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®Êby JENNIFER DUNKERLEY
THERE’S a new kid on the block in Miami – and everyone is queueing up for a taste of the high life at the latest celeb hangout.
Yes, the acclaimed Nobu chain has just opened an outpost in one of the Sunshine State’s most famous hotels, the Eden Roc.
Girls teetering on high heels giggle excitedly as they are ushered into the restaurant hoping to spot a well-known TV actor or pop star.
In fact, everywhere you look there are beautiful bodies living the Instagram dream. I channel their enviable lifestyles at sunrise yoga on the wide South Beach followed by a jog along the boardwalk to the soundtrack of waves.
Then I hit Eden Roc’s super high tech gym and try Surfset, an all-over body workout class based on the elements of surfing and which guarantees a bikini-ready body. After these early morning exertions, I’m more than ready for breakfast. So I head to Malibu Farm, another famous eatery in residence at Eden Roc, which transports your tastebuds straight to the healthyeating houses of Hollywood. A green juice is placed before me, as are an egg-white omelette and a tropical fruit plate I can’t wait to snap for social media. I’m relieved it’s not your usual heavy calorie-laden American food. Malibu Farm offers delicious meals carefully devised to be naturally healthy as well as tasting a little indulgent.
It sets me up for a day of enjoying all the city has to offer.
South Beach is known for its pastel-coloured 1930s Art Deco architecture and for being the backdrop to movies and TV shows such as Scarface, Moonlight and Miami Vice.
I took a guided tour around the hotels, which brought to life the glitzy history and the glossy characters these streets have hosted.
There’s another side of Miami, equally rich in culture – Little Havana. It came to be thanks to the Latin American immigrants who landed here in the 1960s fleeing Castro’s regime. Our tour guide from Urban Adventures Miami explained that this district remains a hub of Hispanic heritage today. She showed us the lively Cuban bars, restaurants (sampling the food, of course), cigarrolling stores, coffee shops and murals that line the main street.
At Domino Park you can meet the real characters as they sit around special tables tapping their rectangular tiles.
The teams of Cuban dominoplayers here take their sport seriously, but will stop to talk tactics as they consider their next move.
We couldn’t miss the Azucar Ice Cream shop, which offers nearly 100 Latino-inspired flavours with