Miami is a city famous for its night life but although I grew up spending some time almost every year visiting Miami, I had never had an opportunity to see what the talk was all about until my most recent trip there in mid-May. It was indeed super fun!
Miami night life
Some guy had a snake wrapped around his neck, which I thought was wicked cool so I asked if I could hold it. The snake guy reminded me of my snake friends in Surabaya, but unlike this guy they never asked me for money. Yea, he wanted to charge me $20 for a picture with the snake! To quote from Clueless, "As if!"
My friend took me to a super fun club called Mango which had not 1, not 2, but 3 Michael Jackson impersonators. They were terrific and I had a great time stumbling my way through salsa, meringue, and bachata moves.
The people of Miami are often thought of as fast paced, fashion conscious, and materialistic. Image is everything, right? As a consequence you see a lot of people wearing nice clothes, sporting the latest gadgets and driving nice cars. It can be kind of a rush!
Ladies, be careful around these playboys...especially when they're only 11;-) My friend was awesome enough to let my cousin Salvador live his dream of sitting in the driver's seat of a sporty car.
In my opinion, one of the best things about Miami is the fact that it is populated by people who come from such a wide variety of places and each group of people bring something unique to contribute to Miami life. There are the walk-up coffee counters visible at every Cuban restaurant and many general or grocery stores, the Chinese buffet serves fried plantains, rice and beans, and apple pie along with standard Chinese fare, and there are still small, locally owned places that serve fresh tropical juices and latin-American delicacies at a low price.
El Palacio de los Jugos
This place is more than just a juice stand, it has amazing fresh Cuban food as well. William Wetmore of Urbanspoon said that it is "as 'Miami' as you can get. If you're a local or a tourist, you can't claim to have the full Miami experience until you've checked out this amazing open-air prepared food market and produce stand."
Miami is full of people to remind you that the world is full of variety
This guy was the waiter when I went out to lunch one day and it turned out that he is from Denpasar, Bali! It was such a blast to be able to use the 5 words I could remember in Indonesian and talk about the joys of living in Indonesia!
Spending time with my family is the main reason I enjoy visiting Miami, but I'm thankful to have had the opportunity to experience the other sides of Miami life as well. I even got to sip a glass of red wine at the Delano hotel in South Beach. Yes, it was splendidly swanky and the epitome of all things Miami! But enough being spoiled by luxury...it's time to go gut a moose;-)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment