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Walking along South Beach, Miami feels a lot like walking along South Africa's Camps Bay, and like Camps Bay it is the place to be.
Stepping out of the car you are immediately struck by the humidity, it feels bit like you are breathing in water with your air. But then the breeze hits your face. It is coming straight off the sea, loaded with the smell so salty you can almost taste it on your tongue. The cool undercurrent to the wind is soothing and makes strolling along the promenade pleasant and relaxing.
Emily and I are exploring the Art Deco district of Miami. We have Liam in his stroller and he is content with his five-star service - food and transportation are all up to standard today and he doesn't seem to have any complaints. On the one side of the road there are many high-rise buildings with little cafes, boutiques and restaurants leading out from them onto the sidewalk. None of these buildings are new. They were all built around the 1920's in the latest style - Art Deco. Although it is some eighty years out of date the buildings still have a retro feel about them and having spent all of my school and varsity careers hearing about Art Deco, I was very excited to finally see my first live example.
There is salsa music blaring from the Cuban cafe where I can see people with bright clothing and tanned skin dancing wildly. This mingles with the soft classical music coming from the very fancy restaurant next door which houses its upper class inhabitants and creates an odd mixture of Hollywood chic and Cuban rustic. On both sides of the road there are cars parked, both old classics and new classics and of course many expensive ones too.Besides all the cars there are also motorbikes everywhere, but only Harley Davidson's because, of course, this is the American motorcycle.
On the other side of the road, the heeled restaurant goers mix with the bronzed bodies of the local beach babies and the lobster-red skins of the out-of-state tourists. The beach is a beautiful white stretch of sand with nothing visible for miles (besides people.) The promenade along which we are walking looks like something from an episode from Miami Vice: there are cyclists, joggers, dog walkers and people rollerblading. Everyone either has their top off or a bathing costume on.
Despite the fact that I felt over dressed, walking amongst the palm trees with the salty wind in my face was the perfect day and I went to bed smiling.
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