How can you be so splendid Miami? So splendid that it could actually hurt. Oh well I am talking of the Miami beach specifically, and more specifically the Jelly fish in the waters of the Atlantic that kisses the shores of the city of Miami, a younger more vivacious Manhattan, with sunshine all the year round! Sounds like a dream city? Well cause it totally is. Maimed by a jellyfish while unabashedly swimming in the waters, well that’s quite another story, but to be honest, seeing jellyfish so up close is splendid to say the least. Its blush pink head swimming through the sea much like a sheet of transluscent fabric bumbling along in broad strokes, going up or down as it pleases!
While not frolicking on the umpteen beaches of Miami, that is a lot that happens in its 200-odd perpendicular streets to its beaches, starting from Art Deco buildings that could impress even the grumpiest of the lot, to the swanky condominiums and hotels, some trump and others bump, to the beautiful Miami beach homes, the city is steeped in design. The latest hotspot for millionaires and their swanky mansions, the pride of Miami as a design destination and its offering of the sun and sand makes it super fun. In fact its main Lincoln street was redesigned in 1960 by architect Morris Lapidus who pedestrianized it and famously said that an automobile never bought anything! For a country that is insanely bound by the automobile I have great respect and admiration for any city in the United States that shuns the automobile and makes it irrelevant, hence the love for New York City and its likes. The art deco style of Miami is more rooted and ground levelled unlike in NYC where the skyscrapers don the same vocabulary in building construction. An ode to the Art Deco in every form, at one point I felt like I stepped into a page of the Great Gatsby and what a page it would be to step into!
The candy floss nature and the pop of color in Miami is so contagious that even the skies of Miami turn pink, turquoise and all else! The residents of this fun city do not shy off from painting their buildings in all shades of pastel and agains the gorgeous clear blue skies its a winning stroke for sure. Why even the life guard stations are candy-flossed and seem fun yet when their more important job is to put out flags warning the beach bums and occassionally even stepping in to rescue. I was told upon being bitten by the jellyfish that the South Beach was cleared the previous day due to a shark visit! The beach here is not clearly for the faint-hearted. The city though could be, a breezy balm in today’s age with adorable colors and Art Deco proportions. The city is also a starting point of many cruises especially those to the Caribbean, and here in the Miami harbor we spotted over 11 cruise ships in line, all furnished with roller-coaster slides from the upper-most deck to the lower decks, the minimalist ships were from Germany while the most atrociously luxurious one was hand down the Royal Carribean! Its a sight. I would love to hit the Carribean though Vishwa, my friend sold Hawaii to me on this trip, going to Hawaii is going to paradise literally she emphasizes. Miami may be close I think.
The skyline of Miami is not too different from Manhattan, yet these wondrous marvels grace the sky nimbly and are pretty spaced out to let in some sunshine. In the sunshine state of the United States, the state of Florida, Miami is the city of sunshine. I could live here in spite of all its vice, for it has color, design, the beach and most importantly the sun! If you’re one to want the beach and the mall in the same zip code, Miami is the place to be, with the Bahamas just a hop away or probably a ship ride away its all fun. That said human trafficking is a serious concern (out of many others) in Miami and I learnt the codes or hand signals for human trafficking through posters stuck everywhere but more so on the female restrooms. I certainly hope that is one concern that Miami breezes through, cause it is the best otherwise! The party scene in Miami is rave too, though we didnt want to hit the party scene, the remnants were quite obvious. Early morning at the beach we spotted many party animals being woken up the first rays of the sun on the beach!
The southern most tip of the continental United States is also here in the State of Florida, a short distance from the city of Miami called Key West. An island city just 90 miles north of Cuba, the influence is thus untenable. The bluest of blue skies and the bluest of blue waters, the high way connected to Key west is endowned with mansions, beach resorts and people ferrying their yachts or boats through their cars. It is exceedingly beautiful to drive up to key west and enjoy sunshine, or at times hurricanes I am told. The food’s plenty like most beach resorts, and the relaxation is a lot. While the country is a place for the automobile and most roads the same, this drive to Key West was my favorite of them all. Not one who loves the road, but this one was incredibly beautiful and the bridges that go up and down make for an exhilarating experience, planet earth is a blue planet, the sky is blue, the waters are blue, much for a reason. Though in the backest seat of the car viewing this blue through a portal, blue is the color that is excessively relaxing and perhaps that is the way to live life right, relaxingly, at least in the mind. While Miami is best seen in an open-top blue Lamborghini, it is best felt sitting on the beach with the wind in my hair, playing kabaddi with the ocean is a fun way to be, and all the adverts that come to one through the sailing ships and the plane lead waves, are just the right ingredients to tell oneself that pop is popular for a reason and fun can be funny too for a season!
I am safe, for not all maimes turn one into a mime, for dolphins are immune to jellyfish stings, yet looking for signs of turning super human! (Well blame that on all the marvel and magic that would come by me in the next few days or posts that I was and you will be subjected to!)
Vedasri Siddamsetty 