THE MAGIC CITY
MIAMI (Part III)
Hey Miami, after that "excellent" welcome, I can say you redeem your self. An incredible 29 degrees, November, sun, send, beach, what more could a person want? The morning indicated that this would be a day filled with happiness, excitement and admiration. I admit I couldn't remove the smile from my face, beautiful sights followed me from all sides. Miami Beach is not just a beach, history, memories and destinies are hidden here. The beach on one side and the amazing Art Deco on the other side make this place so amazing. 6.5 kilometers of sandy beach, makes you forget that there is another world, it makes you live in this moment, to lose yourself in the endless beaches and the blue ocean that can rage at any moment and show you its true strength as it has done several days before. The only thing I wanted at that moment was to absorb every detail, absorb all the positive energy of this world and enjoy every second spent here.
I decided to sleep a little late and woke up a little after 8 o'clock. Since I was already packed, I got ready and checked out of the hotel. Since today was reserved for Miami Beach, I planned to take my time and slowly explore the entire peninsula. Although many people think that Miami Beach is all about beaches and bars, this peninsula is actually a historical and cultural place that offers many different ways to have fun. Since the hotel I was staying in was about 20 meters from the beach, I decided to head there first and walk to the southernmost point of Miami Beach. The beach is a story by itself, white fine sand, warm water, sun... I decided to just sit for a while and enjoy the amazing view of the ocean.
Next to the beach there is a paved path that follows the sandy beach and on which tourists and locals ride bikes, rollerblades, run or simply walk and enjoy the beautiful view of the ocean on one side and Art Deco on the other, which I will tell you about a little later in the text. In addition to endless beaches, you'll also find plenty of outdoor gyms as well as beach volleyball courts and other activities for active visitors. Every few hundred meters you also have lifeguard houses that have that specific look that I believe we all know from the famous Baywatch series.
The southernmost point of the peninsula is actually a promenade built over the ocean and from which beautiful views of the beaches are offered. I just sat there and absorbed the beauty of the clear blue ocean. Even though there were a dozen people around me and it was a party at the beach, I felt so peaceful and calm. I was just looking at the horizon and thinking how lucky I am just for having the opportunity to see this beauty and be here. After resting on one of the benches, I decided to head towards Ocean Drive, a street that is known for its numerous hotels and bars, but also for the large number of movies that were filmed here.
Ocean Drive is home to a number of Art Deco buildings. The Miami Beach Architectural District (also known as Old Miami Beach Historic District and the more popular term Miami Art Deco District) is a U.S. historic district (designated as such on May 14, 1979) located in the South Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach, Florida. It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Sixth Street to the south, Alton Road to the west and the Collins Canal and Dade Boulevard to the north. It contains 960 historic buildings.
Located just to the south of South Beach, the Miami Art Deco District is composed of hundreds of different buildings with this particular architectural style. Although the majority of the buildings date from between 1925 and 1940, they've been carefully renovated to retain that glamorous Miami feel. What is Art Deco? Art Deco is an artistic movement dating from the 1920s, which reached its peak during the great depression when Americans looked for an architectural style which would lift the mood of the nation - leading to the fantastic style of the Art Deco movement. These buildings are centred on basic geometric shapes (cubes, spheres and straight lines) and are characterised by their heavy ornamentation, being more decorative than strictly functional. Terrazzo floors, moulded ceilings, tropical and pastel colours, straight lines, relief moulding and, above all, neon lighting are some of the most famous characteristics of Miami's Art Deco style. If you want to see the most important buildings in the area, we recommend starting to the very south of Ocean Drive, between 6th and 7th street.
Park Central Hotel (630, Ocean Drive).
Colony Hotel (736, Ocean drive) .
Waldorf Towers Hotel (860, Ocean Drive).
Breakwater Hotel (940, Ocean Drive).
Victor Hotel (1144, Ocean Drive).
Leslie Hotel (1244, Ocean drive).
Carlyle (1250, Ocean Drive).
Crescent Hotel (1400, Ocean Drive).
Mc Alpin Hotel (1424, Ocean Drive).
Walking south down Collins Avenue then right onto 13th street.
Miami Beach Main Post Office (1300, Washington Avenue).
Returning along 10th street to Collins Avenue.
Essex House (1001, Collins Avenue).
The Hotel (801, Collins Avenue).
Тhe Soul of Miami Locals know that the Art Deco district is the jewel in Miami's crown. It's practically impossible to find another place with quite so many buildings in this style, and even more so in such a fantastically preserved state even after almost a century. This colourful part of the city also extends along a large section of Ocean Drive, one of the tourist centres and liveliest areas of the city.
One of the most famous and most photographed buildings in Miami Beach is certainly the villa of the famous Italian designer Gianni Versace, that is, the place where he lost his life in a tragic death in 1997 by serial killer Andrew Cunanan. The Versace villa was built in 1930, Gianni Versace bought it in 1992 for 2.95 million dollars, renovated it and brought it back to its necessary shine. In 1993 he bought the property next to it, the Revere Hotel, for $3.7 million, tore it down, and in its place built a swimming pool paved with 24 carat gold Italian tiles, hired the famous Italian landscape designer Sir Roy Strong to design his garden. He lived in the villa with his partner until July 15 when he tragically lost his life. In 2000, Peter Loftin bought the villa for $19 million and converted it into a luxury boutique hotel, restaurant and event venue. In 2013, the villa was bought by LLS Corporation, owned by the Nakash family, for an incredible $41.5 million. Today it is a luxury hotel with 10 suites and an amazing restaurant called Gianni's. If you have $1,200 a night to spare, you can rent one of the suites and visit and see Versace's famous pool.
The feeling of standing in front of such a famous building full of history is incredible, I was overwhelmed with feelings of happiness, and for several minutes I just stood on the other side of the street and absorbed every moment. Just a few months before I came to Miami, I watched the movie made about the life and death of Giovanni Versace, which was filmed in this very villa, now a hotel.
However, this is not the only film location, another famous location is located south of the Versace Palace, and it is a location from the movie Scarface, that is, the famous hotel from the well-known chainsaw scene. An SVC store is located here, but the famous steps still exist and next to it there is a board explaining the significance of the location. This is also an art deco site which means the appearance of the building is protected and must not be changed.
You haven't been to Miami Beach if you haven't sat down at one of the many bars and restaurants on Ocean Drive. So I also took a short break to escape from the hot sun in the local bars, where I decided to cool off with a cold beer, which I must admit suited me well in the heat. After the tour of the art deco sites, it was time for lunch. I decided to enter a Cuban restaurant, Esquina Cubana, on the corner of Washington Avenue and 7th Street. The restaurant was decorated in a classic Cuban style and served Cuban dishes. I ordered a Cuban sandwich, which I must admit was nothing spectacular, but it was quite tasty. You think much better with a full stomach, so after lunch I decided to head to the Miami Botanical Garden, because I think that if you have the chance to visit a botanical garden, you should definitely do it because they are full of beautiful special plants that you might not have chance to see them anywhere else.
On the way to the Botanical Garden I discovered the cutest little street in Miami. It is about the Spanish Way, which is located between Collins and Washington avenues, that is, 14th and 15th streets. It is full of Spanish and Italian restaurants and bars that bare the spirit of Spain. You can smell delicious Spanish food while listening to Spanish music in the background. If I had more time, I would definitely sit in one of the bars to have a Spanish drink.
The botanical garden is located near the City Hall, that is, on Dade Boulevard. It operates from Tuesday to Sunday from 9 am to 5 pm, and admission is free. The botanical garden is quite small, located on an area of 2.6 acres and was built in 1962, and was renovated in 2011 when 1.2 million dollars were spent on landscaping. The new landscape showcases native Florida plants and trees including bromeliads, palms, cycads, orchids and many others. There is a Japanese garden, native garden and bioswale, and water gardens including ponds, fountains, and a wetland with mangrove and pond apple trees. The renovation also expanded the Great Lawn area for corporate and social events, established a plant nursery and event plaza, and enhanced the night-time lights, entrance gate, and pathways. It was quite soothing to just sit and enjoy the beautiful nature around, but since it was my last day in Miami I had to get ready and leave this beautiful place.
After spending over an hour here enjoying the beautiful scenery, it was time to head to the Fort Lauderdale airport. And here my travels began. First two times I was rejected by Uber after waiting for 10 minutes each time, and when finally the third vehicle came after more than 30 minutes of waiting, and finally we headed to the airport, which is 22 miles away, that is, 35 kilometers which route takes approx. 1 hour depending on the traffic on the highway. 5 min into the drive and we got stuck in a crowd, and stood still for about 30 min without being able to turn back. I was already starting to panic because we were slowly entering the busiest time on the highway, that is, the time when everyone finishes work. I was constantly looking at the map to see how long it would take us to the airport and all I could see was that the map was getting more and more red and the overtaking time was increasing instead of decreasing. The time I called the first uber was around 3:40pm, the time the third uber finally arrived was 4:15pm. My flight took off at 6:45 p.m., which would have been more than enough if everything went according to plan, that is, if there were not a few accidents on the road and the traffic was difficult. The nervousness was growing by the minute, and an even bigger problem was that I couldn't check the ticket earlier, I had to go to the counter and ask for a ticket, plus I had to go through various controls and I didn't know how long it would take for all of that. I've already started thinking about how I won't be able to catch the flight and how I'll have to stay another night, how I'll have to book a hotel at the last minute and which will probably cost a fortune as well as the new flight which would also be too expensive. Finally the taxi arrived at the airport after almost 2 hours of driving, that is at 6:05 pm, and I paid about 65 dollars including tip. Now was the time to sprint and for my luck it worked. I headed straight to the United Airlines counter, and luckily there was no one else waiting so I was able to get my ticket right away. I headed straight to the controls and again luckily there was no crowd and I managed to get through quickly and I even got to my gate before they opened for boarding so I had time to go to the vestibule and change because I was sweaty from running around the airport and because I was all a day in the sun. When they opened the gate I settled in my seat and finally managed to calm down and laugh at my crazy luck.
THE END :)
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