More fun times!

I realize I haven't blogged about the rest of our vacation yet, and I also had a really fun weekend last weekend with my mom and my sister in town, so I've got some catching up to do! I think I'll start with the rest of vacation today and will blog about mom and sis tomorrow.

So, after our stay at the DonCeSar hotel, Taylor and I actually left the St. Petersburg area and drove to Tampa on Sunday in order to catch our flight to Curacao on Monday morning. It's about a 5 hour drive, part of it straight across the Florida Everglades, which was pretty cool. We got to Miami early in the evening on Sunday and checked into our room at the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables, which we'd gotten on Hotwire for a really great rate. Here are some photos:

Our room:

From Curacao

The pool:

From Curacao

We went out in South Beach on Sunday night, starting with the obligatory Mexican and Margaritas:

From Curacao

Then, we walked around, checking out a crazy art museum:

From Curacao

I'm really not sure about this one:

From Curacao

Then, we walked around checking out the bars/clubs and ended up getting a drink at The Clevelander, a hotel with a pretty cool outdoor bar area where, apparently, the cast of Jersey Shore went out when they were filming last season in Miami. High class.

The next morning, we dropped off our rental car and caught our flight to Curacao so the real relaxing part of the vacation could begin!!

We arrived in Curacao Monday afternoon, picked up our rental car and headed about 20 miles to the very northwest corner of the island and the Kura Hulanda Lodge. The lodge is the sister property to the Hotel Kura Hulanda, which is actually in the main city of Curacao, Willemstad. The hotels were both opened in the last 10 years by a Dutch Architect (Curacao was a Dutch colony until last October). We opted to stay in the Lodge rather than the more urban hotel so that we could enjoy the beaches of Curacao. Here's just a taste of what we got to enjoy:

The view from our ocean-front room:

From Curacao

The picture-perfect beach at the hotel:

From Curacao

Beautiful sunsets (complete with Carissa's Caribbean Punch):

From Curacao

DELICIOUS Frozen Cappuccinos (oh, THAT'S why Starbucks calls it a Frappuccino) at the hotel bar:

From Curacao

Quaint nearby beaches:

From Curacao

And Amstel Bright's by the pool!

From Curacao

Besides relaxing near the beaches and pool, we did have some adventures in Curacao.

We caught the farewell parade of Carnival in the capital city of Willemstad:

From Curacao

From Curacao

Snorkeled and took some photos with my friend's underwater camera:

From Curacao

From Curacao

From Curacao

Visited an Ostrich Farm and had ostrich burger!

From Curacao

From Curacao

From Curacao

Toured Willemstad itself, famous for it's brightly colored, Dutch-inspired buildings:

From Curacao

These photos are from our dinner at a local place called Jaanchies. The place is famous because there's no menu. The owner just comes and sits and chats with you about what you like then makes the meal for you. You don't even know how much it will cost!

Fried Conch, it was delicious!

From Curacao

Goat Stew:

From Curacao

What a great trip!

From Curacao