January 30
Another gorgeous day. We drove through the downtown skyscrapers set in turquoise waterways over two causeways to the southern end of Miami’s beaches. Barb took a walking tour of the famous square mile of art deco buildings. These “ice cream” colored structures built in the 30’s through 50’s, are monuments of Miami’s importance as the destination and entertainment capital of the U.S., before LA and Las Vegas.
I begged out of the tour citing my weak ankles and, instead, rode my bike along the beach. The 2-3 story art deco hotels and businesses of South Beach gave way to giant monolithic hotels, condos, and apartments as I rode north.
Barb and I met 2 hours later and drove north, stopping at different sites to view the beaches and the communities. The northern beaches appeared to be populated by retired Americans, mostly east coasters. The activity, the international flavor, the charming arc
hitecture, and the variety of South Beach drew us back. On returning, we sat on the beach for awhile, explored some more of the inner city of that area and mostly, watched people. I started counting languages and stopped at 11. One that I heard often and did not recognize, I think it to be Portuguese. Other languages far outnumbered English.
For dinner we sat at an outside table down a narrow alley about 3 blocks from the beach. This particular area had many restaurants and appeared to be an evening gathering place for locals and tourists. The food was excellent and the people watching was entertaining. As we left the restaurant we walked by a large open air Italian restaurant with guitarists and singers. The lead waiter was trying to bring in customers and invited us in. “We’ve already eaten.” I responded. He looked at his watch, “What is this? Do you eat with the Pope? It is only 6:30.” “Well,” I responded, “We are about the same age”
Another gorgeous day. We drove through the downtown skyscrapers set in turquoise waterways over two causeways to the southern end of Miami’s beaches. Barb took a walking tour of the famous square mile of art deco buildings. These “ice cream” colored structures built in the 30’s through 50’s, are monuments of Miami’s importance as the destination and entertainment capital of the U.S., before LA and Las Vegas.
I begged out of the tour citing my weak ankles and, instead, rode my bike along the beach. The 2-3 story art deco hotels and businesses of South Beach gave way to giant monolithic hotels, condos, and apartments as I rode north.
Barb and I met 2 hours later and drove north, stopping at different sites to view the beaches and the communities. The northern beaches appeared to be populated by retired Americans, mostly east coasters. The activity, the international flavor, the charming arc
hitecture, and the variety of South Beach drew us back. On returning, we sat on the beach for awhile, explored some more of the inner city of that area and mostly, watched people. I started counting languages and stopped at 11. One that I heard often and did not recognize, I think it to be Portuguese. Other languages far outnumbered English.For dinner we sat at an outside table down a narrow alley about 3 blocks from the beach. This particular area had many restaurants and appeared to be an evening gathering place for locals and tourists. The food was excellent and the people watching was entertaining. As we left the restaurant we walked by a large open air Italian restaurant with guitarists and singers. The lead waiter was trying to bring in customers and invited us in. “We’ve already eaten.” I responded. He looked at his watch, “What is this? Do you eat with the Pope? It is only 6:30.” “Well,” I responded, “We are about the same age”
No comments:
Post a Comment