Ah Miami, not like any other American city I've been to and a lot smaller than I expected. I (like most of the tourists) stayed in South Beach where the beautiful people sun themselves by day and party by night. Although Miami is small, it is very very loud. And I don't mean just noisy loud, I mean in your face loud and colourful.
Favourite things:
1) The Raleigh hotel was old style glam and still fitted out like the 1920s but with modern day comforts. I had an amazing room with views of the ocean and the palm trees swaying in the breeze. The hotel pool was out of this world and a favourite celeb hang out back in the day.
2) I saw even more people smoking here than I did in South America (which is saying something!). For a place where everyone wants to look beautiful they don't seem to have got the "smoking kills" memo.
3) For every beautiful person I saw, I saw at least one crazy person! People seem to just go with what they feel down in Miami and that tended to be craziness like singing at the top of their voice, a lot of Jesus will save you speeches, and some intense street dancing. Wow.
4) Clothing is small, no matter what shape the person.
5) Food is big. When I asked for 1 scoop of ice cream I was quickly informed that the smallest is 2 scoops and as a special offer for an extra $1 I could get 4 scoops. Going for just the 2 was met with a confused look.
6) There's a lot of bling on show. Supercars, gold chains, designer handbags, the flashier the better.
7) The candy coloured Art Deco buildings in South beach, especially along Ocean Drive, are gorgeous and walking along is like being in an episode of Miami Vice or CSI Miami ( without the cops and gruesome murders!).
8) South Beach the beach was beautiful. Immaculately clean, long stretch of white sand, turquoise blue ocean and a cool breeze....heaven!
After sampling a bit of life in Miami it was time to head to Key West for more sun and sand. Managed to squeeze in a quick visit to Macy's before I hit the road and have a feeling I might need to get another suitcase soon as my bags are bursting at the seams!
