Sanguich Sandwiches, Little Havana, and a Big Bus

On Monday, we drove to the Biscayne National  Park Visitor Center.



There we viewed some exhibits about the wildlife and ecosystem of Biscayne Bay. 


We walked along the shore outside and along the Convoy Point boardwalk. There were some people fishing along this boardwalk. 




As we walked along, we saw some mangroves, which are trees that are very salt-tolerant and have roots that are tangled and complicated. They're known for holding back the soil and therefore keeping the soil from being eroded along the shoreline.

Mangrove trees

After we left the Visitor Center, we went to the area of Miami known as Little Havana. The first thing we did was to stop at a well-known sandwich shop, called Sanguich. 

Sanguich Cuban Sandwich Shop

Sanguich is a small family owned restaurant that apparently is very popular, as there was a line outside as we arrived. The sandwiches are on Cuban bread, which is like a buttery and toasted, flaky flat bread. The meat is usually pork, ham, or turkey. 

Sanguich

Sandwich

We enjoyed some delicious Cuban sandwiches before heading out to explore the rest of Little Havana.

Cuba is known for its cigars, and there are many cigar shops in Little Havana. Of course, none of them sell cigars from Cuba, because that is illegal. Wink, wink! 



Inside a cigar shop

There are many Cuban restaurants, nightclubs, grocery stores, and a lot of activity. The Cuban population is very much a fabric of Miami and a very lively part of the culture.



One of our favorite things to do in any city is to ride a Hop-on Hop-off bus. Miami does not have a Hop-on Hop-off bus, but has something similar called Big Bus. The bus tour gives you a great overview by traveling to many different parts of the city and surrounding area. The bus covers a lot of ground in a short amount of time. We enjoyed the ride very much but didn't do any "hopping off". 


We "hopped on" the bus in Little Havana, and then rode through the downtown area. 

Miami

Unusual building

We  stopped at Bayside Center, a big complex of shopping, restaurants, and waterfront activity. 

Bayside Marketplace

We passed by the arena where the Miami Heat professional basketball team plays. 

Miami Heat Arena

We went across the causeway from the mainland to the barrier island known as Miami Beach, where the famous South Beach is. (We also saw North Beach and Mid Beach). The blocks that were a few areas walking distance from South Beach were filled with very opulent hotels and high end stores. There is obviously is a lot of money in this area. This area is known as SoBe (for SOuth BEach). There have been lots of movies and television shows filmed here.


Sobe
Sobe
Sobe
Sobe

We crossed another causeway (lots of causeways over lots of water in Miami) heading to the more northerly parts of Miami and into the Miami design center district, where not just art, but furniture, appliances - pretty much everything design-related - takes place. It was manifested by the beautiful architecturally-designed storefronts. 

Miami Design Center District

From there we transitioned into the Wynwood Walls section of Miami. Wynwood Walls is especially noted for the street murals and artwork, and a number of art and design museums. We saw huge murals on the sides of buildings, and lots of beautiful street art as well as more formally commissioned art pieces, such as sculptures and paintings. 

Wynwood Walls

Wynwood Walls

Wynwood Walls

Wynwood Walls

Wynwood Walls

Wynwood Walls
Wynwood Walls

We saw some beautiful scenery on the bus tour with beautiful views of the harbor area, the shoreline, the cruise terminal, the Miami skyline, and lots of beautiful palm trees. There are 9 cruise terminals in Miami, which is known as the Gateway to the Caribbean. Here are some of the beautiful sights we saw on the bus tour.











We were impressed with how huge the Miami area is, and how vibrant it is, with lots of people out and about, lots of activity, fancy cars, and alas, lots of traffic.


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