Travel around Miami

Get out of the malls and hit the stalls for a Budapest shopping tradition. The Christmas Market will see Vorosmarty ter and nearby Vigado ter filling up with little stalls selling quality hand crafted items and traditional Hungarian gifts. Funky Transylvanian items include excellent lace, incredibly warm untreated wool sweaters and (technically edible) hats made of mushroom leather. Of course, there’s also clichés like faux-folk bullwhips and fur-covered wine jugs but it’s best to steer toward gifts like hand-carved chess sets, hand-made jewellery and puppets.

The Florida Keys are the string of islands just to the south of the Florida mainland and runs 120 miles from end to finish. Fort Lauderdale and Miami are fun except for a relaxing change of pace, the Florida Keys is the place to be. For snorkellers and scuba divers going to south Florida, I might consider Florida Keys a must-have. The waters around Key Largo are a protected sea park with a healthy fish life and offer the best diving in the States. Key Largo is the 1st city as you enter the Keys after crossing the bridge from the mainland. It can be reached from Miami in 60 minutes and from Fort Lauderdale in one hour and forty five mins.

Once the bridge from the mainland is crossed, the change in pace is spotted immediately. There’s far less traffic and folk just appear more relaxed in the Florida Keys compared to the mainland. Islamorada and Marathon found more west are also top scuba dive locations. For those that aren’t into diving, there are many shops with colourful local humanities and crafts.

One collection of shops has a giant statue of a prickly lobster out in front. Dolphin programs should basically be scheduled well ahead since they’re very popular . It takes three hours to drive from Key Largo to the far end at Key West but quite likely, visitors would wish to stop off at countless locations on the way for shopping, photograph opportunities or just admiring the views. A common sight to see are locals fishing off the bridges and countless pelicans standing on the posts like permanent fixtures. The Florida Keys aren’t truly renowned for its beaches with the exception of Bahia Honda Park which is further west in the lower keys. The town of Key West at the far end of the Florida Keys is the biggest community in the islands and a stay here for a night or 2 is easily worth it. The central area full of restaurants, bars, shops and shops is a cool, entertaining place to be.

There are hostels along the water as well as many BBs inland. We stayed at the Quality Hotel close to the entrance of the town and had no problem getting downtown since there’s an extremely convenient bus system that runs throughout Key West. With the scooters, we criss-crossed the town and saw the amazing colonial homes in the roads including Ernest Hemmingway’s house. Some local specialities not to be missed are conch, local prickly lobster and some types of the local fish including snapper and grouper. Naturally, one must try the genuine, authentic key lime pie that came from the area. Each eaterie has a marginally different recipe but generally, the authentic key lime pie here isn’t as sweet as the commercial brands often found in the remainder of Northern America. The last city back in the USA mainland is Florida Town and it has some awfully reasonable hotel accommodations with widely known chains like Comfort Hotel, Hampton Hotel and Best Western.

This is an alternative choice for some travelers, particularly people who are scuba swimming in Key Largo as Florida Town is only about twenty mins away if hotels in Key Largo are absolutely scheduled or at summer season rates. The Florida Keys has a strategy of captivating visitors back during return visits to south Florida. Its slower pace helps balance things out against the crowded and more crazy styles of Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

I’ve been to the Keys 3 times and will certainly return there again.

Johnny Vegas is the first comedy act to Christen the Angel Eye stage. The master-potter gets back on the comedy road after starring in the disappointing Erpingham Camp.

Two legendary figures on the folk scene, Norma Waterson and Martin Carthy, are joined by daughter Eliza Carthy and Tim Van Eyken for what should be a powerful performance.

Worth checking out the work of these two up-and-coming artists. Harvey combines a diverse range of materials to create organic wall pieces and Somerville explores surface and form with new works on MDF.

This exhibition, in one of Tokyo’s better regarded small galleries, focuses on the phenomenally influential design work of Glaswegian architect, designer and artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh. His work influenced an entire movement and gave one of Britain’s most under-appreciated cities some pride in itself through his buildings. Works on display include everything from posters to stained glass, chairs, cutlery and furniture, all with the distinctive Mackintosh stamp.

Mighty but fallen Barcelona come to town to take on the buoyant minnows Rayo Vallecano this weekend in a match that, on current form, could well see the points staying in Vallecas. Since Figo’s move to Real Madrid Barça have lost much effectiveness, their place in the Champions’ League and many games and the whole model, trainer Serra Ferrer included, is under severe scrutiny. Rayo, free-scoring and clearly enjoying themselves, currently occupy a place in the top four and have always had a knack for giant-killing.

Hot on the heels of their 1999 album ‘This Time’, and barely a year after their last sold-out appearance at The Fillmore, Los Lobos are back. This time, the group is getting back to its roots and demonstrating why they are the best roots rock band in existence. Their newest album, ‘Del Este De Los Angeles’ will put to rest any fears their fans may have had that the group was getting to far from its Latin American heritage. Expect straight-ahead takes on traditional Mexican standards-from languid ‘Canciones’ to foot-stomping ‘Rancheras’.

This exhibition at the National Museum of American History, timed to coincide with the end of Bill Clinton’s eight-year presidential tenure, examines all facets of the lives of the 41 Chief Executives of the United States. Drawn from the museum’s own massive holdings, the exposition will feature more than 900 artefacts, presented through a variety of media including videotape. Among the items visitors will see are the top hat Abraham Lincoln was wearing when he was assassinated and the microphone FDR used in his ‘fireside chats’.