Miami Vice

Last weekend Tracy and I headed down to sunny Miami. I'm not sure why but it was on both our bucket lists to get down there before leaving this lovely country. We stayed at the uber cool Standard Hotel near South Beach. The hotel was converted from a 50's style place and had all the usual flair of the Standard chain. By far the highlight of the place was the pool area which had an infinity style pool looking out over the harbor. We spent many an hour in there over the weekend. There was also an incredible day spa which enabled me to revisit my man care roots and Tracy to get an awesome massage.

Tracy loving life right now

Check the dogs on the canoes

One of the smaller boats which went past. Ironically this was the same boat we saw up at Shelter Island in September.

Sunset over Miami

For once we got out a bit to have a look around. I use the term loosely as this really involved hiring some bikes and riding down Ocean Drv to look at all the cool Art Deco buildings.I've always been a huge fan of this style of architecture and here I was in the epicenter of it. We also stopped at the beach but it was a little windy so left our water based activities to the hotel. We also came across this cool street called Espagnola Way. It's a bit of  Lygon Street of Miami but Spanish tapa's instead of Italian.

South Beach

Miami had those cool hop on / hop off s

Espagnola Way

We ate at some great resterants over the weekend. We braved the mandatory 2 hour wait to try some of the famous Joe's Stone Crabs. A stone crab is a local dish and you guessed it, is crab. What is interesting is they catch the crab, rip off one of its claws and then throw it back in the water. There is a defined season for crabbing and in the off season the crabs grow their claw back and voila. Although no crab meat conniousour it was pretty damn tasty, although very pricy.

Stone crab claws @ Joe's

We also ate at another up and coming place called Pubbelly which is an Asian inspired gastro pub in South Beach. It felt more New York inside than Gastro pub but the food was really delicious. By far the standout dish of the weekend were the Shortrib and Corn Dumplings. Covered in a black truffle sauce and parmeggiano they were simple delicious.

Pubbelly

Miami at night along the Ocean Drv was really pumping. It was very Gold Coast meets low rise but the character of the buildings gave it some sense of style. All in all we really loved Miami and would love to go back.

My ride for the night, I wish

Ocean Drive at night

I do not pee in pools