We awoke in dock in Miami, grabbed a quick buffet breakfast on the pool deck and took advantage of the earlybird disembarkation if you chose to carry your own luggage off the boat. We put our packs on our back, left the elevator queues behind and walked down four flights of (rather wide open and easy to navigate) stairs. As we queued, we heard news of massive snow storms across the North East, which seemed incongruous. The weather in Miami was a little cooler than normal, making it more comfortable and rain was predicted. There were plenty of taxis about (a lot of flights had been cancelled so the cabbies expected people would need to ditch their free airport transfers and head for hotels. What it meant for us is that we were at our hotel before 10am and able to spend a whole day exploring.

First order of the day was to navigate our way to South Beach. It turned out it was just a short walk through the park. We hade booked a hotel apartment on the other side of Miami beach island, where it was a bit quieter (and the hotel was cheaper than the nicer hotels in South Beach. Our helpful concierge advised that it was perfectly safe to walk across the park at night – that we should just avoid the alleyways so that’s what we did.

The main reason I wanted to visit Miami (apart from it being the jump off point for cruises to Cuba) was the Art Deco district. And there was plenty of it. The lauded Colony Hotel is just the start. There were deco buildings along most blocks, at South Beach particularly the main strip next to the beach. There was a lack of old cars though. Miami is full of flash – there were plenty of high-performance sports cars but not a lot of cool. With all the fabulous buildings and tales of the mob, I was expecting to see at least a few suave classic cars and some 50s mavens. Sadly, apart from the architecture, Miami is like the Gold Coast – High rises on the beach, an esplanade and all flash and cash with a seedy underbelly. We wandered up and down the esplanade and the surrounding streets, looking at art deco building after art deco building, including some in the process f being restored. These streets are heritage protected and while it is true some of these buidings deserved to be protected more than others, the buildings add a character to the area that the Gold Coast doesn’t have, echoing some of the history of South Beach and Miami more generally – the stars the mafia figures of the 30s. [Rain on Tin – Sonic Youth – I love Sonic Youth – and my fave experience of them live is after a ferocious circle pit watching Rancid at Summersault in 1996 or 7 (I think). I love their approach to melody and beat and the dive into distortion but could usually do without the massive distorted guitar pedal clamber at the end. This avoids that.]

The car culture on the other hand speaks more of the flash and cash of the cocaine fuelled Miami of the 70s and 80s (although these are the modern equivalent – convertibles and sports cars of every stripe (as long as they are less than five years old). Apparently, it isn’t uncommon to lease a sports car before you lease an apartment. The other side of the road is a more sedate affair at this time of year – the near deserted beach, littered with deck chairs for hire and dotted with lifeguard towers. A long sandy beach lined with regenerating dunes and framed by a landscaped foreshore with runners and cyclists enjoying the morning sun (although it was cold).

Our next stop was to go to the Wolfsonian Museum. The Museum wasn’t yet open but the gift shop  come coffee shop was amazing – I could have taken at least a quarter of it home with me but I decided to be conservative (noting names of books that I could order from home) and bought a couple of Christmas decorations. After a suitable browse, and a quick stop to admire the art deco subway booth on the street, we headed back to the hotel for check in and to start some much needed laundry.

Given the South American influences evident in Miami, we decided we should sample some of the food for dinner. Having already had a Cuban food encounter, and aware that a big helping of Mexican was probably coming our way in the South west, we opted for Peruvian. We headed to CVI.CHE 105 and took a seat at the bar for a pisco sour while we waited for a table. The Pisco sour was accompanied by dried plantains – like bananas but not sweet. While Dan was initially sceptical, especially seeing as the restaurant’s specialty was Ceviche but found a couple of offerings, he was happy with – his appetizer – Causa Con Relleno De Pollo, a potato cake with chicken salad, wasn’t quite what he was expecting but he quite enjoyed it in the end.  I had the ceviche as an appetiser – it could have been a main course. I didn’t finish it so I could still enjoy the main course. I chose Lomo Al Ferro Carri – essentially stir-fried steak and peppers, served with fried eggs and sweet plantains (sugar bananas) The food was fantastic and I highly recommend CVI.CHE 105. Despite being in what is essentially party central USA, we packed it in and turned in for the night after dinner. 

US states – 4, t-shirts – 5, fridge magnets – 4