Water-born shadows guide your eyes across the bay towards the luminous the Miami skyline – cruise capital of the world. A bit of Latin mystery awaits. Where else can you find clean air, yachts, beaches, award-winning architecture, fabulous cars, and stunning condos in a subtropical outpost of the United States? A cutting-edge multicultural destination of the 21st century, Miami has become a culinary powerhouse. Its New World blend of Florida, Caribbean and Latin American cuisines is attracting a new celebrity chef restaurants. Cuban, Bahamian, Jamaican, Brazilian and Dominican restaurants are as common as Denny’s and you can still get gratifying slow-cooked Barbeque!

    With its huge population of Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican and South American ex-patriots and guests, Spanish is spoken as often as English. Their Latin approach to life helps people relax and enjoy life. Those qualities come natural to a place where an afternoon siesta is as welcome as the mid-day sun is hot. Don't let Miami's easy-going tendency fool you. Miami has a wealth of museums, galleries and attractions to keep you on the go and plenty of conventions. Miami Art Museum features many of the great Latin art works. Historical Museum of Southern Florida is first-rate as is the Museum of Contemporary Art. For a sense of what old wealth created in the region, visit the Biltmore Hotel or Viscaya Museum.

    What’s a kid to do? Metrozoo, an award-winning zoological park, specializes in Parrot Jungle, but its Fairchild Tropical Gardens might be the venue that locks in their fondest memories. At Miami Seaquarium, killer whales compete with Flipper the dolphin for your vicarious entertainment. Take in a Miami Heat basketball game at the AmericanAirlines Center so prominently perched on the downtown waterfront. Feel like a kid in candy shop picking your favorite ships as they arrive, anchor and depart the world's busiest cruise terminal.

    Sunrises and sunsets have the same hypnotic quality as a tropical island. That quality, day or night, brings glee to every photographer and landscape artist. No time of year is more colorful than the annual Orange Bowl Parade or the Miami Grand Prix. For a soulful flava’, the Bob Marley Festival takes center stage each February. Stop at Bayside downtown to rub shoulders with locals in the waterfront “shoppertainment” center. Take a side-trip out 7th Street to Little Havana and enjoy Cuban plantains for lunch as open air Salsa plays. Head south on Brickell Avenue for dramatic vistas of condos that alternate between each branch of a tree-shaded passageway.

    Moments later, a tranquil southerly direction takes you to Coconut Grove, once dominated by Miami's oldest historically Black district. Though gentrified with a profusion of shopping, dining and entertainment sites, a daytime saunter to the Grove's historic treasures keeps it real. By comparison Overtown, Miami's second oldest historically Black district is showing signs of redevelopment, yet maintains a certain charm. Its Lyric Theatre, a lovingly restored relic of the Chitlin’ Circuit, and historic churches remind all that this district remains culturally and historically anchored. Further sustaining Miami's Black heritage, Florida Memorial College and the African American Cultural Arts Center sponsor popular exhibits and events throughout the year. For a taste of Haiti culture and shopping without leaving the states, you must Little Haiti.

    South Beach (map), bordered by South Pointe Park up to 21st Street and Collins Canal, was first a visual extravaganza of art deco homes and hotels built in the 1920's and 1930's. Time and changing demographic patterns caused South Beach to wither. But in the 1970s, a relentless movement began to historically renovate a nearly every Art Deco building that sat empty. The multi-million dollar hotels and condos renovations you see have strict requirements since the district is designated in the National Register of Historic Places. Despite or perhaps because of such constraints, South Beach is most responsible for Miami’s intense party and restaurant scene. There’s enough eye-candy to fill a Hershey factory. Washington Ave is a wellspring of nightlife and dining options.

   Ocean Drive hotel fronts have traded in their wheel chairs and rocking chairs for buffed bodies, luxury cars, and roller blades. And every year it seems a new luxury hotel is the “in” spot while, the National, Delano, Royal Palm and Beacon hotels remain stand-outs.