Beach, Cuban Food, and Fireworks

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As soon as I landed at the Miami International Airport (MIA), I had only one thing in my mind: Cuban food! Well, I really didn't need to go hunt for it in the airport, I had plenty of options as I perused the airport directory -- hey, I am in Little Cuba afterall! I had picadillo (different from the picadillo I grew up eating in the Philippines), arroz amarillo (yellow rice), fried plantain (super yummy!), an empanada, and guava pastry (something new for me to try! yay!).

Brazilian Food at North Beach

When Maret has finally arrived in MIA, we took a cab going east to North Beach. After checking in at our hotel, we left our luggage so we could immediately head out for dinner. We had an authentic Brazilian dinner where I had my first taste of Feijoada, the Brazilian national dish. Yeah, I know what you're thinking... I also thought grilled beef is their national dish! Feijoada is a black bean stew with beef and pork served with collard greens, sliced oranges & farofa. I don't exactly love the dish, but I am glad to have tried it.

The food adventure has just begun. We headed to Calle Ocho the next day using our Metrobus EasyCard. The bus traversed through the Julia Tuttle Causeway that brought us out of Miami Beach into mainland Miami. Condominiums and hotels sprawled in downtown Miami while quite a lot of establishments seem to have frozen in time. It feels like the place was stuck in the 80s. This is part of Miami's charm, I was once told.

Downtown Miami

We had to transfer to another bus along NE 1 Ave. As we walked the streets, I was reminded of Avenida back home in Manila. The streets are narrow and lined with a variety of small business establishments from stores, to repair booths, to tiny offices. I can imagine these streets busy during the work days. I can also imagine them quite dangerous at night (just like how it is in Avenida). We passed by a landmark that describes the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926. I learned that 10 feet of water had once flooded this busy area that time. Somehow, this helped me understand why there are not too many tall buildings in Miami, which is prone to tropical cyclones. The stores in the streets were closed probably because it was a Saturday, that is why I keep on saying "imagine".

Little Havana

We finally arrived at Calle Ocho where we expect to have some authentic Cuban food. So we strolled and entered shops that looked interesting. We saw a music instruments store and we were greeted on our way inside. We replied with a "Hi" because we did not understand what the lady was saying. Then she said, "May I help you?". Awww, I'm a little embarrassed. Since I got in Miami, I hear people speaking Spanish more often than I hear English. The Philippines was a Spanish colony for 300 hundred years. My mother had Spanish class when she was in school. When my mother first told me about this, I felt lucky that in my generation, we didn't have to suffer to learn Spanish because I find it useless to study it. But now that I have travelled quite a bit, especially now in Miami, I realize it could have been handy if I knew some Spanish!

I sprained my right knee for no apparent reason. But this did not stop me from enjoying what Calle Ocho has to offer. We took pictures with some seemingly popular Cuban cigar model who was sitting in front of the cigar shop. We snapped more photos with the Latin world's version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame where we saw stars in the name of Julio Iglesias, Celia Cruz, and one of the Philippines's favorite soap opera star -- Thalia!

It was so hot and humid (much like my home country) that we decided to stop at the fruit stand for some fresh buko juice sipped from the young coconut. They had a tumba-tumba (rocking chair) where I was able to relax a little and regain some energy. We feel that despite the distance we have already walked along Calle Ocho, we haven't found a decent Cuban restaurant we want to try so we settled for El Nuevo Siglo Supermarket which, despite the name, also serves meals. I had Bistec De Palomilla served with black bean rice and plantains. The wait was long! There were lots of locals dining here as well, which is always a good sign. Despite the long wait, and despite having to eat my meal right next to an aisle of Windex and laundry detergents, I highly recommend the food that they serve. We also decided to take some more food to go. We got some meat empanada and spanish bread, which both reminds me of my childhood. They have a bakery at the back of the store.

As I write this, I already learned that we haven't truly seen what Calle Ocho has to offer. My heart sank a little but, that's alright. Now I have a reason to go back! Here goes a paragraph from guysfrommiami.com: The guidebooks will tell you that the heart of Little Havana is on Calle Ocho between 14th and 18th Avenues. But Little Havana actually stretches from 27th Avenue all the way downtown to 4th avenue. If all you see in Little Havana is Domino Park and your favorite cigar store, you're missing out on the real Little Havana.

Earlier, we passed by a Cuban coffee shop so we decided to go back there after our meal. We learned about Cuban coffee from our favorite bad boy chef Anthony Bourdain's episode on South Florida. It's interesting how this coffee is served. They brew Cuban coffee by the cup, so Maret and I each had a styrofoam cup. Then, they served us about 4 or 5 smaller cups the size of mini jello cups. Monkey see, monkey do, right? So we poured the coffee from the bigger cup to the smaller one and took a shot. Awww! That's one strong shot of expresso! Now I know why Cuban coffee cannot be sipped -- it's mighty strong! Yet sweet. Interesting, huh... like being punched in the face with a smile.

It was raining outside so we decided to take our time inside the coffee shop. That's why also I noticed the religious pictures and statues inside -- just like most business establishments in the Philippines. Cuba and the Philippines share the same Spanish roots, the language, religion, attitude towards family, and food.

July 4th Fireworks at South Beach

Proudly armed with our Metrobus EasyCard, we headed back to Miami Beach. Unexpectedly, we saw DASH -- the boutique owned by the Kardashian sisters. Ok, I know, I can be shallow in my choice of TV shows sometimes, but hey... it got us excited! We wanted to jump out of the bus at that instant but I stopped myself because my sprained knee has started to swell. We waited till the next bus stop... and yes, we took turns taking pictures of ourselves! How annoying is that ei?! They sometimes film episodes inside the boutique so we peeked inside.

I guess this happy accident brought us to the most crowded and fun places in the South Beach area. Restaurants and stores were filled with gorgeous, hip, and young people. The streets were crowded with people eating ice cream and pizza, yet have tight bellies to show off! We walked along the Boulevard which actually feels like Manila Boulevard. It was lined with palm trees but here in Miami, it was lined with hotels and restaurants and cars on the other side.

The sound of a band playing attracted us to the stage which was pitched right next to the entrance to the beach. And ofcourse, we really just have to go see South Beach. We have to see some water and hear some waves! I guess we enjoyed it too much that Maret got dripping wet. It was not yet our intention to go swimming.

Before dusk, we headed back to the Boulevard for dinner and some drinks. It's July 4th so restaurants will be crowded. True enough, bars and restaurants were already filling up with energetic people. We ordered several appetizers but the best part is we each had a 36 oz giant Mojito! We partied till the break of dawn to celebrate July4th with a bang -- with fireworks.

A Quick Day Trip at Key West

We took a bus tour of the Keys for $60 which is part of our hotel's package. The tour company picked us up as early as 6:30 am and it dropped by a dozen other hotels to pick up some more people. We were the first people in the bus so it took some time before we were finally out of the island. As we passed by Julia Tuttle Causeway, we saw so many cruise ships. It was only then that I realize Miami is one of the country's hub for cruise ships.

Our very knowledgeable tour guide and bus driver kept us entertained on the 4-hour drive. It took 4 hours to drive through those many islands connected by a well-built highway. I noticed some unfinished roads parallel to the highway we were at.

It was just time for lunch when we got to Key West. We strolled through the narrow streets of Key West teeming with fellow tourists. We passed by the Bahama Village Market, the Key West Museum of Art and History, many souvenir shops, restaurants, and another outdated theater. What's interesting is that we saw Santan flowers from a tall tree, Gumamela flowers, Bougainvillea, and a mother hen and her chicks running along the streets! We took pictures and we were delighted to see this kind of scene because we took these for granted growing up in the Philippines. We walked along Highway #1 which took us to a corner where we rested. I saw some star fish souvenirs and guess what, they are from the Philippines! Why would anyone purchase a souvenir that is not locally produced in the place you visited in the first place? Beats me. Actually, I made the mistake of not checking the tag on a business trip to Guam. When I got home to the Philippines, that's when I realize that the shell that I bought from Guam came from the Philippines! That was a learning experience for me.

Thanks to the 3G technology and the wonderful gadget called the iPhone, we were able to spot restaurants within the area. I was hoping we could try deep fried conch that Key West is popular for (is it really?) but those restaurants that have the word "conch" in it were all closed! So we went inside the only one we found open for business, Blue Heaven. It was a good find. I love the atmosphere. It does not feel like a restaurant at all! It feels like home, eating at a friend's backyard filled with trees and shrubs. We sat at a table with an umbrella and felt very relaxed with the singing of the one-woman band and the dogs and chickens just hanging out, chilling out just like us. We shared a plate of fish, brown rice, beans, sauted vegetables and corn bread. But the best part of the meal was the Key Lime Pie with its mile-high meringue. Ahah! Isn't it cute to eat Key Lime Pie at the Keys?

We passed by Ernest Hemingway's home and decided not to go inside due to lack of time. We walked straight to The Southernmost Point of the US, which is also only 90 miles away from Cuba! Our day ended back in Miami Beach where we had an excellent Cuban dinner at Sazon's. I fell in love with Ropa Vieja, which is stewed and shredded flank steak in tomato sauce.

Beach, Rock, Reggae at South Beach

Finally, the day I have been waiting for has arrived -- to live like a beach bum (atleast for a day)!

The sun and the waves of South Beach welcomed us back from two days of hectic sightseeing. We rented two reclining beach chairs that come with an umbrella for $30. We lazily enjoyed the beach with Bob Marley blaring through our iPhones singing "roots, rock, reggae... " which I translate to "beach, rock, reggae"! I wish I could just stop the time. Every so often, I take a dip in the ocean for something I call the Ocean Massage . What I do is float on the surface of the water either face down or on my back then let the waves massage my body. I feel like a lazy jellyfish, just floating around not doing anything... que sera sera...

I learned that being a beach bum is not without its share of challenges. These were what we had to deal with:


• A homeless man combs through the beach and yells at everyone to leave the water. He tries to warn everyone about the end of the world, or something to that effect.
• A lovely woman (probably European) enjoys the beach in her own way, i.e. au naturel! The fun of it all was observing how the men behave seeing her frolic in the water.


As if we did not have enough Spanish-influenced food on this trip, I was craving for tapas. The squid ink paella sounded good as we walked along the Espanola Way. But for some reason, I was also craving for pizza so we decided to have dinner at an Italian restaurant with Julius Caesar attracting tourists into his pizza and pasta restaurant. To this day, I regret choosing pizza. I should have given in to my craving for squid ink paella. Sadly, the hankering isn't over.

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Photos

Miami Heat
At South Beach. 30 bucks to rent a set like this.

Feijoada
A Brazilian national dish

Bistec de Palomilla
At El Nuevo Siglo Supermarket

Cuban Coffee Shop
Notice the tiny cups atop the machine which is served along with the styrofoam cup of Cuban Coffee

July 4th Fireworks
At South Beach

Mother hen and chicks prancing in the street
I haven't seen live chicken in a long, long while.

Starfish Souvenirs
Not from Key West but from the other side of the world -- the Philippines

Key Lime Pie
With its crowning glory of mile-high meringue

Ropa Vieja
at Sazon in North Beach