life-tripping

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Days 20 - 24: Miami Beach, Florida

After a couple of days on the road with a stopover in Panama City and Orlando, we made it to Miami Beach. A welcome 4 days break before flying home we took full advantage of the luxury it had to offer and mostly just chilled out. We stayed at the lovely art deco Gale South Beach hotel, close to the beach and with its own lovely pool, we made sure to jump out every time the sun peeked out behind the very dramatic clouds. September is hurricane season so we also experienced some pretty spectacular rainstorms. So it was hot, humid, stormy and sunny all in one!

Miami Beach is known for being a bit of a party town but along with the hurricane weather comes low season so we didn’t quite get to experience as much as we wanted to - plus it isn’t a cheap city so being there at the end of our trip meant we had to be a little careful with the purse strings. But we were lucky to be there during Miami Spice month which means that many of the high end restaurants were offering 3 course dinners for just $39. We went to very lovely Juvia, a rooftop restaurant with great views, and also the Restaurant at the Setai, again very luxurious. Both meals were delicious and a great respite to the ridiculous amount of greasy burgers we have consumed on this trip!

We tried out a couple of the clubs, The Wall at the W, the Mynt Lounge and the Clevelander, but being off-season none were anything to write home about. It certainly didn’t beat Ibiza for either of us!

But it was really nice to be by the seaside for our last few days, allowing us to reflect on a fantastic trip and make the most of the Miami heat and sunshine before heading back to the grey ol’ UK.

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A quick note!

Apologies for our radio silence these last few days. We are negotiating the weather in Miami (hurricane season!) and also winding down after a really hectic but wonderful few weeks. Miami pics are on their way.

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Panama City beach at sunset.. Nice place for an overnight stop!

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Days 15-17: New Orleans, Mississippi

Apologies for the delay in getting up this post. Tom was all ready with the pics but I was slacking on the writing. This was mainly due to the mixed feelings I had about New Orleans.

Don’t get me wrong, we had a great time. We ate great food, spent a long afternoon drinking wine whilst listening to the music flood in from all around the city (and massively treated to the start of the parade you can see in the first pic here), we saw some unbelievable musicians and some wonderful art and photography. And the architecture is truly beautiful. It is a vibrant, lively city with plenty to see and do. 

But for me something just wasn’t quite right in NOLA. Maybe I felt under pressure to love it after hearing from so many people about how great it was. Maybe it was the truly awful Bourbon Street, full of really drunk Americans, gaudy bars, and the smell - wow the smell is really awful! Maybe it was the very high percentage of homeless people, some veterans, most alcoholics and in need of help. Maybe it was the parts of the city that just felt tired and unloved. Or a mixture of all of those things. But I do think that America needs to take care of New Orleans. It is not only an important part of American culture, it is a vital part of its history. And as the sign held up by one of the many homeless vets read ‘A little love goes a long way.’

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Life on the road...

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Day 14: Clarksdale, Mississippi

We prised ourselves away from our porch at the Shack Up Inn to go and see what the town of Clarksdale had to offer and we weren’t disappointed. A small, quiet town that doesn’t seem to have much happening during the day comes alive at night with its blues tradition.

Clarksdale has been famous for the Blues ever since Robert Johnson purportedly sold his soul to the devil at the Crossroads of Highways 61 and 49 so that he could become a master of the blues. Incidentally there’s a great BBQ place called Abe’s on that crossroads now where we had a great dinner.

We went to a few different places to hear live music. On the first night we went to the Hambone Gallery, a small art gallery with a stage and a bar, to hear Deak Harp, the local harmonica sensation with his fantastic drummer Lee Williams. During the breaks the musicians and locals would come over and introduce themselves, excited to hear where we were from and clearly loving that we enjoyed listening to them play. 

The next night we went over to Ground Zero Blues Club, owned by Morgan Freeman, where drummer Lee was playing with his wife Heather. Much more of the rock ‘n roll tradition here and we were treated to an impromptu song by local Razorblade (the guy in the very sharp suit). 

After Ground Zero we moved over to Club 2000, a local juke joint where Big A was playing with his incredible 15 year old drummer. The music was infectious as was Big A who often moved around the crowd to get up close and personal.

All in all a couple of great nights in Clarksdale, listening to great music and getting to know some great people. Loved it.

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Day 13: Clarksdale, Mississippi

Due to car trouble we had to bypass Memphis order to switch over our rental car which was a shame, but nobody we’ve met on our travels seemed to think we’d missed much. I guess we’ll have to save it for another time.

And as we drove up to our little Gunny Shack at the Shack Up Inn we instantly felt right at home. The Shack Up Inn is a Bed ‘n Beer Motel with unbelievable character and charm. And as you can see - plenty of photo opps. After a hectic few days in Nashville it was great to kick back on our porch, get a bottle of bourbon on the go and just watch the sun go down. 

And then, because Tom never quite stops there, he got up the next morning for sunrise to take that fantastic shot of the car you can see here. Absolutely worth it!

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Nashville: Birthday dinner

A quick time-lapse of our delicious dinner at 5th and Taylor. DELICIOUS!

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Days 11-12: Nashville, Tenessee

Oh Nashville, you truly spoiled us. Despite not being huge country music fans there was still so much for us to do, see and enjoy - all helped along by the incredible hospitality of the Nashville residents.

We arrived at the Hutton Hotel to be greeted with warmth, friendliness, free birthday wine and a beautiful room, a welcome relief after Gatlinburg. Straight out to Demo’s Steak and Spaghetti House where we enjoyed one of the best steaks we’d both ever had, all at a fraction of the cost in the UK. Then onto Broadway for live music at the Tin Roof - just because it was a Sunday doesn’t mean that anything closed early, with Sunday Funday ensuring everything continued on as normal.

The following day was my birthday, and after being woken up with balloons and cards from home we went into town to the Frothy Monkey for omelettes and mimosas and then onto the Marathon Motor Works, which was a great find by Tom. An old car factory that has now been turned into individual studios ranging in everything from handmade jewellery to a spa, whiskey distillery and winery. Unfortunately a few things were closed on Mondays but we managed to shop, do a wine tasting and for Tom to get some great photos of the area.

We then took a stroll around Centennial park with it’s own Parthenon (slightly odd) and then onto Maggie Moos for the best ice cream I have ever had! You pick your flavours and toppings and then mix it all up for you on a huge sugared slab. Indulgent and delicious!

Onto the evening events and Tom had planned out the perfect birthday treat. Happy Hour drinks at the Germantown Cafe where we met Chartreuse Charles the barman (FYI the free birthday shot of chartreuse went down slow and strong!), and then onto the amazing 5th and Taylor restaurant which served up incredible meat and mashed potatoes. Sounds simple but was totally delicious and such a beautiful building.

The evening finished up back on Broadway where we took in the famous bars of Legends Corner and Tootsies complete with live country music and happy dancing crowds. It was one of the best birthdays I have ever had, so thank you Nashville for being so incredibly wonderful.

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Saw this in Nashville and couldn’t resist a snap. A perfect description of the perfect road trip.

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Day 11: Gatlinburg, Tennessee

After a full day of driving on Day 10 we made it into Gatlinburg. Unfortunately it wasn’t quite the sleepy mountain town we were expecting! It was a bit more like Blackpool. More crazy golf outlets per square mile than any other place I’ve ever been too and tonnes of chain restaurants.

However, it was surrounded by some of the most incredible natural beauty and after a slightly disappointing 6am start to try and catch the sunrise only to discover that the spot we’d picked was completely covered in dense fog, we managed to get some great shots of the Smokies in the afternoon.

After that was the mandatory moonshine tasting and we then decided that we’d seen all Gatlinburg had to offer so set off a day early to Nashville. And I’m so glad we did...!

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Day 9: Washington D.C Part 2

I think these pictures speak for themselves...D.C. is such a photogenic place, especially when the sun is shining. 

It was the 14th anniversary of 9/11 so all the flags were flown at half mast and we were privileged to see a service for WWII veterans from Utah at the WWII memorial.

Rich in beauty and steeped in history D.C is definitely a place to visit. 

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Day 9: Washington D.C. Part 1 So I'm jumping the gun a bit here and uploading my own pics (shh don't tell Tom!). We've had a full on tourist day in D.C. and literally seen all the sights. It's a beautiful city with so many important historical monuments and museums. We managed to go to the Holocaust Museum and the National Portrait Gallery, only 2 of the 19 museums available. And we did pretty much every stop on then National Mall including the White House, Lincoln Memorial, WWII Memorial, Washington Monument (which is absolutely huge, you can just about see Tom at the bottom of the first picture to give a sense of scale), Capitol Hill and many more.

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Tom enjoying his Philly Cheesesteak from Geno's. Best place in the city.

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Days 7-8: Philadelphia, PA

A very short 24 hour stop in Philly, my alma mater. It’s been almost 8 years since I was last here and it feels like the city has changed so much. But as ever, it is full of incredible places to eat and we tried to do as much of that as possible. 

First stop, Reading Terminal which is an indoor food market where you can get pretty much anything you could possibly want! We went for Roast Pork sandwiches which were delicious. Then I took Tom up to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for one of Philly’s most famous sights...the Rocky steps. As you can see he took it quite seriously ;)

Then we spent the evening with my best friend Nel and her boyfriend Greg. Unfortunately no photos of the fabulous night we had, stopping off at wine bar Tria, restaurant Vernick (amazing food once again) and then late night bar Ranstead Room which is a fantastic speakeasy. It was a great night and so good to see Nel again.

The next day we were up and at ‘em, and went to get the most famous Philly food of all -  the Philly Cheesesteak. Of course we had to go to Geno’s, because despite many imitations in Philly this is truly the best of them all.

Finally we went to see the amazing Barnes Foundation which is one of the world’s largest private art collections on display. It was a fantastic exhibition and kept us all absorbed for hours as we stayed out of the torrential rain happening outside.

All in all a fantastic day. Philly is a fantastic city and I’d love to get back and spend more time there, but for now, on to Washington DC! 

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24 hours in Philly and the best bit was getting to spend most of it with this gorgeous face. My bestie Nel 😍

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Final brunch in New York, had to be Sarabeth’s! And yes that is a muffin with my omelette. And yes that is butter and jam to go with my muffin. And yes, I pretty much ate it all 😳