Thursday, December 24, 2009

Things I love about Florida

So, rounding off my week of mini-rants, let's end on an upbeat note. Things I love most about this place.
  • The food. Oh, Gods, the food is so good here! I love Southern food, and the range of other stuff on offer is just fantastic. Cuban, Thai, Vietnamese, Spanish, Italian... We eat well. Let's leave it like that, and not mention the fact I've grown out of all my clothes and now need XL.
  • Palm trees. I've always loved palm trees. They make me feel kinda exotic, like I'm in the Arabian Nights. Now I'm surrounded by them. And lizards. They're cool too.
  • Lightning. This is the lightning capital of the USA, apparently. The storms here are truly incredible.
  • The music. There are few things I enjoy more than going to a sleazy little bar, drinking cheap American beer, and listening to a kick-ass blues band. There are some seriously talented musicians here.
  • Southern hospitality. These people are wonderful. I was expecting a load of hostile rednecks, but they've made me so welcome here. In the shops and the restaurants, they have a natural politeness that you just don't get in LA or New York or London. Socially, there's none of the standoffishness and reluctance to engage you so often get in England. I'm surrounded by smiles, warmth and genuine kindness wherever I go, and my new home is a place of happiness, laughter, and joy. And that, my friends, is truly one of the most fantastic feelings in the whole world. I love it here. I really do.
Happy Christmas, everyone!


6 comments:

John Molloy said...

The lightning is great, that is true, but having the sun 320 days a year is also VERY appealing.

Matt Kelland said...

Yeah, you get even more of it than we do! This climate suits me. 23C on Christmas Eve? That'll do nicely.

IceAxe said...

A merry Christmas to you Matt. Thanks for all the great support you've given me and my silly little movies. 2009 was a good year, 2010 will be even better!

Tari Akpodiete said...

it's a different South though. for some reason, the rest of the South doesn't seem to care much for Florida. i've encountered this a lot and when i ask why, i just get weird looks as if i should know. and sometimes a sniff. one person said, "well, it's FLORIDA..." oh well. my brother seems to like it well, enough. and the people were indeed nice to me when i was there on business a few years back.

anaglyph said...

Happy Christmas Matt, and here's to a 2010 full of great things.

Matt Kelland said...

Thanks, everyone!