Day 3

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"...a bit of the old ultra-violence"

Do you know what heat and crazy amounts of humidity does to a person? Do
you know what it does to people from Colorado who are used to the
dryness? It's exhausting!!!!

We slept in late today, got up at 11. So far the food/drinks have
been pretty weird so we walked about 6 blocks to get Starbucks,
something we knew would taste the way it was supposed to. It didn't.
Another 5 blocks is an outdoor mall area, we bought some flip flops and
then went back to Española Way for a light lunch at a mexican
restaurant Nachos and lemonade. Sometimes when you're traveling you
need to stop and rest and eat instead of pushing yourself too hard.
Little breaks can save your life, so can air conditioning.

On our walk back, we went to the World Erotic Art Museum which is
close to the hotel. It had pretty good reviews online, but quite a few
uptight people said it was gross or weird. I'm sure they were just
uncomfortable. Anyway, this sort of commentary usually makes us more
interested in something, so we checked it out. Much larger of a
collection than we thought, about 12 rooms full of all sorts of antique,
tribal and modern art. Some of it tacky, some really great. The
Clockwork Orange murder weapon phallus was there, probably the coolest
thing. No photos allowed but of course Marleah took one.

It's been sunny almost all day, it's a miracle. We spent the entire
evening, until the sun went down, at the beach. Swimming, napping on our
beach blanket, feeling totally relaxed. After swimming for a while
Marleah felt something graze her stomach, something a bit burny. It was a
jellyfish, John almost walked right into it but being screamed at to
STOP saved him! We didn't want to stay in the water after that. The
water was warm, but the beach here is absolutely gross. Venice beach is
much maligned for seediness, but Miami should be embarrassed. Condoms,
bandages, broken plastic EVERYWHERE! John saw a seagull proudly carrying
a condom TWICE and the first 20 feet of ocean here makes Venice beach
look like a private resort.

We attract every single freak and drug addict that exists here. We
have been approached over and over every day. They all want to "look at
our ink/art", then they ask for money or want us to buy the junk they're
selling. Also, we keep getting asked to buy weed, probably around 4-5
times a day. Miami has an island feel, except as soon as you leave the
beach you're greeted by big city nonsense instead of the community
feeling that you get in Hawaii or the Caribbean. We like it here, maybe
not enough to come back.

Instead of risking another weird/bad food experience we chose to
splurge and eat somewhere great. At 9:30, our regular Miami dinner time,
we caught a cab to Nobu, a Japanese and sushi restaurant. They have a
few locations around the world and it's a very popular place for
celebrities and the very rich. We walked through a hotel lobby totally
draped in white and lit with lanterns, then we walked through an outdoor
Moroccan garden lounge and bar area, it was so posh and so beautiful. Nobu was all the way around the back. At first we felt a bit
uncomfortable but quickly settled in. We looked at the menu, couldn't
really decide because everything sounded exotic and a little confusing.
We were in the middle of trying to decide if we were going to share or
order on our own when the waiter arrived. He asked if we'd like to hear
the specials and proceeded to rattle off probably 20 items. John managed
to hang to a few things that sounded good, so we went completely with
specials. First was salmon sashimi wrapped over Asian pear, drizzled
with yuzu and dusted with dry miso. There was a familiar flavor in there
as well that we couldn't quite get. The dish was delicious and included
a fresh lychee berry. Next course was lobster, uni and rice with black
truffles. Asian flavors, Italian inspiration, topped with lobster butter
by the server. Totally killer. Next up, Kobe tenderloin, more black
truffles, tempura onion slices and yuzu butter sauce. This was so
amazing, really really great! We couldn't stop discussing it, gushing
about it, it was one of those rare moments that food makes you so happy
that you can't stop smiling. The dessert was sesame oil roasted almonds,
mandarin slices and coconut sorbet, topped with shaved ice and then
topped by the server with mandarin syrup and concentrated coconut milk.
Unexpectedly good, we both loved it. Super expensive, super worth every
bite.

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