The vacations can be considered disastrous in two different meaning. The first one includes a mix of all the unfortunate events like climate, unpleasant lodging, and the panorama not as you expected the hostility of the local people. The second one can be more congenial to our case. I organized this vacation in rush first of all without thinking of priority with lodging, risk of finding the scenery still divested from the hurricane effects, or the climate that could have been disturbed by the effects from Canada. Our only object was to escape from the daily routine, so to go back home relaxed.
Today our last day at Key West, this afternoon direction Miami, we already fell homesick. The days are characterized of a perfect weather, dry hot days and breezy nights; clear skies with breath taking sunsets, the accommodations of the States and warm Caribbean welcome. Key West has really sent our planes upside down. Now to think of going back home is a heavy separation, thinking of leaving your Bermuda shorts for a duck feathered jacket, or leaving your sun tan lotion for gloves and scarf is a real shock. I expected to find nice places, but would never have expected to open the pages of a local real estate magazine. While the afternoon is passing we must take our march again, there is a tree hour drive to Miami. I always prefer arriving with some day light the fist day at a new place. The long Overseas Highway is our count down. Unfortunately I already know that I will most likely not come back to Key West in the future. The sky starts painting its first strokes of orange, the sunset celebration has started. To bad this road is a slow speed one, with a very heavy traffic. A lot of tourist chooses to stop at Key West coming from Miami, so that between the tourists and the locals coming home from work, I already lost tree hours on my schedule plans, I’m still at the height of Key Largo.
Spectacular! Taking the (South Dixie Highway) that crosses Everglades National Park the sunset view is singular. I’ve never visited this park because I not like reptiles, but driving between this roads, seams like the swamp is swallowing the sun, it’s really terrific. To bad there are no squares for a stop, at this hour of the day some pictures would be unique. By now the night has fallen, and the traffic is still intense. I think that of all the metropolis I’ve seen in America, Miami is the most street crowded I have ever seen. Even the style of driving is different from Los Angeles or San Francisco. Even the speed limit seems self-managed, to bad for them the police is all over. Going in convertible, with music full sound, zigzagging on the huge classical highway is so American. An accident on the overpass gave us our welcome to the new country of Dade; the tree hours programmed for the trip have already become four and I still haven’t crossed Miami. Well that’s life, we are on vacation.
Crossing Miami is something really magical. The city is actually divided in two, with in the center the giant International Airport. A part on the land and a small strip anchored to the land by bridges that seam want to fly towards the sky. The area more touristy, were we also having our hotel is called South Beach, at the end of the Mac Arthur Causeway Bridge. While crossing we remain enchanted by the beauty of the metropolitan of the port and down town. On our right the sky scrappers silhouetted against the sky lit up by showy colors. Are we or not at Miami? A long bridge after a few blocks takes us directly on the famous Ocean Drive. This is the real tourist of Miami, in the center district you find Art Decò. A block of hotels all designed in 30 Th century style, with their lively colors frames the shores in front. The typical imagines you have seen many times in TV or on the magazines showing teens playing beach volley while young teens skating come from this small sandy strip of South Beach. During the night the area is enthusiastic, with small restaurants trying to capture you in any way; open air disco bars differently from the rest of the states continue taking people all night till sun raise while eccentric promenaders on the suffused lights of the sidewalks makes the atmosphere very intriguing. Between the hotels and restaurants you can recognize the old villa where Versace was assassinated.
South Beach is not only Ocean Drive; the neighbor hoods of Ocean, from the 4th up you find many boutique stores, commercial areas and restaurants. Continuing towards North you end up in the endless Collins Avenue, a street where you can find the biggest hotels in Miami. There are palm trees and luxurious lobbies to frame this part of the city, full of tourist from all over. Our hotel is not far from Ocean Drive, the point of reference like Santa Monica can be for Los Angeles and Time Square for New York City. Here mostly all the hotels are expensive, especially if they have a private shore directly from the hotel. The characteristic thing of these beautiful hotels on the front line is that they have a walk path in wood, which divides the garden with pool from the hotels on the shores and lies all the way from Collins to Ocean. During the day it is suggested to use it for footing, but not recommended at night. Miami is full of locations to visit you will need at least 4 full days to stay. In evening it is suggested to go visit Bayside, the old port now used as a shopping place. It is not a commercial center like many, but an all together of shops and booths exposing there merchandise, The Hard Rock Café that stands out on the bay, at the shade of the sky scrapers of downtown. I suggest a nice picture like a post card of the skyline of Miami from Parrot Jungle Island, were the entrance to Mac Arthur Causeway Bridge connects South Beach to the land.
What to say about hotel Riu were we are lodging; just one adjective: Beautiful! It’s spectacular seeing the sunrise directly from the balcony. A structure well conserved, with an elegant pool and a tropical garden that fades away on the shore of South beach. The clients are mostly Argentineans and Spanish; Miami remains one of the most prestigious and ambit circle for the tourist of those two countries. Breakfast, served on the patio on the board pool rich of every kind of goods, make so that your day starts in a very relaxing way.
I hear many negative opinions on Miami, nothing true. It is a locality with many faces that should be seen and learn them all. How to live Miami? A nice breakfast at South Beach, the Starbucks Coffee at Ocean Drive where it’s easy to meet faces from the jet set; after some time on the beach Key Biscayne, with crystal and tropical sea, deserted shores, at the shade of the faro. During the afternoon pass your time cooling off in Venetian Pool, or walking through villas and tree full drive of Coral Gables, closing the evening threw stores and café on Coconut Grove, or greatly getting lost on Coco walk. For dinner on Bayside, walking threw the booths, lit up by the thousand lights of the downtown skyscrapers. Or have dinner in one of the many restaurants of Ocean Drive, waiting for the music hypnotizes you in the endless night. Miami is this a much other, being a perfect crossway to reach in one day locations like Fort Lauderdale or the natural park of Everglades. And not to mention that in Italy it is full winter, and on the shores it is always around 25grades, nothing else matters. During the summer in Florida the story is different, very hot and humid with high risk or tropical storms, if luck.
Years ago in August I took one of my first trips to the States to Florida. Maybe lucky or maybe ten years ago the weather was less crazy, but passed tree weeks of livable heat. The difference this year is taking the east coast till Daytona, stopping at Fort Lauderdale and Cocoa Beach. At Cape Canaveral, I visited the J.F. Kennedy space center. A fantastic experience seeing capsules that have gone in space, seeing the Shuttles ramps so close. I lively suggest this visit; because it’s something you will see in another part of the world. Our trip continues. We ended our last week completely dedicated to Amusement Parks of Orlando. I think we never enjoyed oneself so much as in that week, threw Epcot, Disneyworld, the Universal Studios, Magic Kingdom, Sea world…. The weeks flew fast and before realizing, we leave for Naples, were our trip has reached the end. |
