This weekend I had a friend from South Africa visiting. We really wanted to do the whole ‘touristy’ thing and show her Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and of course Disney or Universal. On Friday night we picked her up from the airport and headed straight down to Miami. We had dinner and then hit Collins Avenue. I’m not much of a party animal and am really clueless when it comes to the ‘hip’ places to go. Well, we started at one end of Collins, and had dinner at Opas Greek Taverna. The food was great, and the restaurant’s atmosphere was lively and fun-filled. We then went across the street to Nikki Beach. I had been there before and it really is the only place I know. It’s absolutely exquisite! It is right on the beach, and is extremely refreshing and unique.

The photo below if of the Gianni Versace House!

We eventually got home (I fell asleep in the car as it was way past my usual bedtime). We had every intention of waking up around 7am to drive to Orlando to visit Universal… but it didn’t quite happen like that. I could blame it on the alarm clock – but I would just be lying. We eventually got up and decided we’d do Universal on Sunday. We headed down to Fort Lauderdale and took a stroll down Las Olas BLVD. We peaked inside the boutique stores and walked right the way down to the ocean. The Intracoastal was beautiful and the boats were amazing. This is a photo of Thomas and Nadine in front of the Intracoastal backdrop.

We returned home for a Barbecue (which in South Africa we refer to as a braai. This technique is handed from Father to son, and is the basic survival skill that every man has to know and have mastered. It really is an art). The next day we had the same intention of rising early and heading to Orlando… but this time it was the weather. So, we instead went to Fort Lauderdale (again) where we visited The Bodies Exhibit. It was so interesting! They actually use human bodies that they preserve through a process of placing the dissected specimens in acetone, which rids it of body water; then they place the specimen in Silicon or Polymer and store it in a vacuum. During this stage, the acetone leaves the body as a gas and is replaced by the polymer. After which, they coat the specimen in some form of catalyst, which hardens the specimen. I highly recommend seeing this exhibit. They have several all over the world, but the closest one to Lynn is obviously in Riverfront, Las Olas, Fort Lauderdale.

That evening we went home and lazed around the house. In the evening we made sushi, which I now realize whilst writing this, sounds rather disgusting after visiting the exhibit.

After visiting China in August, I have really become more interested in Asian cuisine. For Christmas I was given this exquisite Chinese tea set. So, we had an Chinese/Japanese evening. We rolled our own sushi and made hand rolls. We then sat down to a wonderful meal and fantastic tea… all the way from China!

This morning Nadine flies back. I’m back at work and ready for a busy week. It was great to arrive on campus to the buzz of students returning from their holidays, excited to see their friends and catch up on holiday news. The campus has such a wonderful vibe when the students are here. The only way I can describe it is an array of opportunities making their way to or from classes, the whole day ahead of them.