The Fontainebleau Just arrived in Miami on the red eye from Los Angeles. The 4 hr, 35 min flight seemed to go pretty quick, so I must have got some kind of kippage. My girlfriend joins me in a couple of hours from Bermuda, the lucky thing is here to relax, spa and shop whilst I work until Wednesday.

Nonetheless that does give me a couple of hours to play with the gadgets in the room (like this Apple Mac) and explore the hotel which looks on first impressions to be incredible. The Fontainebleau hotel originally opened in a blaze of glory in 1954 and was a famous stalwart on Miami Beach's Collins Avenue and stars in James Bond's Goldfinger. It closed in 2006 for a huge makeover and only recently re-opened in December with the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, one of the models I think I just saw walking around downstairs with little on and looking like she had a good night.

The Los Angeles leg of my tour ended with a lazy afternoon hanging around Melrose Avenue looking for assorted gifts. I missed most of the rain when I was out walking, although they did get a few downpours. "The trouble with Los Angeles," I was told by three seperate people "is that they don't know how to drive in the rain." Well, whatever but they certainly all come out to drive judging by the traffic, which was diabolical. I spent an arm and two legs in taxis and I really should have hired a car but didn't even consider it.

I can never make my mind up about LA but it always carries a real threat of adventure. I feel a lot better being in Miami though, I enjoyed last weekend here and I'm looking forward to seeing what other happenings I can excavate this week.   ¶ 06:15