Lady in Miami
Blog: A Lady in London - 7 November 2009
For as much of the world as I've seen in my life, I'm embarrassed to admit that there are some major American cities that I've never been to. From Nashville to New Orleans, Austin to Anchorage, my experience with U.S. cities is wholly inferior to that of my experience with European ones.
One such city that I had never visited was Miami. It was a shame, too, because my boyfriend used to live in South Beach and knows the area quite well. It was lucky, then, that when we were invited to a friend's wedding in Bogota we were able to book flights that allowed us a day in Miami en route to Colombia.
We arrived in Miami last Saturday afternoon. Our taxi took us to the two week old W Hotel in South Beach, where my boyfriend's Starwood Platinum status came in handy for an upgrade to a gorgeous suite. We were tempted to stay in the room the whole time, but we didn't linger, as we wanted to make the most of our time in the city.
After picking up our rental car, my boyfriend suggested we take a drive around South Beach so that I could see the sights. As we pulled into a Dunkin' Donuts parking lot two minutes later, I realized I had been fooled. While he stood in line for his ice coffee, I scoured the parking lot for DD addict support group fliers. No luck.
Properly caffeinated, he finally assumed the promised role of tour guide. As we drove along the beach, he made sure to point out all the gorgeous Art Deco buildings and famous hotels like the Shore Club and the Delano.
Leaving the car back by the hotel, we decided to finish our tour on foot. We walked down the pedestrianized Lincoln Road, picking up some gelato to keep the sweltering heat at bay, then went out to the beach for a nice long walk by the water.
As night fell we headed to dinner at Bond Street Lounge. We ordered roll after roll of sushi and a plethora of sashimi, all washed down with cucumber martinis and sake. It was so good that I think I even filled my dessert stomach.
After eating we took a walk along the beach boardwalk and had cocktails at the beachside bar at the W. Even late at night the heat and humidity were strong, and as our jet lag was kicking in, we eventually went inside and called it a night.
The next morning we were up early to play tennis. Yes, tennis. I haven't so much as picked up a racket since I was 14, but couldn't resist the siren call of the rooftop court. Besides, it was Florida. Tennis is the national sport there.
We hit the ball back and forth until the mercury reached 90 degrees and we were afraid we would melt into the court. Appetites sufficiently worked up, we headed to the Nikki Beach Cafe for brunch, then out to Coral Gables for a trip to the uber-exotic Verizon store. My boyfriend was in need of the new Blackberry Tour, which was just released for sale that morning. In fact, I'm pretty sure he planned our entire trip around it. He denies it, but the fact that he sleeps with it under his pillow says otherwise.
After the obligatory electronics purchase, we drove around the area a bit more and then headed to the airport to catch our flight to Colombia. I was sad we only had a short time in the city, but excited to have finally seen Miami. One more big American city under my belt, and a whole new country coming up next!
One such city that I had never visited was Miami. It was a shame, too, because my boyfriend used to live in South Beach and knows the area quite well. It was lucky, then, that when we were invited to a friend's wedding in Bogota we were able to book flights that allowed us a day in Miami en route to Colombia.
We arrived in Miami last Saturday afternoon. Our taxi took us to the two week old W Hotel in South Beach, where my boyfriend's Starwood Platinum status came in handy for an upgrade to a gorgeous suite. We were tempted to stay in the room the whole time, but we didn't linger, as we wanted to make the most of our time in the city.
After picking up our rental car, my boyfriend suggested we take a drive around South Beach so that I could see the sights. As we pulled into a Dunkin' Donuts parking lot two minutes later, I realized I had been fooled. While he stood in line for his ice coffee, I scoured the parking lot for DD addict support group fliers. No luck.
Properly caffeinated, he finally assumed the promised role of tour guide. As we drove along the beach, he made sure to point out all the gorgeous Art Deco buildings and famous hotels like the Shore Club and the Delano.
Leaving the car back by the hotel, we decided to finish our tour on foot. We walked down the pedestrianized Lincoln Road, picking up some gelato to keep the sweltering heat at bay, then went out to the beach for a nice long walk by the water.
As night fell we headed to dinner at Bond Street Lounge. We ordered roll after roll of sushi and a plethora of sashimi, all washed down with cucumber martinis and sake. It was so good that I think I even filled my dessert stomach.
After eating we took a walk along the beach boardwalk and had cocktails at the beachside bar at the W. Even late at night the heat and humidity were strong, and as our jet lag was kicking in, we eventually went inside and called it a night.
The next morning we were up early to play tennis. Yes, tennis. I haven't so much as picked up a racket since I was 14, but couldn't resist the siren call of the rooftop court. Besides, it was Florida. Tennis is the national sport there.
We hit the ball back and forth until the mercury reached 90 degrees and we were afraid we would melt into the court. Appetites sufficiently worked up, we headed to the Nikki Beach Cafe for brunch, then out to Coral Gables for a trip to the uber-exotic Verizon store. My boyfriend was in need of the new Blackberry Tour, which was just released for sale that morning. In fact, I'm pretty sure he planned our entire trip around it. He denies it, but the fact that he sleeps with it under his pillow says otherwise.
After the obligatory electronics purchase, we drove around the area a bit more and then headed to the airport to catch our flight to Colombia. I was sad we only had a short time in the city, but excited to have finally seen Miami. One more big American city under my belt, and a whole new country coming up next!
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