USA
can we be extras if you’re filming dexter in miami?
After an epic flight from Sydney, we arrived in Fort Lauderdale almost 35 hours later and the first thing we wanted to do was head to Miami being HUGE fans of the TV series; Dexter. Well, instead of wrecking our body clocks by “resting”, we chose to keep going in case we were able to catch glimpse of filming. Actually it was on the transfer out to Miami Beach that we learnt that Miami and Miami Beach were different – hmmm…. certainly felt really ignorant at that point. Before long, we were soaking it up Miami Beach style;
- Sitting on Ocean Drive enjoying a Cuban lunch at Gloria Estefan’s restaurant
- Walking along the beach
- Soaking up the sun
- People watching!
How cool is Miami Beach?! And in case you were wondering, we did not see any Dexter filming in Miami (or is it Miami Beach?).
TIP: We are off on the cruise tomorrow and we are staying at a very convenient hotel to the port – only a few minutes away. See our review of the Embassy Suites on TripAdvisor.
View more photos of our trips at Photo Gallery.
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dampened by rain
We took a train to Boston and farewelled NYC. It rained and was miserable. It dampened our spirits a little as this was the end of the trip and we didn’t want to end on low.
Boston is quaint and a little sleepy in comparison to NYC and DC but it may have been the weather that dampened the buzz. All the same, we do like it but probably won’t be back anytime soon.
The weather didn’t really allow us to do much but we did manage to get to Fenway Park and squeeze in the Freedom Trail when the blue skies burst through. As we walked the Freedom Trail, we could see everyone who was doing the same thing. Hordes of people following the markings on the footpath from one stop to the next. At some points, the markings disappear from the ground and are found on the walls or disappear altogether. An adult treasure hunt is what it felt like that became a “follow the leader”. We couldn’t be in Boston and NOT do the Freedom Trail so at least marked as done!
Because there had been so much cloud cover and rain for the past few days, we were simply thrilled to steal a little sunshine and blue sky. This is what we meant when we said to a young shop assistant that was serving us: “It’s so good to see sun and blue sky.” To which she responded: “Don’t you get sunshine in Australia?” WHAT?! Hmmm…. it wasn’t really the time to go into a geography or even a common sense lesson. So we politely smiled and left!
Our biggest regret in Boston was that we ate a huge 2 pound lobster at Legal Seafoods but didn’t have our camera with us to photograph it! Absolutely shattered by not having evidence of it.
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starts spreading the news…
“Start spreading the news, I am leaving today..” – New York New York (Frank Sinatra)
“Concrete jungle where dreams are made of…” – Empire State of Mind (Alicia Keys)
“..There’s no stopping to the sound of the New York City beat.” NYC Beat (Armand Van Helden)
And the list of songs that are about NYC goes on and on, as can the movies and shows based in NYC and the celebrities that can be associated with NYC. It is a place to see and it is a city that sleeps very little. There is so much to do here and to anyone who has never been, GO! And if you do go, STAY (well, stay for more than 3-4 days , at least a week). Although accommodation might set you back a bit, that’s about where the pricey-ness ends as a tourist.
The best way to see NYC is to buy a metro pass and because we were there for a week, that is what we did. We looked at the map of NYC and visited an “area” each day, hopped on a metro and got off somewhere and then started walking. Just meandering through the streets and finding street performers and hole-in-the-wall eateries is what travelling is about. Unless there is something specific that you want to see and somewhere you need to be, a guidebook is not necessary.
There is no denying that being in NYC, there are touristy things that you shouldn’t miss out on – visiting Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, the Flatiron, Central Park and the Empire State Building. Trying a pretzel and hot dogs from the street vendors. Paying respects where the World Trade Center was. Stopping in at the countless museums. Seriously, it is impossible to be bored here! And you might also spot some stars (unlikely the ones in the sky, we were referring to movie stars), we walked past Naomi Watts and stood at a traffic light beside Michelle Rodriguez.
We have several highlights of our time in NYC:
- Touring the UN building
- Having unobstructed views of the city from the top of Empire State Building (barely any crowds because we were there on opening)
- Strolling through Central Park and stumbling across a marathon, a wedding, musicians busking….
- Watching Mary Poppins – The Musical
- People-watching in Greenwich Village
And to have a break from the hustle bustle of NYC, we took a day trip to Philadelphia where we saw Independence Hall and Liberty Bell. Goodness, this whole trip was beginning to feel like we were on the National Treasure trail with Nicholas Cage.
Then from national treasures and traffic, we slowed down a notch and also visited the Amish Country where we got to ride in a buggy! It was a great opportunity for us to learn about another way of life, one that we are not familiar with!
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museum to your left, museum to your right
Museums and monuments are everywhere in Washington DC. You turn one way there is one, you turn the other and there are more! And everything in Washington DC is grandiose even the train station, Union Station. There is bound to be something that interests you here – Capitol Hill which we all recognise from movies with a political figure (fictitious or not), Air and Space Museum, American Indian Museum and War Memorials plus more.
But our biggest standouts would be:
- Lincoln Memorial – the size of this just blew us away
- National Archive Museum – really cool seeing all the things they have in “archive”. We began talking about what we could send to the archive museum that they might find useful in future exhibits. After thinking about all our belongings, we couldn’t really come up with anything worldly enough that would fall into the same league as the Magnus Carta or the Declaration of Independence.
Gettysburg
Something serious was happening at the White House because the walkway at the front was cordoned off and there were men in black suits patrolling the rooftop. We were instructed by security to keep walking when we stood around asking questions. Our other brush with national security was when we scooted the perimeter of the Pentagon on our coach tour to Gettysburg!
Gettysburg was a very educational experience because prior to this trip we had no idea about confederates and unions. Not a clue about who won, who fought and the significance of the victory. Yes – we were ignorant but now are learned.
Despite all the politics, war history and museum, we did manage to locate a yummy dumpling place for lunch one day – so it wasn’t all American culture that we soaked up in DC.
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