A fabulous warm Christmas in Miami. Trip to Florida, Usa

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FLORIDA
period: 13 to December 26, 2007
Flight with Delta Air Lines (direct booking on the site).
Hertz car rental with collection and drop Miami (booking with Expedia).
Km covered: 2410.

Subject areas: Miami, Everglades National Park, Flamingo, Key West, Orlando, Tampa, Apollo Beach, Sanibel, Naples.

December 13-New York flight Pisa
Case delayed departure, we lost the connection for Miami.
So we stayed in New York and took the morning after the first flight to Florida, to Miami, but it was not for Lauderdale. From there, Delta has made us arrive in a limousine to Miami where we have withdrawn the car booked in Hertz.

December 14
Visit to Miami with an evening stroll and dinner in the area of Bayfront Park.
Night in Miami (Days Inn Hotel)

December 15
Everglades National Parks (south)
At the entrance of the park is' the information office of the park.
There you can 'take the map to organize the visit of the park.
To see the area of the "Trail Anhinga Trail where you can see walking dozens of alligators and all the waders in their habitat.
Visited the park then we went to the Keys along the legendary "1", the road passing through the entire Florida go all the way to Key West.
Dinner at "88", ate good fish in the sea
Night in Islamorada (Lokout Hotel Lodge Resort)

December 16
We drove all the "1" to Key West.
Visit the city of Key West, with its beautiful waterfront.
Also visited the Key West Lighthouse Museum [http://www.kwahs.com/lighthouse.htm]
Key West Lighthouse was built in 1847. Present location is 14 feet above sea level. The tower is 86 feet high. The Light Keeper's Quarters was built in 1887 and houses the museum's collection of lighthouse artifacts and the maritime history of the Keys.
Night in Islamorada (Lokout Hotel Lodge Resort)

December 17
Long transfer up to Orlando.
Night in Orlando (Days Inn Hotel)

December 18
Park Universal and Island of Adventure [http://www.universalorlando.com]
Dinner at "Bubba Gump" of the Park.
Night in Orlando (Days Inn Hotel)

December 19
Park Universal and Island of Adventure [http://www.universalorlando.com]
Night in Orlando (Days Inn Hotel)

December 20
Cape Canaveral Kennedy Space Center "
Visit to the Space Center and view the departure of the rocket "Delta 2" that led the 5th satellite in orbit Navstar GPS 2R.
Handsome and well organized space center. To enjoy it fully take the audio guide that allow you to get detailed information in the new language as they are carried out the visit.
Visit the site before as we did also allows you to coordinate with a holiday launch. Well, on January 10 next launch the shuttle Atlantis and who can ...
For information see here: www.kennedyspacecenter.com
The area in addition to the space center includes a large park where only going through the car e have seen an armadillo and many many dolphins in the adjacent channel.
Night in Orlando (Days Inn Hotel)

December 21
Tampa
Day dedicated to the round of pleasure without any commitment of visits, enjoying the panorama along the entire peninsula of St, Petersburg to Bradenton and Manatee Lake (despite the name here the manatees are not there).
Night just south of Tampa.

December 22
Manatee Viewing Center c / o Tampa Electric Company [www.manatee-teco.com]
And 'the best place in the world where surely see the manatees in their habitat. This bay, having a power plant nearby, it attracts for its warmer waters dozens of manatees and other wildlife.
The area was then closed to navigation and the power station makes it easy to visit the place and at the same time it allows to study in close quarters, but without taking away the freedom, in this species almost extinct.
The rest of the day we went to Sanibel, beach shells. E 'a charming place, perhaps the most beautiful to live seen here in Florida.
Night in Naples

December 23
Everglades National Parks (north).
Starting from Naples along the "41" skirt the "Big Cypress National Reserve" and "Everglades National Park.
The northern part of this park is that allows to visit the expanses of mangroves and their contacts with the Airboat.
And 'a must do. Beginning of the park to find a point of information with all the brochures useful not to forget niiente.
We went with "Captain Doug's" [www.captaindougs.com]
Night in Miami (Days Inn Hotel Miami Beach)

December 24
Miami.
Visit to Key Biscayne where there is the Cape Florida State Recreation Area with its lighthouse (Cape Florida Lighthouse) and the beautiful beaches to spend a lovely day at the beach.
Entrance to the park ($ .5,00 per car).
Visit the aquarium. It's nothing special, it is valid only if you have not seen the Manatee (Manatee) or Orca Marina. There is the usual show with dolphins and a beautiful circular tank for sharks (but few and only one type).
I think it should change its name and not call it aquarium as revenue and see alligators, deer, parrots and other tropical birds.
A small tank with some fish in which stand two nice grouper.
If you want to see the sea eagle not go to the aquarium that there is only one but go to the dock at Manatee Viewing Center in Tampa.
Is there a sign indicating the species that can see through, I swear that passing an hour watching the manatees we saw a shark (Bonnethead Shark), race (Southern Stingray), their sea eagle (Spotted Eagle Ray ) + fish and tropical birds in their natural habitat.
However the address of the aquarium is: www.miamiseaquarium.com, may be useful to look first for a better choice.
Dinner at the "Mambo" Cuban restaurant at Bayfront Side.
Night in Miami (Days Inn Hotel Miami Beach)

December 25
transfer to the airport and return to Italy via New York then Pisa.

Other useful links:
www.nps.gov
www.floridastateparks.org
www.floridaconservation.org