Taking off Travel blog

On my recent trip to Florida, one restaurant chain stood out for both taste and value - Sweet Tomatoes (also known as Souplantation in some areas). We happened into it one afternoon after rejecting the nearby Italian restaurant we’d been considering.

Sweet Tomatoes, Dania Beach

When we walked in we were greeted by a salad bar several feet long, and this on its own would have been enough to keep us happy. Not only did it have a huge selection of fresh individual salad items (including a couple of things I’d never heard of), but it included three lettuce based salads, two pasta salads and potato salad. You could put as much on your plate as you wanted, though we discovered that if you were too full of salad you would miss out on the other items on offer. To accompany your salad you could choose from water, iced tea, lemonade, strawberry lemonade and soda. Read more »

To round out my review of Florida attractions (see parts 1 and 2), there are just a couple more to mention. On Tuesday, we returned to Boomers to try out a couple of things we’d missed the previous week. The first of these was the wooden roller coaster, the largest of its kind in Florida. As we approached, I could see the weathered planks of wood and it looked like it had been there for centuries. However, it turned out that the Dania Beach Hurricane was opened in 2000, so it’s much newer than it looks.

Riding the Dania Beach Hurricane

There were only three of us on that first roller coaster ride, so I sat at the front with my daughter as it rolled slowly out of the station. Our excitement soon turned to terror as the coaster inched up an incline then shot down the other side.  It just didn’t feel that safe. Yes, we were locked in the usual manner, but everything rattled, and there was far too much room to bounce about in our seats. In fact, it felt like we could go flying into the air at any second. There were a couple more of those twists and turns before we returned to the station. Unfortunately, the guy in charge had offered us back to back rides (because we’d had to wait a bit), so off we went again. At this point, my hubby and daughter left the coaster, and I took the third ride alone (I didn’t want to throw the offer back in his face). As I tottered out, I decided I’d had enough of roller coasters to last me quite a while, something with which we all agreed. Read more »

This is part 2 of my Florida vacation roundup. You can find Part 1 here.

On the Friday, we took a one hour boat trip along the Florida waterways near Las Olas. Part of the enjoyment for some participants was the opportunity to gaze at the multimillion dollar homes and boats of stars and celebrities. There were so many of those that in some ways the tour was like an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, complete with the captain as omniscient narrator.

Las Olas Waterways

I’m less interested in celebs, but I still had a great time looking at the majestic waterways, spotting the water taxis and generally enjoying being out in the open. However, our next boat trip was to prove far more exciting. Read more »

I’m just back from a trip to Florida, in the Hollywood/Dania Beach area. (It seems the person who planned the area was originally from California, hence the name.) It was fun. Flying in and clearing security went smoothly, and we were through in less than half an hour. Just as I was thinking we’d be in the pool by 2, we hit a snag - the extremely lengthy Alamo car hire process. We had prebooked so it should have been smooth. Instead we had to wait for the rep to:

• double check our reservation
• try to con us into upgrading to a bigger vehicle (for more money)
• try to sell us insurance coverage which we already had
• get a GPS system

Finally, we had to be bussed to the Miami offsite airport parking lot to collect our car. Most of the time when I hire a car, the reps give me the car that’s available. With this Alamo rental, we had the novelty of walking to the appropriate parking lot section and picking anything we wanted - and all of them were quite big enough for our luggage, despite the rep’s dire warnings.  We plugged in the GPS (later to be christened the ‘gremlin’ but that’s another story) and away we went to our hotel, one of the Marriott chain.

Pool at Marriott Springhills Suites, FL

The room was spacious, though the bathrooms needed a refurb and we had a great view of the pool and a few palm trees. (Overall, we thought the hotel was a good choice, as it was close to places to eat, local attractions and Interstate 95 without being too noisy.) Free internet access and breakfast added to the value. By about 4.30 we were finally able to hit the pool, which was practically deserted. That’s what you get for traveling at the tail end of the season when most kids are back at school.

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Wherever you happen to be celebrating them, carnivals are a time to let your inhibitions go and enjoy the music, dancing, costumes, parades and festive atmosphere. In many countries, carnivals take place just before a period of privation, such as Lent (derived from the Latin words carne vale - goodbye to meat). They give people to chance to feast before a time of austerity. In others, it’s about celebrating the advent of good weather in the spring. Here are some of the famous carnivals around the world, plus one you might be less familiar with.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Held for four days before Ash Wednesday, this is the most famous carnival in the world. Revelers say goodbye to the pleasures of the flesh in an orgy of music and dancing. If you get the chance to visit, don’t miss the Samba Parade.

Carnival in Rio de Janeiro

Trinidad and Tobago

This is the best carnival in the Caribbean. The build up to it starts just after Christmas (and sometimes before), with celebrations reaching a head on the Monday (J’ouvert ) and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Calypso music and the steel drums invented in that country are everywhere, and it’s a great place for a celebration.

Trinidad and Tobago Carnival

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