Writes of Passage

1 Washington Avenue
Miami Beach, FL 33578

… more pix on Google Maps, Yelp, TA

This 17-acre urban park is the southern most tip of the South Beach, on Miami Beach Island. Whenever we visit Miami, we come here.

It reminds me of Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, in which they all face east to Atlantic Ocean, which has the pounding waves. (Miami is in the north and Rio’s in the south of Atlantic Ocean.) But a slight angle to the South, the body of water becomes calmer.

Bikers, walkers, joggers, kids, pets, beach, Smith & Wollensky, meter parking can be tough.

What are they doing?

The water is aqua blue or green: extremely clear and very beautiful.

Miami, Florida

Miami Beach has 3 sections: South Beach, Mid-Beach and North Beach, ends at Surfside.

South Beach has all the actions and night life.

I first came to Miami Beach in 2009, on my way to Nicaragua. Six of us reserved two tennis courts to play during our layover. Unfortunately, it rained. So we used the unplanned extra time to drive through South Beach. It was two way traffic (if I remembered it right). Many restaurants had young women dressed to kill, showing salvage and skins, stationed up front, by the curbside. Oh well. Now, there isn’t any need for that anymore.

• biking

Miami Beach, Miami, Florida.

South Beach, and the heart and soul of Miami Beach.

Art Deco architecture, art works, galleries, bars, restaurants, hotels … touristy but very lively.

In Your Eyes I Come Alive by Jess Nite (1985) a young contemporary artist based in Miami.

• flood in March, 2025

From the Park, looking west to the Ocean Dr.: Park Central Hotel and The Tides ()Flamingo/Lummus).

I first came to Miami Beach in 2009, on my way to Nicaragua. Six of us reserved two tennis courts to play during our layover. Unfortunately, it rained. So we used the unplanned extra time to drive through South Beach. It was two way traffic (if I remembered it right). Many restaurants had young women dressed to kill, showing salvage and skins, stationed up front, by the curbside. Oh well. Now, there isn’t any need for that anymore.

3915 Arnold Ave
Naples, FL 34104

… more pix and videos on Google maps, Yelp & TA

Today is former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, banks and markets are closed but schools and other industries are not.

We just returned from Saigon, where we spent the last three nights of weeks long SE Asia tour. Saigon ranks pretty high on my list now.

Will return.

It’s off the highway 75, on an industrial street and immediately area.

Small, low ceiling, good service and food, weighty utensils, large portion, with regular patrons.

We’ve
Pho beef
Roast duck sandwich

I found both on the sweet side but tolerable.

Good quality beef but overcooked. Hong Kong, New York and Saigon serve the beef raw, or half raw, let the customer to push the rest of the beef into the hot soup or eat half raw, which is always renderer.

The bread is heaven, and the sandwich is yummy.

We’re the second table at 11:15. By the time we leave at 12, half the tables are occupied.

They take credit card but offer 4% discount with cash.

Getting tickets to The International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw is impossible: they sold out in 30 minutes.

So, the 11th National Chopin piano competition in Miami, from Jan 4-12, hosted by the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, perhaps is the next best thing. The winner is guaranteed to go to Warsaw to compete in Oct 2-23 2025, the 19th (Międzynarodowy Konkurs Pianistyczny im. Fryderyka Chopina).

Chopin competition is held every five years, since 1927 in Warsaw, and the Miami event since 1975. Five American pianists had won top prize in Poland.

This year, the top winner gets $100,000, 2nd $30,000, 3rd $20k and the 4th-6th $5k each.

We stayed at Kimpton Angler’s hotel in Miami Beach  and enjoyed SoBe, South Beach enormously, as usual.

A few good restaurants:

1. Le Colonial
2. Smith Wollensky
3. Saigon to Paris Cafe
4. Gianni
5. Imperial Tea; the final
6. La Ventana

My itinerary: 3 nights, from Jan 9th, Thur to Sun 12th:

1. ^{Thu, 9th} Saigon to Paris Cafe, South Pointe Park; La Ventana, semi final
2. ^{Fri, 10th} Ocean Dr.; Smith Wollensky; convention ctr; botanic; Meet Dalia; CVS
3. ^{Sat, 11th} beach volleyball @ Lummus Park; Gianni; biking; Imperial Tea; the final
4. ^{Sun, 12th} Naples: Le Colonial

… more of the trip

Robert and Judi Prokop Newman Recital Hall
5513 San Amaro Dr
Coral Gables, FL 33146

… more pix on Google Maps.

… the final; contestants are predominantly Asian

Will NOT return

This is the most unenjoyable event I’ve attended.
Beautiful music – credit to Chopin, but everything else sucked.

Finding the venue is hard. We followed Google Maps in the big campus with vacant parking lots, that led us to a dead end, one side of a huge construction.

Parking is $12. But paying for it is difficult. The sign at Lot #331504 says pay by phone or call, neither works. The staff showed us a little yellow Post It that has identical info as the sign. They said it’s problematic.

Putting things in perspective 客观看待事物: paying for parking for event is normal. Miami Open $40, and Lincoln Center in New York $50. But these are professionally managed and it’s a breeze to pay. A school with so many vacant parking lot, they choose to charge and MAKE paying so difficult. Why would anyone want to return? Are they that desperate for fund?

When all this was conquered, the semi final competition was done to the last competitor, a young woman who grimace 鬼脸 and made hiss sounds with her mouth that …

The traffic getting there from Miami Beach is horrible, took us nearly two hours for the 14 miles.