Early on in our marriage we have attempted to make it down to Miami. We never got there do to a major storm I was battering Miami at the time. Many years later, we moved to Tampa and even after 10 years we still had not gone down to Miami. This year changed that. We decided this was the year we are going to walk on South Beach.
Miami and South Beach
Miami has served as the home for many movies and television shows. From Miami Vice (which I never really watched a lot of when I was younger) to one of my favorite shows that was on USA Network called “Burn Notice”, I love going into cities and towns and seeing the backdrops, the art and just the basic scenery from TVs and movies that I’ve seen. It is almost like being in that show or movie.
We only came down to Miami for an extended weekend. We were not quite sure what to expect this time. We used a friend who is also a travel agent to book our stay. We told her things that we like to do she found a decent Hotel called “The Clay Hotel“. It was just off South Beach and one side of the hotel faced the pedestrian walkway with various restaurants and shops. We enjoyed a very nice corner room with one of our window/balconies looking out over the shops. The only downside was that the nightlife did not shutdown until two or three in the morning. We might have enjoyed that if we have been younger.
Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens
Of course when in a town with family, whether that be brothers sisters cousins aunts uncles, that’s always nice to take a little bit time to visit. We arranged a little time with my cousin Bill who took us to the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens. Spread out over several acres and having plants and flowers from all over the tropics, it is a lovely way to spend an afternoon. Bill had a wonderful time showing us around and we are I’m glad we finally made it down to Miami.
Driving around, Bill took us into one neighborhood which had some wild peacocks. We had seen a few in Tampa on rare occasions, but there were easily a dozen in this large flock. They are noisy and messy, but their beauty makes up for it (as long as they are not in my yard).
Vizcaya Museum & Gardens
Another place to see is the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. This reminded me a lot of Versaille, and its purpose was to do just that, to remind people of the European palaces and gardens.
James Deering wanted to create the myth that his Miami home was named after an explorer. In doing so, he lent to Vizcaya an air of foreign discovery and adventure, entirely appropriate for an estate that relied extensively on ideas and artifacts from across the Atlantic Ocean. The Age of Discovery explorers who inspired Deering had travelled to the Americas to conquer its people and its natural resources. In contrast, Deering and his Gilded Age peers, representing the new industrial wealth of the United States, journeyed to Europe to collect its cultural treasures.
But Deering also wanted his estate to embody South Florida’s history, legends and mythology. He must have been intrigued, therefore, to learn about the Spanish merchant Vizcaino, who supposedly explored the Americas in the early 1600s. It is commonly assumed that Biscayne Bay was named after the Bay of Biscay and the Spanish province that is known as “Vizcaya” or “Biskaia.” However, Deering was aware some believed it was Vizcaino, the explorer, who provided the waterway its name. (source)
Not as a grandiose palace type of fashion, but it was a mansion almost like a fortress with beautiful gardens surrounding it. We spent hours here just enjoying the beauty.
Anniversary Dinner
Literally across the street from our hotel was a little Italian restaurant called Pane and Vino. We walked past a couple times and saw them making fresh pasta in the window. We thought that it would be nice to eat there on our actual anniversary night. So that evening we stopped in around 7 PM. The hostess asked if we had a reservation which we did not. She looked at her books and asked us if we thought we could be done by eight o’clock as she had a large party already reserved. We knew that wouldn’t be a problem and agreed. She then showed us to a table.
Our waiter came over and we ordered drinks. He went over the specials, but we pretty much knew what we wanted and put in our order. Teresa got a pear and cheese ravioli and I got a traditional cheese manicotti (call it cutesy, but I wanted to share). Everything came out hot and fresh and delicious.
Looking at the time , it was getting close to 8 o’clock. I knew the waitstaff would need time to clean up and move the table back over for the large party. I signaled the waiter and asked for the check. He asked us to wait a moment. A few minutes later the owner came out with a cart loaded with ingredients. We weren’t quite sure what was going on. We didn’t order anything for dessert.
The owner was insistent that what he was making was on the house, for our anniversary (neither of us remember telling them it was our anniversary). He then proceeded to make fresh tiramisu right there at our table. He put so much attention into the production of this dish, I didn’t have a heart to tell him that neither of us liked the taste of coffee.
Seriously, I love the smell of coffee in the morning; I just cannot drink the stuff. I looked at Teresa and she looked to me and then both of us gave each other a shrug as the manager cut into his creation and served us each dish. We picked up for forks and he congratulated us again. We both took a bite and were amazed. For not liking coffee, this tiramisu was pretty damn good. Teresa and I both liked it and finished off our plates.
