It’s been over 2 months since I went to Miami and I am in serious need of some sunshine. It has been either snowing or raining lately and my complexion is looking more and more like a vampire.

The trip to Miami was well needed and I I had copied down some places that VegNews magazine had spoken about. The vegetarian restaurants reminded me more of what being a vegetarian must’ve been back in the 70′s and 80′s and from the places I visited many were counter service with a menu that changed daily and/or combined with a health food store. I wonder what it is that makes all health food stores smell the same. One restaurant that did stand out as more of a traditional sit down eatery was Vegetarian By Hakin in North Miami Beach. The owner gives you a warm greeting as soon as you step in. The fresh juices and vegan breakfast (pancakes or tofu scramble) was incredible.

I was also introduced to some amazing tropical fruit (mamey, sapote, etc) . If you ever get the chance to go to southern Florida I strongly recommend you make a visit to the Fruit & Spice Park. They give tours around the park where a guide cuts down fresh fruit with a machete and gives everyone a sample. While there I sampled a berry that tasted like cotton candy. Felt like I was in a much healthier outdoor version of Willy Wonka’s factory.

Another great place was Sweat Records where they have a vegan cafe and some decently priced music. While there, I bought some refreshingly tasty Vanilla Iced Rice Baby which is iced Toasted Rice Green tea with vanilla soy milk.

We then drove down to Key West, which was nice change of pace from Miami. It resembled a southern city but with a Caribbean flavor. Everything was in walking distance rather than having to drive 12 miles every time you wanted to do something else. I sampled a bunch of key lime products and even checked out a movie at the local art house/repertory theater: Tropic Cinema. I could definitely see why many people retire down here.

Now I can say that I’ve been in the most southernmost tip of the United States. Come mid-May however, I will be visiting the north-eastern part of the continent of Africa, which I have never been to before. This trip will include visiting three Moroccan cities: Casablanca, Marrakesh and the beach town of Agadir. I am so excited to leave the continent of North America, which I haven’t done since I was twelve.