is still a gigantic amount of ‘work’ to be done and normally this is the exact moment when we quit –we hope we’re not alone with this.. . That was one of the reasons why we actually started this blog: we knew this moment was coming. ‘Aww, this is too much research, too much to take care of, too much stress even’, we’ve been there and (not) done it. But since we really want to go on our long awaited trip, and because it would be a little awkward to suddenly quit our blog, we’re sticking with it! Onward and upward!

6 feb 2014

Thursday Tickle

Bonjorno!

Since we did a rather bulky post earlier this week, filled with facts and ‘serious’ info, it seemed like fun to keep things on the lighter side today. And as they say: variety really is the spice of life. Therefore we present to you: the Thursday Tickle!

What’s this Thursday Tickle about, you say? Well, each week –on what other day than Thursday- we’ll post something about a specific place or location we want to visit, a rollercoaster we want to ride, events we want to attend, and so on. Basically everything we want to see during our stay in Florida will be discussed here on Thursday. And there’s no better time to start than the present, right? 

4 feb 2014

Choices, choices,..


Bonjorno!

Today we’re picking up where we left off: part 2 of ‘Things you should consider while deciding when to visit a holiday destination’.
Last Thursday, in part 1, we covered (at least for us) the most important factor in choosing a time for our vacation, namely the weather. Today we’ll discuss two other factors that could be important in this decision-making-process: the American students’ school holidays and peakseasons.
Here we go!


30 jan 2014

It's official



Here it is, the time has come to officially start planning our trip. Obviously the very first step in this process is deciding where you want to travel to. I think it’s already quite clear that we want to go to Florida, USA so we’ve decided not to devote an entire blogpost to the matter of choosing locations for your holiday. It’s such a personal choice anyway. 
Well, look at us, we’ve barely started and we’re already skipping steps. Maybe this is why we’re so bad at planning things..

23 jan 2014

Welcome



Bonjorno! 


Welcome to our little part of the interwebz. Starting today you’ll be able to follow up on our opinions and experiences while we attempt to do something which is completely foreign to us… plan a trip to Florida! &Who knows, if all goes well we might undertake some similar adventures in the future!