Today had a more chilled beginning as the first tour bus from miami beach over to miami didn't get near us til 10. We got the bus over to miami and changed onto the green line which went uptown.
The area we were excited about is called Wynwood and it didn't disappoint. Our first stop was panther coffee for breakfast. I had a spinach and ricotta empanada and a hot lips cherry soda and k had an almond crossant and a cucumber soda. After we were refreshed it was off to explore the area, there is amazing street art on every spare space. It was amazing, I took approximately a million photos! The Wynwood Walls is the epicentre and it was great but the stuff on the streets was just as awesome. After pounding the hot hot streets for a couple of hours we ready for a refresco. We went to a place called Mmmm and I accidentally ordered a coconut cake sundae, it was blinking delicious and had lots of fresh raspberries in it. K was more restrained and just had an iced latte and some crisps. We walked about a bit more then got back on the tour bus for the rest of the loop, it was really interesting and we saw things like the black police station where black cops had to work during segregation - they still had a white boss though! We also went through the design district and midtown.
After we got back off the bus at the point where all the lines meet (bayside park/shopping centre) it was time for a late lunch. We went to a Cuban place called Mambo and sat outside on the marina with a view of the bridge over from miami beach. We shared a Cuban sandwich and a Cuban snack platter and we both had a wee cocktail since k isn't driving today. K had a piña colada and I had a hurricane. The food was ok but not as good as yesterday, the croquetas were particularly delicious as were the plantain chips.
We then went a walk about the waterside and the shops and we watched a Cuban band for a while. People were dancing and generally enjoying the atmosphere, it was really nice. After that we got the bus back to miami beach but it took ages cos of the art deco stuff but we did catch some of the classic car parade which was awesome. We also saw a lot of huge houses belonging to celebs such as will smith. We just walked back up to the hotel after that for a chill before the evening.
After some chill time we headed out for dinner. We fancied some more Cuban so we went to Abuela's and got some. We both got vaca frita which is shredded beef with onions and came with 2 sides, I had rice mixed with black beans and tostones and k had white rice and plantain. It was a massive portion and we swapped a plantain and a tostone to try different flavours. The meal was delicious, I couldn't finish it but k was so delighted that all she left was some onions. I really wanted to try their tres leches cake but was too full.
We wandered down to Lincoln Road and had a wee wander. We stopped in at the taschen shop and wanted everything but managed to buy nothing. We had a look at the amazing car park at 1111 alton (Google it if you like that sort of thing) and some more art deco delights too. Then we went to an artists studio open night thing and had a wee look around at the art, there was some really cool stuff. The weirdest thing we saw tonight was a blood drive outside the cinema where they were offering a free cinema ticket in exchange for your blood!
We've got an early start tomorrow to head to key west so we headed back to the hotel after that. On the way we passed Abuela's and decided we had a wee bit of space so we got a piece of tres leches to take away and shared it walking back. What I've not really mentioned about miami is the sheer number of Spanish speakers, often if you go into a restaurant or shop they will speak to you in Spanish as the default and then change to English if you're not into it. Apparently about 75% of the population is Spanish speaking. K has been loving it and was delighted when ordering the cake the server kept calling her mami. Mami in Miami I guess. I'm very glad we got the cake because it was quite wonderful. A wonderful end to a wonderful miami time.
Dexter was here x
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