What else to do? More places in Miami!

Good, the weekend is nearly over, but there is more I have done here in Miami, there is just so much. I haven't actually been in South Beach since I arrived here, but will do that in due course. First we explored some more hidden gems here in Miami with my personal "tour guides" Mike and Marilynn. Marilynn is born and bread here in Miami, so she really knows her way around and Mike has been here for a very long time too, so they really know the hidden gems of this city!

This time we went to see one of the better known tourist attractions, the Coral Castle. First when one enters the grounds one immediately thinks "Is that it?' but then when one finds out that everything has been done by just one single man in the 1930ties and 40ties, moving coral stone block up to 30 tons on its own, without the help of modern cranes, it is actually incredible. Take your time and look what he did, it is maybe a bit crazy, but fantastic!

I just had to to add this gentleman with his old dog, travelling around in his own little trolley!
Then we had a drive through the agricultural lands of Miami, yes you hear me right, agricultural lands, and there is a lot, believe me. It is called Redlands and everything is grown there, from Oranges, Papayas, Palms, Tomatoes, you name it is is there, I was very impressed. We stopped at a place called Robert is here, you just have to go there. The main attraction are the smoothies, delicious concoctions of fresh fruit ice and ice cream, wow! I had a key lime shake, mike and Marilynn opted for the cherry one, plenty of fresh cherries in the shake, so beautiful! But there are plenty of other flavours, Orange, Banana, Berries, Coconut and of course seasonal flavours like black zapote. But that is not all you can get there, it is as well a great farm store with fresh fruit and vegetables, tree ripened oranges, so sweet it is unreal!, Baby bananas, Avocados, berries and a range of different honeys like I have never seen before, a wonderful place to chill out, there was live music, so sit down and enjoy your smoothie. Careful, I have been told that the place is only open in winter.

Then we went back to the Everglades National Park, this time much further south. Again it was an amazing trip and it is actually very close to "Robert is here". The bird life was incredible, of course plenty of Alligators and even some snakes. There was a little brise, so it was not too hot and no Mosquitoes, thy can be very bad here when the rains are starting again.

After that we had a wonderful drive down to Key Largo. Wow, what a difference to Miami, everything is so much more relaxed, it is like one is on holiday. We went to a place called Sundowners, what a perfect name. So we had sun downers and something to eat, starting with Lobster Bisque, Clam Chowder and Conch Soup, all served in a bread roll. Then we went on to have some mains, Mike with a blackened Mahi Mahi Sandwich with lovely caramelized onions in it, Marilynn had the Snapper poached in Coconut Milk, just delicious and I had Snapper fried with Mango and Capsicum Chutney, served with Sweet Potato Fries. The fish was tender and juicy and I just love Sweet Potato Fries which are really easy to make, just replace potatoes with sweet potatoes and deep-fry them, the result is fantastic!

It is quite a drive down to Key Largo, but worth it, there is a fair amount of traffic, so by the time we came back to Miami it was nearly 11 PM, but that is just the right time to go out again, I guess! ( I went to bed, lol!)