Homeward Bound

We left French Polynesia quite satisfied, our final day motoring around the beautiful lagoon in a rental boat was the best part of our time there. After an overnight flight to LA we were in the hotel by 10am and on the VIP bus at noon. This whirlwind tour was as American as it gets but the only way to see all those celebrity locations that one sees on television on a very regular basis in the short time available. Marina Del Rey, Bel Air, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, Hollywood and Santa Monica, home of the famous pier.

Since the bus driver fought through the traffic and we had to squeeze through the crowds at the Kodak Theatre for a shot at the Hollywood sign, here it is.

It was a 4am start for the flight to Miami. Believe it or not, in all the years we have lived in Bermuda and visited various parts of Florida we have never seen the Miami area. We spent an overnight in South Beach before driving down to Key West for 2 nights, they say you either love or hate the Keys, we rather liked it. The last 3 days have been in and around Coral Gables with our very good friends the Grooms, who introduced us to this magnificent oasis of leisure The Biltmore Hotel. Built in 1925 it has had an interesting history as a hotel, war hospital and some years of closure and bankruptcy before being restored to former glory.

What a wonderful place to spend the last days and the last dollars (!), our flight leaves this afternoon. It will take us some time to absorb all that we have seen and done in the last 4 months, this adventure is over but will be replayed in our memory for a long time to come (until the next one).