Glass and Tropical Foliage

So our friends from the English Midlands, Dave and Sandra were in town, staying a few days in the 305 before leaving for Costa Rica. We met them 10 years ago on a Med cruise -- D1 became friends with their daughter Sorrel, and her best friend Esther, and the girls and their parents have kept up the friendship all decade. Tuesday night we fetched Dave and Sandra at MIA, and met D1 and her boyfriend Adam for a drink in D1's apartment, and then repaired to Novacento, an Argentine place, for a lively dinner. Dave worried that Brits might be given a hard time, as Argentina is still smarting from having their culos kicked by the Brits over the Falklands...our waitress was from Ecuador, and not born during the war, so he needn't have worried... They spent Wednesday on South Beach, at the Raleigh, and soaked up sun and fun, as Jackie Gleason prescribed. Yesterday they Ubered, for the first time, over to Westchester, where we met my sister and brother in law at Tropical Chinese. My family had met Dave and Sandra on the same cruise, and enjoyed catching up with them. We feasted on dim sum, and then drove to Fairchild Tropical Garden, where they're hosting a glass artist Chiluly exhibit. I never take the beauty of living in Miami for granted, but as we drove through the banyan covered roads, Dave remarked again what a paradise we live in. They've traveled througout Florida, and found so much of it paved -- Miami, near the Bay, is a lovely exception. He said when he worked, he never had a commute, but if he had to, sitting in a car on Old Cutler Road wouldn't be so bad. Anyway -- we arrived at the garden, and took the tram around, and then walked to the butterfly house, in the gathering dusk. A big one landed on Wifey's hand, and hitchhiked around the exhibit. We excited, through the comical 2 part forced air exits, designed to keep the critters inside, and then had some sodas as we awaited the darkness. The glass sculptures are really something to see at night. Dave and Sandra happily snapped photos, and we strolled in a true paradise at night. My sister and brother in law left for home, and we drove Dave and Sandra back to the Beach. We showed them the view of Downtown from the MacArthur Causeway -- glistening in the clear air. Dave again noted that he's been all over the world, and there's no prettier city than ours. We arrived at the Raleigh, and they showed us around. Esther Williams stayed there back in the day, and swam in the pool. We ended up in the Sir Walter Bar, with a huge portrait of Sir Raleigh looming over us, and had a few drinks and laughs. The bartender was Serbian, and I made fun of his and Dave's love of soccer. A spiffily dressed couple at the bar had funny accents, and, sure enough, were Scottish and English, so Dave and they chatted for awhile about the Independence vote... We said goodbyes and headed for home. Their daughter is getting married in Vietnam next month, and though we were invited, have begged off. But Dave and I agreed that, Fawlty Towers-like, it's probably a good idea he doesn't bring up Agent Orange while he's there... We got home, and D2 arrived -- her last Spring Break. She was driven by Ali, a sorority sister from Broward, whose family is Jamaican. Ali is lovely and beautiful, but, alas, doesn't have that awesome West Indian accent -- she's a gringa, like D2. So all in all, it was a delightful end to Dave and Sandra's Miami stay, segued into D2's beginning of Spring Break. It's terrific to have her home.