Prior to our Panama Canal cruise we spent 3 days in Miami. We booked a nice hotel in Little Havana, a largely Cuban neighbourhood of Miami, but close to downtown. Little Havana was very different from South Beach (where we had stayed many years before). You could get by with English, though there were a couple of times it would have been easier to speak Spanish.
We took a Hop-On-Hop-Off bus both days we were there, seeing some of the sites of Miami, and using it to get around. The first day we checked out the Woodwyn Walls area - "Unique outdoor destination featuring huge, colorful street murals by artists from around the globe." Some very cool artwork. The second day we hopped off in the South Beach area to have lunch, and to walk along the beachfront boardwalk. In the evenings we found someplace in our neighbourhood to have dinner, enjoying Cuban and Honduran cuisine. The third day we enjoyed a relaxing breakfast at our favourite car dealership café (it was quiet and convenient with good food and good coffee and we all really liked it) before embarking on our ship, the Norwegian Star.
"The Ball & Chain opened in 1935 on the Trail, now known as Calle Ocho. Over the next two decades legendary artists of the day graced the stage, including Billie Holiday, Count Basie, and Chet Baker. The legacy of the Ball & Chain continued in September 2014 as the doors reopened in Little Havana once more."
Around Little Havana were these colourful rooster statues, some sponsored by merchants (the green rooster stood outside a TD Bank). We could see why, with these wild roosters next to the stop for our Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus.
This was our first taste of the Wynwood Walls from our seat on top of the HOHO bus.
The entrance to some of the organized painted walls. This area had a restaurant and some indoor galleries.
The many colourful walls, with some unique treatments. It would be a great place to visit at night too.
This vibrant painting covered an entire wall of one building.
Inside one of the small galleries. Looks to be some functional art for the hot, humid climate.
There were a few sculptures as well in the Wynwood Gardens.
This very large cat sculpture (that's a life-sized aircraft it's sitting on) was comprised of random pieces of...stuff.
The left and right exterior of the entrance to a gallery.
This looks to be the work of the same artist that we had seen before.
A couple of sculptures inside the gallery. The rubber tire owl was on one of the lampposts as we left the Wynwood Gardens area.
Wandering around the area, I took these pictures of some of the buildings. There is a lot to see in the Wynwood area.
This is one of my favourite walls.
Even the concrete towers were painted. It reminded me of the concrete towers on Granville Island in Vancouver.
Two more examples of the many painted walls.
There was artwork everywhere. This little guy was at the base of a street lamp.
Our second day of Hop-On touring took us to South Beach, past the Miami Beach Holocaust Memorial.
Finally we made it to the actual beach - just over the hill...
The beautiful long, wide sandy South Beach. It was a bit too cool and windy this day for us to spend much time on the beach.
A few of the classic old Art Deco hotels and apartment buildings of South beach.
The view topside of our ship and home for the next couple of weeks - Norwegian Star.