Welcome to Mee-am-mee

I actually wrote this on a piece of paper (I know, who uses paper anymore?) in the Miami airport while waiting for my flight back to NY.

It seems weird to be writing about my trip and first impression of Miami as I’m sitting at the airport getting ready to leave. The flight to Mee-am-mee, as the locals say it, was uneventful despite intermittent bumpiness and the woman who kept kicking my seat. Past the age of five, the seat kicking thing is unacceptable as the dirty look I tossed her way expressed, ineffectively I must admit.

While still sitting on the Newark tarmac, I noticed three very tan, metrosexual guys boarding the plane with their perfectly coiffed, flammable hair and their shiny Ray-Ban sunglasses that glistened like the rest of them. Dressed in fitted jeans with brightly colored polos that popped against their bronzed skin, they didn’t look over the top which is why I assumed they were not of the Jersey contingency. They were clearly headed home to South Beach, which is exactly when I realized that I dressed like Morticia Addams on a casual day was not going to fit into the SoBe lifestyle.

First impressions…Miami is hot, from the weather to the beautiful people that bare it all, it’s a steamy city. I was sent down to South Beach on business and while I was actually resistant to going, I’m glad I finally got to see a snap shot of this very distinct cultural mecca, strewn with art deco. As I assumed, Miami has a heavily infused Latin flavor, but there’s also a clear European influence where they make a life of leisure look incredibly chic. And the people are confident, in a nutshell. From the bare-chested homeless man playing on his bongos while showing off his toothless grin to passersby, to the women walking around in their bikinis down in the shopping district, relying solely on the humidity to keep their bathing suits glued to their bodies, the people in Miami are comfortable in their skin. And even though there were some you wished had chosen a cover up before stepping out that day, that kind of confidence is admirable.

Miami is a sensory experience, much like NYC, but what your senses pick up sound, smell and feel completely different. If I think of Manhattan, I can smell dirty (hot) dogs in a second. Miami smelled like an open bottle of Banana Boat suntan lotion. In NYC you can hear the nonstop energy of people constantly moving and doing. The traffic, the footsteps, the subways, you hear constant momentum. In Miami, you hear music and the sound of leisure, be it laughter, ice cubes rolling around in a glass or rollerblades hitting the pavement by the beach. NYC is not without these sounds but what your senses predominantly pick up is often indicative of the kind of lifestyle that surrounds you.

South Beach was certainly a change of pace with a different kind of energy that exudes a love of life and a good time. Why wouldn’t I want to be part of this all the time? Truthfully, the girl that embraces black, is far from being a sun bunny and hates humidity (did I mention how hot it was?), enjoyed the snap shot but would happily take the smell of dirty dogs to sun tan lotion any day.

PS, if you've never been, one should stop by Mangos in SoBe. It's a bar with a dedicated tropical theme. There's dancing on the bar...even the men...without shirts! It's fun for everyone!