Miami Spice

It sounds juicy and it most definitely is!
Miami Spice is a mouth-watering summer restaurant promotion showcasing the very best of Miami cuisine. During August and September, Miami’s top restaurants offer three-course meals for only $23 (lunch) or $36 (dinner) and feature signature dishes created by world-renowned chefs. We went to several over the last few weeks and enjoyed every single one of them. It's probably the only chance we get to go to some of these places, because they can be incredibly expensive.

Here's a list of some of our favorites:

Azul
Emeril's
Ortanique on the Mile
Vix Restaurant
Wish

And of course a dinner would not be the same with a few gorgeous ladies to share it with....



And proof that I was there too

Vacation, Vacation, Vacation

It is the time of the year, when Floridians (and resident aliens) like to get out for a little while to escape the heat and humidity. Michael left for 2 weeks and spend the first in England before going on to see his parents. Rosie only could take a week off, so we met again in Germany. Very sophisticated planning and some good luck also made it possible for Rinaldo and Flavia to end their Tour de Europe in northern Germany, so we all descended on Michael's parents new home for a few days.
There were sites to visit, beers and schnapps to drink and lots of "traditional" German cuisine to be eaten. Especially Rinaldo took great pleasure to take pictures of all the different beers he could sample and he also established a taste for Aquavit at a BBQ at Michael's parents.
The last 2 days were spend in Hamburg. Again many sites to visit and views to enjoy. Michael's brother's father-in-law, Heinz, volunteered to be our guide and surprised us with his knowledge and insights of his hometown.

Germany Summer 2008

Class of 2008 Graduation Celebration

This week we took some time to celebrate the end of a long journey for our chiefs. I feel lucky to have had them as mentors this year. So, as much as we had fun all year, it could not have ended any other way but with a blast!
First, we went fishing. We left the marina at 8am and many were past their first couple of beers. I thought my Scopolamine patch would keep me free of sea sickness, but it didn't. I spent most of the boat ride sleeping my sickness away.

Later that night, Dr. Francheschi hosted an informal gathering at this home. We enjoyed paella that was prepared from scratch. It was wonderful!

Fish Fry

On Saturday, the big party happened at the Collonades Hotel in Coral Gables. Everyone looked great in their best formal get-up. We enjoyed great food and drinks. The DJ could have been better... But, we danced nonetheless! We left at midnight, but I hear the party went on to much later...

Graduation Party

Trip back in Time

Next week Michael will go back to England to visit old friends and colleagues. Already arrangements have been made so he can enjoy all his old favorites again: warm beer, rude service (if any), overpriced meals, overpriced everything, cold rain, pale skinned people, strangers calling him "luv", "mate" or "sparesomechange", etc.
Nah, it's not true, he's looking forward to it and will have fun seeing familiar faces almost everywhere and being able to walk around town in 30 minutes.
Let's hope the weather gets better
Cambridge: www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?id=1413
Miami: www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?world=0099

Florida Driver's License

Well, Rosie has been on my case for a long time about this and finally she got fed up and just made an appointment for me. I had no choice but to get studying and go.

A lot of websites tell you the requirements for whatever kind of license you want. NOT ONE of them told me what I really needed. I wanted a "First Time Florida Driver's License" as I never had a Florida or even US license before. A website claimed I had to have a DATA (Drug and Alcohol Traffic Awareness) test. This was required for everybody who needs a first time license. The course took 4 hours!! and cost $29 plus another $10 to get the certificate by e-mail. At the DMV I was NEVER ask to prove this. Total rip off!
Another website stated I'd need hearing and vision tests at the DMV ... nope, nothing.

So what was really required?
I was asked to present my Social Security Number, my proof of residency (i.e. green card), my old pink paper German driving license and I had to write down my Florida address on a piece of paper. I was asked to step back in front of a blue screen (a sheet hanging from the ceiling) to take a picture and send over to a computer terminal for a "written exam". The exam consisted of 40 questions: 20 on Road Rules (not the MTV series!) and 20 on Road Signs. To my shame I have to admit that I got 2 questions wrong, but who knows the maximum length of a tow bar between 2 cars is 15 feet, if you haven't studied? and for the other one "All of the above" is always correct! Nobody told me that and I was surprised to hear that for a first time DUI conviction you can get up to 9 (nine) months in prison. That's scary! Don't drink and drive!!!!

After this I came back to the desk and was hoping to get my license there and then as I have seen other people get theirs. No, sorry, I got a printout. this can be used as a temporary license until I receive my proper ID card in the post. So now I have to wait 10 to 14 days.

How easy is that?

After record heat comes a lot of rain

This weekend we had temperatures above 33C (91F) and spent a wonderful day at the beach in South Beach. Today started off just as nice, but then the clouds came in, it started to rain and thunder and lightning followed soon. Quite a sight.



Usually you can see Downtown from our balcony to the right...

Bad weather in Miami

... so we flee across Florida to the gulf coast.
It was Rosie's last "golden weekend" for quite some time to come and we wanted to get away. A quick search found The Inn on Fifth in Naples, FL (www.innonfifth.com), a nice little boutique hotel with a spa.

We arrived in Naples after just 2 hours on the road and had no problems finding the hotel. Our room was on the top floor (3rd), but didn't offer us any kind of view, as the window was right across from the local theater only divided by a very narrow alley.


It was too early for dinner, so we went out to explore the area. It was about 5pm and the place was deserted ... hardly anybody walking around, not many cars and the restaurants were empty. We picked Truluck's for dinner, a very nice seafood restaurant (www.trulucks.com), and headed back to our room to freshen up and get change for dinner. The food was great: I had a Tuna Tartare Tower as starter and Thai Chili Day Boat Scallops as entree. Rosie stared with a Lobster Bisque and than had Blue Crap Topped Gulf Red Snapper. All so very yummy with a 2006 Riesling from Germany!!

The next day

Up early to go and work uot in the hotel gym. After that heading out for breakfast in one of the little cafes along 5th Ave. On from there to the beach, all only a short walk down the road. As we didn't bring towels or chairs to sit on we only walked along the beach. The water is so much warmer there than here in Miami. We came back hungry and had a small lunch at Mc Cabe's Irish Pub, that's part of our hotel. After that it was alreadt time for Rosie's spa treatment and I got to rest.

For our dinner, we chose the Cafe & Bar Lurcat (www.cafelurcat.com), because we liked it when we walked past during the day. The place looked fantastic and the food kept that promise too: Kobe Beef Carpaccio as starter and Seard Ahi with Lemon Confit for me and Rosie enjoyed the day's special Alaskan Halibut. Deserts were Key Lime Cheesecake and ice cream respectivly. Prices were lower than we are used to in Miami, so that came as a special bonus.

We had a very relaxing time enjoyed everything. A shame that we'll have to wait some time before we can do it again.

Another birthday

Now it was Flavia's time. Of course I won't disclose her age, and no questions regarding this will be answered.
As we like to do, we met up for a great dinner to mark the occasion. This time we fancied a taste of the Spanish cuisine. Living next door to "Little Havana" and a vast part of the Spanish speaking community in Miami, it was not difficult to find a fitting restaurant. Casa Juancho (www.casajuancho.com) was chosen and we embarked on our 6-minute-journey to Cale Ocho.
The food was great! 3 of us got totally stuffed on Paella Valenciana. Only Rinaldo, who doesn't eat shellfish (bad allergies!!) opted for fish. Together with a couple of bottles of wine it was a culinary experience of the most favorable kind.


The Roeders and the Alfinitos

The band! and the guests

I ate too much again....(no, these are swimming shorts!!)



I wonder where we'll go next...

Roeder Technical Translation now in Business

It took a while to get all the required documentation together, but setting up a company was very easy afterwards. Roeder Technical Translation is in business since May 1 2008. Let's see, if I can make some money. ;-)

Birthdays

We celebrated Rosie's B-day back in January with Rinaldo, Flavia, Stina, Valeria, Hebe, and Clovis. Although we are lacking a picture from that event (Stina has promised us one), we can say we had a great time and ate wonderful food despite everyone being skeptical at first.

For Michael's birthday, Vicki and Stefan were here. Rinaldo and Flavia also joined. We had a wonderful meal at Romeo's a restaurant in which all the food is made daily by the chef himself without a set menu. We had 6 courses! Well 7, if you count the cake we had at home.

Happy New Year!

WOW, 2007 went by fast! And what a year it was for us! There were many things accomplished. Rosi graduated from medical school and started residency in Miami. We made it legal ;-) Michael moved to America and in the last day of the year received a date for his green card interview. We spent our 1st New Year's Eve at our first home, furnished with our new stuff. We used our great wedding gifts to entertain Rinaldo, Flavia, Stina, Valeria and John. It was great fun and unexpectedly we got to see fireworks at midnight form our apartment balcony. Oh, for those of you in Winterville... It was 28C/80F.

Christmas and New Years 2007

Also, check out our Christmas Eve pictures. We had a lovely dinner at Juliano&Maira's.

EDIT: Not only did we have a nice dinner, but a good bottle of wine too