Tag Archive: Florida


All 4 Seasons In 1 Trip

Filed under: South America, Travel, travels, Travels Around USA — Leave a comment
November 16, 2017

Touchdown, Manila! I’m back now after a month-long trip. This Oct-Nov trip had me packing and “improvising” for all 4 seasons. I know layering works but I never thought I’d experience extreme weather.

Miami was hot and humid, even in the evenings. The day we drove to Orlando and Hutchinson Island, it was in the high 20’s C. I was sweating while standing in line for my banshee ride in Avatar Land (Pandora) in Disney World. More beads of sweat as we took the boat ride to view celebrity homes in sunny Miami and checked out some Spanish Monastery. Oh, how it sizzled! It only grew more comfortable when we leisurely drove around Central Miami to feast on Joe’s stone crabs!

Peru had us moving from summer to spring. A blessing, given the rainy forecast for the day we visited Macchu Picchu. Weather was so unpredictable I had to strip to my undershirt during the day and then layer up towards late afternoons. I worked up a sweat climbing up and down this Incan sanctuary high up in the Andes. Temps dipped a bit as we moved from Aguas Calientes, Sacred Valley to Cusco and Lima.

From Peru, we flew back to Miami before flying to San Francisco, then Vegas and Utah to enjoy crisp autumn season. Halloween beckoned and the orange colors ruled the days especially when we visited Zion National Park and Red Rock Canyon. It was a great day for riverside walks and breezy, autumn afternoons.

The weekend in Lake Tahoe took over 3 hours of driving from San Francisco area. It rained, grew foggy and on our drive back, experienced snow at Donner Summit. But the lake view before that was breathtaking! By nightfall, we only managed a dinner in the hotel and a few casino hours. Slot machines bore me so I turned in early for the night while my friends played.

Back in San Francisco, we didn’t waste time visiting Napa Valley. The Riverfront, Ox Bow Public Market, the drive to Yountville, Oakville, Rutherford and St. Helena. Earlier, I wasn’t keen on doing yet another Napa day out. Now I realize there is simply too many, too much to cover in one visit. Mondavi the last time, Beringer, Hall and Far Niente now, perhaps Calistoga’s castle and wineries next. It was an exhausting, eventful month-long trip. Covered as much ground as possible in a month. Experienced all 4 seasons in one trip. Met up with as many friends and missed just as many too! I should be making another trip if only to visit more friends I sorely miss.

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The Rich & Famous of Sunny Florida

Filed under: Travel, travels, Travels Around USA — 1 Comment
October 23, 2017

Coming from a tropical country, I always always looked forward to trips to cool destinations. And I meant that literally. Lower temps are every tropical babe’s luxury, and I bask in the comforts of no-sweat, non-humid climates. But no, Florida is a major exception. Miami sizzles as did Manila when I left it. So, what best to do in this sunny paradise?

Bayside in South Beach offered many options. I’ve never done the tour of celebrity homes in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles but that doesn’t mean I’m not curious. The boat tour of homes by the waters owned by the rich and famous beckoned and what better way to spend a hot, humid afternoon? The sea breeze will be refreshing and besides, I am now really and seriously curious.

I find it utterly mind-boggling to hear of over US$100 million homes and palm trees from Somalia costing $10,000 each. But then again, who’s to stop Dr. Frost from spending his money like a madman? Not many ladies know this doctor who invented the blue pill but many men of a certain age, stature and “habits” may remember this medicine man of Viagra fame.

And how about La Vida Loca Pop Star Ricky Martin? His white mansion confirms his sweet life on earth. Or rather, by the water. More Hollywood trivia: Michael Jackson gifting his celebrity bestie with a luxury home here. Such a generous gift for Elizabeth Taylor! Leonardo Di Carpio’s Villa looks like a location site for his movie “Great Gatsby”. And there’s also the white mansion of Emilio and Gloria Estefan.

Can i make a confession at this point? I couldn’t remember which house belongs to whom. 😔 Mi apologia. But if you come visiting, don’t be surprised to bump into Alicia Keys, Madonna, David Beckam, Shaquille O’Neal, Shakira and many other celebrities.

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That Ancient Spanish Monastery in North Miami Beach (Florida)

Filed under: Travel, travels, Travels Around USA — 1 Comment
October 22, 2017

Most visitors will hit the beaches and the stroll along Art Deco buildings in South Beach. Or perhaps they’d hop on a boat to view celebrity homes and if lucky, bump into suntanned Hollywood stars or the rich and famous. But I was drawn to visit this Spanish Monastery in an obscure place in North Miami Beach area. I was driven by my Miami-based friend who has not in fact visited this site the last 30 years she’s lived here.

There was a sprawling garden even before the Romanesque and pre-Gothic monastery was reconstructed here. Reconstructed, yes. The original site was in Sacramenia, Spain in 1133. That marks it a good 360 years before Columbus discovered the New World. Originally dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the Monastery was renamed to honor the famous monk Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. Cistercian monks lived in the Monastery for 700 years until a social revolution broke out in the 1830’s. The cloisters were then seized and sadly converted into a granary and stable.

Then came William Randolph Hearst. This media tycoon bought the cloisters and outbuildings in 1925. Stone by stone, the structures were dismantled, numbered, packed and crated in hay, and transported to USA. Unfortunately, hoof and mouth disease broke out in Segovia and the 11,000 wooden crates were quarantined, broke open, and the hay burned. But the stones were not replaced back in their original numbered boxes before being stored in a warehouse in New York where the stones remained for the next 26 years!

Meanwhile, Hearst ran into financial woes and it was only a year after he died in 1952 that the collection was again sold, and then resold in 1964. A wealthy philanthropist finally purchased the cloisters for the Episcopal diocese and the Monastery has since remained here with an active Episcopalian congregation. Now popular for weddings, photo shoots and as locations for film and TV shoots, it has been maintained very well to be enjoyed by visitors. The Museum Shop houses some antique decors from the original structures such as a series of corbels, coat of arms, bas reliefs, altars and religious statues. Worth a visit, if you ask me.

Lest I forget, the first time we visited (yes, we went twice) we even met this flamenco dancer posing, posturing and dancing in the gardens. Olé!

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