We clocked up roughly 1,000 miles (a fair few of them include getting lost) going clockwise from Miami Beach to Naples, up the West Coast to Clearwater and across to the Kennedy Space Center via Orlando and back down the East to South Beach in time for Sleepless Night, a quirky night in which I remember seeing a Scotsman (the American take on one) on stilts and playing the bagpipes.
I could do a whole piece on my first trip to Miami Beach because there’s just so much to witness, and to state the obvious, this is an electric place with bars & clubs tending not to close until 6am. I remember walking down Collins Avenue at around midnight with people only just coming out to play, it’s certainly nothing like any city in the UK, especially when you spot the oversized Pineapples for $4 and Chihuahuas in pet shop windows on Espanola Way, buying one like you would with a pair of shoes.
My first 48 hours here included being woken by some music blaring from the next room at 7 in the morning, but jetlag meant I could head out and walk around town when only a handful were doing the same, so as any newcomer to South Beach (SoBe for short) I thought I'd see the beach. The hotel on Washington Avenue was opposite a Police Station, and as I was heading a few blocks to the beach, a convoy of the force headed out for their fitness training. I could only quietly whimper a 'morning officer' back as the burly troop of them marched past into the distance, but for all its late night party-going, Miami at sunrise is eerily tranquil… or possibly because it was midweek.
The second 48 hours, and my last in the States before heading home included ‘Sleepless Night’ where art galleries, restaurants and many other businesses stay open for a majority of the night. The whole night has become a haze to me; all I can remember is swivelling around taking quick snaps of anything that looked peculiar, including this car-bike-thing.
There was also someone with a couple of spray-cans doing some neat stuff on Collins Ave.
Unfortunately, Sleepless Night 2012 has been cancelled which is a shame because it’s an event that has something for all ages and tastes, and with the weather, it’s a place that’s feasible for majority of the year. Overall, this city is a microcosm of nightlife & beach, a Central and South American exclave of history, food and people. Miami is a must-go.
Thoughts on my 4 nights spent in Miami Beach in October & November 2011
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