St. Augustine

This old city can attract you with its long history that started in 1565. It was founded by Spanish colonists and still keeps a lot of the cobblestone streets and colonial architecture. Many of the buildings here were constructed by railroad and oil tycoon Henry Flagler. And, of course, if you are brave enough, visit one of the local haunted houses. St. Augustine is famous for its mystical events. Explore them yourself and test your courage.

Daytona Beach

Do you like races and speed? Daytona is famous for the Daytona 500 NASCAR race. So you can visit it with your sweat heart and enjoy the speed together. In addition, you can have a lot of fun in the Daytona Lagoon water park, watch dolphins and try fishing at the Sunglow Fishing Pier. The place is also popular for regularly organized concerts so check the agenda before coming here with your soul mate, you will probably have to buy tickets in advance.

Florida Keys

The Keys is a very popular tourist destination. This chain of tropical islands is heaven for those who love diving and snorkeling. You can rent a boat and go on your fishing adventure. Local beaches at the sunset will make you fall in love with the Florida Keys once and forever. Enjoy a drink from a bar and feel the chilling spirit of the Keys. 

Clearwater

If you are thinking about perfect holiday locations to spend time with your bae, Clearwater is a perfect destination. The place is situated close to the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay and attracts families and couples with its unique 3-mile-long spectacular beach and ideal weather. Restaurants, hotels, bars, and resorts offer multiple opportunities for rest here. After a relaxing day on the beach and a couple of refreshing cocktails in a local bar, you can check the Clearwater Marine and say “Hello” to dolphins. Go to Pier 60 to listen to live music and have a walk in the picturesque Moccasin Lake Nature Park when you feel the need for adventures.

Pensacola

Pensacola is a nice and quiet place, which used to be one of the first European settlements on the Americal territory. This relaxing spot is perfect for couples and families with kids. Here, you can both get quiet rest on the beach and get closer to the history while exploring the buildings of the 19th century. If you come here, don’t miss the Pensacola Lighthouse, which was constructed in 1859.

Fort Lauderdale

One more picturesque location with perfect beaches is Fort Lauderdale. You can impress your bae with a romantic boat trip along its canals, or take a stroll along the ocean beach. History lovers shouldn’t miss the Stranahan House, a building with more than 100 years of history. 

Destin

Did you like the Dune? Well, you can see natural dunes in the Henderson Beach State Park, near Destin. Destin is also famous for its ideal, dream-like beaches with white sand and crystal water. This relaxing place can be also a nice weekend location for golf lovers and fishermen. And if you like historic sites, you should definitely pay attention to the Fort Walton Mound archaeological site, built by the Pensacola tribe in 850 A.D. 

Fort Myers

Fort Myers offers a great diversity of things to do on your vacation. Together with your bae, you can enjoy swimming and snorkeling, or lie on a sunny beach. Couples with small children can travel on a mini-train in the Lakes Regional Park. What an adventure! If you like history, enjoy a tour to the places of fame of Thomas Alva Edison and Henry Ford that are located nearby. 

Naples 

If you want to feel a bit of Italy without leaving the US, Naples is a perfect choice. The Americal Naples copies the unique atmosphere of the Italian city and offers you first-class restaurants and hotels. However, this city will not suit you if you prefer loud parties and clubbing. Naples is an ideal calm vacation place for spending time with someone you love. 

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Romantic Sunset Cruise of St. Augustine

A nice day in a scenic St. Augustine can finish with incredible sunset views on board the ship. We suggest you go on an evening cruise and enjoy the relaxing atmosphere while sipping a glass of wine or cocktail. This is a nice way to take one more look at the city attractions, the Lighthouse, the Bridge, and others. The ride will last for about 1.5 hours and tickets will cost you about $40 per person. 

Kayak Eco Tour

The Key West mangroves are a perfect place for all adventure lovers. Explore the place while kayaking following a smart guide. The mangroves are home to many wildlife species, including tropical fish, jellyfish, and sea birds. Go on an eco-trip and feel closer to nature. Important note: make sure that you allocate 2 hours and $55 per person. 

Naples Sightseeing Boat Tour

If you decide to come to Naples, a small part of Italy in America, go on a water cruise tour. You will get as close as possible to the local wildlife, such as dolphins and manatees. Reserve at least 1.5 hours and $50 for the tour. 

Walking Ghost Tour of St. Augustine

Do you remember that in our last post we told you about the mystical side of St. Augustine? If you are ready to explore these magic riddles, you can join ghost hunts organized here by locals. In about 1h 30min, you will hear a bunch of thrilling stories and laugh at insane mystical jokes. Hunting ghosts in St. Augustine will cost you $25. 

Dolphin and Manatee Adventure Tour

If your road leads you to Fort Mayers, don’t miss your chance to enjoy time with dolphins, manatees, and sea turtles. Tour agencies in Fort Mayers offer excursions on paddleboards through the waterways. For about two hours, you can forget about your troubles and just enjoy the sun, wildlife, and beaches. Tour prices start at $65. 

Florida Keys Afternoon Reef Adventure

If you are heading for the Florida Keys, allocate about 3 hours for an underwater adventure. The crystal water here is ideal for snorkeling and exploring the only living coral reef in North America. Though you will be guided and given precise instructions before diving, it is still important to take only those who swim well with you. Get ready to see with your own eyes many kinds of tropical fish, eels, urchins, and, of course, dolphins. This adventure will cost you about $90 per person. 

Key West Jet Ski Tour

Jump on a jet ski and for 1.5 hours explore the coast of Florida. You can rent two vehicles or have a romantic ride on one as the ride is priced per jet ski. 

Narrated Sightseeing Cruise in Fort Lauderdale

A boat cruise on the New River is the tour to choose when you want to enjoy the views from the water. A boat tour lets your notice the beauties that you can’t see from the land. You will travel close to the great yachts and waterside mansions, go through canals and learn more about Fort Lauderdale on the go. A cheap but nice adventure will cost you just $27 per person. 

Private Guided Historical Tour of St. Augustine

Are you a fan of antique cars? We are. Go with us on a tour with unique old cars driven by professional guides dressed as people from the 1920s. This is probably the most amazing way to learn the history of St. Augustine and… become a local attraction yourself. Many tourists take photos of these cars, so this is your chance to become a star. The price is about $150 per person. 

Crab Island Sandbar Adventure

Traveling to Destin, don’t miss a nice experience on a tiki-themed boat. The boat looks much like a tiki bar. You can enjoy swimming, the sun, transparent water, and nice cocktails all at the same time. This 3-hour adventure will cost you $82 per person and bring amazing pleasure and relaxation. 

Calypso Queen Tropical Party Buffet Cruise

Explore the Clearwater coastline aboard the Calypso Queen. You can enjoy a party with drinks and snacks while feeling the fresh breeze of Florida waves. You can combine fun with use and even learn some cool facts about the Florida coastline. Live music and a DJ will keep you in a good mood during the entire cruise. The 2-hour trip will cost you approximately $40.

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What is the reason? What kind of mattress was there? Today we will try to answer all your questions and reveal the secret of sweet sleep in good hotels.

What kind of mattresses are in hotels?

Statistically, people sleep more on vacation than they do at home. Almost 2-3 hours. Therefore, a comfortable bed is one of the main criteria by which tourists choose a hotel. And hotel owners know firsthand how the level of organization of the bed affects the status of their brainchild. The more expensive the hotel is, the more likely it is that the mattresses will be more carefully chosen.

For a room in a cheap hostel or dorm room, the level of comfort is secondary. Mattresses there are bought simple, practical and cheap. Their fillers are likely to be FPU and dependent springs Bonnel. And you do not need to have superpowers to look back and say that you just did not come from this mattress during the holidays and now decide to change.

In a hotel with 2-4 stars will be more orthopedic models – on independent spring blocks and with quality selected fillers. Most hotels use reddit-approved firm mattresses.

What mattresses are used in 5-star hotels?

In the most expensive hotels, the clients are provided with ultra-comfortable mattresses of luxury brands. But is it worth saving on comfort when your well-being, level of performance and energy for the whole day tomorrow are at stake?

Why is it more comfortable to sleep in a good hotel?

There are several answers to this question:

The hotel has a better quality mattress.

It’s a good time to find the tag on your mattress and remember how much it cost. Type the name of your mattress into one of the Internet search engines. Pay attention to the composition of the mattress and its height. The most comfortable mattresses are considered to be 22 cm and higher, made of natural latex and memory. If you prefer a spring mattress – springs should be independent, and the height of the comfort layer over them – is not less than 4 cm. 

The hotel mattress is softer.

It is possible that your mattress is not so bad, but it does not suit you in terms of firmness. Try to remember “how it was then” and figure out what’s wrong now. Lie on different mattresses and compare how you feel. 

The hotel mattress is newer.

Remember the last time you changed your mattress. If it’s been more than 10 years since you bought it, it’s time to upgrade. If that hasn’t happened in your life, and you inherited it from your grandmother – all the more so. As any mattress over time loses its properties – worse support the spine, crushed and dirty.

The hotel is a better pillow.

The quality of sleep is affected not only by the mattress but also by all the other attributes in the bedroom. The texture of the linen, the temperature and humidity of the air in the room, even the colour of the wallpaper and the location of cabinets relative to the bed. But the most important accessory for healthy sleep is the pillow. Its height and softness level should be chosen depending on the hardness of the mattress. There is also a classification of pillows according to the posture of sleep. And here you have a lot more advantages than the hotel manager. After all, you know your favourite position in which to sleep. Do you? If not, pick a classic rectangular pillow that is comfortable for sleeping on both your back and on your side/stomach.

Think more about what could be preventing you from relaxing and what you lack in the bedroom. Trust your inner “feng shui”, rearrange the furniture and buy the necessary things.

What kind of mattress will go into a good hotel?

To please customers, five-star hotel owners carefully choose mattresses for their rooms. By general criteria, mattresses should be:

• anatomical;
• Hypoallergenic and environmentally friendly;
• can withstand heavy loads;
• medium, optimal for 92% of the population, hardness;
• fireproof.

And most importantly – mattresses should be universal! Any hotel guest should be comfortable. Regardless of sex, height and weight. And the most comfortable for the person will be only when his spine is in a physiologically natural position, which can be created only by a quality mattress.

Chain hotels buy mattresses that have passed laboratory tests and studies at sleep institutes, meet European quality standards, and have been tested by millions of people.

What kind of mattresses are used in hotels?

You probably know that there are spring mattresses and non-spring mattresses. Both categories include models with a high level of orthopedic performance and comfort.

One of the top fillers is considered to be Tempur foam and its visco-elastic counterpart, MemoryFoam. The foam is able not only to adjust to the shape of the body but also to remember it, thereby relieving the pressure on the body from the mattress.

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There are about 40 unique objects in the museum: steam and electric locomotives, passenger and freight cars, model trains and station models. Documents, photos and interactive displays complement the exposition.
The most valuable exhibit is the Ferdinand Magellan train car, in which Franklin Roosevelt rode. The 1928 Pullman wagon was converted specifically for the president to provide him with maximum security. The walls, floor, and roof were protected with 15-millimeter nickel armor, and two escape hatches were built into the ceiling and side wall.

For its youngest visitors, the museum has a narrow-gauge children’s railroad, and a popular cartoon character – Thomas the steam train – rides around its territory.
On weekends, you can take a 10-minute ride on an old diesel locomotive around the back of the museum, and every first Saturday of the month – a ride on a single track on a diesel-electric locomotive. It costs $6 USD to ride in the car and $15 USD to ride in the cab with the driver.

In November and December, the museum hosts a Christmas program – a trip to the North Pole on the Polar Express with Santa Claus.

Address: Miami, 12450 SW 152nd St.

How to get there: Take the Metrorail from Government Center Station to Dadeland South Station, then take bus 252 to Sw 152nd St & Sw 129 Av.

Opening hours: Monday-Friday 10:00am to 4:00pm; Saturday-Sunday 11:00am to 4:00pm. Admission for adults: 8 USD, for children from 2 to 12 years: 6 USD. On the first Saturday of the month admission is free (except March).

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Architecturally, the tower is an example of Mediterranean Revivalism, and some of its finishes were apparently borrowed from the Giralda Tower in Seville, Spain. The dome of the tower is 78 meters high and is decorated with a decorative lighthouse.

The tower was built in 1925 as the headquarters and printing office of the Miami News. In 1957 the newspaper vacated the space, moving to Miami River. The federal government began using the tower to deal with refugees from Cuba in the 1960s, and sold it after their flow subsided in 1972.
The tower is an example of Mediterranean revivalism, and some elements of its decoration were apparently borrowed from the Giralda Tower in Seville, Spain.

In 1997, the tower was purchased by Jorge Mas Canosa, founder of the National Cuban-American Foundation. He restored the tower and turned it into a kind of monument to the refugees from the Communist regime. It housed a museum, a library, a conference center, and the foundation’s office space. In 2004, the tower changed hands again and was eventually turned over to the college. Today there is a museum and a cultural and educational center inside.

One of the most notable elements of the tower’s interior is the “New World” mural, painted in 1988 by a group of six city artists. It is, alas, located in the Great Hall on the second floor, where the public is usually not allowed (but can sometimes get lucky).

The MDC museum’s permanent collection includes more than 1,700 works of all genres, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, videos, films, installations, etc. The collection began forming in the 1960s and gained official status in 2011 with the consolidation of the collections of two college campuses. Today it is distinguished not only by works by young artists, but also by fairly well-known masters of modern, modern and postmodern art. Minimalism, pop art from the 60s and 70s, conceptual art and contemporary Latin American art are represented here.

The address is 600 Biscayne Boulevard.

The building is on the Wolfson campus of Miami Dade College. It can be reached by the Metrorail train (Government Center or Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre Station) or by the Metromover train (Freedom Tower Station).

Hours: The Miami Dade College Museum of Art is open Wednesday through Sunday from 12:00 to 5:00 pm. On the third Saturday of each month, the museum is open until 8 p.m.

Admission to the museum is free and donations are welcome.

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The address is 2416 North Mills Ave.

Hours: Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday, Sunday 12 p.m.-4 p.m. Weekend: Monday.

Admission: Full ticket price 15 USD. For visitors 4 to 17 years old 5 USD.

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Disney Typhoon Lagoon is a place where you can raft down winding mountain rivers, explore countless canyons, take your chances on dangerous rapids or wrestle with waves and powerful currents. What the creators of this fascinating attraction don’t offer to their guests. Of course, the park is full of the most amazing curiosities. For example, there is a mountain, the height of which reaches 100 meters. On it, in turn, there are nine different slides, with varying degrees of steepness and curvature. If you go left you will dive, if you go right you will shower everybody with water and if you go straight you will definitely find happiness, however, you can get your bit of happiness here at every corner.

And what do you think about the open-air swimming pool, where the waves reach an impressive 2 m in height?
Despite the fact that more than 2 million people visit the park every year, there are no queues, crowds or the feeling of being a sardine in a jar. A well-thought-out entry and ride separation system guarantees an ultra-comfortable stay.

As the basis for the creation of “Typhoon Lagoon” took the idea of a terrible disaster, which suddenly fell on the amazing azure lagoon in some tropical paradise. That’s why everything in the park is dedicated to this theme: fishing gear and nets are hung from the tops of palm trees, surfboards are found in the strangest places, yachts are seen everywhere, and one fishing schooner, the symbol of the park, was thrown by a wave on top of a volcano. As an appetizer, you can swim with leopard sharks and colorful fish in the Shark Reef diving attraction. How about you?

Address: 1145 Buena Vista Drive, Orlando, FL 32830.

Hours of operation: January through September from approximately 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., may open and close at other times depending on the month, need to check in advance.

Cost: 109 USD (children 10 years and older).

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Even if you are not too interested in fashion and shopping you can visit the local stores like a museum – more than half of them specialize in art and design objects. But there are museums too, like the galleries Ca d’Oro, De la Cruz, Bossa, and a dozen more.
The neighborhood’s facades are intricately designed and boast a variety of street art, sculptures, and installations.

Nearly every week there are fashion shows, parties, exhibitions, concerts, lectures, and seminars. One of the most popular events in the Design District is the monthly art walk. They’re held here on the second Saturday of the month – the same day as the art walk in nearby Wynwood, so if you get there early you can attend both. During the art walks, neighborhoods are open until 10 p.m., and the streets are lined with musicians and artists. There are invariably many people who want to join the world of art, so it’s worth making a reservation in advance if you want to dine at a restaurant.

The address is 3841 North East 2nd Avenue, Miami. Website.

The Design District is located 4 km from downtown Miami and about 10 km from South Beach. The area is bordered on the south and north by Northeast 36th and 43rd Streets, and on the west and east by Northwest First Avenue and Biscayne Boulevard.

The most convenient way to get here is by car; the most comfortable entrance is via Northeast Second Avenue. There are two covered parking lots on 38th Street (from $3 per hour), but you can also park on the sidewalk if you have room. Public transportation to the Design District is also available – buses Nos. 9, 10 and 110. They leave every half hour, so check the schedule beforehand.

Despite the neighborhood’s bohemian appeal, there’s not much to do after hours. Stores and galleries begin to close as early as 5 p.m.-6 p.m., and by 9 p.m. only a few restaurants remain open.

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The calling card of the aquarium – performances with dolphins. In the Rock’n’Roll Cruise show water fighters perform acrobatic tricks in unison, and in the famous show Flipper’s Beach Bash together with dolphins are performing trained whales and the oldest inhabitant of the aquarium – killer whale Lolita, who lives here since 1970.
In the mid-60s, the TV series Flipper, about the boy’s friendship with a dolphin, was filmed in the marine park.

The Aquarium has many interactive programs for the whole family: for a fee you can walk along the seafloor and watch the bright tropical fish, interact with a talking parrot and feed the giant crocodiles.

The Miami Aquarium has become not only a popular entertainment center, but also a haven for rare and endangered creatures. Specialists save manatees, seals, and sea turtles: injured and sick animals are examined, treated and nursed, and then sent back into the ocean.
Many of the Park’s residents even breed in captivity: the first manatee was born here in 1975, and the first Pacific dolphin in 2002.

Address: 4400 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami.

Getting there: Take bus 102; drive I-95 South (north) or US1 North (south).

Hours of operation: daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission for adults: $47.99 USD, children ages 3 to 9: $37.99 USD, children under 3: free.

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Venice Lane passes through seven small artificial islands, and the total length of the dam is 4.5 km. The basis for the bulk objects served the soil, raised from the bottom of the Bay of Biscayne during the works on its deepening. Now the man-made archipelago is built and inhabited, and only Flagler Monument Island is uninhabited. It bears the name of Henry Flagler, the industrialist who paved the railroad tracks along Florida’s east coast. This is where locals choose to go for picnics and walks.
There are 12 arched automobile bridges connecting the Venetian Islands, 2 of them are drawbridges: the east one is connected to Miami Beach, the west one to Miami. They are drawn every half hour between 7:00 and 7:00 p.m. The whole procedure takes six to eight minutes.

The Venetian Causeway offers magnificent views of the ocean expanse. Here you can not only admire nature, but also do sports – running, biking or rollerblading: there are sidewalks and bike lanes on each of the bridges.

Address: Miami North, Atlantic Ave. GPS coordinates: 25.791111, -80.165.

Getting there: Take bus #9 to NE 1st Av & NE 14th St; take the Metromover to Adrienne Arsht Center Metromover Station. There is a bus number 101 on the causeway. To enter by car you have to pay 3 USD.

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