Friday, April 22, 2016

Palm Trees and Mango Smoothies

by Pa Rock
Airport Lounge Lizard 

Friday evening finds me safely in Tampa after a pair of uneventful flights. I did meet some fellow travelers at O'Hare in Chicago this morning who are booked on the same Cuba tour that I am taking - a really nice couple out of Des Moines, Iowa - and enjoyed getting to know them.  My hotel in Tampa, the one that was recommended by the folks at The Nation magazine, is the Airport Mariott, a unique structure located inside of the airport terminal.  The rooms are overpriced, but nice, and WiFi is not free - unless the "guest" wants to join Mariott's "Rewards Program."

I haven't seen any of Tampa except what is showing through the airport and hotel windows.  Palm trees are in abundance, the first that I have seen since leaving Phoenix.  My other experience with a flavor of the tropics came with the mango smoothie that I had with dinner tonight - it was literally to die for - so good - so very, very good!  My evening meal - a turkey burger - was at TGI Fridays inside of the airport terminal.  Service there was excellent.  My table faced the bar, so while I waited on the meal I was entertained by a bartender throwing bottles of liquor and glasses in the air - even behind his back - and catching them - a la Tom Cruise in Cocktail.   Very entertaining - and he didn't drop anything!

Havana tomorrow! 

(I will attempt to blog each day of the trip - Saturday to Saturday - but that will be dependent on the availability of WiFi.) 

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