Spring Break Part 1: Florida
So, it’s been a very long time since I wrote my last blog post, and I’ve now been home from America for over a month. I wish I’d managed to write more over the semester, but I’ve decided instead to try and use this summer to catch up as I would still love to document everything I did!
From 7th-17th March I went away for spring break to Florida and Puerto Rico. My amazing friend Tamara, who’s on my course at university, also studied abroad for the semester but in South Florida, so I decided to use my spring break to go and visit her and do some travelling together. It was absolutely amazing – I’ve always wanted to go to Florida, but I had never even considered Puerto Rico as a travel destination before, so this was such an exciting adventure that I still can’t quite believe really happened! I had such a good time and took so many photos, so I’ve decided to split this blog post into two parts to make it a little more manageable to read; in this post you can read about my time in Florida, and my next post will document the Puerto Rico trip.
I arrived in Florida late on Thursday 7th after my first ever solo flight, which went very smoothly. I set up camp underneath Tamara’s bed, which sounds cramped but it was actually pretty cosy and comfortable.
The next day we decided to take it easy and visit the nearby town, Boca Raton, as well as go to its beach for a little while. It was so fascinating walking around Florida as it’s completely different to New Jersey. Wide streets, palm trees everywhere, and just generally a really laid back atmosphere. It really felt like I was in another country! Boca itself is gorgeous but very posh, with lots of expensive boutiques and rich people with their handbag dogs (fun fact - my American flatmate calls them ‘purse puppies’). I loved seeing all the colourful buildings though, spending some time on a lovely warm beach and eating a delicious açai bowl! We also visited the local shopping mall where I discovered some American clothes stores I LOVE (American Eagle and Forever 21) as well as the biggest pick and mix I’ve ever seen.
On Saturday, we took a road trip down to the Florida Keys. Tamara rented a car, I navigated using Google maps, and we ended up driving the full 4 hours down to Key West. The views along the way were stunning as we drove across bridges surrounded by the most beautiful turquoise water I’ve ever seen. A few of the keys were much more built up than we expected, with shops down both sides of the road, so it felt more like we were on the mainland. We also passed by some interesting looking bridges that had giant gaps in them, twisted railings and looked really rusted - they might have just been old, but we reckon it might have been from Hurricane Irma.
After our drive we spent a lovely few hours exploring Key West. I loved just walking down the streets as it really felt like a foreign country - there was clearly a lot of Spanish influence. We saw the famous ‘90 miles to Cuba’ landmark, but couldn’t get proper photos as there was a massive queue! We spent a bit of time on the beach (although it was quite disappointing as it didn’t have the turquoise water we’d seen on our drive), went to the Key Lime Pie Bakery for some authentic Key West key lime pie, and finally watched the sunset over the ocean before setting off for the long drive back home.
We took Sunday and Monday pretty easy since we had such a long day at the Keys, and Tamara had work and classes. On Sunday evening we went to see Captain Marvel at the local cinema, and as much as I enjoyed the movie I was more impressed with the cinema experience itself. It was a massive, grand looking building with pillars, and the screens were called ‘auditoriums’. It felt more like a theatre than a cinema! Our tickets were cheaper than at home, and we got leather reclining seats with tables! And we bought Tango ice blasts as they were also a lot cheaper than in England - it all felt very luxurious. On Monday we hung out by the pool outside Tamara’s accommodation (not gonna lie, I’m pretty envious of it!). It was so blissful sitting out in the gorgeous hot sun and having a dip in the pool.
From Tuesday to Friday we flew off to Puerto Rico – but I’ll leave that for my next blog post and skip ahead to when we arrived back in Florida!
On Friday night after arriving back from PR we went to see Trevor Noah perform in Fort Lauderdale. I’d never heard of him before, but he’s one of Tamara’s favourite comedians. He was absolutely hilarious, but also made some really thoughtful social commentary. I particularly loved when he compared life in New York to life in Florida, as I’d had the chance to experience a bit of both and he was spot on! Also, the venue was a SUPER fancy Hard Rock casino which was very cool to experience.
For my final day of spring break, we went into Miami – couldn’t visit SoFlo without seeing it! Tamara and her friend Mara (yes, their names are similar and I love it) first showed me around Wynwood, a really cool arty district with markets and giant painted murals on the walls. Even the pavements and fire hydrants were covered with graffiti-style street art and stickers. The best part was Wynwood Walls, an exhibition of some of these huge pieces of street art, and it’s basically the perfect spot to take awesome Instagram photos.
Afterwards we headed to Ocean Drive where we had lunch outside at a nice restaurant; I had some delicious multigrain pancakes. This was such a cool experience as I got to people-watch and really get to understand Miami’s vibes. It was unlike anywhere I’ve been before; everyone who walked down the street looked like they were in a fashion show, all dressed up (or in many cases, down) in their best beach clothes. So many girls in neon mesh and cute bikinis, and shirtless guys who clearly work out a lot. I even saw a lady in a crazy neon green St Patrick’s Day outfit, complete with curly wig and leprechaun hat. Lots of people drove by in fancy cars with loud engines blaring bass-y music. It’s definitely not a city I could live in as I do not fit into that lifestyle at all – I felt very plainly dressed in my t-shirt and shorts. But it was fascinating to observe!
After lunch we spent a couple of hours on Miami beach. I have to say I wasn’t particularly impressed as it was much too busy and commercial feeling for my liking. It wasn’t an especially pretty beach, and it was completely packed with spring breakers. I’m glad to have seen it though, and now I can say I’ve sunbathed on Miami beach!
I did like the general aesthetic of Miami, especially as I’d never visited a seaside city before. It was so weird to see tall, blocky grey buildings next to green palm trees and blue ocean – a very cool mixture of nature and man-made structures. It’s definitely worth a visit.
I flew back to New Jersey early the next morning, admittedly looking a little pink, but feeling very satisfied. I’m so glad I got to make the most of my spring break and do stuff I never even imagined I would do, and it was awesome getting to spend it with Tamara – she’s my favourite person to talk to about study abroad since we both got to experience it at the same time! I loved getting to see a glimpse of what her life was like for the semester, and she visited me in New Jersey less than a week later, so we had an amazing couple of weeks of bonding and sharing our study abroad experiences with each other.
(This photo was my view as I landed back into Newark airport - it's a bit hard to see but there in the middle of the photo is the New York skyline!)
From 7th-17th March I went away for spring break to Florida and Puerto Rico. My amazing friend Tamara, who’s on my course at university, also studied abroad for the semester but in South Florida, so I decided to use my spring break to go and visit her and do some travelling together. It was absolutely amazing – I’ve always wanted to go to Florida, but I had never even considered Puerto Rico as a travel destination before, so this was such an exciting adventure that I still can’t quite believe really happened! I had such a good time and took so many photos, so I’ve decided to split this blog post into two parts to make it a little more manageable to read; in this post you can read about my time in Florida, and my next post will document the Puerto Rico trip.
I arrived in Florida late on Thursday 7th after my first ever solo flight, which went very smoothly. I set up camp underneath Tamara’s bed, which sounds cramped but it was actually pretty cosy and comfortable.
The next day we decided to take it easy and visit the nearby town, Boca Raton, as well as go to its beach for a little while. It was so fascinating walking around Florida as it’s completely different to New Jersey. Wide streets, palm trees everywhere, and just generally a really laid back atmosphere. It really felt like I was in another country! Boca itself is gorgeous but very posh, with lots of expensive boutiques and rich people with their handbag dogs (fun fact - my American flatmate calls them ‘purse puppies’). I loved seeing all the colourful buildings though, spending some time on a lovely warm beach and eating a delicious açai bowl! We also visited the local shopping mall where I discovered some American clothes stores I LOVE (American Eagle and Forever 21) as well as the biggest pick and mix I’ve ever seen.
After our drive we spent a lovely few hours exploring Key West. I loved just walking down the streets as it really felt like a foreign country - there was clearly a lot of Spanish influence. We saw the famous ‘90 miles to Cuba’ landmark, but couldn’t get proper photos as there was a massive queue! We spent a bit of time on the beach (although it was quite disappointing as it didn’t have the turquoise water we’d seen on our drive), went to the Key Lime Pie Bakery for some authentic Key West key lime pie, and finally watched the sunset over the ocean before setting off for the long drive back home.
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We took Sunday and Monday pretty easy since we had such a long day at the Keys, and Tamara had work and classes. On Sunday evening we went to see Captain Marvel at the local cinema, and as much as I enjoyed the movie I was more impressed with the cinema experience itself. It was a massive, grand looking building with pillars, and the screens were called ‘auditoriums’. It felt more like a theatre than a cinema! Our tickets were cheaper than at home, and we got leather reclining seats with tables! And we bought Tango ice blasts as they were also a lot cheaper than in England - it all felt very luxurious. On Monday we hung out by the pool outside Tamara’s accommodation (not gonna lie, I’m pretty envious of it!). It was so blissful sitting out in the gorgeous hot sun and having a dip in the pool.
From Tuesday to Friday we flew off to Puerto Rico – but I’ll leave that for my next blog post and skip ahead to when we arrived back in Florida!
On Friday night after arriving back from PR we went to see Trevor Noah perform in Fort Lauderdale. I’d never heard of him before, but he’s one of Tamara’s favourite comedians. He was absolutely hilarious, but also made some really thoughtful social commentary. I particularly loved when he compared life in New York to life in Florida, as I’d had the chance to experience a bit of both and he was spot on! Also, the venue was a SUPER fancy Hard Rock casino which was very cool to experience.
For my final day of spring break, we went into Miami – couldn’t visit SoFlo without seeing it! Tamara and her friend Mara (yes, their names are similar and I love it) first showed me around Wynwood, a really cool arty district with markets and giant painted murals on the walls. Even the pavements and fire hydrants were covered with graffiti-style street art and stickers. The best part was Wynwood Walls, an exhibition of some of these huge pieces of street art, and it’s basically the perfect spot to take awesome Instagram photos.
Afterwards we headed to Ocean Drive where we had lunch outside at a nice restaurant; I had some delicious multigrain pancakes. This was such a cool experience as I got to people-watch and really get to understand Miami’s vibes. It was unlike anywhere I’ve been before; everyone who walked down the street looked like they were in a fashion show, all dressed up (or in many cases, down) in their best beach clothes. So many girls in neon mesh and cute bikinis, and shirtless guys who clearly work out a lot. I even saw a lady in a crazy neon green St Patrick’s Day outfit, complete with curly wig and leprechaun hat. Lots of people drove by in fancy cars with loud engines blaring bass-y music. It’s definitely not a city I could live in as I do not fit into that lifestyle at all – I felt very plainly dressed in my t-shirt and shorts. But it was fascinating to observe!After lunch we spent a couple of hours on Miami beach. I have to say I wasn’t particularly impressed as it was much too busy and commercial feeling for my liking. It wasn’t an especially pretty beach, and it was completely packed with spring breakers. I’m glad to have seen it though, and now I can say I’ve sunbathed on Miami beach!
I did like the general aesthetic of Miami, especially as I’d never visited a seaside city before. It was so weird to see tall, blocky grey buildings next to green palm trees and blue ocean – a very cool mixture of nature and man-made structures. It’s definitely worth a visit.
I flew back to New Jersey early the next morning, admittedly looking a little pink, but feeling very satisfied. I’m so glad I got to make the most of my spring break and do stuff I never even imagined I would do, and it was awesome getting to spend it with Tamara – she’s my favourite person to talk to about study abroad since we both got to experience it at the same time! I loved getting to see a glimpse of what her life was like for the semester, and she visited me in New Jersey less than a week later, so we had an amazing couple of weeks of bonding and sharing our study abroad experiences with each other.
(This photo was my view as I landed back into Newark airport - it's a bit hard to see but there in the middle of the photo is the New York skyline!)
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