It was just a short drive to the Miami Beaches from our first stop of Little Havana. We drove through downtown Miami with its soaring skyscrapers and it felt like it could be any big US city; until you see the waters of Biscayne Bay and you realize why Miami is so special.
Miami Beach is another long, super skinny island, like Jupiter Island or Palm Beach. There are several bridges over Biscayne Bay connecting the Island to Miami proper. There are three distinct areas: South Beach, Mid Beach and North Beach.
To find out more about the different: beaches of Miami
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| Art Deco prowl |
Finding free or cheap parking in South Beach is next to impossible. Our patience paid off in the end though, and we found meter parking on a side street. The main streets in South Beach are Collins Avenue and Ocean Drive; along the beach front. Ocean Drive North of 7th Street is the Art Deco Historic District where most of the famous Art Deco style hotels and apartments built in the 1930's and '40's are located. If you love architecture and want to learn more about the Art Deco hotels of South Beach click here, or check out the website: www.visitflorida.com
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| Pastel Art Deco |
We were all starving by now, and on a mission. Jenni knew of a great Cuban restaurant called Puerto Sagua on Collins Avenue, that had out of this world ceviche. Ceviche is a Latin American seafood dish where the fish is "cooked" by pouring the juice of lime or lemon on it. With all the fresh seafood so close by; my mouth was watering at just the thought of ceviche. We walked along Collins Avenue past all the upscale American shopping chains: Steve Madden, Banana Republic, Zara. I was too famished for window licking; not even for shoes (this was a sure sign I was really hungry).
When we finally reached the restaurant, we found to our horror that it was closed for renovations-NOOOOOOOO11!😱
Time for PLAN B.
We decided to walk along Ocean Drive to check out the many restaurants there. There seemed to be way more restaurants on Ocean Drive then on Collins Avenue anyways. Oh but wait; is that the sound of surf & seagulls? Yes, just across the street is the beach; Miami Beach in fact. We decided to take a look at the beach before the light started to fade and evening approached. We were so glad we did.
The beach was spectacular, and yet again; surprisingly empty! The sand was soft, warm and clean; with a deep blue coloured Ocean stretching out in front of us. We walked along the sand for a while, with Liam looking for those pesky blue bottles on the tide line.
These big "huts" on the beach every mile or so are the lifeguard stations, and I bet they are filled with boxes of jellyfish sting relief for dumb Canadian tourists like us.
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| Looking North on South Beach |
Hunger had set in so hard by this time, I would have pounced on a washed up starfish and eaten it whole!
We went back out to Ocean Avenue and started walking North to peruse the selection of restaurants facing the beach. Most of the restaurants here cash in on the patio scene; with outside tables under heat lamps, speakers blaring either pop music or Latin rhythms, and HUGE fish bowl size glasses with tropical themed alcoholic drinks.
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| Dinner at Last! |
We walked along several blocks looking for our perfect restaurant. We needed something tamer than a Senior Frog's but not overly fancy. Something that had pizza for the kid, and seafood for the rest of us-and of course we wanted to take in that Ocean view. Well, there are so many styles of restaurants you are spoiled for choice, and we found the perfect place. Liam had a pizza Margherita, Jenni a salad with seafood and Luke and I shared this absolutely delicious seafood paella for two (no starfish).
After our delightful dinner, we made our way back to the car as the neon lights of South Beach started to flicker on. We grabbed a coffee to go on the way, and decided to drive around a little to take in the incredible sunset, and the pastel Art Deco buildings; now all lit up in their neon glory. The energy of Miami Beach started to shift at this hour it seemed. People were all dressed up for dinner and the nighttime bar scene; the vibe was almost as electric as the neon lights.
I would definitely like to return to Miami and explore this diverse city, and its beautiful beaches! My impression has changed from Miami Vice, to Miami NICE 😎
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