Florida scenic drive to Miami, diagonally from Bradenton to Miami, through Arcadia and south around Lake Okeechobee. The Turk was thrilled with the diner lunch he had at the Yellow Cafe which is run by a religious group in Arcadia (looked a bit Amish but werent and didnt explain a specific religious group association). They have restaurants in other states. I had to explain that Arcadia was too far to casually visit for lunch from Dunedin!
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| turks delicious lunch |
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| Beautiful building entrance |
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| Turks new friend, Coco, the food delivery robot |
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| my superhero |
Once in Miami, we stayed in the Wynnwood area - formerly warehouses and industrial businesses. There is still an active concrete company down the street from our hotel.
For Art Basel in 2009, a developer worked with artists to create large scale murals on some of the warehouse walls to help revitalize the area.
This former warehouse area is now a lively, full of street art, shops, restaurants, bars, galleries and people; tho still a bit seedy. We saw a Porsche and Bentley parked outside the Salvation Army store. Turk would yell at the food delivery robots named 'Coco' that run past you on the sidewalk. I really feel like I'm in a different country, one where I can read most of the signs and drink the water. So many languages, and non-white people. Am loving it. But maybe a bit too high energy for full time!
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These creatures are amazing
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| so happy!! |
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| Not sure who was eating who |
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| everywhere you look.... :') |
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| Masks of women |
Show was based on the theme of women needing to wear masks to get through life. The torn pages are from superhero comics. The full effect was stunning and thoughtful.
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| Ya, about the right size! |
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| View from our balcony |
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| And she just keeps delivering........ |
Little
Havana really did remind me of the original Havana-just as full of
music and laughter. Vizcaya was just as opulent and lusciously
landscaped as I hoped. I've seen exotic cars i can't identify, the Turk
went shopping for $20k watches-no didnt buy, we ate homestyle Cuban food
amongst families having their Sunday dinner with mom.
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| Habana Turk |
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| Color and Roosters Everywhere |
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| real Cuban music makes everyone happy |
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| The right sized cigar for the Turk |
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| Dominoes of course |
The MAIN reason I wanted to spend some time in Miami was to finally visit Vizcaya on Biscayne Bay. I wasnt disappointed.
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| Front steps of Vizcaya |
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| Biceps!! |
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| maybe a TAD overdone |
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| Breakwater built as a false ship...rising waters of Biscayne Bay are taking a toll |
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| gardens were extensive |
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| cement artwork has lasted |
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| not the everyday dishes |
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| dragon light!! |
And.... a few of the head scratching things we saw in Miami......
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| real place to go shoot machine guns |
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| he is anywhere he can try to make $$ |
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| Tiled sign at McDonalds in Little Havana |
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| Cuban coffee explained for us dummies |
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| Ferrari 296 GTS, 819hp, hybrid with twin turbo V6 + electric motor. $390k |
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| Turk living the life! roof deck of our hotel |
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| riding by with a skeleton passenger |
