Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Back from the Swamp!

Ah, yes, one of the nicest things about vacation (that's the short term for our non-stop pastelito-eating, Cuban-coffee-drinking bacchanalia in south Florida) is coming home again. We had a lovely trip! Beautiful weather, delightful company, reptiles and orchids in full bloom (the flowers, not the reptiles), sun and fun. As I mentioned prior to our departure, we got a great deal on a room just a short walk from Gilberts Bakery, where they make what I consider the finest pastelitos to be found in Miami. So far.

Their Cuban coffee is hit or miss, as is finding someone who speaks English in the place, but que sera, sera. A cup of the Cuban coffee we adore, and as yet have been able to find nowhere but in south Florida, is called a colada. It's really a shot but it's so strong and so loaded with frothed up sugar that they give you thimble-sized cups so you can share your shot with all your friends.

"Colada" is, of course, a Spanish word. I popped into Gilberts en route to...somewhere, and asked the woman behind the counter for "Two coladas, please". (Yes. Two. By our second day there we'd advanced beyond splitting these and were drinking an entire shot each). The woman looked confused and shook her head "I...no English..." she shrugged, helplessly. Seriously? She can't make that one out? I had finite time in which to consume my own body-weight in the liquid so I went ahead and ordered "Dos coladas, por favor". She smiled and got to work. Inwardly, not wanting her to screw up my colada, I rolled my eyes.

So, anyway, by the time we got to the airport to go home yesterday morning we actually had to pass up a final colada from the Gilberts stand we spotted in the ticketing area. We were a little sad about it. The Miami Druekes fed us healthy meals, but we still managed to fill our guts with a lot of heart attack-inducing crap. I am feeling a bit sluggish this morning. And craving something green and fresh. Totally worth it, though.

Oh, you want to hear about our visit and see pictures? Yeah, OK. but you'll have to wait because I haven't had time to resize them and all that. We took over 200. I'll handle that in a several posts yet to come.

4 comments:

*pal said...

it's a good thing i was already in tallahassee when you visited YOURami...i would have chastised you for not alerting me that you had traveled within 2 hours of my home...i could have driven over to see you. alas, the legislature comes first.

LMP said...

You know, I always think that since you're clear on the other side of the state that it's far for you to go. I forget that the state is wafer thin.

FlapScrap said...

Did you try the piƱa colada?

Uncle Steve said...

I like pina coladas.

...and taking walks in the rain.