gosh, darlings.

here we are in Miami (for a “mini break” as Bridget Jones called the something-of-a-small-yet-perfect-holiday) and it’s everything we remembered it to be from 12 years* ago when we were last here.

we even saw someone in a toothpaste-minty-shade suit at the airport with a devil may care pastel cotton shirt in contrast rose-pink and we knew we were heading to South Beach once more.

now – there are Quite a few things different with our Life since we were last here – and not just the tumors and the Corporate America job and writing-a-book and all that – although those are pretty big things in themselves.

we can’t really go into it (and it concerns our life Before we became teamgloria anyway) but safe to say it was lovely to drive our own car (well, the black one we rented that goes awfully fast) this time (we don’t believe we actually had a driving license last time we were here – Long Story) and we were in a relationship and They were driving because they Knew The Way (and we so clearly did not in those days, love)……..we digress.

the point of telling you that we were driving is that we always hankered after re-enacting the Drive-Across-the-Bridges (past Gloria Estefan’s house and, allegedly, Oprah’s too on one of the Islands) just like Jeff Goldblum in Holy Man when he and Kelly Preston (in a lovely two piece suit and an executive attitude of no nonsense to match) meet Eddie Murphy.

oh.

wait.

we forgot.

the movie is a modern parable about home shopping and buying-what-we-might-not-need.

hmmm.

which means it was probably about the shopping-channel further up (down? depends on which way you’re standing) the coast in FL.

it’s a sweet movie.

and Eddie works the flowing caftan and beatific smile Rather Well while Jeff Goldblum has a lovely character arc.

back to Miami.

so we’re here on a mini-break: to relax, write, take pictures and see a Writer Friend-of-a-Friend – we’ll let you know if he feels comfortable us revealing his identity and the more elevating parts of our conversation tomorrow, darlings.

In the meantime, the room is divine.

Looks a lot like Paris – non?

all this and breakfast by-the-pool with a very serious tome about Rebecca West.

our sort of mini-break.

*yes, you did do your math/mathematics/sums correctly – 12 years ago was indeed The Millennium (we got that right, non?) and we were Here. we still lived in England at the time but came here to escape the cold and other responsibilities of back-home at that time of year. At the stroke of midnight we dashed (languidly) down to the beach and all the cruise ships lined up on the horizon and let off their deep fog horns. So romantic – like the Normandie with Noel aboard and Gladys Calthorpe fighting with Gertie for a spot-at-the-Rail (or the bar).

this is another magical transformation realization – we were reading a book during our trip here in 1999-2000 and had dinner with one of the people In the book just last month.

gosh.

always good to remember how far one has come in the passage of time and the help of Many Friends, darlings.

how was your Monday?

peering gently through the computer via the interweb at you with concern and love.

sometimes Mondays are hard.

because it’s rare that one gets to do a Monday in Miami – we know – unless one lives here, of course.

so – your Monday – how goes it (or how did you fare if you’re in Europe and tis far behind you now).

do. tell.