A day at the Beach - but this is different - this is Miami Beach

The journalist Susan Orlean says of South Beach, Miami Beach: "It seems that half the point of being in Miami Beach - particularly the northern end of South Beach - is to be observed by people-watchers like me, and the display along Ocean Drive during my visit was, as always, sublime." I wouldn't disagree with her, but it is not just the people, but the buildings that set off this amazing place.

Our route was something like this:

Breakfast

I woke at 5.30 and showered, shaved etc, then Drew went for his Bath and we watched some local TV to check on the weather for the day before heading down to breakfast at 8.30am. 

The breakfast here at the Hampton Inn and Suite is just amazing, the widest selection I have ever seen at a hotel: the regular bacon and omelette, bagels, danish and muffins; plus fresh fruit, boiled eggs, ham, turkey, salami, cheese (five different types) bread rolls and tomatoes. We went for a generous portion and Drew finished off with two of the Danish pastries.

Public Transport

We left the hotel at 9.30am and walked to the end of the road where the Brickell Station Metro (train, not to be confused with the free MetroMover I mentioned yesterday) to buy our Metro Rider Day Rider Ticket from Miami-Dade Transportation which allows for travel on all modes of transport in Miami-Dade. The rider tickets were $5.75 each.

We went two stops up to Historic Overtown (which was the African-American community of Miami in the days of segregation marked by the 'Jim Crow' laws). From there we caught a number 2 bus to Government Centre and then a S bus to South Beach. 

The Bus took a lovely drive over the MacArthur Causeway, with amazing views. But we were not able to take any photos given the heavily tinted windows of the bus. The views from the Causeway are exactly like the image of the high-rise hotels/apartments in the CSI Miami title sequence I used yesterday with the huge sweeping bay between Miami and Miami Beach being very clear. It is worth noting, as I didn't know until we came here, that Miami Beach is a separate City from Miami, i.e. not like Cardiff Bay's relationship to Cardiff. And it is the Beach not the City that most people come to Miami to see. 

South Beach

Having arrived at South Beach we first walked along 15th Street where a lot of the residential areas are in the Art Deco style. We kept thinking that Poirot would be comfortable here and wondered why Agatha Christie never located him here. <<Co-pilot's note: Never located him here?! Are you Mad?! Him in his patent leather shoes?!>> Though the Art Deco elements are probably more a legacy of the TV series than the books themselves.

We came to Collins Avenue and walked up and down taking pictures with all its amazing buildings, then went one block closer to the sea and onto Ocean Drive, which is the iconic part of South Beach. We walked from one end to the other. 

As a non-architect I would call all of these amazing building Art Deco but as we walked we discovered there are many other types of building

The Miami Design Preservation League has this to say:

Art Deco, and the preservation of those buildings featuring its popular motifs has been a mission of the Miami Design Preservation League (MDPL), a non-profit group launched by Barbara Capitman and like-minded individuals. 

The MDPL has worked tirelessly since 1976 to save the integrity of what is now classified as the ten Miami Beach Architectural Historic Districts – and eleven designated buildings -- which together comprise the National Register Art Deco District. 

Many of the buildings, especially along the beachfront, are indeed prime instances of what enthusiasts now call Tropical Deco, which reflects the regional influences (the sea, palm trees, cruise ships). Tropical Deco, with architect Henry Hohauser, for one, leading the charge, is roughly divided into the utilitarian Stripped Classic or Depression Modern (the renovated U.S. Post Office in the Design District, for instance) and Streamline Modern. 

Art Deco isn’t all that South Beach has to offer. In between the Streamline constructions, you’ll find two additional styles: Mediterranean Revival and Miami Modern (MiMo). See more at: http://www.miamiandbeaches.com/featured-articles/miamis-architectural-guide 

We were so mesmerised by the sites that we arrived at South Beach at 11am and didn't leave until 2.30pm There are far to many photos to share, the selection start here on Flickr.

We walked back to Washington Avenue and caught C Bus back to the Omni Bus Station where we changed for the MetroMover. As predicted a Thunderstorm began at 2.40 so we decided to make our way back to the hotel, rather than visiting any other sites. We caught the Omni line from the Bus Station to College North and then changed onto the Brickell line to the end of the street where the hotel is based. We were back in the hotel by 3.30pm

Drew then went for a run in the fitness centre while I loaded up today’s photos.

Dinner

So tonight we have the last big meal of the holiday. We had been looking to have one final blow out while in Miami and one of the places that looked really good was Truluck's. We decided while we were in Marco Island that we would book it for tonight as it looked as if it might be popular, and indeed it was. 

We were shown to our seats when we arrived and we were in a delightful booth in the dining room. Things went well from there. The meal began with us being introduced to the Stone Crab legs (three sizes) and a Pacific Dungeness Crab. We then ordered sparkling water, this was a Norwegian water, that oddly we have had in Spain in the past, it clearly gets around. We were amazed to be offered a 'fruit' selection for our water with slices of orange, lemon, lime or cucumber to choose. We went with it straight up! 

The waitress, Chrissy, then brought the breads there was raisin and walnut bread, sourdough white and an unleavened crispbread like Matzo. 

We decided to have appetizers and then two courses (plus dessert for Drew) to mark this last ‘posh’ meal of the holiday.

Back when we were in the Everglades, Captain Allen told us about Stone-crabbing, the crabs are caught, their right claw removed and the crab thrown back in, within a year they grow a new claw and the process continues, so it is very sustainable as a means of gathering food.

I opted for a large (they came in medium, large and jumbo) Stonecrab claw for my appetiser, this was served on ice with lemon and an amazingly spicy sauce. It was wonderful, I used my bread to mop up all my sauce even after I had completed the crab.

Drew also had crab, but in his case it was a Jumbo Lump Crab Cake with a dilled tartare sauce. He says it was a delight from start to finish, this being the best crab cake he had ever tasted. He felt obliged to allow me a taste, but resented the fact that he was deprived of some of the wonderful pleasure. <<Co-pilot's note: The sneaky little fella, dear readers, when offered a taste of the dill sauce, managed to take a huge chunk of the Crab Cake too!!!>>

For our next course I had chosen Lobster Bisque, and wow what a good choice it was. The bisque was a rich, velvety soup which had pieces of lobster on the plate and a zingy horseradish goat cheese mixed in. The lobster and cheese were served in the soup bowl and the server than poured the creamy bisque into the bowl. The flavour was lobster rich and delightful. 

Drew went for a Caesar Salad for this course. He likes Caesar and has had it a number of times this holiday. This Caesar, as well as the usual ingredients also had white anchovies, shaved pecorino. It was a crunchy salad with two lovely anchovies adding a saltiness. The pecorino was a nutty alternative to the Parmesan more commonly used in this dish.

Having done the seafood for our first course, it seemed right in this steak and seafood restaurant to go for the alternative. So I selected the 16 oz ribeye steak topped with melted gorgonzola cheese and selected the Parmesan mash to have with this. 

Vegetarians please look away now 

I asked for the steak to be cooked Bleu, as we say in the UK, the server said she would check with the Chef what I meant, and having had some European training he did indeed know. So he cooked it to my perfection, crusted on the outside and rich and bloody inside, you can see how good it was here, but not if you don't like seeing nearly raw meat. The flavour was delicious.

Drew had a 7 oz. Filet Steak also served with Parmesan mashed potatoes. Drew opted for Medium and this was also cooked just as he liked, wonderfully juicy.

We were then presented with the dessert selection. This was brought on a tray and we were introduced to each of the dishes, there were eight choice. There was one in particular that was a seven inch tower of chocolate with walnut and cream inside - a heart attack on a plate. Drew decided to be more abstemious and only go for the taster plate, a Trio of Desserts, which was made up of small pieces of three of the desserts: a carrot cake, a malt chocolate cake and a creme brulee. Even this was a huge portion, each being very sweet, Drew suffered from a sugar rich. Each of the desserts were lovely in their own right (the malt chocolate cake was rich, malty and velvety; the carrot cake, soft and luxurious; and the creme brulee full of vanilla flavour) but one rather than all three would have been enough. 

We finished the meal with espressos each and then walked through Brickell City Centre and got back to the hotel at 10pm. We were both very content.