Homestead, Florida, United States - 9th December 2012
By: tarepanda
We are now back in Florida. Today we go visit an attraction called Coral Castle. It's built by the man in the picture, Edward Leedskalnin.
Well this is a very old sign. The admission is definitely not 10 cents now!
Hmm I wonder what we will see?
There is a sign that says "Ring Bell Twice". In the past, visitors would drop a coin and then ring the bell to enter. Leedskalnin was very strict about "ring bell twice". If the visitors rang it too many times or only once, he would not let them in till they got it right! He sure sounds like a weird fellow!
The whole place is built with big limestone! According to our guide, the man who built the castle, Edward Leedskalnin, was eccentric indeed. He came from Latvia after his sweet 16 broke up their engagement the night before marriage. He lived alone and built this whole place by himself, craving and moving stones weighing many tons, never letting anyone see him work! There is a lot of mysteries and legends about how he built the whole place, people claiming to peek in at night and saw him levitated the stones around! Not to mention the man was only 5 ft tall!
Here are some lounge chairs for you to rest in.
This board meeting table is craved in the shape of the state of Florida. The puddle of water in the center is Lake Okeechobee.
These are the "beds" though they must be very uncomfortable.
And a bathtub!
This table is carved in the shape of heart. Some visitors liked to propose or renew their vows at this table.
The sundial is accurate within minutes, though I don't know how to read it!
Oh a dungeon! I wonder what creepy creatures live in there? Well, our guide said this was where he stored his food, keeping it cool underground.
And a well for nice, cool water.
Guess what this is? His stove! He put food inside the metal ball, built a fire underneath, and the food would cook up nicely.
This door was built so cleverly that even a child can push the stone door open, but sadly the mechanism is broken now and cannot be repaired.
We are shown where he dug the coral stone for his castle.
These are signs of different planets. I bet it's great sitting here and watching the stars in the sky at night!
It's impressive indeed! Very beautiful and we cannot imagine how a man was able to build the whole thing back in 1930s without any help from machine or men!
We went up the second floor of the the building. (How did he even build this? He must be a wizard!)
This is the bed he slept in.
Everything looked somewhat primitive.
Quite an interesting tour indeed!
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Posted Apr 12, 2013, 4:09 pm
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Miami, Florida, United States - 11th January 2013
By: tarepanda
Wow looks like we have another TV joining us! Who's he? Who's he?
Oh it's a moose. Mocha is very happy to finally see another moose friend. He says there are too many rats and mice in the house. He is joking of course. Anyway, we give Jasper a good welcome party!
Mocha He proudly introduce Jasper to his grandpapa, Cappuccino. His Grandpapa is too old to travel but he loves having visitors. Then he can tell his stories all over again. (Not that he doesn't repeat his stories with us...
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Posted May 9, 2013, 10:44 pm
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Miami, Florida, United States - 27th January 2013
By: tarepanda
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Posted May 10, 2013, 1:59 am Last edited May 10, 2013, 2:01 am by tarepanda
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Miami, Florida, United States - 17th February 2013
By: tarepanda
Today the weather is very nice, and we go to the farmer's market.
Naturally, we shop for some fresh, local vegetables.
There are many varieties of tomatoes.
Wow they have lobsters too! Unlike Maine lobster, Florida lobster do not have the big pincher claws.
This stall makes conch fritters, and conch salad, a specialty of South Florida and the Caribbeans.
There are a lot of food. This French (looking) guy is making crepe. It looks delicious!
We see this stall selling things with an ocean motif.
They have bags too with seahorses, shells and other decorations.
We buy some local honey.
Look they even have local rice grown in Florida! Florida is actually the 7th largest rice-growing state in the U.S, but most of its production is used locally, as there is a heavy population of South American immigrants whose main starch is rice rather than potatoes. It is used as a cover crop in sugarcane fields during the fallow period.
Here are some home-made cookies.
These are empanadas, stuffed pastries. There are many varieties, filled with different types of meat, vegetables and cheeses.
These hand made soaps look very pretty!
Oh the popcorn smells so delicious!
There are flowers for sell.
These dwarf trees are called bonsai.
We can pick up some spices and herbs.
Or some blend of tea.
We sample some of the home made dried fruits. Yummy!! The market is a lot of fun!
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Posted May 10, 2013, 4:22 am
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Tampa, Florida, United States - 7th March 2013
By: tarepanda
Today we are going on a trip to Tampa, on the west coast of Florida.
Look there is a bridge coming up.
This is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The Travel Channel rated the Sunshine Skyway #3 in its special on the "Top 10 Bridges" in the World.
We come to visit the Cigar City Brewery.
The brewery was first built in Ybor City, which is a historic neighborhood in Tampa founded in the 1880s by cigar manufacturers. Later it moved this current location, hence the saying on the sign.
Here is the star of today! The special brew, Hunahpu, which is available only on this day of the year, which we come here for. Each person can buy only 3 bottles at $20 each. The limited release bottle has received very high rating among drinkers and can fetch up to USD $200 on ebay. People from all over the country come to line up from early in the morning to buy it.
There are some food trucks here, because we all love some food to go with our beer!
This one called Oki Doki, sells Okinawan food.
We take a peek inside the truck. They are very busy cooking!
Everybody seems to enjoy themselves, walking around with a beer in hand.
Some people bring their own chairs, coolers filled with beers, and food to just enjoy a nice day out here. They chat, drink beer, and listen to the band playing.
There is a booth selling cigars made in Ybor City.
Hmmm... I guess big cigars need a big lighter?
Let's check out the tasting room!
Look at all the beers on tap!! What a selection! Most of them are local craft brews.
Wow look at the stack of cups.
The brewery has won a lot of awards, which they proudly display.
Before we leave, we check out the shop so we can buy some souvenir.
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Posted May 31, 2013, 12:52 am
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Pompano Beach, Florida, United States - 30th March 2013
By: tarepanda
Have you ever tried a Brazilian churrascaria? Today we are going to a Brazilian steakhouse. At this one, instead of Rodizio style, which means the waiters bring the meat to you, it's self service.
Ah, I think we find the right place. We can see the Brazilian flag on the sign.
This is the name of the restaurant. It means Rice and Beans, but our host assures us that we will get a lot more than that.
Mmm it sounds good.
Here is a poster reminding us that the 2014 World Cup will be in Brazil! Hmmm needs to start planning my trip there!
We sip some cold, refreshing cashew juice while reading the menu. The juice is make from the cashew fruit, where the cashew nut is actually the seed of the fruit.
At the buffet line you can see the salad and dessert.
This is the grill where they have various cuts of meat: sirloin, chicken, pork loin, filet mignon, flank steak, sausages, and more.
You let them know what meat you like and they cut it for you. At fancier place you will have waiters come by to your table with the sword skewer of meat.
Bom apetite!!
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Posted Jun 6, 2013, 7:23 pm
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Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States - 3rd April 2013
By: tarepanda
Today we go to visit a Free Little Library. These are the books we are bringing. We register them on BookCrossing first. BookCrossing is like toyvoyagers, every book gets an ID number and it travels around the round. By reading the book's journal you can find out where the book has gone and what its readers say about it.
The Little Free Library is an organization that promotes setting up little "library" boxes in communities around the world, to encourage people to gather together, and to promote read. People are welcome to visit the libraries to take and leave books.
We put our books into the library, and check to see if there is anything interesting.
Hmmm, maybe we can just live here for a few days and enjoy some books? It would be nice and cozy here. Hey can you bring us some snack?
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Posted Jun 6, 2013, 8:01 pm
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Hollywood, Florida, United States - 18th May 2013
By: tarepanda
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Posted Jun 11, 2013, 11:08 pm Last edited Jun 11, 2013, 11:48 pm by tarepanda
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