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Brickell, Miami
Brickell, Miami
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Brickell, Miami
Brickell, Miami
Brickell Park
Poinciana and Palm Tree in Miami
Coconut Grove Marina

Miami

What’s Miami like?

As Florida is the southernmost state in the continental US, and Miami is its southernmost large city, Miami is tropical and warm. It is decorated with palm trees, with flowers blooming at all times of year, and is essentially pretty to look at. When you sit down at a cafe in the city, instead of seeing flocks of pigeons, you are more likely to see little sparrows hopping around looking for crumbs, which is quite charming. In parking lots in Miami you will see white egrets. And when you walk down the sidewalk in residential areas, you are likely to see all kinds of little lizards running away from your footsteps. Green lizards, dark spotty lizards, very tiny lizards. There are even little fat lizards with curly tails! And, of course, there are beautiful beaches nearby that can be enjoyed at any time. 

Miami has a pretty stable climate year-round, although there is the less-enjoyable rainy hurricane season that peaks in September, and it does occasionally get substantially cold (by which I mean you’d want long sleeves and pants, possibly a light sweater or jacket), especially in January and sometimes the immediately surrounding months.

With that said, in many ways Miami is a city-person’s city. The downtown skyline is quite distinguishable with its many skyscrapers, and there are many, many more construction projects, especially for towers of luxury apartments, currently underway. Miami is known for its clubs, parties, and having an often materialistic, image-focused bent. That is an overly simplistic idea of this city, but it does have its root in some truths. There is a lot of focus on business, making money, and looking good. There has also been an exponential population increase over the past decade or so (even more so since the pandemic), while the traffic lights and patterns have clearly not been updated. Imagine a city’s worth of traffic driving through a podunk town and you can kind of get the picture. You can sit for a good fifteen minutes at a light trying to make a left turn on a bad day, for example. However, other than that, Miami’s reputation for terrible traffic may not be entirely deserved. There are definitely rush hours on certain portions of very popular roadway that can take a very, very long time to get through, but if you are at all able to adjust your schedule or route to avoid those specific times and locations, you’ll find the traffic is not bad at all, especially if you are accustomed to traffic in any other big city or metropolitan area.

All in all, Miami is a beautiful, interesting city with its own character and unique wildlife that is worth checking out. Whether you live here or are just visiting, the landscape may just leave you feeling like you are on vacation every day. There certainly are many opportunities for relaxation, letting loose, and enjoyment here!

Miami Skyline

Must Visit Places

Try to make time to visit these:

Things to Do in Miami

Socialize
Get Fit
Hear Music
See Some Nature
Visit the Everglades
Go to the Beach

Select Experiences

Socialize – Probably the #1 experience that Miami offers is partying and having fun in large groups! There are innumerable options for this, but here are a few bars, restaurants, and clubs around the area worth checking out for the social scene and culinary experience:Restaurants
  • CRAFT – located on Giralda Plaza in Coral Gables, serves upscale pizza, sandwiches, and sangria. Delicious.
  • Tobacco Road – near the City Centre shopping mall in Brickell, this is just one of Kush Hospitality’s locations (all are similar in food and ambience, and are scattered throughout the area). Small but with a good vibe, excellent food and drinks, and a bar.
  • Havana Harry’s – a neighborhood favorite in Coral Gables; it can be hard to find parking at high lunch and dinner time, BUT it is a great place to try Cuban food. Portions are large, prices are pretty good (especially for the portion size), ambience is good, and the food is delish. My favorite here is the vaca frita.
  • Glass & Vine – really the best thing about this restaurant is its location, which is superb—the patio seating looks out over Peacock Park, a grand expanse of green in Coconut Grove, and even a sliver of the waterfront beyond. It’s the perfect location to relax with drinks or a small meal with friends. Food is pricey here, but it is good.
  • Juanchi’s – located in a storefront on Coral Way, this restaurant is not large, but the burgers, salads, wings, corn on the cob, and more are DELICIOUS. I would most recommend the Spanish Queen burger and side salad, but everything I’ve tried there is good. The seating area inside is cute, if small, and beer and sangria are offered as well.
Bars
  • Esotico – located in the downtown Miami area, this Tiki-themed bar is great for those moments when you want to go all-out with the vacation or party mood. Has an extensive list of tropical cocktails and tiki-type bites.
  • The Mighty – a smallish bar in another storefront on Coral Way, this place has very good food and drinks, and a pool table, and often has live music after 9pm. Much of its menu has changed recently as it’s undergoing a “rebranding”, but they are still quite good, just different than before!
  • Copper 29 – located on Miracle Mile in Coral Gables, this is one among many bars in the area, but worth a visit. Good food, drinks, ambience.
  • Tap 42 – this is the place to go if you want to watch a popular sporting event. It has a very large bar with multiple TV screens, and an extensive happy hour menu. The food is very good, if a little pricey, and the drinks are too!
Cafes
  • Pasion del Cielo – some of the best coffee and lattes you will have. You get to pick your bean (there’s information about each type to help you out), and they make your drink. Locations in both Brickell and Coral Gables, with limited seating, but nice ambience.
  • Crema – a cafe with an extensive menu of breakfast foods, sandwiches, salads, juices, and coffee. Really good food, and nice outside seating for that cafe vibe. Locations in Brickell and Coral Gables.
  • Macondo Coffee – located in Doral, a bit of a drive from the downtown area, but very worth a visit. Very good coffee, nice ambience, and an extensive menu of delicious breakfast and lunch foods. Live acoustic music sometimes during the lunch hour.
Nightlife ClubsI don’t spend so much time in clubs these days myself, but if you are looking for some nightlife action, here are a few places to check out:
Get Fit – With the lovely weather that encourages activity, and the associated opportunities for showing off your assets, Miami is the perfect place for getting into shape, or for maintaining what you’ve got. Accordingly, gyms, fitness clubs, and other opportunities for exercise abound. Here are a few I’ve tried:
Hear Live Music – Miami is often referred to as the “Latin Music Capital of the World”, and there are a plethora of opportunities to catch some live music. Here are a few places worth checking out:
See Some Nature – Miami is built in a naturally beautiful area with eye-catching flora and fauna. If you fancy getting out into nature or enjoying the views of beautifully landscaped gardens on the waterfront, here are a few options:
Visit the Everglades – The Everglades are only a short drive away from the city! Of course, you have to decide which part of the Everglades you’d like to visit. The main visitor’s center/entrance is located nearly an hour southwest of the city near Homestead, but there are also airboat rides accessible only half an hour due west of the city at Coopertown, Gator Park, and Everglades Safari Park. In the Everglades, you can see not only the “river of grass” and hammocks of hardwoods and pine trees, but also alligators and other native wildlife. If you’re lucky you might catch a glimpse of a Florida panther!
Go to the Beach – I mean, this is what Miami is known for! The best beaches around Miami are actually on nearby barrier islands, such as Miami Beach, Key Biscayne, or the Florida Keys. These all have really beautiful beaches, perfect for relaxing and staring at the water, or jumping in for a swim. You can also drive north on the A1A to mainland beaches in Fort Lauderdale and thereabouts. Or can visit the Gulf side of Florida, such as Naples, if you drive west a couple of hours. Whatever vibe you’re looking for, you should be able to find a beach to your liking quite close by! Don’t pass this one up, you gotta go to the beach while you’re here.

Be Prepared – Eating out in Miami is expensive. This is not so much due to the prices on the menu (although sometimes it is!), but due to service charges and tips. You will be “given an opportunity” to tip for just about anything, including picking up your own take-out food. But more importantly, when you do sit down for service you will often be automatically charged at least 18% for tip, and then asked if you’d like to tip again on top of that! 18-25% tip is what’s generally considered “normal” here.

 TIPS

1
Take an Uber or Lyft Parking is an issue in Miami, especially at the very popular place you are going, especially at the same time as everyone else is going there. Save yourself the trouble and get yourself picked up and dropped off.
2
Public Transportation In the downtown area and along one northeast-southwest route from Kendall through Midtown, there is convenient a convenient metro line. Tickets are 2.50 each way. Downtown there is a free Metromover that makes a circuit around the downtown area, and is generally very convenient. There is also a standard bus system, and in Coconut Grove and Coral Gables there is a free "trolley" bus to carry you where you need to go.
3
Try the Food Miami cuisine is influenced by a variety of Latin cultures, most notably Cuban. However, there are many Venezuelan, Colombian, Argentinian, and Spanish spots as well. This is a perfect opportunity for a little taste tourism on your trip!
4
Rent a Car to Explore You'll get your most complete Miami experience by seeing more than just the downtown area and its immediate suburbs. If you'd like to visit the Everglades, the Keys, or some of the gardens further afield, you'll pretty much need a car to get there. It all depends on the time you have available, of course, but I'd recommend it!

What to Bring

Stay Awhile

I’ve lived in Miami for several years but I haven’t actually seen much of it, as I’ve just been working all the time! This year I’ll be taking substantial time to explore the area, and will post about my experiences.  Below are some related posts I’ve made so far about the Miami area:

The Lighthouse at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park
Adventure
Cat

Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park

I decided to follow up my first hike with another hike right away. So over the past weekend I headed out to Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park on Key Biscayne, an island off the coast of Miami. There’s a bridge

Read More »
May 9, 2022 No Comments

Feel free to use this as a guide, but be sure to explore the area on your own! What I’ve seen is very little of this city as a whole. Miami consists of many neighborhoods, each with their own character, mashed up together. If you are staying in this area longer, you will want to spend some time exploring these areas to get a sense of them. The areas I am most familiar with and would recommend are Brickell (part of the downtown area), Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, and South Miami. Other areas popular with the young clubbing set are Wynwood and the Design District, so those would be worth checking out as well for a newbie to the area. And of course, you must visit Calle Ocho, the main thoroughfare of Little Havana, which is lined with Cuban restaurants, shops, and nightlife spots.

 

 

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January 21, 2022

Church in Santa Fe

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