Miami part deux

And so Vacation day 3:

We got up fairly early and did some more walking around. We checked out the Versacci Mansion, walked down Ocean Drive a bit more. We then went to the Miami Beach botanical gardens and the Holocaust Memorial. The Holocaust memorial was quite impressive and very depressing. The only thing that kept it from being completely awful was its beautiful surroundings. When I say awful, I mean it was graphic and very dark. A sculpture of a giant hand rises out of the middle of a reflecting pool, clawing at the sky. The sculpture is made from a dark, almost black material, likely cast iron. The hand is covered by detailed carvings of emaciated concentration camp victims crawling up the arm and hand in despair. A gap in the presence of holocaust victims reveals the number tattooed on the wrist. This sculpture was essentially a vivid image of hell. I understand the importance of remembering the holocaust, and know that Miami beach used to be populated mainly by Jewish folk, that being said, I really thought this was over the top and can't imagine why someone would want that in the middle of such a beautiful place. The pool had a semi circle of black marble on one side listing the names of the victims. (Similar to the Vietnam memorial/wall) Behind the wall is a open air museum that looked very Romanesque or Greek. In the walls were inscribed pieces of history interspersed with photographs of various holocaust atrocities. After walking quickly through this, (I didn't really feel the need to "take it all in") Kate & I headed to the Botanical gardens. The garden was nice, although the Smithsonian Botanical Gardens in Boston put it to shame.

We saw some geckos. I like geckos....(Actually I'm not really sure the tiny Florida lizards are geckos, but they are cool whatever they are)

Anyway, moving right along. Next we got in the car and went to North Beach and went for another swim. Pelicans were trying to kill Kate, and we had a close call with some minnows, but we survived unscathed.

I liked the Beach as well as the city better at South Beach, although North Beach was still beautiful by all accounts. The buildings at North Beach trend towards high rises, and they are comprised of an architecture called "MiMo" which is a glorified bolder version of Art Deco. Its kind of like Art Deco on steroids or "Vegas Style".

We took our swim in an expansive park, a gap in the high rises, that is probably a couple miles long. The dunes lead into lush bushes and palms interspersed with picnic tables. This beach was sort of deserted, perhaps partly due to it being a week day. We made our way to a patch of people around a life guard and went for our dip. We probably spent a hour and a half or so here. The water was still a vibrant blue, the beach was spacious and white. A good breeze was blowing. The gradient on this beach was considerably steeper than South Beach, and there was a strong southern current in addition to a bit of rip tide. These characteristics likely contribute to the reduced popularity of this locale.

One of the ideas we'd thrown around was to try to play voyeur at a nude beach that apparently is located at the far northern point of North Beach, however it seemed like it would have been a considerable trek from our location, and we didn't have the time. I'm convinced they would have had to be a lot of hairy old weirdos anyway.

We decided to get lunch in North Beach's downtown area. Despite all of the high rises, it had a very small town feel. You almost didn't even notice the Lord and Taylor's and Sak's Fifth Avenue department store, which were outnumbered by very blue collar looking eateries, the type that look like they've stood the test of time. We chose an Irish bar and grill called "Flanigan's". It was a locale, and small mom & pop sort of chain in the Miami Beach area. This particular location seemed older and quainter than the one we'd passed in South Beach which had swanky modern architecture and neon lights. The walls were all rough weathered and beaten pine planks. Various fishing tackle, mounted fish and traps made a down to earth decor. It was the Floridian equivalent of the time honored seafood shack one might come across in a New England coastal village. It didn't have that mass produced feel that you come to expect from chain restaurants (Applebees, or the 99). I had a special, 9 large lightly battered shrimp, curly fries, awesome garlic butter rolls, which were simply decadent, and a Caesar salad to start. A large soda came with it in a souvenir plastic cup. All of this food was $12.99, which I thought was quite a steal. Kate had a chicken sandwich with curly fries, and helped me eat the rolls. It was very satisfying.


We got on the road following this and decided upon visiting a Spanish monastery. We had seen a sign advertising its location when we traveled to South Beach. The guide book said it was the oldest structure in North America. I thought that sounded really cool because I knew there were some early Spanish buildings in Florida that date to the 1500s. What I didn't know until I arrived was that technically this wasn't one of them. It was a monastery which was purchased and moved to the United states in the 1920s.
The monastery actually dates to the 1100s, making it the oldest structure in the U.S., but it isn't original, so it just isn't the same. Aside from that disappointment, I still found it very cool. It actually serves as an Episcopalian church.
The grounds of the monastery are beautiful gardens interspersed with various statues, many of them relics like the monastery itself. They were setting up for a wedding when we visited. I imagine if ceremonies of grandeur were your thing, it would be quite the place for nuptials. I took a picture of this statue of Mary. At the time I thought it was sort of dark and foreboding, but upon seeing it, the picture reminds me of the "Miraculous" Mary doll in the movie "Pecker".


After the monastery, Kate and I began an extra long trek back to Orlando. We got brave and followed Rt. 1 a bit back to 95, however this made us miss the Florida Turnpike connection. We took a side highway eventually and probably lost little time there, however we got caught in Rush hour traffic which made the trip about an hour longer than it should have been. When we finally arrived at Jason's we sprawled out, had a bit of Chinese take out, and watched the fourth Harry Potter movie. Kate just finished the book and hadn't seen the movie yet. I think I enjoyed it more the second time I saw it. I was comparing it too much to the book initially, to which it has some key differences from.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a decent weekend. I saw American Dreamz with Kate. I was quite disappointed. It had its moments but it had the potential to be a good dark American satire, and it really seemed light and fluffy despite a sinister plot twist.

My next movie to see, is probably "Art School Confidential". This looks like it has some potential. Of course I will have to catch the Da Vinci Code when that comes out.

Have a good Monday! And stay tuned for some coverage of my Airboat ride & the Tampa Bay/ Sox game which I saw on Saturday the 28th.