Taking off Travel blog

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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I spent most of last week in Chicago attending a conference for one of my clients. That was partly the inspiration behind my post on O’Hare International. So did the airport and the trip in general live up to expectations?
Heading In

I found the airport pretty well organized and on my way in, it was easy to find my way to the luggage carousels, the exit and the airport parking lots, outside which my bus was waiting. From there it was a short ride to Hilton Indian Lakes in Bloomingdale. While not as fancy as the Cancun Hilton, this hotel was more than adequate, with good food, a nice pool and a great jacuzzi. The conference wasn’t half bad either.

At the end of it, I had one more day before it was time to fly home, so I headed downtown. Driven by a cabbie who, in his own words ‘used to have a problem with road rage’, we sat on the highway for more than two hours to make what should have been a half hour drive. Memorial Day weekend is a bad time to travel and although we thought we’d left early enough - we hadn’t. Read more »

This is the second and final part of my account of a recent trip to Cancun, Mexico.

The hotel also had a well equipped gym (priced at $11 per day, though according to the hotel’s own literature it was supposed to be free). I made it in there for a workout one day, opting to swim instead on the other days. Other facilities included a spa, a few shops and an excellent restaurant. Food was included in the conference package, so I was able to breakfast on smoked salmon, scrambled egg and mini croissants every morning, with a selection of delicacies for lunch and dinner.

Mexican Special

The first night, before the conference started, we went to a place called La Destileria, where we sampled a range of Mexican dishes (the jalapenos are really hot) and drank some wine while listening to a mariachi band. Very touristy but still enjoyable. Then it was back to the hotel bar to sample tequila and sangrita - served in two shot glasses and drunk together - before heading to bed. Read more »