Day 2: Miami Beach
Location: Cutler Bay, FL to Miami, FL
No alarm this morning as we both needed to sleep after a long day yesterday. We finally get up at 10:00 and set course for Miami Beach.
Sitting on an oblong island parallel to Florida’s mainland, Miami Beach is famous for its long public beach and its Art Deco building painted in various pastel tones. It’s been featured in many movies, TV shows and video games like Miami Vice, Burn Notice and Grand Theft Auto Vice City.
On Ocean Drive, the beachfront road lined with restaurants and hotels on the West side, and Lummus Park and the sea on its West side, our silver muscle car convertible feels almost discrete. We spot a neon green Lamborghini, a few Ferraris, and many brightly colored convertibles. Even the black Ford Mustang Convertible parked two spots behind us attracts more attention than our car.
We visit the Art Deco Museum, where I learn that there was no restaurant on Ocean Drive back in 1979, hard to guess seeing the current restaurant density. The Art Deco style itself dates back to the end of World War 1 as a counterpoint to the Art Nouveau style that was “inspired by natural forms and structures, particularly the curved lines of plants and flowers” (cf Wikipedia article about Art Nouveau).
Art Deco features bright colors, clean lines and geometric curves and rounded corners. Buildings in Miami Beach add maritime-like details like porthole windows, superstructures with navigation decks, masts and flag poles. Even the beach lifeguard posts are Art Deco-themed.
After driving down Collins Avenue to see famous example of Art Deco buildings, we finally set off to our Airbnb for the night. Alas, we hit rush hour traffic and have to crawl from a red light to the next in the sprawling urban environment of Miami.
Thankfully, we found a hot tub ready for us at our arrival. There is a pool as well, but the water slightly too cold remind us it isn’t summer anymore even if it really feels like it.
Continued next page.