Orlando

With howling winds giving a foretaste of the plummeting temperatures to be experienced the following day I arrived in downtown Orlando. The hotel had a simple self check-in system for out of hours - basically a key in a box with a pin number - despite the clear instructions, I was flummoxed until rescued by some other guests.

It was 9pm or 2am UK time, so just time to check out the neighbourhood bars before bed. Dexter's seemed a safe bet - the combination of a crispy Rolling Rock and a Colby burger sealing the deal for me. Not sure what the burger had to do with the Colby's- and weren't they Californian anyway?

Back at the hotel I surfed the tv channels and was horrified to see that not only had the UK fallen for the dubious charms of Jerry Springer and repackaged it in the nastier form of Jeremy Kyle - but we had then sold it back to our poor unsuspecting American cousins. The shame.

Then the lights went out.

Literally - power cut that wiped out the neighbourhood. Not the end of world in the middle of the night but a little disconcerting when no emergency lights come on and no friendly hotel staff come round to tell you it's ok. Does the fire alarm work without power for instance? The next five hours were spent in fitful sleep listening to people open and close doors and frantically try light switches, until it finally came back on at 5am.

A few more hours dozing - trying to pretend I wasn't jet-lagged and actually wide awake - I finally gave in and headed out for breakfast at 7.30am.

My god was it cold outside - last nights crisp autumnal evening replaced by a bitterly cold but beautifully sunny winter morning. The plan - have breakfast at Panera - the recommended bakery next door then head out on a self guided walking your of historic downtown.

Panera - amazing selection of baked goods, each with its own frightening calorie count proudly displayed. I settled for a skinny latte and a plain bagel with a scraping of butter - eschewing the four pats helpfully provided by the server.

8.30 - time to hit downtown.

Walking tour was interesting - especially the part that strayed into the ghetto without notice... Generally it was a mix of churches, court houses and old bank buildings from the early 20th century much like many other mid size American cities - the lakeside setting adding extra sparkle.

Back to hotel to check-out and collect bags, receptionist had no clue that power had been down most of the night.

Taxi to Amtrak station, bag checked, during which all the attendants papers blew away in the wind, he made a half hearted attempt to gather the closer ones up - hope I see my bag again....

An hour and a half to kill so checked out The Jazzy Dog Cafe - an all American diner bizarrely decked out with lots of Union Jack flags! They apparently sell Orlando's best hot dogs, chicken sandwich for me though.

Train boarded on time - slightly stressful process whereby, you are sent to section 12 on the platform where you have to queue (though they don't tell you this), the queue is along the cold shaded side of the platform rather than the sunny warm side. Then people leisurely get off - some just to smoke- then you are sent to a different section, then finally allocated a seat by the attendant at the door. Thankfully the train is warm!