Only takes me 45 minutes to get to SOBE from my house......:-)

Except when it rains.....
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Gotcha, thanks Carlos! Hey, um, do you know something I don't? :-):-) Our flight to Aruba leaves around 11am on Tuesday the 2nd of June.

:-):-) Yeah, we'd love to if we had the time. We just have to get to Aruba for that wedding. Otherwise I'd love to meander among the keys (I'm always forgetting where I put mine...). We did hit Key West on a cruise a few years back & loved it!
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Cruise, flight, swim....all the same.:-)
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You forgot raft......

:-)
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You have no idea how tempted I was.
Still waiting to see if the Olympic Committee ever decides to add a rafting event to the summer games.
My fellow Cubans will have the gold medal locked up for years to come.:-)

Wait a minute!!!
Just realized.
It won't be Cuba that will have that locked up.
Heck, those rafters are here now.
Darn it!!! The US stands a great chance of winning the gold.
All depends on the type of training going on in Cuba.

OK,
Laugh over.
Threadjack over.
Sorry.
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Do you have to stay in Miami? I would highly recommend staying at the Breakers in Palm Beach,,,a water front room you will never forget. If you have to stay in Miami and you want a great hotel I would suggest going with Hotwire and keeping in the 4 star and up but at least you will save a ton of money. Sooooo many cigar places to visit you would end up getting vertigo. South Beach is fun,,,wish I could tutor you there,,,used to be my old stomping grounds when I lived in S. Florida.
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Haven't checked but I bet you can get a great rate at Breakers.
Only thing is if he wants to head down to the factories and all else, it is quite a ride.
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You're right about the ride to Miami,,,but there is alot to do in Palm Beach and The Breakers is a hotel that you just have to experience. You never have to leave the hotel but if you do there are all those amazing homes in the area,,,Worth Ave,,,some very good cigar places as well only a few miles away. There is Sabor Havana in Palm Beach Gardens only a few miles up the road and that is a B&M that rivals some of the best. As you said, Breakers have some very good rates right now,,,it's best to talk with Reservations and negotiate a good rate as this is a first time staying here,,,you've heard such great things,,you're so excited,,yadda yadda!
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Great thread! Thanks for the info. We'll be back in South Beach very, very soon!
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Thanks guys.....as of right now we're staying at the Westin Diplomat since I've got a friend we're going to be visiting in Hollywood and it's not too far from Miami where we want to spend most of our short time....as for the rest of our time there, we're definitely going to hit up South Beach, Little Havana and I'd love to check out a factory or two....
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If go to Pepin's place, you will have La Gloria Cubana next door, El Titan de Bronze across the street, great Cuban coffee on the corner in between (out of the four corners) and Padilla just a few blocks away.
So.....you will be able to knock off more than a couple in a few minutes.

Also, would definitely do Padron.
Very impressive building. Beautiful place.
They are a few blocks away from the folks mentioned above.
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Checkin' in...thanks again for all the great info....

Can I just walk into the factories or should I call ahead?

Carlos, I'd love to meet up if I have any free time....PM me your cell and I'll ping you if I think I can break away from our agenda & the pregnant mrsreindeer at all.
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Will be in FL for two weeks next month so very interested in this question. Sub'ed.
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A few years ago I stayed for a week at the Fontainebleu, and it's an awesome place if you are looking for an upscale hotel.
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Well, finally getting a chance to log in, just got back last night. Thank you all for helping me with this...

A lot of our time was devoted to relaxing at the pool in Miami and the beach and hang out with my buddy who has moved to FL and my uncle.

We stayed at the Westin Diplomat which is the nicest freakin' Westin I've ever stayed at. Even better, we used points so it was free.

Across A1A from the Dip was an awesome bar right on the intracoastal called Nikki Marina. Went there twice it was so nice.

We drove through Miami, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables and Calle Ocho..had a great lunch at Versailles (Cuban) and got a chance to stop in at Don Pepin Cigars and picked up a Tat, La Gloria Cubana and saw the rollers and I'll post pics on here as soon as I can...and last but not least, stopped in on Padron right before closing time. They only sell boxes so I was a little disappointed and saving up for Aruba...but the office itself is beautiful and had I had time and mrsreindeer not been pregnant, I would not have minded lighting up a Padron I brought along for the ride, just in case.

Hollywood, FL / Sunny Isles restaurants we hit up:

Hollywood Prime right in the Westin was off the hook. While I like my steaks without steakhouse, their homemade version is incredible.

Timo Restaurant @ 17624 Collins Ave was AWESOME.
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Thanks for the update. Headed to Ft. Lauderdale tomorrow and plan on hitting the factories monday. :-)
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Some pics from Miami!

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The following pics are from La Gloria Cubana:

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I'm not sure why those pics aren't comin' through....
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Peter, I'm seeing the same cute little box with yours too with the x in it. How you doin' btw!
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