Tour of Miami and Fort Lauderdale: Little Havana, Little Haiti, South Beach, and Las Olas

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We were able to spend this day with my sister, brother-in-law, and niece. We first stopped at Total Wine (http://totalwine.com) to see their large collection of wines and beer and settled on trying Key West beer (which I would say is comparable to Blue Moon). Then we headed towards Little Havana and lunch at Versailles. I got the Chicken and Yellow Rice Imperial, which has mayonnaise, peas, pimento, and a hard boiled egg. Not too bad. Worth noting: you have to specify you want a fountain drink if you want to get free refills. Otherwise, you get a can of soda, no refills, and it costs $0.25 more…

After lunch we went to Domino Park and did some exploring in Little Havana (http://www.miamiandbeaches.com/visitors/little_havana.asp). We were also hoping to experience Little Haiti (http://www.ci.miami.fl.us/nets/pages/LittleHaiti/LittleHaiti.asp), and although we seemed to have found the general area, we never found the “heart” of it. We drove through what appeared to be a portion of Little Haiti and went through the Design District (http://www.miamidesigndistrict.net/index.php) and went on to South Beach (http://www.visitsouthbeachonline.com) to see some sights.

Before dinner, we went back for me to change into my dress - one that had been hanging in my closet for at least two years and still had the tag on it. I was determined to wear it at some point during this trip. We then went to Las Olas (http://lasolasboulevard.com) and ate at the Wild East Bistro (http://www.lasolasboulevard.com/new/dining/wildeast.htm). We enjoyed dinner by the canal, and my firecracker noodles and crab wonton were great. Matt and our brother-in-law, Jason, had some fun with their photography, we did some window shopping, and picked up some key lime cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory.

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Photos

Restaurant Reflections
Inside the Versailles restaurant in Little Havana.

The Explorer
Our brother-in-law, Jason, when we arrived in Little Havana.

Calle 8
The "heart" of Little Havana.

Yellow Streak
If you look closely, you can see Jason standing in the background as the taxi passed by on Calle 8.

Little Havana III
As we were standing outside this window, this man popped his head out and struck up a conversation.

Little Havana V
I think this photo looks like a scene from a movie. Notice the man in the background with his cigar...

Little Havana VIII
Matthew outside a record store in Little Havana.

Kya I
Our niece, Kya, on our tour of Little Havana.