Photo Friday: Bievenido a Miami

Some final photos of the trip earlier this month (cannot believe how life has changed in such a short period of time):

We went into Miami a number of times. Here is the view from the bridge into Miami from Key Biscayne. I learned that they created the skyline to mimic Hong Kong at night. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos after dark, but I could see the resemblance.

We spent Sunday afternoon in South Beach, but didn't see any famous people (LOL, Pat & Jax). What we did see was a lot of luxury cars cruising the main drag and bars spilling out onto the sidewalks with lots of loud music.

The art deco buildings and pastel colors were fun to see.

We did a culinary/art deco tour with stops at five different locations in South Beach, highlighting the multi-cultural presence. One stop was at this bakery where you could view the work from above. We had focaccia studded with Greek olives.

This hotel demonstrates the naval/cruise liner style of art deco. I had a mango mojito and sampled some Cuban ropa vieja at the restaurant next door.

Another place we visited was Bolivar for some Colombian food, an empanada with ceviche. It was my first time trying ceviche, as I'm always hesitant about 'raw' foods, even though ceviche is cooked in acid, such as lime juice. I only ate the small pieces of Vietnamese fish, ensuring it was 'cooked' all the way through, but it was good. The drink in that glass was very interesting. Called Refajo, it's a combination beer and cream soda. Sounds bizarre, but it was very refreshing.

Requisite photo of Versace's mansion. Folks, my husband had no idea who Versace was! Stuff like that kills me about him. The man reads the newspaper everyday, so he must have heard about the murder back in the day.

One night, we went to Komodo in the Brickell District. It's a Miami hotspot for Pan-Asian food. I think they try to recreate China by hanging Peking Duck, their specialty, in the entrance. An odd greeting, to say the least!

 

We loved the décor inside. I always claimed to hate Chinese food, but I've learned over the last few years that what Americans call Chinese food is not really what they eat. We had an amazing experience at this restaurant with a 10 course tasting menu: chicken salad with napa cabbage and crispy wontons, wagyu beef dumpling, vegetable spring roll, grilled branzino, Szechuan beef, wild mushroom lo mein, crispy brussel sprouts, Asian vegetables, thai tea panna cotta, and yuzu white chocolate mousse. We shared the small plates; the two desserts came in individual shot glasses. It was one of the best meals of my life.

One morning, we did an airboat tour of the Everglades. They give you disposable ear plugs, and let me tell you, you need them. The 30 minute ride is very loud and windy, as the boat seems to be going 60 mph.

We saw a few large birds.

And plenty of crocodiles. The boat driver made too many jokes about being eaten by them. I found the whole experience to be a bit 'roadside attraction.'

 

Mostly, this was the scenery. I can cross it off the bucket list, but it wasn't that exciting.

 

What was exciting was an event we attended at the Vizcaya Mansion. The estate belonged to James Deering of International Harvester fortune. I doubt I'll ever make it to Italy, so I enjoyed walking the grounds with my glass of champagne and posing by some fountains for my husband. It was a grand night of dinner and dancing.

The band was fabulous. They played a lot of retro music from the 80's, which we loved. When the sax player started playing the opening to Baker Street, the crowd went wild. He was extremely talented.

  

A toast to the trip and that view!