After we acclimated a bit and got used to the USA, we wanted to travel. At first, we considered options closer to us, like Niagara Falls or Provincetown, but then we caught ourselves thinking that we wanted to fly to Miami.
The process of finding a hotel and tickets didn't take long. We booked the Hotel Breakwater South Beach, located on one of the most famous streets, Ocean Drive, on the first coastline. We decided on tickets quickly too. We bought the most budget-friendly seats on Spirit airlines for the earliest flights (4-5 a.m.) because the more "inconvenient" the flight, the cheaper it is. We flew with a layover in Orlando.
At first, we were very confused by the reviews of this yellow budget airline, which criticized it for dirty planes, or for being picky about almost everything and, roughly speaking, extorting money. It immediately became clear that one needed to be extremely careful. We had to check in 24 hours in advance, print the ticket at home, and double-check that the backpack met the criteria for free carry-on luggage. We did everything conscientiously and took it seriously. But, to be honest, I never found the reason for such a large number of negative reviews.
The company's employees were friendly, the planes were clean, and the planes themselves were new. The boarding gates were not located in some remote part of the airport, and the planes were parked directly at the building, and boarding was done via jet bridges. No buses. Nobody even looked at our backpacks, let alone measured them. In general, everything went great, and after a long night of waiting for our morning flight at Boston airport, we found ourselves at Fort Lauderdale airport a couple of hours later. From there, we had to take a bus to Miami, a 1.5-hour ride.
Our first impressions of Miami were more like fear because it was pouring rain upon arrival, and the humidity was such that if you just stand on the street and do nothing, you will still sweat in a couple of minutes. That's when we realized one very important mistake: on impulse, we bought tickets, made a route, and chose a hotel, but forgot to check the weather, apparently thinking that it is always hot and sunny in Miami. But that was not the case.
I will never forget how we were riding the bus, and the rain was so heavy that water was getting into the cabin through the floor because we were, so to speak, floating through these puddles. And so on endlessly. After a long-awaited stop near our hotel, we ran into the room and were soaked to the bone after a couple of minutes on the street.
I can say with confidence that we were lucky again. After all, looking at the weather forecast, we saw that heavy rains were expected for two weeks, and only 3 days would be sunny and hot. We happened to be there on those days. We exhaled.
The next morning, the sun was indeed shining, and there was not the slightest hint that everything had been floating here yesterday. We went to the beach. Miami beaches are truly something beautiful and unusual: athletic, muscular guys working out on equipment, girls sunbathing or also working out, lots of bicycles, rollerblades, and sun. The sand was soft and gentle; it started almost across the road from our hotel and ended somewhere there in the water. You walk on it and think about how lucky you are to be here. The entry into the water was very gradual, and to be in the ocean at full height, you need to go very far from the shore, so far that all the splashing people are left behind, and you start to feel some freedom. The water was very clean and warm. Lifeguard towers were standing along the entire beach line, and shark nets were stretched out. In general, safety, as it seemed to me, was in perfect order.
After swimming for a couple of hours, we decided to take advantage of our hotel's cool opportunity - to rent bicycles for free. The bicycles, to the credit of our hotel, were in excellent technical condition, very comfortable, and clearly not cheap. Taking two bikes, we headed towards the old town and the celebrity islands.
The first on our way was Star Island, the passage to which by bicycle was open and ran across a bridge. Having reached the island, we were, to put it mildly, a little shocked by the scale of these beautiful, majestic villas with large white yachts and expensive cars. By the fences, which were made with numerous slits and sculptures, by the lawns, and by everything. We rode around this small island for a long time, took pictures, and then headed to two more that were nearby (Star Palm and Hibiscus islands).
Everything was different on these islands. There were no previous giant villas decorated with gold and other delights. Minimalism and high-tech reigned here. Summer houses of whimsical shapes in a black-and-white style, Tesla cars parked nearby - all this created the impression that we had ended up in the future. A very big contrast with the previous islands. We liked it very much.
After the chic islands, we headed to the old town along a beautiful road across Biscayne Bay to the graffiti street, which we once saw on the TV show "Orel i Reshka". It is worth noting that getting around the city by bicycle is not difficult because there are bicycle paths with perfectly smooth asphalt almost everywhere, plus we had excellent cruiser bikes.
Having reached the old town, we immediately felt the contrast with what was near us around the hotel. There were no longer 2-3 story buildings and small streets. The whole area was full of tall mirrored skyscrapers that reached right up to the sky. It was very beautiful. But our path still lay to the graffiti area, and we finally got there.
To be honest, the area, although it was very beautiful, did not make a strong impression on us because there was plenty of graffiti in St. Petersburg, and we didn't really understand street art. Therefore, having spent a little time there, we went to look for food.
I want to say a separate word about the Five Guys fast food chain, which won my heart. In short, this is a chain where the menu has a couple of items, like a hamburger or a hot dog, to which you can take an unlimited number of toppings (pickles, etc.) of your choice. In addition, the establishment has a wide selection of unlimited drinks - more than 100 types! - which you can refill as much as you want. But if even that is not enough for you, then you should try their inexpensive milkshakes, which are very tasty and do not feel like a cheap diner level at all. In general, the chain made only a positive impression on me; it was very tasty, very cute, because the cafes are made in the style of 80s fast food, you can also take unpeeled peanuts absolutely free, and also just sit and sip a milkshake under the air conditioner. This is the best place for budget food.
After a delicious dinner, we headed home, and the very next day we were flying back to Boston.
Summing up, I want to say that Miami, despite my enthusiasm in this blog, at this stage remained for me personally a "one-time" city. This was influenced by the heat, because of which any walk around the city turns into running from one store to another, and my age, which is not 21, which is mandatory for almost all clubs. And in general, choosing Miami, you need to understand that this is a very expensive city even by American standards. No, of course, you will live there and you definitely won't starve, but wanting to have a great rest or take a girl to a restaurant, you will experience some discomfort with money, because the price of a cocktail in an ordinary walk-in bar can exceed $40. That is why I would not want to return there in the near future, perhaps my dislike for beaches and swimming has an effect))).
If you decide to visit Miami, I advise you to visit the main shopping center Aventura Mall, Ocean Drive street, the islands described above, and also ride bicycles, because that is how you can quickly and cheaply see the city, for example, we visited almost everything interesting in two days.
Below I will attach our video, which illustrates what is described above.
Video about Miami
