Miami

A couple of months ago I had the fantastic idea that Jette, Bettina and I should take a girls' trip to somewhere. And within the next hour the trip was booked. 3 days in Miami at a beach resort.
On the agenda was nothing but fun, drinks, more drinks, more fun, drinks, fun and did I mention drinks?
Anyways, Thursday night I decided to go to bed at 10 p.m so I could be well rested by 6 a.m. when the girls were picking me up.
Now, I have never ever taken a trip without something happening, and of course this trip was no different. At 1 a.m. I woke up with a slight stomach ache and before I knew it I had spent the entire night worshiping the porcelain God. I literally didn't think I was going to make it, but I decided to at least see if I could make the trip to the airport and then decide what to do.
We got to the airport and I was feeling slightly better. No, that's a lie, I still felt horrible, but just because one's stomach isn't cooperating doesn't mean one can't have a good sense of humor so after checking in and explaining to the man at the counter that we were traveling to visit our dear friends Gin and Tonic, we were ready to board the plane. Of course we didn't have seats together, but it was early and I just wanted to sleep so no harm done.
Once the plane took off we were warned that it might be a bumpy ride. They weren't kidding. At one point I went to use the restroom and I had to hold on for dear life while in there. When I tried to leave, the flight attendant told me to get back into the lavatory, sit down and hold on tight. It was pretty scary and all I could think of was that lovely plane crash scene in that Tom Hanks movie from years ago. I didn't even have time to pray for my safety and I usually never pass up a chance to strike a bargain with whoever supposedly is up there listening. Usually it goes something like this, "Dear somebody. If you get me safely to the ground I will never ask to wake up skinny again."
Well, we got to Miami okay and was met by a striking Italian limo driver.........actually we just took a taxi to the hotel, but the Italian part sounded good.
We couldn't check in before 4 p.m. so we got some towels, changed into our swimsuits and headed for the Tiki bar for some lunch and drinks. I ate nothing and drank nothing. Then it was down to the beach for a well deserved nap.
At 4 p.m it was time to check in and this is when the fun began. According to the hotel they had a plumbing problem and had to close down an entire floor and so we had to go to a different hotel. We agreed to do so if we could come back the next night and that was fine.
The new hotel turned out to be an apartment complex with no bar, no restaurant, no entertainment, but the apartment was nice. The view was beautiful. unfortunately we couldn't leave the door open as we got invaded by 5 gigantic dragon flies which Jette tried to get outside by swatting at them with a towel. It was quite the scene.
We got all ready to go out and according to Tomas (the guy at the front desk) we had to go to Mango's which definitely had salsa dancing. Well, it didn't and after I ordered my dinner and took 2 bites, I had to go back to the hotel and go to bed. Jette and Bettina stayed back and partied all night long with some gorgeous Italian men they picked up at a bar. Actually they came back to the hotel shortly after me and there were no Italians involved, it just sounded good.
The next morning Jette and I decided to go shelling on the beach and when we came back we desperately tried to find a place for breakfast or at least a cup of coffee, but no such luck. At this point we really just wanted to go back to the other hotel and after a few phone calls we got a
room early.
Of course when we arrived back at the hotel there was a modeling competition going on. After 10 minutes we were so tired of answering questions about our missing portfolios................yeah right. Life just isn't fair. All we wanted to do was to hang by the pool and be 3 moms away together for the first time, not run into a whole slew of skinny little thingies trying their luck as models. Well, they probably didn't have anything else going for them, surely they couldn't have been as smart as we are:)
Back to the pool we went and we pretty much sat there all day. Well, Bettina and I did anyways. Jette disappeared for a while for a brief encounter with some yellow mood lighting. Bettina hung out with her spray bottle and I think I slept and took a couple of naps in between.
There was also a salsa competition going on at the hotel and everybody around us were dancing. On land, in the pool, at the bar, everywhere. It was pretty cool and very entertaining to look at.
That night we decided to go to Espanola Way which is a small street we had seen the night before. We weren't disappointed.
First we visited a little store with lots of cool jewelry, flip flops and other cute stuff. The woman in the store told us she really was very tired otherwise she would have performed for us. We didn't have to twist her arm into performing anyways and before we could say anything Jette and I were wearing feather boas and the we were singing and dancing to old Abba songs!! Very entertaining, especially for the people outside the store. We moved onto an Italian restaurant a couple of doors down and the only reason that restaurant was chosen? Not the menu, not the decor, just the waiters! Ay ay ay. Feather boas, Abba AND Italian men in one night? What could we possibly have done to deserve this??? The restaurant did not disappoint. Jette was fed and massaged and that has to be the main goal for every meal.
Bettina and I literally strained our eyes ogling the waiters (they had amazing waiting tables skills) and I even tried to order one of them for dessert. No luck though:(
We ate and drank (again, no alcohol for me) and we even ordered coffee just to stay a little longer. Eventually we paid up and went bikini shopping for Jette who went on a beach vacay with no swimsuit! We visited an art gallery and eventually I had to give up and go home to the hotel. Jette and Bettina decided to come to and we called it a night.
I don't know what happened during the night, but we all woke up with our hands folded above the covers. Those Italians sure are dangerous:)
Next day we headed for South Beach to look at the Art Deco district. It was very pretty and lots of cool hotels. There were even one for sale and I suggested we buy it. We would be such good hoteliers (I don't even know if that's a word!!). Maybe we could have a hotel for Italians only.....or maybe not.
We decided to have a drink at one of the cool lounge type restaurants. As we are sitting there, Bettina suddenly says, "There's Heidi Klum and Seal." And sure enough, they walked right by. Of course none of us were quick with the cameras. Oh well. We also saw a bulldog on a skateboard. Twice. We only saw Heidi and Seal once.
After some more walking, a little shopping and some lunch we went back to the hotel to check out and to enjoy the last couple of hours by the pool before we had to go to the airport.
It was lovely.
The airport was lots of fun too. We weren't assigned any seats and of course we got to sit apart on the plane. All three of us. The airline people did ask if we wanted to wait for a later flight, but we told them they didn't have enough Italians to bribe us with. Once we got on the plane we did manage to switch our seats around, but only after Bettina called a woman "sir" and we all broke down in uncontrollable laughter.
It was such a fun fun trip. I can't wait to do it again.
It just goes to show that even though one has food poisoning, everything can be cured with a little R & R and some Italians:)
Oh yeah, we already decided we are NEVER going to Italy on a girl's trip. Way too dangerous.