More than Beaches - Miami, USA Posted on: 25 November 2017 :: Photo Credits: Lenovo K3 note and some random tourists in Miami ::
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Preface
Last month I made a ‘Diwali Resolution’ :D of visiting one new state of USA each month on an average, hoping to set foot on all 50 states during the next 4yrs (optimistic!) of my PhD. The interesting thing about holiday’s in USA is that these Americans have ensured one long weekend in almost every month. Labor day in September, Columbus day (or Indigenous people’s day) in October and now in November it’s the Thanksgiving Day. Driven by wanderlust, I planned to visit my cousin’s family (especially the recent addition, nephew ‘Neel’) in Florida during this Thanksgiving break. My cousin lived in a town called Boca Raton, about 50miles north of Miami. So killing two birds with one stone, I also went for a solo trip in Miami!
Since “Solo trip se aaye hue log alag hi trip pe hote hai” (Solo Trip = S(h)elf Realization!) let’s begin with some gyan which I learned in this trip:
- Miami and Miami beach are two different (adjacent) cities. ‘Miami’ is the mainland city, known for its colourful art and Cuban influence. ‘Miami beach’ is the island city famous for its beaches and nightlife.
- The public transport system of Miami-Dade county is amazing. 1-day pass of the entire Miami-Dade county costs just 5.65$. Apart from Metrorail and Metrobuses, there are completely free Miami Trolleys that loop around major neighbourhoods. Plus there’s the free Metromover system running through downtown.
- There are many free (or almost free) events every day in Miami. These include yoga classes on the beach (South beach and Bayfront park), movie screenings (SoundScape or Wallcast concert at New World), live music (Little Havana and Design district) and art exhibitions (Wynwood and Little Havana).
- For ‘Dexter’ fans: Dexter’s apartment actually is in Miami. It is located at 1155, 103rd St. Bay Harbor Islands (Courtesy: http://www.seeing-stars.com/Dexter/DextersApartment.shtml). Unfortunately, the owners of that Condominium have locked down the apartment and we can only see glimpses of the building from outside.
Day 1
Location: Miami (Wynwood-Little Havana-Coconut Grove-Downtown Miami)
My first day in Miami began with visiting Wynwood, the artistic northern neighbourhood of Miami. Walking in this neighbourhood reminded me of the Lennon Wall of Prague. The street walls were covered with urban graffiti. I visited a free outdoor exhibition called ‘Wynwood Walls’ in the center of this neighbourhood. It showcased huge colourful street murals made by artists from around the globe.
After roaming around for a couple of hours in Wynwood, I headed towards Miami’s Cuban heart ‘Little Havana’. This vibrant neighbourhood was full of cigar shops, Latin American art galleries and busy restaurants serving Cuban cuisine with live Latin music. To try some Cuban food, I went to El Exquisito, one of the old-fashioned and famous Cuban café. But for a poor vegetarian like me they only had Plantain chips (similar to banana chips) and Coffee. Their Cortadito (Cuban coffee with milk) was delicious, though I couldn’t distinguish its taste from Indian coffee due to my untrained coffee-taste-buds :P
At the heart of Little Havana, I stumbled across a small park named 'Maximo Gomez Park'. Maximo Gomez was a Major General in Cuba’s Ten Years’ War . This place, also known as ‘Domino Park’, was full of locals engaged in the game of Dominoes. It was entertaining to watch war-veterans and older residents playing this 4-player game expertly (and very seriously!).
As I was coming out of the park, a Miami Trolley arrived there. I quickly hopped into it. This adorable AC-Wifi equipped trolley looped around the Little Havana neighbourhood. And it was totally free! I would recommend using this service instead of buying the hop-on-hop-off tour bus tickets.
After completing one loop of Little Havana, I got down near the Marlins Park, the baseball home of Florida Marlins. Unfortunately, the stadium was closed, so I just walked around the building. This stadium apparently has a retractable roof and a seating capacity of 37000 (though it’s the smallest Major League Baseball stadium).
The next neighbourhood on my list was Coconut Grove. This upscale area is located along the shoreline of Biscayne Bay. As hunger rolled in, I walked into the Alice Wainwright Park. This park offered some breath-taking views of the bay. There was hardly anyone around and I could enjoy a peaceful lunch in this serene park.
The final area which I had planned to visit today was Downtown Miami. Boarding the free metro-mover service, I arrived at the Bayfront Park. This waterfront park had a huge amphitheatre, beautiful views of the city’s skyline, live music and a large shopping centre.
Near the north side of Bayfront park stood the American Airlines Arena, the home of Miami Heat basketball team. Preparations were going on for next day’s match against Minnesota Timberwolves. After walking around the stadium for some time, I returned back to Metro/Tri transfer station and boarded the Tri-Rail back to Boca Raton.
Day 2
Location: Miami Beach (North Beach-Bay Harbour Islands-South Beach)
As they say the best thing to do in Miami is ‘hit the beach!’, I decided to spend one day exploring the Miami Beach city. I began the day with ‘Haulover Beach’ situated in the northernmost part of Miami. This beach turned out to be a naturist beach :D
After spending a couple of hours on Haulover beach, I boarded a Miami Beach Trolley towards Bay Harbour Islands. Being a Dexter fan, visiting the shooting location of Dexter’s apartment was on my list. Google maps led me to the northern tip of Bay Harbour Islands. Dexter's apartment was located on the 2nd floor of Bay Harbour Club condominium. Unfortunately, the building was cordoned off to prevent intruders and I could only see glimpses of the apartment from outside.
To overcome the disappointment, I decided to go to the most awaited destination: South Beach. I walked along the entire 3kms stretch of white sand, soaking in the much needed sunshine (Ithaca is freezing cold these days!). On the ‘South Pointe Beach', a free yoga class was taking place. I quickly joined in. This was the first time I did yoga on a beach and it was fun!
After the sunset, I left the beach and walked along the famous Ocean Drive. This iconic road is at the centre of the Miami Art Deco district and is known for its Art Deco hotels. Art Deco, sometimes referred to as Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture and design that first appeared in France just before World War I. The Ocean Drive was glowing in colourful lights of these glamorous hotels.
At the northern end of Ocean Drive, another famous road of Miami was located: Lincoln Road. This mile-long pedestrian-only stretch of restaurants, cafes and premier shopping stores was bustling with tourists. In one of the cafes, I had the best dessert of Miami: Key Lime Pie. This café ‘Shake Shack’ had an interesting way of serving the customers. After placing the order, they gave a small electronic device which literally ‘shaked’ when the food was ready to pick up. In their menu card, key lime pie was named as ‘Pie Oh My’ and it was delicious!
The last activity that I had planned was watching a movie on the beach. This movie screening was part of a free cinema series presented by Citi and held at the Miami Beach SoundScape Park. Today’s movie was ‘Lady in the Van’, a 2015 British comedy-drama. Watching a movie underneath the gorgeous Miami Beach sky was a wonderful experience and I would recommend it as one of the top things to do in Miami.
