SoBe Tourist for a Day

Once in a while I decide to be a tourist in my town. I live in South Beach, Florida, but not only do I live there, I live in THE touristy part of South Beach. My condo is actually the only residential building in the neighborhood. In fact, I can't purchase a parking pass to park on the street because our building is in a non-residential zone.

When I walk my dogs in the morning and the evening, I feel like the local concierge. I guess that someone with dogs is a dead giveaway for someone that is a local and since I'm walking said pups smack dab across the street from The Shore Club and the Setai Hotels. So I make restaurant recommendations, suggest activities and provide directions (Lincoln Road is three blocks this way. The beach is right behind you).

So when I woke up this morning I decided my husband and I would be tourists for a day. We would do everything that the tourists get to enjoy and us locals never get around to doing. We started out by walking to Lincoln Road and stopping by Pasha's to have a little breakfast. I had the Mediterranean Breakfast and lemonade and Jack had an eggsellent wrap with spicy harissa sauce. The food was light but satisfying. Fortified, we walked to the beach for a nice beach walk. We then went back to our hotel (the lovely ocean view chez Doss better known as our apartment) and changed for the rest of the day. We then walked over to the Holocaust Memorial which was very disturbing and powerful. We then lightened up and reflected on nature's beauty at the next door Miami Beach Botanical Gardens.


Lizard rests in statue's crotch at Miami Beach Botanical Garden

Walking back toward Lincoln Road, we decided to go on a Duck Tour. The Duck Tour is a truck and boat in one. It's about a 90 minute tour that takes you to places like where Scarface was filmed, Gloria Estefan's house and tell some good stories about Miami.

We then shared a pizza at Spris during their Beat The Clock time - between 5:30 and 7:00 you have a choice of three pizzas where the price you pay is what time the order goes to the kitchen - so we paid $5.45 for a Pizza. We also shared the most fabulous spinch salad with corn and shaved Parmesan cheese.

We decided to take in a mov-ay and went to the Lincoln Center Regal Cinemas where we bought tickets for "The September Issue". With some time to spare, we did some shopping at The Gap, Macy's and Pottery Barn and took advantage of Doraku Sushi's Happy Hour (Lychee Martinis are delicious).

We then saw the movie which was great. We walked back on Lincoln Road and stopped at Zeke's Roadhouse for a cold beer at the bar ($4 for any of over 400 international brands. I had a Tusker from Kenya).

Finishing the night by people watching on the way home, we were reminded of what a great city South Beach is for tourists - even if the tourists live here.