Tuesday January 21, 2025 – Miami, FL USA
We sailed into the port of Miami where up to 5 large cruise vessels can berth at the same time. Over 4 million cruise passengers pass through the port of Miami each year!! Anne had made arrangements to meet up with a friend from her Citibank days. Nelson was down with a bit of a cold, so stayed back on the ship, but Diana, Anne and Roger took the shuttle bus to the mall where we met up with Anne’s friend.
She had “done her homework” and took us to a neighborhood that has many houses covered in “grafiti” / “Street Art”. A museum of Street Art – Wynwood Walls which has a very large selection of outstanding art on display in the open as well as in museum like settings. Some looked flat, but after taking a picture it looked like 3-D with the images popping out of the floor, walls, gates etc. (Leon Keer from the Netherlands) A very colorful display. One of the more impressive ones was an artist (Simon Berger) that carefully broke “shatter-proof” glass in such a way that very realistic faces of women would appear in the cracks. It was a beautiful sunny, but not too hot a day so we enjoyed the gardens and exhibit. In one area one could try one’s had at spray street art, but we just observed.
After that we went to Calle Ocho – the Cuban Neighborhood, and specifically to Cafe Versailles (3555 Southwest 8th Street, Miami, FL 33135-4196; tel (305)444-0240 -www.versaillesrestaurant.com) , the meeting place for all Cuban emigrants. It is one of the oldest and largest establishments in Miami and consists of one building dedicated to eat in or take-away bakery good (sweet & savory); another which is a take-away only and the main restaurant which easily seats 300 people, and by the time we concluded our lunch it was full with people waiting outside. The local TV studio truck was there getting comments about different things from the locals, a daily occurrence. We enjoyed a nice Cuban meal and you were truly transferred to Havana as the language at all tables was Spanish and is the place where Cubans gather whenever a significant event occurs affecting the Cuban Community. A place well worth visiting.
After a very enjoyable meal, we drove back to the ship, where we enjoyed tea, a light supper, and the show – half the Edmonton Comedian and half the Edmonton Trumpet player that had performed the last couple of days. An enjoyable day all around.
Roger & Anne Travels 