Travelog for: Totoro.

We are now back in Florida. Today we go visit an attraction called Coral Castle.  It's built by the man in the picture, Edward Leedskalnin.



Well this is a very old sign. The admission is definitely not 10 cents now!



Hmm I wonder what we will see?



There is a sign that says "Ring Bell Twice".  In the past, visitors would drop a coin and then ring the bell to enter.  Leedskalnin was very strict about "ring bell twice".  If the visitors rang it too many times or only once, he would not let them in till they got it right!  He sure sounds like a weird fellow!





The whole place is built with big limestone!  According to our guide, the man who built the castle, Edward Leedskalnin, was eccentric indeed.  He came from Latvia after his sweet 16 broke up their engagement the night before marriage.  He lived alone and built this whole place by himself, craving and moving stones weighing many tons, never letting anyone see him work!  There is a lot of mysteries and legends about how he built the whole place, people claiming to peek in at night and saw him levitated the stones around!  Not to mention the man was only 5 ft tall!





Here are some lounge chairs for you to rest in. 



This board meeting table is craved in the shape of the state of Florida.  The puddle of water in the center is Lake Okeechobee.





These are the "beds" though they must be very uncomfortable.



And a bathtub!



This table is carved in the shape of heart.  Some visitors liked to propose or renew their vows at this table.



The sundial is accurate within minutes, though I don't know how to read it!



Oh a dungeon!  I wonder what creepy creatures live in there?  Well, our guide said this was where he stored his food, keeping it cool underground.



And a well for nice, cool water.



Guess what this is?  His stove!  He put food inside the metal ball, built a fire underneath, and the food would cook up nicely.



This door was built so cleverly that even a child can push the stone door open, but sadly the mechanism is broken now and cannot be repaired.



We are shown where he dug the coral stone for his castle.





These are signs of different planets.  I bet it's great sitting here and watching the stars in the sky at night!



It's impressive indeed!  Very beautiful and we cannot imagine how a man was able to build the whole thing back in 1930s without any help from machine or men!



We went up the second floor of the the building. (How did he even build this? He must be a wizard!)



This is the bed he slept in.



Everything looked somewhat primitive.



Quite an interesting tour indeed!

Today we are going out to visit some place. 

Hmm, what does it say on the sign? 



Ah, it's the Thai Buddhist Temple in South Florida.



The building sure looks unusual.



The entrance to the temple looks very grand, and there are two golden lions guarding it.



The inside looks equally grand!  The Buddha statue was sculpted in Bangkok and is 23 feet high and weighs 5 tons. 



Wow this gong must make very very loud noise!



These chairs are for monks to sit in.



A monk there is very happy to see us.  He gives everybody a string of prayer beads and sprinkle water on us as blessing.

Wow looks like we have another TV joining us!  Who's he? Who's he? 



Oh it's  a moose.  Mocha is very happy to finally see another moose friend.  He says there are too many rats and mice in the house.  He is joking of course.  Anyway, we give Jasper a good welcome party!



Mocha He proudly introduce Jasper  to his grandpapa, Cappuccino.  His Grandpapa is too old to travel but he loves having visitors.  Then he can tell his stories all over again. (Not that he doesn't repeat his stories with us...

 

Today we are going to see a Cirque du Soleil show!  They are a famous circus group from Canada. 



Look at the colorful tents!



The show has not started yet, so we browse around the shop where they sell T shirts and other things.



There are also souvenir books, CDs and more for those who want to relive the show. 



You can also buy pop corns, pretzels, drinks and other snacks.



We finally get inside and watch the show!  It's very good!

Today the weather is very nice, and we go to the farmer's market.

Naturally, we shop for some fresh, local vegetables. 



There are many varieties of tomatoes.



Wow they have lobsters too!  Unlike Maine lobster, Florida lobster do not have the big pincher claws. 



This stall makes conch fritters, and conch salad, a specialty of South Florida and the Caribbeans.



There are a lot of food.  This French (looking) guy is making crepe.  It looks delicious!



We see this stall selling things with an ocean motif.



They have bags too with seahorses, shells and other decorations.



We buy some local honey.



Look they even have local rice grown in Florida!  Florida is actually the 7th largest rice-growing state in the U.S, but most of its production is used locally, as there is a heavy population of South American immigrants whose main starch is rice rather than potatoes.  It is used as a cover crop in sugarcane fields during the fallow period.



Here are some home-made cookies.



These are empanadas, stuffed pastries.  There are many varieties, filled with different types of meat, vegetables and cheeses. 



These hand made soaps look very pretty!



Oh the popcorn smells so delicious!



There are flowers for sell.



These dwarf trees are called bonsai.



We can pick up some spices and herbs.



Or some blend of tea.



We sample some of the home made dried fruits.  Yummy!!  The market is a lot of fun!

Today we visit a place called Pinecrest Garden. 



These are some pretty flowers!



The garden has been around for a while so the tropical foliage is very thick.



It feels like we are in a jungle!  I hope there's no tiger! 



Look at this fruit!  I wonder what it is? 



We see some bamboo too.



We come to a different part of the garden.



Here people can enjoy a picnic and just sit and relax.



We see a swam! 



The lotus flowers are very beautiful.



Wow look at this banyan tree!  Banyan tree is special because when its air root touches ground, it will grow into another trunk, so all you see here is just one tree.  As a result, one tree can grow to cover a big area.  Covering 2/3 acre, this tree is among the largest of its kind!

This weekend we visit Tarpon Springs.  It is a small town on the west coast of Florida.  It used to be famous for its sponge production back from 1880s.  Back in 1950s the sponge industry made millions of dollars a year.  Nowadays, due to the high costs and water condition, very little sponge is produced and the place is mostly a tourist attraction.  However, the town continues to have the highest percentage of Greek American in the whole country, many descendants of the divers who immigrated during the sponge industry boom.

First on the agenda: visit a Greek restaurant to try some Greek food.



We are ordering the gyros.  It is a sandwich, with some grilled lamb & beef wrapped in a pita bread, with some tomato, cucumber, onion and tzasiki sauce.



Look at all the pita bread! 



Can you see the roaster where the meat is grilled? 



Our gryos has arrived.  We also have a lamb souvlaki, similar to gryos but with lamb inside.  They are both very delicious.

Today we visit the Sponge Dock. 

There is a statue memorizing all the sponge divers who had lost their lives when sponge harvesting.



This is an example of a sponge boat.  Maybe we should go and try harvest some sponge?



Or maybe not.  I don't want to be shark dinner.



It's safer to go to check out the shops.



What do they have?



Lots of sponges!!



This one is called finger sponge.



This one is your plain old yellow sponge.  And the sign says it's harvested locally!



And these are vase sponges!



These are called sea biscuits but I don't think they are very tasty.



And these are sand dollars.  You can find them on the beaches, though usually not as complete as this. They are the skeletons of sea urchins, although in folk legends, they were thought to be the coins lost by mermaids or people of the Atlantis.



Ah, I know these!  Star fishes!



Next we go to a Greek bakery.



There are many kind of sweet pastries, like bavlaka.



Our host gets some of her favorite, diples.  It's a roll made from a thin sheet of fried dough and drizzled with honey. 

Today we are going on a trip to Tampa, on the west coast of Florida. 



Look there is a bridge coming up.



This is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.  The Travel Channel rated the Sunshine Skyway #3 in its special on the "Top 10 Bridges" in the World.



We come to visit the Cigar City Brewery.



The brewery was first built in Ybor City, which is a historic neighborhood in Tampa founded in the 1880s by cigar manufacturers.  Later it moved this current location, hence the saying on the sign.



Here is the star of today!  The special brew, Hunahpu, which is available only on this day of the year, which we come here for.  Each person can buy only 3 bottles at $20 each.  The limited release bottle has received very high rating among drinkers and can fetch up to USD $200 on ebay.  People from all over the country come to line up from early in the morning to buy it. 



There are some food trucks here, because we all love some food to go with our beer! 



This one called Oki Doki, sells Okinawan food.



We take a peek inside the truck.  They are very busy cooking!



Everybody seems to enjoy themselves, walking around with a beer in hand.



Some people bring their own chairs, coolers filled with beers, and food to just enjoy a nice day out here.  They chat, drink beer, and listen to the band playing.



There is a booth selling cigars made in Ybor City.





Hmmm... I guess big cigars need a big lighter? 



Let's check out the tasting room!



Look at all the beers on tap!! What a selection!  Most of them are local craft brews.



Wow look at the stack of cups. 





The brewery has won a lot of awards, which they proudly display.



Before we leave, we check out the shop so we can buy some souvenir.

Today we go to an arts fair.





These metal plates are very beautiful!



These paintings are really cute.



These are photographs of the islands in Florida.  Looks like paradise indeed!



There are some food stalls. This one sells popcorn and lemonade. 



There is also a music band playing.



This one has Chinese style paintings on gold paper.



This artist creates interesting pieces with metal.



This one displays South Western inspired artworks.

Have you ever tried a Brazilian churrascaria? Today we are going to a Brazilian steakhouse.  At this one, instead of Rodizio style, which means the waiters bring the meat to you, it's self service. 

Ah, I think we find the right place.  We can see the Brazilian flag on the sign. 



This is the name of the restaurant.  It means Rice and Beans, but our host assures us that we will get a lot more than that. 



Mmm it sounds good.



Here is a poster reminding us that the 2014 World Cup will be in Brazil!  Hmmm needs to start planning my trip there!



We sip some cold, refreshing cashew juice while reading the menu.  The juice is make from the cashew fruit, where the cashew nut is actually the seed of the fruit.   



At the buffet line you can see the salad and dessert.



This is the grill where they have various cuts of meat: sirloin, chicken, pork loin, filet mignon, flank steak, sausages, and more. 



You let them know what meat you like and they cut it for you.  At fancier place you will have waiters come by to your table with the sword skewer of meat. 



Bom apetite!!

Today we go to visit a Free Little Library.  These are the books we are bringing.  We register them on BookCrossing first.  BookCrossing is like toyvoyagers, every book gets an ID number and it travels around the round.  By reading the book's journal you can find out where the book has gone and what its readers say about it.



The Little Free Library is an organization that promotes setting up little "library" boxes in communities around the world, to encourage people to gather together, and to promote read.  People are welcome to visit the libraries to take and leave books.

We put our books into the library, and check to see if there is anything interesting.



Hmmm, maybe we can just live here for a few days and enjoy some books?  It would be nice and cozy here.  Hey can you bring us some snack? 

Today we go to visit a microbrewery.  It's called Due South.



This little sign says: "Drink Like A Local" which we certainly would today! 



Here is a sign marking all the microbrewery nearby.  The Cigar City Brewery, which we visited a few weeks ago, is 219 miles away on the west coast. 



You can also get some souvenir t-shirts.



Look at all the fermentation tanks!



We can see packs of ingredients lying around.



These are the malt barley, a major ingredient in making beer.



You can see the brew kettles on the left, where they add the barley.



The grain after using in the beer will be given to nearby farmers.  I am sure that will feed some happy animals!



We notice that all the tanks are named after Space Shuttles!



These are some apple brandy barrels, used to brew some special edition beer. 



Now is time to enjoy some beer.  We go to the bar area.



Hmm which one shall we order?



We go to the lounge to enjoy our beer.



There are lots of beer-related arts on the walk.





Some are made with beer bottle caps.



Yessir, we are doing our part: Support Florida breweries and drinking like a local!!



Ahh it's delicious!!

If you think we've been drinking a lot lately, well, today for a change, we are going to eat a lot!!  We are going to this event called Taste of Pinecrest. 



Mmmm these cupcakes and lollipops look GOOD!!



This stall sells different types of french fries, wrapped in newspaper-looking grease paper.



Machu Picchu is the "Lost City of the Incas".  So this must be a Peruvian restaurant! 



It's a rather hot day and great for some snow cone.  Which flavor would you like?



This is a big plate of pulled pork.  It's pork barbecue where the pork, after slow cooking, is tender enough to be pulled into shreds.  It is then mixed with barbecue sauce.



Hamburger, anyone?



You can also get some delicious and healthy smoothie.



There is a band playing music.



There is also a line of food trucks, for even more options.



It's not easy at all deciding what to try!!



When you eat so much your clothes feel tight, you can do some shopping here as well! 



There are also some games for children.



I sure hope they haven't eaten too much food... I know I can't be swinging around and bouncing up and down with all the food in my stomach!!

Today we go to see something very American!! 

No, I don't mean the Hard Rock cafe or casino, though that's very American...



Let's follow the sign...  to the American Indian pow wow!!  The Seminole tribe owns the casino, that's why there is an Indian village and a pow wow here.  It may sound weird, but because it has been determined that the Native Americans are here before the white American government, they do not have to abide by many laws of the U.S. govt and do not pay tax.  As a result, many tribes open casinos because it's such a profitable business for them... 



There is no big prairie here, the dancing are done inside a stadium.  We see them all dressed up ready to dance. 



First they say a prayer and then introduces the little Miss and Mister Seminole.



Next all the dancers come out in a parade.  It's leaded by the warriors.  Following behind are the little Miss and Mister Seminole.



Look at the beautiful outfit!!





The face paint makes them look very fierce!!  I don't think I will like to encounter them in a woods!



The ladies look very graceful in their buckskin dresses.





Do you see how the little toddler is dressed up like his father?



The drummers sit in a circle.  I can't imagine how they can sit down in their outfit!



They have competition where different dances were performed.  There are different themes and traditions.



This is the Southern tradition.



This one is called Grass Dancing.  The head dress makes us think of moth antennae. 



There are many stalls at the pow wow. 

Look at all the moccasins!



These jewelries are very beautiful.





There are some paintings.



The traditional Seminole clothings are very colorful.



These pendants are made with tiny beads.



Mickey Mouse moccasins!



There are also books and CDs.  Sherman Alexie is one of our host's favorite author.