Far away from South Beach..

Since this is our second time in Florida and we neglected Miami last time, we wanted to take a closer look at this gigantic metropolis today.
But before that, we made a stop at a larger sports store. Patrick is still hoping to get NFL hoodies and t-shirts that are NOT from the Miami Dolphins. But unfortunately, he was disappointed again. However, there was a pet store right next door. Of course, we had to go in. :) Besides real snakes, birds, and beetles, they also sold food and toys for all the animals. We were only interested in the dog toy section, of course. We found some toys for our Barneybear and bought them right away. :)

Now we went to Miami. I picked out the neighborhoods Coral Gables and Coconut Grove for the day and we visited them in that order.
Coral Gables is one of the wealthiest areas of Miami. You could tell that right away from the beautiful large houses and wide avenues. The biggest construction phase of this neighborhood was in the 1920s and had strict architectural requirements by architect George Merrick. These instructions still apply today. So anyone who wants to build or renovate here still has to follow these 90-year-old instructions. Since Halloween is just around the corner, the front yards and front doors were already decoratively designed. It's a real pleasure to drive through there. :)
The landmark of Coral Gables is probably the famous Biltmore Hotel. It stands out almost majestically from the flat residential area. This hotel was built in 1926 and had guests of royal rank (Duke and Duchess of Windsor) as well as members of the criminal upper class, Al Capone. During World War II, the hotel was converted into a hospital for over 40 years. In the late 1980s, it was renovated and reopened as a hotel. At the back, there is a huge pool and a huge golf course.
Another attraction of the neighborhood is the Venetian Pool. A public swimming pool built in the Venetian style. Since we only drove past it, I won't go into detail about it.
From here, we continued to another neighborhood: Coconut Grove. Besides South Beach, this is the liveliest area of ​​this metropolis. Many small shops are surrounded by numerous bars, cafes, and restaurants. We could really imagine that this is where the action happens in the evening :)
In the past, many workers from the Bahamas lived here, who wanted to achieve new prosperity as wreckers. Wreckers were the people who 'salvaged' ships that ran aground off the coast of Miami and especially at the Keys. Because the maritime law at that time stated that the ship and its cargo belonged to the rescuers! Not bad for a rescue mission... We took a break in a sports bar with chili and burgers.
Since we had so much time left, we drove towards downtown and strolled through the Bayside Marketplace. This shopping mile is located right at the Miami harbor. From there, we drove over/through South Beach back to the hotel. Because we wanted to lie by the pool for a while. But we didn't get to do that.
First, it took us forever to get to the hotel (rush hour) and when we finally arrived, it started pouring rain. :( Nothing we could do about it.
For the evening, we had a great plan :) there was football on and we wanted to treat ourselves to a delicious Papa Johns pizza. Just like the Americans do :)
And that's exactly what we did...and as always, the pizza was a delight :-D