Miami, Florida
Sweet… not technically Miami…
At the start of this trip, I was lucky enough to spend a few nights in Key West. Once you conquer getting out of Miami, the drive down is very picturesque. On the Overseas Highway you have a 100 or so miles of pretty views, passing the other 'Keys’ until you arrive at the southern-most point of the US.
Although it is right by the sea, I would say Key West is best enjoyed as a small town spot. It has a very old school party vibe about it, think sugary cocktails, cheesy karaoke bars and lots of souvenir shops with silly t-shirts. I look forward to revisiting in 30 years time, for someone’s 60th birthday party, to max out the happy hours…
Things you must do include catching a sunset at the pier (entirely west facing and entirely gorgeous) and trying a slice of the Key Lime pie. Everything else, you may be able to experience in Margate on a sunny day.
Despite being so close to Miami, I was surprised at how different the vibes were. It’s diametrically opposite to everything Miami promises, and does not try to be cosmopolitan in the slightest. Key West embraces its cheesiness and I suspect its self awareness is what makes it fun to visit in the first place.
Spicy
Start off my perfect Miami-day by spending some time exploring the Wynwood Walls, and maybe even splashing out by spending $10 to visit the Wynwood Walls Museum. Miami is filled with colourful murals, and the Wynwood area seems to have the best of them (or at least my favourites) concentrated in one place. Embracing a contemporary art form feels very Miami somehow... There are plenty of small cafes around, grab yourself an iced coffee whilst you’re exploring, it gets very hot in the day.
My favourite mural, Roots - a print now hangs in my study.
After sunning yourself by the hotel pool in the afternoon, head over to South Beach for dinner time sushi. My go-to spot whilst here was Moshi Moshi Sushi - not only did they have an interesting enough menu for me to visit twice, it was also one of the few places which may not bankrupt you. If you are after something fancier, I haven't personally been, but have been told in good faith to visit MILA.
For a post dinner cocktail, head over to The Betsy Hotel for a pickle martini at the bar. There are plenty of customisations which you can request, and you can have it as dirty as a salad dressing, if you are that way inclined.
If you aren’t ready to call it a night, then I have two words for you… Club. Space. Perhaps the best club I have ever been to. Everyone is dressed outrageously, the music is effortlessly cool and the other patrons are surprisingly not too snobby. It is pretty much everything you think of when you close your eyes and think of ‘Miami’. Where else in the world would you be able to buy caviar in the club, when you are hungry after all the dancing?
Miami feels like a city where you can dress ostentatiously, act ridiculously, and yet anything goes. It doesn’t have the same quiet, grudging acceptance that London and New York sometimes have, where they are almost de-sensitised to the fact that people are odd and do odd things. Miami seems to revel in the glamour of its clientele and celebrates you because you are an attention-seeker, not in spite of. This could, of course, be gloriously romanticised because someone mistook me as an influencer and handed me a free drink, but I will take these small wins in life.
Sour
Driving. Ubers. 8 lane highways. There’s a reason that GTA 6 is set in Miami…