Scenes from South Beach...

Hey guys! My sis and I got back from South Beach early Wednesday morning (early as in 3:30 a.m.). Our flight home from Toronto was scheduled to land here at 1:00 a.m., but we spent over 2 hours sitting in the plane on the tarmac waiting and praying for a break in the snowstorm. The break finally came and we were able to depart, thank God! We had a super time in Miami and the beaches! Lots of great meals - Khong River House, Oliver's Bistro, Yardbird, to name but a few restaurants. I was a little surprised that my sister like the Thai place as much as she did, best chicken wings she's ever had apparently! We lucked out with the weather. The week before we arrived it had been very chilly (as in 8 C in the morning!) and this weekend is another cold snap in Miami. But when we were there, it was around 27 C every day and we didn't see a drop of rain. We spent most of our days on the beach, shopped a little, laughed a lot, and generally had a very good time. We also took in a day at the South Beach Food and Wine Festival - a HUGE event sponsored by The Food Network and Food and Wine Magazine. We saw Paula Dean (who was hilarious!), Michael Symon, big-muscled Robert Irvine, and Guy Fieri, among others. The only downside was that we both develped a rash on our legs/feet, which we attribute to something in the ocean water or bug bites. Sis got it first and mine only came the day we left. We both apepar to be getting better now, which is a good thing. We stayed at Villa Paradiso on Collins Avenue, which is a 5-minute walk to the beach. Great location. It's a bit dated, but very clean and for the price and location, it can't be beat. I'll probably have a few more pics and stories in the days ahead, but in the meat time, I give you these: