Hello everyone
I slept till 11 am this morning. Felt good to sleep in really long. Then of course I went to Starbucks for breakfast or considering what time it was, lunch. The manager already knew that I wanted to talk to him. He was very friendly and apologized again.
I spent the afternoon at the beach, enjoying the hot sun and the cool water. So this was really a lazy day.
Back at the hostel I watched movies on abc family (the parent trap, mean girls, wild child) with the 4 party girls who were packing cause they would be leaving tomorrow morning. I also went out for a little while to check out Collins Avenue, which is a parallel street to the one we are on and its only one block away. I was very surprised to realize that it is basically another outdoor mall, but I was good and only did window shopping!
That's it for now
xoxo
Samstag, 7. August 2010
Freitag, 6. August 2010
August 6 2010 - How to get to the Airport
Hey there,
Today was the day that Fabienne flew back home:(
We got up, finished packing her stuff, and one of my bags that she would take with her and went to Starbucks.
Two of the guys that knew we were there everyday for the last week were working this morning which made the whole complain thing easier. We asked for the manager, unfortunately they told us that he would not be in till tomorrow. They did however asked us if they could help us. We explained, they understood, gave us the money we had payed too much back and gave us each a voucher for a free drink. No stupid comments or anything. That is how Starbucks usually is, if the customer is not happy, they make it right. They also told us that there had been other problems with the guy before.
We ordered our breakfast and sat down. After a little while ??? (that's not really his name but he reminded us of one of the guys in the movie yesterday so we just call him that now) came over and gave us a card. He said it looked like we were leaving town (he saw all the bags) and that it would be good if we would call the store tomorrow morning to tell the manager what had happened. I told him that I was staying in Miami and that I was gonna come in in the morning anyway.
After this, we walked for about 15 Minutes to find the bus that would take us to the airport. We failed. Another bus came buy though and we asked the driver where we could find the one we needed. He told us to get on his bus and he would drop us off at the right stop. He did not eve make us pay for the fare. Awesome!
We finally made it to the right bus stop but no bus was coming. We waited more than half an hour till it finally appeared around the corner. Luckily we had calculated enough time to get to the airport and when we got there we still had more than enough time. Fabienne checked in and dropped off her bags. Then we walked to the next Starbucks we found in order to use the vouchers we had gotten yesterday. They can be used for any drink of any size, so we ordered a venti chai tea latte aka Christmas in a cup and a venti cappuccino. It was the first time Fabienne and me had a venti. So we sat and talked and killed time people watching. When it was time to go through security we still had one stop to make, Dunkin Donuts. Sweet treats to take home.
We said our goodbyes and I waited till she was through security before going back to catch a bus to South Beach. On the way I made my plan for the night. These 4 girls were still in my room and I was assuming that the whole walking in and out of the room with food and alcohol etc was going to happen again tonight. Honestly, as long as my stuff stays where it is, I really don't care what is going on but I do not need to be there for it. So back in the city, I walked around the mall till I got to the cinema where I bought a ticket for the new Step up movie that had just come out today. It's in 3D and I bought the 10.30 showing so the girls in my room would be gone (to whichever club by the time I got back). Then I walked back to the hostel, took a shower and ate dinner, followed by sitting at Starbucks blogging until it was time to go to the movie theater again.
The movie was great and the 3D thing made it even better. When I got back to the hostel at about 1 am, the girls were all out :)
xoxo
Today was the day that Fabienne flew back home:(
We got up, finished packing her stuff, and one of my bags that she would take with her and went to Starbucks.
Two of the guys that knew we were there everyday for the last week were working this morning which made the whole complain thing easier. We asked for the manager, unfortunately they told us that he would not be in till tomorrow. They did however asked us if they could help us. We explained, they understood, gave us the money we had payed too much back and gave us each a voucher for a free drink. No stupid comments or anything. That is how Starbucks usually is, if the customer is not happy, they make it right. They also told us that there had been other problems with the guy before.
We ordered our breakfast and sat down. After a little while ??? (that's not really his name but he reminded us of one of the guys in the movie yesterday so we just call him that now) came over and gave us a card. He said it looked like we were leaving town (he saw all the bags) and that it would be good if we would call the store tomorrow morning to tell the manager what had happened. I told him that I was staying in Miami and that I was gonna come in in the morning anyway.
After this, we walked for about 15 Minutes to find the bus that would take us to the airport. We failed. Another bus came buy though and we asked the driver where we could find the one we needed. He told us to get on his bus and he would drop us off at the right stop. He did not eve make us pay for the fare. Awesome!
We finally made it to the right bus stop but no bus was coming. We waited more than half an hour till it finally appeared around the corner. Luckily we had calculated enough time to get to the airport and when we got there we still had more than enough time. Fabienne checked in and dropped off her bags. Then we walked to the next Starbucks we found in order to use the vouchers we had gotten yesterday. They can be used for any drink of any size, so we ordered a venti chai tea latte aka Christmas in a cup and a venti cappuccino. It was the first time Fabienne and me had a venti. So we sat and talked and killed time people watching. When it was time to go through security we still had one stop to make, Dunkin Donuts. Sweet treats to take home.
We said our goodbyes and I waited till she was through security before going back to catch a bus to South Beach. On the way I made my plan for the night. These 4 girls were still in my room and I was assuming that the whole walking in and out of the room with food and alcohol etc was going to happen again tonight. Honestly, as long as my stuff stays where it is, I really don't care what is going on but I do not need to be there for it. So back in the city, I walked around the mall till I got to the cinema where I bought a ticket for the new Step up movie that had just come out today. It's in 3D and I bought the 10.30 showing so the girls in my room would be gone (to whichever club by the time I got back). Then I walked back to the hostel, took a shower and ate dinner, followed by sitting at Starbucks blogging until it was time to go to the movie theater again.
The movie was great and the 3D thing made it even better. When I got back to the hostel at about 1 am, the girls were all out :)
xoxo
August 5 2010 - WTF?????
Hey there,
Today was Fabienne's last full day in the states. The sun was shining again, thankfully, and so it was clear that we would spend the day at the beach, of course after the daily Starbucks visit.
After the beach, we met our new roommates. 4 under aged girls from different corners of the world who had all met at a summer camp where they were working and now took a vacation together. They told us that there were 2 more to their group but that they were staying in another room. So what happened after dinner was the following. 6 loud girls with cups of alcohol whose biggest problem it is to find shoes that match their dress were hanging around in our room unpacking their suitcases and distributing all their crap all over the room. They had also moved my backpack and if there is one thing I do not appreciate it is strangers touching my stuff. Fibs and me fled the scene and found shelter at Starbucks.
I don't think I ever explained what a treat recite is, but I don't think so. ok so, if you buy something at Starbucks till 12pm you get a stamp on your recite. The treat receipt is the receipt with a stamp on it that says the following:
Bring this in after 2 p.m. Today and get any grande cold drink for just $2
We had been using those receipts all the time in New York and also this past week in Miami. So just like all the other evenings we walked in, one of us sat down (which was me today) while the other (in this case Fabienne) went to get the drinks.
When Fibs was back at the table with our drinks she looked at the receipt and realized that she did not get each drink for 2 dollars. So she went back to the guy and asked him to give us the money back that they had charged us too much. The really unfriendly man told her that the treat receipt meant that we get 2 dollars off our order and not a drink for two dollars. Fibs came back and I went to the stupid cashier again. The first thing he told me was that I talk to loud. Then I read the stamp out to him, because seriously, the print is pretty clear: any grande cold drink for just $2 I mean what is there to not understand? He insisted that he could not do anything. I started to talk to another guy working there and was interrupted by the rude one again who told me that if I had a problem I had to talk to him. Pretty hard though if he doesn't want to listen! I gave up for now and went back to the table. We looked at the receipt again and realized that we had not gotten the 2 dollars that stupid guy insisted the receipt promised off eighter. This time we both went to the register, and tried to talk to him again,m no chance he did barely acknowledge us and started to make fun of us by making stupid faces to other customers basically telling them that we were stupid. On the way back to the table to get our things to get out of there cause we really had enough, we saw yet another starbucks barista walking behind the bar. Just to make sure, although we knew we were right cause we had been using treat receipts before, we asked her what the stamp meant. She told us it meant any grande cold drink for 2 dollars. We were definitely right. We were packing our things when one of the guys who was standing in line behind us when asshole made fun of us came up to us and asked what the problem was. We explained, he read the stamp on the receipt, gave us right and offered to buy us a drink, nice man :). We however, just wanted to get out of there and left but not before asking the ass for his name and assuring him we would have a conversation with the manager the following morning. The whole thing is really not about this dollar and something we payed to much, its principles, I totally get that a mistake like that can happen, if the guy had said oh yes I made a mistake, sorry, let me take care of it, it would have been a very different story. But the way he acted was just so rude that we did not want to leave it at that. Will see what happens tomorrow!
xoxo
Today was Fabienne's last full day in the states. The sun was shining again, thankfully, and so it was clear that we would spend the day at the beach, of course after the daily Starbucks visit.
After the beach, we met our new roommates. 4 under aged girls from different corners of the world who had all met at a summer camp where they were working and now took a vacation together. They told us that there were 2 more to their group but that they were staying in another room. So what happened after dinner was the following. 6 loud girls with cups of alcohol whose biggest problem it is to find shoes that match their dress were hanging around in our room unpacking their suitcases and distributing all their crap all over the room. They had also moved my backpack and if there is one thing I do not appreciate it is strangers touching my stuff. Fibs and me fled the scene and found shelter at Starbucks.
I don't think I ever explained what a treat recite is, but I don't think so. ok so, if you buy something at Starbucks till 12pm you get a stamp on your recite. The treat receipt is the receipt with a stamp on it that says the following:
Bring this in after 2 p.m. Today and get any grande cold drink for just $2
We had been using those receipts all the time in New York and also this past week in Miami. So just like all the other evenings we walked in, one of us sat down (which was me today) while the other (in this case Fabienne) went to get the drinks.
When Fibs was back at the table with our drinks she looked at the receipt and realized that she did not get each drink for 2 dollars. So she went back to the guy and asked him to give us the money back that they had charged us too much. The really unfriendly man told her that the treat receipt meant that we get 2 dollars off our order and not a drink for two dollars. Fibs came back and I went to the stupid cashier again. The first thing he told me was that I talk to loud. Then I read the stamp out to him, because seriously, the print is pretty clear: any grande cold drink for just $2 I mean what is there to not understand? He insisted that he could not do anything. I started to talk to another guy working there and was interrupted by the rude one again who told me that if I had a problem I had to talk to him. Pretty hard though if he doesn't want to listen! I gave up for now and went back to the table. We looked at the receipt again and realized that we had not gotten the 2 dollars that stupid guy insisted the receipt promised off eighter. This time we both went to the register, and tried to talk to him again,m no chance he did barely acknowledge us and started to make fun of us by making stupid faces to other customers basically telling them that we were stupid. On the way back to the table to get our things to get out of there cause we really had enough, we saw yet another starbucks barista walking behind the bar. Just to make sure, although we knew we were right cause we had been using treat receipts before, we asked her what the stamp meant. She told us it meant any grande cold drink for 2 dollars. We were definitely right. We were packing our things when one of the guys who was standing in line behind us when asshole made fun of us came up to us and asked what the problem was. We explained, he read the stamp on the receipt, gave us right and offered to buy us a drink, nice man :). We however, just wanted to get out of there and left but not before asking the ass for his name and assuring him we would have a conversation with the manager the following morning. The whole thing is really not about this dollar and something we payed to much, its principles, I totally get that a mistake like that can happen, if the guy had said oh yes I made a mistake, sorry, let me take care of it, it would have been a very different story. But the way he acted was just so rude that we did not want to leave it at that. Will see what happens tomorrow!
xoxo
Donnerstag, 5. August 2010
August 4 2010 - Well Tom's still got it! Who would have thought?
Hello everyone
This morning we went to Starbucks as usual. The guys who work there are starting to recognise us :)
After breakfast we went to the beach. The sky looked kind of dark and there was a good chance of rain today. We did not bother with the umbrellas cause the sun was not really shining.
Fabienne decided not to go swimming right now but I could not resist and went in. Well my hair was barely went when it started to rain and some lightning appeared. All I could do was get out of the water. We went back to the hostel.The plan was to wait till after lunch to decide whether we are going back to the beach or to the cinema.
After our daily piece of pizza the sky was back to blue and we went and spent some time at the beach. However, we still wanted to go to the movies. So after dinner we got our movie tickets, an cold stone ice cream and then went to Starbucks.
The next time we looked out of the window it poured outside (well of course outside if i just said we looked out of the window, silly me :)) people were coming in to look for a dry spot. Suddenly a guy came up to us, he was I would say about 70, looked at us and asked if we wanted to make some fast money. We looked at him wired, not really getting what he wanted. He took out a 10 dollar bill and said he would give it to us if we gave up our seats. We did but made him keep his money.
After that incident we waited till the rain stopped and then went to the theater. The movie was hilarious. I mean I am not a Tom Cruise fan at all, I don't even know how to spell his last name, but the movie was great, we both loved it!!!! So if your looking for a fund comedy, its the one u want to pick! Voila the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaVUfqOARZc
that's it for now
xoxo
This morning we went to Starbucks as usual. The guys who work there are starting to recognise us :)
After breakfast we went to the beach. The sky looked kind of dark and there was a good chance of rain today. We did not bother with the umbrellas cause the sun was not really shining.
Fabienne decided not to go swimming right now but I could not resist and went in. Well my hair was barely went when it started to rain and some lightning appeared. All I could do was get out of the water. We went back to the hostel.The plan was to wait till after lunch to decide whether we are going back to the beach or to the cinema.
After our daily piece of pizza the sky was back to blue and we went and spent some time at the beach. However, we still wanted to go to the movies. So after dinner we got our movie tickets, an cold stone ice cream and then went to Starbucks.
The next time we looked out of the window it poured outside (well of course outside if i just said we looked out of the window, silly me :)) people were coming in to look for a dry spot. Suddenly a guy came up to us, he was I would say about 70, looked at us and asked if we wanted to make some fast money. We looked at him wired, not really getting what he wanted. He took out a 10 dollar bill and said he would give it to us if we gave up our seats. We did but made him keep his money.
After that incident we waited till the rain stopped and then went to the theater. The movie was hilarious. I mean I am not a Tom Cruise fan at all, I don't even know how to spell his last name, but the movie was great, we both loved it!!!! So if your looking for a fund comedy, its the one u want to pick! Voila the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaVUfqOARZc
that's it for now
xoxo
August 3 2010 - Is it so hard to be organised? Get a computer people!
Hey there
So this morning we got up at around 8. We wanted to go to the beach after Starbucks. We were at Starbucks at about 9, spend some time there eating our cream cheese bagels and checking our emails.
We then went back to the hostel to get our beach bag and umbrellas (We got the umbrellas from some swiss girls who we met at the reception 2 days ago. We wanted to go and buy an umbrella and when I saw them with theirs I asked them where they bought them. They said that they were leaving that day and that we could have them!!!) we found a pink postit on our door that said we should see reception. So we went down and let me tell you we were not happy when the lady told us we had to switch rooms.
The thing is this. The room they had put us in is a private room and now they had private room people coming in so we had to leave. Why did they put us in there in the first place then??? She did not really have an answer to that. I think if they would just get a computer it would be easier to keep up with all their reservations.
When we got to the new room two guys were busy moving their stuff out. They had to switch rooms too.
Anyway. The whole moving thing meant that we didn't get to the beach till after lunch. We spent the afternoon there. When we were in the water we suddenly spotted the two guys that also had to move rooms approaching the three girls that had been staying in the semi private room with us. It really was funny, like watching a soap opera. It looked like the guys were way more interested than the girls were.
so, that's it for now
xoxo
So this morning we got up at around 8. We wanted to go to the beach after Starbucks. We were at Starbucks at about 9, spend some time there eating our cream cheese bagels and checking our emails.
We then went back to the hostel to get our beach bag and umbrellas (We got the umbrellas from some swiss girls who we met at the reception 2 days ago. We wanted to go and buy an umbrella and when I saw them with theirs I asked them where they bought them. They said that they were leaving that day and that we could have them!!!) we found a pink postit on our door that said we should see reception. So we went down and let me tell you we were not happy when the lady told us we had to switch rooms.
The thing is this. The room they had put us in is a private room and now they had private room people coming in so we had to leave. Why did they put us in there in the first place then??? She did not really have an answer to that. I think if they would just get a computer it would be easier to keep up with all their reservations.
When we got to the new room two guys were busy moving their stuff out. They had to switch rooms too.
Anyway. The whole moving thing meant that we didn't get to the beach till after lunch. We spent the afternoon there. When we were in the water we suddenly spotted the two guys that also had to move rooms approaching the three girls that had been staying in the semi private room with us. It really was funny, like watching a soap opera. It looked like the guys were way more interested than the girls were.
so, that's it for now
xoxo
Dienstag, 3. August 2010
August 2 2010 - Heaven is a place on earth....
...and it's the deck of a catamaran off shore of Key West
Hey there
So we did get up at 6 this morning, got ready and walked to Starbucks which opens at 6.30. We got our bagels and green teas, brought them back to the hostel and ate them in the lobby while waiting for the tour bus to pick us up.
The bus showed up on time, isn't that suprising? I was not expecting that. Anyway.
We picked up some other passengers before hitting the road to Key West.
We passed the Everglades and then got to Key Largo which is the first and also the largest of the keys (if I got everything right that the driver told us), The keys are connected by bridges. One is called the seven mile bridge and is the longest.
We eventually stopped for breakfast at a McDonalds. Fibs and me are not the biggest fans of their breakfast plus we had already had it so I settled for a berry smoothie it was very good.
Before getting to our final destination, the driver told us about all the things we can do there, like go out on a glass bottom boat or go tour the city on a trolly or go snorkeling or just walk around.
We decided to go snorkeling. I had never done it and Fibs said its awesome. The driver dropped off all the guys who were doing something else and then drove us to the harbor where we got our tickets for the snorkel thing. After that we still had time to go to the Hard Rock Cafe to get my TShirt which I was really happy about. For a moment I had been worried that we would not have time to do that because of the snorkeling and that would have made me mad. Anyway, we got there and a stupid unfriendly lady sold me the shirt.
Back at the harbor we went on board of a 60 feet catamaran and picked out our snorkeling equipment. Then we settled down on the deck just enjoying the sun and the music they were playing, it was great.
After an hour of driving we stopped and got into the water to do what we came for. which I had almost forgotten cause I could have just stayed on that boat forever.
We got into the water and snorkeled for an hour (which went by way to fast). We saw really cool colorful fish it was really nice and I did not even want to get out of the ocean anymore.
Eventually we were forced to climb on board again. On the way back they served us beer and wine for free. Fibs and I lay in the sun and enjoyed our white wine seven up mix and the music till we got back to the harbor. It was past 4 when we got there and the tour driver was already there to pick us up. Before we even knew it we were already on the way back to Miami. We slept on the way back till we got to the McDonald again. This time we were hungry and did eat. On the bus we started to watch a second movie called Flyboys, James Franco is in it. Well about an hour into the movie and a half hour away from Miami the bus suddenly stopped and the driver informed us that there was something wrong with the bus and that we could not go on. Great! Luckily a big bus from another tour company came by and had had some free seats. So he took us to that company's terminal where another driver picked us up to get us back to the hotels/hostels. We got there 90 minutes later than we were supposed to. Anyway, it was an awesome day, no doubt about that!
xoxo
Hey there
So we did get up at 6 this morning, got ready and walked to Starbucks which opens at 6.30. We got our bagels and green teas, brought them back to the hostel and ate them in the lobby while waiting for the tour bus to pick us up.
The bus showed up on time, isn't that suprising? I was not expecting that. Anyway.
We picked up some other passengers before hitting the road to Key West.
We passed the Everglades and then got to Key Largo which is the first and also the largest of the keys (if I got everything right that the driver told us), The keys are connected by bridges. One is called the seven mile bridge and is the longest.
We eventually stopped for breakfast at a McDonalds. Fibs and me are not the biggest fans of their breakfast plus we had already had it so I settled for a berry smoothie it was very good.
Before getting to our final destination, the driver told us about all the things we can do there, like go out on a glass bottom boat or go tour the city on a trolly or go snorkeling or just walk around.
We decided to go snorkeling. I had never done it and Fibs said its awesome. The driver dropped off all the guys who were doing something else and then drove us to the harbor where we got our tickets for the snorkel thing. After that we still had time to go to the Hard Rock Cafe to get my TShirt which I was really happy about. For a moment I had been worried that we would not have time to do that because of the snorkeling and that would have made me mad. Anyway, we got there and a stupid unfriendly lady sold me the shirt.
Back at the harbor we went on board of a 60 feet catamaran and picked out our snorkeling equipment. Then we settled down on the deck just enjoying the sun and the music they were playing, it was great.
After an hour of driving we stopped and got into the water to do what we came for. which I had almost forgotten cause I could have just stayed on that boat forever.
We got into the water and snorkeled for an hour (which went by way to fast). We saw really cool colorful fish it was really nice and I did not even want to get out of the ocean anymore.
Eventually we were forced to climb on board again. On the way back they served us beer and wine for free. Fibs and I lay in the sun and enjoyed our white wine seven up mix and the music till we got back to the harbor. It was past 4 when we got there and the tour driver was already there to pick us up. Before we even knew it we were already on the way back to Miami. We slept on the way back till we got to the McDonald again. This time we were hungry and did eat. On the bus we started to watch a second movie called Flyboys, James Franco is in it. Well about an hour into the movie and a half hour away from Miami the bus suddenly stopped and the driver informed us that there was something wrong with the bus and that we could not go on. Great! Luckily a big bus from another tour company came by and had had some free seats. So he took us to that company's terminal where another driver picked us up to get us back to the hotels/hostels. We got there 90 minutes later than we were supposed to. Anyway, it was an awesome day, no doubt about that!
xoxo
August 1 2010 - Getting away from the sun
Hello everyone
So the afternoon at the beach resulted in light sunburns on Fibs shoulders so we thought it would be a good thing to take a break from the sun today.
After breakfast at Starbucks we walked down to the Lincoln Road Mall to go get some strong sunscreen for her.
On the way there we stopped at a tiny little office that sells all kinds of trips. Like a day trip to the everglades or a trip to the bahamas etc. We had already decided that we wanted to go to Key West for a day. We had briefly discussed renting a car to drive down there for a day but after the driving disaster in Chicago that was no longer an option! We realised that the prices at that travel agency were even lower then the tours the hostel was offering so we booked a Key West trip for Manana. It was already past 3pm when we had that done and we still didnt have the sunscreen. So we spent the next two and a half hours at the mall.
At 6 we were back at the hostel for our free dinner. The rest of the evening we spent in the room watching Law and Order before turning in early. We would be picked up at 7am tomorrow morning and we did not want to miss Starbucks so that meant we had to get up at 6!
that's it for now
talk to you soon
xoxo
So the afternoon at the beach resulted in light sunburns on Fibs shoulders so we thought it would be a good thing to take a break from the sun today.
After breakfast at Starbucks we walked down to the Lincoln Road Mall to go get some strong sunscreen for her.
On the way there we stopped at a tiny little office that sells all kinds of trips. Like a day trip to the everglades or a trip to the bahamas etc. We had already decided that we wanted to go to Key West for a day. We had briefly discussed renting a car to drive down there for a day but after the driving disaster in Chicago that was no longer an option! We realised that the prices at that travel agency were even lower then the tours the hostel was offering so we booked a Key West trip for Manana. It was already past 3pm when we had that done and we still didnt have the sunscreen. So we spent the next two and a half hours at the mall.
At 6 we were back at the hostel for our free dinner. The rest of the evening we spent in the room watching Law and Order before turning in early. We would be picked up at 7am tomorrow morning and we did not want to miss Starbucks so that meant we had to get up at 6!
that's it for now
talk to you soon
xoxo
Abonnieren
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