I decided my first post on my first blog in the first month of the year should be the first trip I took in 2015, which was to Florida. It wasn´t my first time there and since I have already seen most of Miami and Orlando, I wanted to go on a cruise in the Caribbean Sea.
But beforehand I stayed in Miami for 3 days and booked a tour to the Everglades (this was actually the only thing I haven´t done the last time I was there). It was pretty cool to be in that airboat and the landscape is amazing but I have to say that I was quite disappointed because we only saw two crocodiles and some babies. But you know you haven´t really been to Florida if you didn´t go to the Everglades.
But beforehand I stayed in Miami for 3 days and booked a tour to the Everglades (this was actually the only thing I haven´t done the last time I was there). It was pretty cool to be in that airboat and the landscape is amazing but I have to say that I was quite disappointed because we only saw two crocodiles and some babies. But you know you haven´t really been to Florida if you didn´t go to the Everglades.
The first stop of the cruise was San Juan, Puerto Rico´s capital. It acutally surprised me - not that I had expected anything bad, I guess I just didn´t expect the opposite. From what I´ve seen it´s a beautiful, well structured and clean city. We arrived at 4 p.m. and were leaving at 11 p.m. so there wasn´t that much time to explore the city before it got dark.
Next stop: Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas - U.S. Virgin Island
I fell in love with the clear blue water, the beautiful beaches and the amazing nature. We went to Magens Bay and spent most of our time there... I think this island is a perfect spot to lie in the sun the entire day and do nothing but relax. See for yourselves:
I fell in love with the clear blue water, the beautiful beaches and the amazing nature. We went to Magens Bay and spent most of our time there... I think this island is a perfect spot to lie in the sun the entire day and do nothing but relax. See for yourselves:
The last stop on the cruise was Philippsburg in St. Maarten. The island is especially known for Maho beach with the Princess Juliana International Airport right next to it. If you are there, you would think the planes are going to crash into the people. As you can see on the picture the beach is very crowded and really small, so I wouldn´t set my hopes too high on finding a place to tan. But there is a restaurant called "Sunset Bar & Grill" right at the beach, where you can have lunch and view the speactacle. Plus: they also have a board with all flight times so you know when to prepare your camera.
When you travel to St. Maarten around January you have the privilege to see hundreds of butterflies flying around. Unfortunately I didn´t manage to capture them properly with my camera. But maybe you can see those 4 little white dots in the water... - these are butterflies.
After the cruise we rent a car in Miami and drove to Orlando, where we went to Florida´s Universal Studios. I have to admit that it is the park I liked the most in Orlando. All Harry Potter lovers should go there - it is just amazing! You feel like you really are in Hogwarts. In the Universal Studios you have the Diagon Alley with the Gringotts Bank, Weasleys´ Wizzard Wheezes, Ollivander´s wand shop and a lot more. Then you can take the Hogwarts Express (which looks exactly like the one in the movie) from Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross to Hogwarts (but it is at the other park called Islands of Adventure so you can only take the train if you have a day ticket for the park..). There is a rollercoaster inside Hogwarts´ castle and even if you don´t like rollercoasters it is worth queuing up to walk through Dumbledore´s office, the classrooms and Hogwarts´corridors. Afterwards you can take a stroll through Hogsmeade and its cute snow-covered houses.
Thank you for reading my horribly long post until the end and I hope you enjoy what´s to come!
Rebecca xx
Rebecca xx