Day #2: Tutu Dog

Official Day #1 was consumed by Transit. Today, #2, is the real start of the trip. A full day in Miami with a Viking-arranged city bus tour of the Art Deco architecture... a visit to Vizcaya, the ’palazzo on the bay’ winter residence of James Deering (1859-1925), the obviously-very-wealthy head of International Harvester... lunch in Little Havana... and back to the hotel for an early evening Viking cocktail party then...

home to blog! #

< at Vizcaya

South Beach is famous for its Art Deco architecture... and street art... Vizcaya is a 1900’s palatial home furnished with bits and bobs collected from all over Europe, some dating back centuries. Its opulent furnishings include a modern art ‘macaw cage‘ sculpture by David Brooks alongside a traditional chandelier… ornate painted ceilings... ‘Polonaise’ bed canopies… a bride here for her formal wedding pictures… and her ‘tutu dog’... Lunch at ‘L exsquisito’ where I had to have ‘ropa vieja,’ which I had prepared for about 30 people when I came back from Cuba in 2010. We were pressed for time so I did not have a Cuban coffee... I will have one in Cuba this weekend! Afternoon ended with a walk on Miami Beach… where I met ‘Ralphie,’ who was enjoying a day by the sea. [Having trouble posting and captioning a lot of photos.… I’ll get the hang of it… eventually!]