BookCrossing.comToday was less about gossip and the homes of the rich and famous and more about the buildings themselves. We thought it would be a jolly good idea to find out a bit about the Art Deco district as we were staying right on its doorstep. We originally planned to wander round ourselves but being city dwellers we’re well aware that there are probably places that it’s not a good idea to stray into. There are parts of Birmingham that I won’t drive in, let alone walk. We decided therefore, that a guided walk might be the safer option and would be peace of mind if nothing else.
So, at 10.30 we presented ourselves, with tickets in hand, at the entrance to the Art Deco welcome center on Ocean Drive and 10th. The walk was very informative, possibly a bit too much in depth for what we wanted but we did learn a lot, not just about Art Deco and the other styles, but also about how South Miami Beach evolved from a barrier island into the thriving city it is now. I like to know stuff like that. It's interesting.
The tour ran over a bit so we were ready for lunch by the time we got back to the welcome center. Ocean Drive seems to be lined with restaurants so we picked one and had a rather nice lunch. We both had salmon. Stephen had his with mash and veg, I had mine with a Greek salad. The place we ate at was serving huge margueritas and I mean HUGE. We just had diet coke and cranberry juice but were wondering how on earth anyone could walk after drinking one of those cocktails. The glasses must have been ten inches across at the top, easily.
After lunch we headed to our second bit of culture for the day - Vizcaya gardens and museum. Sadly, although the gardens were lovely it didn’t quite live up to our expectations as they were renovating extensively. We’d planned to start our afternoon there by having dessert and coffee in their café but it was temporarily located in a trailer so we managed coffee but no dessert. A lot of the place was out of bounds due to the construction, which was scattered all over the place and not confined to one or two areas.
Moans aside, the gardens were really pretty and the house was lovely too although we didn’t bother to go inside in the end. There were a couple of photo shoots going on there, with photographers, models and assistants rushing in to touch up make-up. We saw something similar outside at the mall yesterday. Three models posing like a family with the photographer, make-up, huge reflector board etc. That one looked a bit like a Gap advert by the clothing they were wearing. With that one and today’s it’s all a bit ‘America’s next top model’.
We did of course, take one or two photos ourselves. Here's me doing my Juliet impression. No Romeos in sight though, although there were some Italians in the garden. Maybe one of them was called Romeo actually. You never know. I shouldn't make assumptions...
The back of the house looks over Biscayne Bay and has what appears to be venetian pilings, a faux Bridge of Sighs and a stone ship. All set against the beautiful blue waters and blue skies. Sigh.
I was on a high balcony looking down, wondering where Stephen had got to when I spotted him looking quite intently in this privet knot garden.
We'd been seeing these wee lizards everywhere. You know the ones about six inches long that skitter away as soon as you go near? Well, he claimed that in that shrubbery was one - and you have to imagine him holding his hands apart like a fisherman describing the one that got away - that was about three feet long. Naturally I scoffed at this and ribbed him all the way around. Until I saw the photos on the laptop a few minutes ago. He'd managed to get a photo of its head and I'm guessing maybe it wasn't far off that size.
We stopped by a Publix on the way back to the hotel to pick up some more water and some snacks for tomorrow. We had a slightly scary moment as Stephen misread some signals on a right turn and nearly had a mishap. Unfortunately there was a witness and the next thing we knew there was this flashing light behind us and a quick beep of a siren. Gulp. This is our ninth trip to the US and our first encounter with the law. The officer was very nice, stern but nice. Once he knew we were English he just made sure Stephen realised the gravity of the situation and let us go. Phew. Personally I think Stephen may have preferred to take his chances with the nice officer than listen to me harangue him for the next ten minutes…
Seriously, I know I mock him but I must say he’s pretty much a star when it comes to driving. He’s brilliant at finding his way around and he copes with all this driving on the wrong side of the road amazingly. Sometimes I think he must have a map built into his brain the way he navigates. Good job really though. Did I mention he’s completely killed his satnav now? ~snigger~ Techno-boy strikes again. C’mon, you didn’t think I’d be serious for long, did you?
