Magnificent Miami - Part 2

Five days in Florida is short time, but long enough to see some of the most important sights of the area. Here I introduce you to some of them.  

Key Biscayne & Coral Gables

One late, lazy afternoon we spent at the beach in Key Biscayne. That's where our friends Raphael and Simone got married and they wanted to show us the spot, which turned out to be pretty heavenly!

Would you look at that! Horatio speeding on the highway. ;) From Key Biscayne it's not a long drive to go to Coral Gables, one of the most gorgeous but also the most expensive neighbourhoods in Miami. Golf carts are the vehicle of choice there!
 

During another visit to Coral Gables, we got to see the famous Biltmore Hotel, which was built in 1926. It served as a hospital during World War II, and according to some people, it's haunted. The hotel has been later used as a setting in many of the TV shows and movies based in Miami. The church is opposite to the hotel.

Ocean Drive on Miami Beach

 

Like I mentioned on the previous Miami post, Miami Beach is known for its art deco buildings, which can be seen already at the steps of our hotel on Washington Avenue. The famous strip, Ocean Drive, was just two blocks down from the hotel.

In front of some of the art deco hotels are also antique vehicles, like this Barbie's dream car.

And funny yet clever ads at bus stops.

It's no walk on Ocean Drive if you don't pop by the beach quickly.

Miami Beach is a place where also the police officers chill out!


Key Largo & Islamorada

One day we spent with a friend and a fellow Vorarlberger Konny. She showed us some parts of the first islands or keys, Key Largo and Islamorada. Those islands form a part of the Florida Keys that are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. And what little pieces of paradise!! However, to reach the prettiest part one must drive a long way, and unfortunately we didn't have enough time to go to the Southern most point of Florida, Key West.

First we had to ask some advice from the tourist bureau in Key Largo.

Little Havana
 

Little Havana is concentrated mostly around Calle Ocho, or the 8th Street. Following the Cuban Revolution, many Cubans fled to South Florida. Over the decades, most of them have immigrated to Florida in the hopes of a better future and earnings. Some of them come legally, most of them land the shore by swimming across the bay...
With them they also brought the knowhow of making cigars and celebrating Latin style! Actually, due to the vast Latin population in Florida, Spanish is as commonly spoken language as English.

And if the tiny Cigar Factory is good enough for Arnold, it's good enough for us.

Enthusiastic players playing in the famous Domino Park.

The Venetian Pool

The Venetian Pool is a historic U.S. public swimming pool built in 1924 and located not too far from the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables.

Boat Ride by the Celebrity Islands

Star Island is one of the man-made islands in Miami. Another interesting factor is that also this is star studded as celebrities like Madonna, P. Diddy, Will Smith, Lenny Kravitz, and Sylvester Stallone have or have had a house on the island.
As Wikipedia explains: "Though it is a public neighborhood, Star Island has a guard house at its entrance, giving it the illusion of being an exclusive, private area. However, anyone can enter after stopping at the gate. There is simply one oval of inland public road on the island and no public access to the water."
Other nearby islands Palm and Hibiscus currently house or accommodated famous people like Jennifer Lopez, Al Capone, Enrique Iglesias, and Shakira. Now you can imagine what the property values on these exclusive islands might be...

One of the busiest ports in USA, the harbour of Miami.

Turquoise waters...

A picture of us entering the tourist boat.

And if you got the urge to go to Miami, which, I think you should, we can highly recommend our hotel, Villa Italia. Cute, clean and close!

Something random that we saw during the stay. In America you really do have everything - also a drive thru ATM! How handy is that?

On our last night in Miami, we went for a delicious dinner at the restaurant called Rusty Pelican, from where you have an amazing view of the city's skyline. The vacation was fabulous, and one day I definitely want to return to Miami!
 

Everglades

You all must remember the airboat scene from Miami Vice or the comedy Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach where the policemen are chasing the bad guys with airboats, right? Well, experiencing an airboat ride in the Everglades really is possible!

The speedy scenes of the movies and TV shows were far from our minds as the quiet beauty of the sawgrass prairie brought calmness and wiped the busy beat of the city life away.

So Raphael, Simone, Lukas and I decided to exercise instead and see the amazing natural resort by bike. The 24 kilometer long tram road we cycled is in Shark Valley, but it covers only a fraction of the whole area.

A lady, who was also biking the track in Shark Valley encouraged us to count the alligators we see on the way. As she lives in Coconut Grove in Miami, she goes there frequently. She told us that last time she had counted over 120 alligators!

Everglades National Park in South Florida is the largest subtropical wilderness area in the United States, and has been named a Unesco's World Heritage Site, International Biosphere Reserve, and Wetland of International Importance. In addition to alligators one could spot different kinds of birds and turtles, among others.

As you rent the bikes, they make you sign a form where you basically acknowledge the danger you're putting yourself into and release the rental office of responsibility... The rules say never approach alligators! In other words, don't get closer than 3 to 5 meters to the wildlife. They are, of course, naturally wild.

The alligators are smaller than crocodiles, and they live in freshwater environment. Alligators exist only in the U.S. and China in their natural habitat.

 

Although alligators seem harmless due to their heavy body and slow metabolism, they are capable of getting up quickly and running short bursts of speed, especially in lunges. So when one of the alligators we approached started blowing air and breathing heavily, we got onto our bikes quickly! According to Wikipedia, alligators, unlike the large crocodiles, do not immediately regard a human upon encounter as prey, but may still attack in self-defense if provoked. This one was smirking at us from the bushes.

In retrospect, one thing concerns me still. According to the online encyclopedias the difference between the calmer alligator and the wilder crocodile is that alligator's teeth are not visible when its mouth is closed. Hmm... 

However, the peace, quiet and solitude of the Everglades left a permanent mark on me. It is a recreational paradise where you can also learn about nature and wildlife, and realise, how small a person actually in this universe is.

Magnificent Miami - Part 1

The blog silence of the past few weeks is due to our travelling. First stop on our journey to Europe was in fabulous Miami, Florida, which is only about 3.5 hours flight away from Bogotá.

Needless to say, we fell completely in love with Miami. Here are just a few images made during our first day on the Miami Beach and in Downtown.



The beach boulevard was filled with beautiful, athletic people. Most of them were just there to show off, but there were some seriously sweating.











Like proper tourists, we also rented Deco Bikes for the morning. The bikes are a great way getting to know the neighbourhood.











Miami Beach is also famous for its art deco district. It has been used as the backdrop in many movies, like Scarface with Al Pacino. Hotel Avalon is just one of the many art deco buildings, which I will show you another day.







In the evening we were invited for dinner in Downtown Miami with two Austrian couples, whom we got to know at the wedding in Bogota few weeks back.

Konny and Winston live in a huge apartment building with a great view over the harbour and Downtown.



From the balcony we could also see - and hear - one of the biggest electro music festivals in the world taking place the exact weekend in Miami.





Miami is just a magnificent city that can offer everything. Do I need to say more?? ;)

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To be continued...

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