Summer Vacation August 2007, Days 12-14 Miami

The final leg of our trip was a 2-day stay at South Beach Miami. It was more out of convenience than anything since that was our port for the cruise.

Miami is a beautiful city with tropical weather and georgeous beaches. The city has a very relaxed atmosphere and a beach lifestyle. There is a heavy Spanish and Cuban presence. We stayed in South Beach in the middle of the Art Deco district. It was a real treat for me to see so many Art Deco buildings all in one area.

Most of our time in Miami was spent at the beach, the pool, or just strolling along the pedestrian friendly streets. The main strip was Lincoln road. This pedestrian only street reminded me a lot of Las Ramblas in Barcelona. It was lined with shops and cafes on either side and the middle of the street was pedestrian only with even more cafe seating. There were hostess' at the front wooing you to come in as you walk by. It felt much more like a european street than something in America. These sidewalk cafes were busy from 11 in the morning till late at night. It's amazing how lively this patio culture is even, in the 90 degree heat and humidity. We visited one of these cafes but opted for the air conditioned inside seating instead.

Being away from Vancouver for 13 days now, we severly missed good Chinese food. I don't mean fake "Chop Suey" and "Lemon Chicken". We wanted the authentic stuff that we can get in Vancouver and Richmond. We asked around for the best in town and came upon Miss Yip's. This neat little restaurant just off of Lincoln road was designed in a 1950's Hong Kong Tea House style complete with bird cages, hand-drawn posters of celebrities of the day, and a collection of soya sauce, hoisin sauce, and chilli sauce bottles. The hostess and severs were caucasian so this made as a little doubtful of the authenticity of the food. As we sat down and scoped out the partially open kitchen, we were relieved to find asian cooks busy at the back. The food came after a short wait and I'm glad to say Ms. Yip did not disappoint. Since we were in Miami, Cuban food was a must-try. Again we asked for the best around the area and we were guided to Bella Cuba, a small restaurant on Washington and Lincoln. We were not impressed with the service nor the food.

It was obvious that Miami (or at least South Beach) was a place for the wealthy. In our short 2 day stay, I saw 4 Ferrari's, 1 Lamborghini, and 2 Bentleys on the road. We also noticed that the prices for food and drinks are probably double that in Vancouver.

After an initial day of browsing in the hot and humid streets, we retreated to our hotel pool on day two. The pool was beautiful and fully equiped with a pool bar, servers with Mojito's on hand, and even passed out slushies and ice cream to everyone at the pool. Most of my time was spent playing in the pool with Katelyn and Deon as Janey and Amy basked in the sun.

The next day was going-home day and as the plane touched down, Iwelcomed Vancouver like a dear old friend. I miss you.