Miami sound machine
Enjoy the vibe of Florida’s hip city
IT was the calm before the storm. We didn’t know it at the time but just a week after our recent visit to Miami, the whole city was forced to batten down the hatches to resist the arrival of hurricanes Irma and Jose.
While there, we heard the news reports about the impending weather and listened as Americans all around us tried to decide if they should sit it out or move to a safer area.
Irma was certainly the more forceful of the two weather fronts and the scenes we saw in pictures and videos following her landfall in the Caribbean were catastrophic.
Thankfully, Miami wasn’t hit nearly as badly, possibly because of the quality of its infrastructure, which was built to keep such storms at bay.
The city is lucky enough to have returned to virtual normality in the weeks since, a testament to not only its structural strength but also the inhabitants who have helped restore it.
And that normality is different from our normal.
Normal is living life to the max on a high-powered speedboat on the bay and celebrity-spotting.
It is after all a city which we have come to know from blockbusters Miami Vice, Charlie’s Angels and Bad Boys and where Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Lopez, Will Smith, David Beckham et al have taken up residency.
I visited Miami for just 48 hours recently to celebrate Aer Lingus’s inaugural direct flight from Dublin, and what a two days it was.
On the flight itself, we were treated to a show by Keith Barry, to tie in with its nickname of the Magic City – which spawned from the rapid growth of Miami from 1,000 residents to 5.5million in the years from 1896 to 2006.
I’ve always wanted to get up close to the magician, convinced that then I could work out how he does his tricks, but even with the restricted space in an airplane cabin, I have no idea how he fooled us all. See the video on www. youtube.com.
What was also magic but with no hidden tricks was Aer Lingus’s business class with its complimentary Wi-Fi and fully lie flat seats, just the ticket after filling myself with the best cuisine.
Two days may not seem like much time to take in a city as vast as Miami, but many of the amenities are bunched close together, so it’s easy to get around. It’s an area of many contrasts, with the city-feel of downtown offset by the laidback, chilled-out vibe of the beach. Whatever kind of holiday or short break you’re looking for, you can find it here.
One of the most recognisable things about Miami is its art deco, you’ll remember it from films such as The Birdcage, in the form of the Carlyle Hotel, and Scarface, which featured an art deco apartment in the potential chainsaw massacre scene. Walking tours around the area are a must for film and architecture buffs, and take in stunning interiors as well as the exteriors dotted along Ocean Drive.
Our guide Gerry took us via the colourful, stylish buildings of Collins Avenue, into the Wolfsonian Gallery, with its incredible remnants of the facade of the Norris Theatre in Pennsylvania, and along to the post office, which is home to amazing art work.
Of course, this being Miami, celebrity culture is never too far away, and our walk also took us by Gloria Estefan’s mid-refurbishment hotel and restaurant, as well as Gianni Versace’s house, outside which the designer was shot dead in 1997 – and which now commands prices of about $1,000 a night for its rooms.
Another artistic slant to Miami can be found in the district of Wynwood, which has encouraged and promoted street artists to such an extent that it now has some of the strongest examples in the world.
After feasting on lunch at quite possibly the coolest restaurant I’ve ever been in – the Wynwood Kitchen & Bar, which offers brasseriestyle cuisine in a setting surrounded by streetstyle art – we took a stroll around the Wynwood Walls.
This is an area dedicated to graffiti and street art, with more than 50 artists covering over 80,000 square feet of walls. From eclectic, abstract offerings to delicate portraits, the results are visually stunning.
Outside the official walls, the street art becomes a lot more ‘real’ and our graffiti guide Ryan ‘The Wheelbarrow’ joined us on our CitiBikes to take us around the area and explain the politics and skill behind some of the works on display.
The proliferation of quality work has led to some street artists being paid commissions by the companies inside the buildings, but this does little to prevent other artists ‘tagging’ their work by spraying their own initials on top or covering the graffiti altogether.
It’s a real dog-eat-dog world – and utterly fascinating.
World-renowned street artists such as Os Gemeos and even our own Mazer have displays in Miami, but as Ryan explained to us, take in as much as you can, because any of these unique works could be gone by the morning, sprayed over by another artist.
One installation that’s thankfully not going anywhere is the Patricia & Philipp Frost Museum of Science, which aims to bring science and technology to the masses, and show how they can help in our everyday life.
Home to a planetarium, an aquarium and MeLaß, which aims to show how the mind and body combine to do things such as eating, sleeping, learning, there is no chance of boredom. As it was Labor Day weekend at the time of our visit, the faciity was packed and I didn’t see one bored child.
Special temporary exhibitions take place throughout the year and we were lucky enough to view a fascinating 3D film about space in the planetarium showing what it’s like for astronauts and with a particular look at asteroids.
Right beside the Frost Museum is the Perez Art Museum Miami, which is de edicated to modern and contemporary art Not only is it home to works by local and
international artists, it also has has public gardens and sculpture installations, and boasts some of Miami’s best views across Biscayne Bay.
This bay is home to the Thriller boat ride, which was the perfect way to end our trip to Miami. Our guides Joel and Brian are living the Florida dream, whizzing through the water along the famous South Beach – mimicking the Bad Boy movies.
The boat even slows, almost in reverence, as it passes Will Smith’s house, alongside those of Jennifer Lopez, David Beckham, Carmen Electra and Gloria Estefan.
Of course, no trip to America would be complete without culinary experiences and Miami has no shortage.
Among the most popular is Sunday brunch at Edge Steak & Bar at the Four Seasons Hotel. Laid out in a buffet style, it offers everything from a taco bar to a full roast pig to fresh seafood, as well as an a la carte menu.
A drinks package can also be purchased, including champagne and cocktails. It’s the place to see and be seen on a Sunday afternoon, and the atmosphere is very, very cool.
Another achingly cool eaterie is Villa Azur restaurant and this hammered home to me that when in Miami, always expect the unexpected.
Filled with well-heeled groups of young people celebrating various birthdays and other special occasions, the night began as a quiet, civilised, incredibly tasty meal, with a delicious French Mediterranean menu.
As the night wore on, however, and the parties got rowdier, suddenly the lights went down and a man in a wolf mask ran through the restaurant spraying everything and everyone with dry ice through a giant hose.
It was over as soon as it began, leaving us all wondering what on Earth we’d just witnessed. The sheer spontaneity of it was worth the price of the meal alone.
It occurs to me that this experience is pretty much Miami in a nutshell: cool, glamorous, boisterous, fun – and full of surprises.