Miami Beach

It is my great pleasure to inform you that Miami is exactly how you imagine it to be.

I’m talking extremely attractive and tanned people sauntering about in bikinis and boardshorts. No one gets up before noon because there’s no rush to do anything. Food whenever, drinks whenever, beach whenever. I’ve never been in such a relaxed city in my entire life.

We were lucky enough to be staying on Ocean Drive, essentially right on the beach, and although it doesn’t look like it, we had a fair few storms to deal with when evening rolled around too!

Despite the changeable weather, our time in Miami was certainly one of our hottest. Looking back at these pictures, my most vivid memories are not of the chilled out feeling everyone was enjoying but were instead of how much I just wished I could jump into a bucket of ice.

But we were braving the heat for a reason. Miami is known for its art deco architecture so we were slowly but surely heading through the eponymous district towards the Wolfsonian-FIU museum.

Along the way, we just happened to walk by Gianni Versace’s Italian-styled house, Casa Casuarina. It now operates as a boutique hotel for the princely sum of well over £1,000 per night (breakfast not included).

We unfortunately arrived before the museum was open (noon – I wasn’t making it up!) which meant staying out in the sweltering heat for even longer, but we managed to duck into a nearby cafe/bakery and grab cold drinks, continuing my love affair with AriZona Iced Tea.

Once inside, the main hall housed this incredible… facade? Sculptural wall decor? I’m not sure what to call it, actually. It was sort of a fountain but the main feature was this expansive gold and green design going right to the ceiling and the sky light.

There were many floors to the museum but only one of them allowed photography! We saw loads of old, vintage designs from the 1920s and 30s on anything from mugs to vases to full scale paintings.

The museum also doubles up as a library and research centre. We were able to peer into the archives from behind glass on one floor but got no further due to all the restrictions.

We had lunch at the famous News Cafe (where my dad was somehow given oatmeal instead of an omelette!) but that afternoon there was a thunderstorm so we hid inside and watched what we could from our hotel room. After dinner that evening, we went on a walk around the art deco district again, this time to enjoy the neon! And let me tell you, there was an awful lot of neon.

The chilled out atmosphere from during the day had disappeared. People were gearing up for a night of partying, reading to head to the bars and clubs. The heat hadn’t let up at all so I’m not 100% certain where everyone was getting the energy from but I suspect alcohol was involved… (A moment of silence for the fact that in two months time I would have been 21 and therefore able to drink in the US…)

Our two days in Miami were a lovely look into what life is like in the Magic City!