USA Week 6: Beach and street art in Miami
The weeks fly by on our road trip through the USA. Last week we took a little rest in Durham
after a few weeks of lots of sightseeing in big cities like Los Angeles,
and San Diego.
This week we were stranded (did you get it?) we in the world famous Miami. For us a destination we have been looking forward to for a long time. Wondering if our dream about this city has come true? You can read it here!
Near-death experience
Flight
From Durham we took a direct flight to Miami which would take about three hours. Check-in is getting better as we take more flights. Of course, we often have to overload stuff from one suitcase to another (because Sigrid’s suitcase is the heaviest at all times), but this is already smoother and we no longer have an embarrassment to open our bags at the counter and hastily transfer some stuff. Pay extra for our luggage, we don’t participate in that. And it’s a good thing. On this flight, they charged an extra $100 for excess weight. Even if you only have one kilo too many. A little bit outrageous.
Storm on the way
So far, everything’s been going smoothly. Arriving at our gate, we saw that our flight was one hour late. Given that it was raining heavily outside and a storm was coming, an hour’s delay didn’t seem so extraordinary. This hour passed quickly, too. On the plane we were not sitting next to each other, but for a short flight we obviously didn’t mind this. Sigrid was between a Cuban woman living in America and a young businessman. Bryan was between a young student and an older lady. You might be wondering why this is relevant? For us, it was the people with whom we were -almost- facing the end of our lives.
Near-death experience
As mentioned earlier, the day of our flight storm was predicted. In the days before, flights were cancelled– but not ours. If only they’d done better… After an hour of flying we had to deal with turbulence. As many have experienced this, the plane went up and down slightly and we got jitters in our bellies. Nothing to worry about. After an hour and a half of flying in the dark – it was late at night – we witnessed heavy lightning with the whole sky lighting up. We had experienced this before. But a few minutes later, the turbulence intensified. Or wasn’t this turbulence anymore?
The plane went down meters, making us sick and light-headed. Then the device fluctuated from left to right. Everything and everyone was shaken up. The crew was also obliged to sit and everyone looked at each other a little worriedly. Was this normal? We had an hour to fly. We also received no signals from the pilot (usually they warn of this kind of turbulence). Now we got really worried.
Suddenly, the plane descended so violently that half the passengers solved a cry of fear. In the minutes that followed, there was screaming and weeeching on all sides. The Cuban woman next to Sigrid began to pray. The businessman next to Sigrid held firmly to his handrail. The student next to Bryan was crying. We too had a hard time keeping ourselves strong. This really seemed to be the end. Here you can read what to do with an airplane crach.
Lucky
Of course we survived this violent flight, otherwise we could not tell this now. The pilot apologized upon landing that he had not let anything know, but he was too busycontrolling the plane. onder controle Thank Goodness! We’ve never been happier to feel back ground under our feet. We got lucky.
Miami beach
After we got this adventure, we went to explore Miami Beach. The beach is miles long and stretchedout. And it’s beautiful! Think of swaying palm trees,a clear blue sea and colorful lifeguard cabins. Very American and it looks a bit like the movie‘Baywatch’.
Most of the beach is marked with hotel chains which are also very pricey. Luxury at its best!
Art in Miami
The beach of this town is one thing. If you ask us what this city really stands for, it’s definitely arttoo. Everywhere you will find beautiful, and less beautiful, street art. Especially in and around
Wynwood
you can find this art again. We enjoyed walking around Wynwood several times and were often surprised by original top shelf street art!
Outside the famous Wynwood Walls,you’ll find art all over the city. Street artists try to sell their artworks there and there are many art galleries to be found. The Miami Design District is home to a number of art museums and where
haute couture
is celebrated in fashion. Definitely a place you don’t want to miss! So an art lover must have been here once in his life. Even for those who don’t immediately like art, it’s a nice place to discover.
Shopping in Miami
If you like shopping, Miami is the place to be. One of the most famous streets for shopping is Lincoln Road.
This is also the most impressive shopping street. You will find well-known chains but also nice unknown shops and of course also many souvenir shops.
Furthermore, it counts a dozen nice shopping malls.
These are a bit spread all over the city. When the weather was bad for a few days, we went shopping in Aventura Mall.
This is a more luxurious shopping centre with well-known brands such as Chanel, Gucci, Givenchy and Fendi, but equally affordable shops such as Topshop and Zara. With over 300 shops, we were sweet with this all day! Brickell City Center
is also known for more luxury. You will find designershere.
And if all this luxury isn’t enough, you can also take a look at the Miami Design District. This is a neighborhood dedicated to art, but you can also see all the big (and expensive!) designers. Very exclusive if you can go shopping here! Unfortunately, our budget did not allow this.
Our experience
Although we had a good time during our stay in this city, this city was not quite what we expected. Like
Los Angeles,
Miami has letus down a little bit. If the weather is nice, which is usually the case, everything is fine and you can spend all days on the beach. But when, like us, you have a few days of rain, it’s hard to stay excited about this city. Compared to other world cities,there is little variation in the range of activities and this we would have imagined differently. We very much enjoyed our time here but we won’t be returning any time soon.
Have you been there?
Have you ever been to Miami? And what did you think of this town? Or has this town been on your bucket list for a long time? Let us know in the comments. We are curious!
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Next week we will have our last week in the USA. Curious about the last destination of our road trip? Find out all about it next Friday! Until then!
Soofblogt.nl
Wat een mooie foto’s! Maar wat een vervelende ervaring zeg, dat jullie zo veel last hadden van turbulentie. Dat vind ik zelf ook altijd eng.
roadtrippersofthesun
Ja turbulentie, daar kunnen wij nog tegen, maar dit was anders… Precies alsof het onze laatste vlucht zou zijn. Heel erg eng! Maar gelukkig overleefd!
Chaya
Ben vaak in Miami geweest. Zelf hou ik meer van de steden eromheen. Is vaak wat rustiger. Maar heerlijk om er te zijn!!
roadtrippersofthesun
Daar zijn we (helaas) niet geweest, maar bedankt voor de tip! Als we ooit terug gaan…
Danielle
Wauw de street art is echt heel gaaf! Ik wil daar zeker nog eens naartoe.
roadtrippersofthesun
De street art is er het mooiste, heel erg gevarieerd ook!
feliceveenman
wat een prachtige foto’s maar wat een angstige reis
roadtrippersofthesun
Dat was het zeker! En bedankt voor het lieve compliment!
feliceveenman
wat een prachtige foto’s maar wat een nare ervaring in het vliegtuig! gelukkig liep het goed af!
roadtrippersofthesun
Dankjewel! Ja gelukkig maar… Het was best eng!
Cynthia | Cynspirerend.nl
Turbulentie lijkt me echt eng. Gelukkig viel het mee! Pfff
roadtrippersofthesun
Echt “meevallen” zouden we het niet noemen, gelukkig wel overleefd!
Melissa
Oh vervelend van die nare ervaring lijkt mij dood eng. Mooie fotos weer
roadtrippersofthesun
Dat was het zeker, Melissa! Dat is heel lief van je.
steetje
OMG, wij moeten binnen enkele weken met ons gezin ook het vliegtuig op!!! Ik hoop dat wij dat nooit hoeven mee te maken, brrrrt!! Ik zou ook graag eens naar Miami gaan!! Iets voor later, hopelijk 🙂
roadtrippersofthesun
Ik hoop van harte dat jullie dat niet hoeven mee te maken, het is doodeng! Ik wens jullie een veilige vlucht en een heel fijne vakantie!
Gabriëlle
Jeetje wat heftig, zoiets had ik vorig jaar van Orlando naar Miami. Wynwood vond ik echt geweldig leuk 🙂
roadtrippersofthesun
Miami heeft precies ‘leuke’ buien hangen in de lucht! Wynwood vonden wij ook heel leuk!
Dorien
Wynwood ziet er fantastisch uit! Jammer dat Miami niet zo goed meegevallen was. Je zou inderdaad denken dat je daar zo veel verschillende dingen kan gaan doen en bekijken. Ik vind dat je een hele leuke schrijfstijl hebt, dus ik ga de andere artikels zeker ook eens lezen. 😉
roadtrippersofthesun
Dat is heel erg lief, Dorien! Zo’n complimenten doen ons deugd. Wynwood was inderdaad erg leuk, maar jammer genoeg is dat het meeste dat er te zien valt…
Lotsoflovenatalia
Omg wat eng! Als er zoveel mensen om je heen huilen, bidden ect., dan lijkt het me moeilijk om je nog sterk te houden. Jammer dat Miami jullie een beetje tegenviel. Ik zou er ooit wel een keer naartoe willen.
roadtrippersofthesun
Dat was voor ons zeker een moeilijk moment… Misschien had het weer er ook mee te maken. Als het goed weer is, dan heb je genoeg aan op het wondermooie strand te liggen!
Davina
Ik was ook al te vinden in Miami! Het klopt wel dat het weer een grote invloed heeft op heel wat activiteiten, maar toch vond ik dat er genoeg te doen/te zien is in Miami behalve strand. Je noemt zelf ook al Wynwood en het Design District. Ik was ook onder de indruk van de Vizcaya Gardens en bijhorende villa. Ook het kleine Havana en ’t alternatieve Coconut Grove zijn leuke buurten. Via Virginia Key kan je ook naar Key Biscayne, een mooi natuurpark met prachtige stranden en water waar het al eens de moeite kan lonen om te snorkelen. Persoonlijk dus een erg leuke, kleurrijke en gevarieerde ervaring gehad in Miami 🙂
roadtrippersofthesun
Wat leuk om te horen dat jouw ervaring met Miami veel beter was! Toegegeven, sommige plekken die je opsomt kende wij nog niet. Hadden we dat maar op voorhand geweten! 😉 Misschien moeten we nog eens terug gaan…
Mark
Wow wat heftig! Gelukkig hebben jullie het overleefd.
roadtrippersofthesun
Inderdaad! Dat is het belangrijkste.
wannderful
Wij zijn ook net terug van Florida. Wynwood walls en het design district vond ik zalig, maar ook South Beach en de art deco wandeling. Vizcaya stond ook op mijn lijstje maar was gesloten. Little Havana : erg leuke sfeer. En vlakbij: de Everglades en in het zuiden koraalriffen en dolfijnen spotten in Key Largo. De Overseas Highway en de Keys vond ik prachtig!
roadtrippersofthesun
South Beach en Wynwood vonden we het bijzonderste in Miami. Little Havana vonden wij minder (niet erg veel te zien/doen). Voor de Keys moeten we nog eens terug!