Miami Vacay

We returned Tuesday from a short but well worth it trip to Miami over the weekend.  Rudy is helping me unpack.

That fur to the right of him is his pelt.  Don’t ask.

We were able to get some much-needed sunshine, eat Cuban food (thanks Amy and Max!), swim, fish, and be inspired by architecture.

Here are a few of the photos I took in the Art Deco District on Sunday morning.  Tip for all you vacation photographers: Sunday morning is the best time to capture a city because there are fewer people and less traffic, and if you time it right you can get great light.  We probably should have gotten up a little earlier for the best light in a sunny city like Miami, but hey, we were on vacation.

This next one might be my favorite of the old hotels.

Here’s where we stayed. 

Just kidding.  We didn’t stay there.  But we drooled over this strip of hotels from the beach.

I absolutely loved this one (above).  Isn’t that little balcony amazing?  It’s the Ritz-Carlton, so I tried not to get too attached.

Just that morning I was thinking how much I like terrazzo flooring, and lo and behold we came across this:

That’s not your average terrazzo, friends.  The embedded stones are huge.  Here’s a scale photo with my sandy foot in it.  Keep in mind I have freakishly large feet.

These steps are gorgeous and belong to the Hotel Gansevoort (designed by the Stephen B. Jacobs Group) which we checked out in search of a restroom.   We were directed to their coffee bar, Cafe Bustelo, which turned out to be A-mazing.

Rows and rows of their coffee line the walls to the tall ceiling.

 

It is beautifully designed, and great for people-watching. 

Just across the street (Collins Road) is the property I’d be interested in purchasing and redeeming:

 

Anyone want to go in on an investment property?   This one’s a winner: prime location and great mid-century bones.

One last architecture photo from the trip.

That’s a parking garage.  Isn’t it astoundingly cool?

Nothing  like a trip to a new city to gain some inspiration.  Miss you already, Miami.