20 Years; 20 Places: No.18 Miami
We are coming close to the finish line, we are at 18 of my 20 Places to laud my 20 Years of writing this Blog.
I chose them in no particular order, but each one stands on its own as a place I hold dear. At no. 18 is Miami.
Other than the two places I’ve lived in I think I have spent more time in Miami than any other city in America, in fact I am there now.
From Bermuda it was an easy trip with a daily flight and other than the weather the contrast between the two places was extreme but magnetic. Nowadays it’s a drive across the state from Sarasota.
I have no idea how many times I have been to Miami, perhaps 50 times, but it has almost everything and can overwhelm senses and pop eyeballs.
After the destruction of Hurricane’s Charley (2004) and Wilma (2007), Miami was on it’s knees at the end of the economic downturn in 2009. There were half built buildings, idle cranes and boarded up windows everywhere but the renaissance has been extraordinary.
In the early 2010’s South Beach kept the light on, but today the city branches out everywhere along and inland from the stunning coastline of the Atlantic.
I love Brickell, Wynwood, the Design District, Sunny Isles and Coral Gables and there is so much to explore for a weekend. I am unable to resist a Miami weekender, but I couldn’t live there, we did think seriously about it.
The Magic city, where magic happens.
Miami. A frequent visitor since the early 2000’s.
Me and girlfriend (now wife) visited Miami in 1980, thanks to Freddie Laker’s airline, which made travel to the USA affordable for many for the first time.
We stayed ‘on the beach’ ‘in the Sea Isle hotel (I think that was it’s name) arriving just as the riots were calming down 🙂
Whilst there we went to see a soccer game. Fort Lauderdale strikers V Tampa Bay Rowdies ( I don’t remember the score) It was blisteringly hot. At half-time I went in search of cold drinks and bumped into Keith Peacock.
Had a conversation with him about Charlton, as you would expect he came across really decent.
Keith is a lovely man.
Tampa Bay Rowdies are still going, albeit a different incarnation of the originals which once had Eddie Firmani as their manager.
I don’t want to plagiarise your idea but my 20 choices would be: (first places where I have lived) Woolwich/Plumstead; Billericay; Glasgow; (West) Berlin; Seattle, Wa.; Washington DC; (and then) Stromness, Orkney; Isles of Scilly; Isle of Wight; Frinton; Buenos Aeries; Santiagio, Chile; Perth, W.A.; Orange, NSW; Calp(e), Spain; Firenze (Florence); Helsinki; Vancouver Island; Lescun, France; Luxembourg City.
I love that, thanks for sharing Wyn. Some great places on that list. I’ve never been to Australia nor Luxembourg. Funny enough one of your picks will be my 19th pick…. I have already selected Buenos Aires.
I have been to Miami and wasn’t overly fond of it, for me the city itself was a bit too concrete and glass, a place to work but not live. I think I stayed at the Intercontinental overlooking the port and the Atlantic.
SoBe was ok but once you walked up the beach then things started to fade away very quickly. That said it was a work trip and someone else was paying. I had a plate of home cooked apple strudel from a street vendor which was possibly the highlight of my trip.
Tough place to live unless you grew up there and are a Spanish speaker I feel. South Beach ranges from the high end to frankly a high dump depending often on what side of the road you are on.