According to most guidebooks, SoBe owes its comeback to a German photographer who found out just how nice the sunrise is there. Naturally, I planned to see it. So I asked the hotel manager the night before, "What time is sunrise tomorrow?" I wasn't sure he would know, so I expected him to look for the newspaper or at least a slight hesitation remembering the day's sunrise. But no, he immediately responded, "Seven AM." 
I was a bit unsure, but I did ask him, I didn't want to be those people who ask for things but doubt the people they asked.« Beep » « Beep » My cell woke me up at 6:50 AM. I waited for a few minutes to see if my travelmates were joining me. [6:57] I guess not. So I went out and I had to blink a few times as my eyes tried to get adjusted to the LIGHT! What the hell? The sun had definitely risen for at least an hour! I knew 7AM couldn't be when the sun rises in the summer! Oh well, the day was cloudy anyway so it wasn't like I would've been able to see the sun rose in the horizon. But I decided to go to the beach still. It was nice and quiet. Ask anyone who knows me and they'll tell you that I love big bustling cities, but beaches? I like 'em quiet and idyllic.
There were a few people jogging, one early swimmer, and this group of youngsters at the lifeguard post. Seemed like the spent the night there... very nostalgic. Hahaha.. I talk like I grew up in Santa Monica while Bandung is actually in the mountains. So I sat there and kinda soak up the atmosphere. I think that was the moment when I felt, "Aaahh... I'm on vacation!"About a half-hour later I went back to the hotel for breakfast and after we checked-out, we headed for the beach. The day was definitely getting hot. It was obvious why Summer is Miami's low season. The air was so humid and clouds filled the sky. Not the most comfortable weather to be in. Luckily our hotel was only a block away from the beach so we only had to endure it for a bit before we can jump into the Atlantic waters. We swam & lied around in the sun for about an hour before we got hungry and went looking for food.
David's Cafe had good things said about the Cuban eatery, so we walked to 11th Street. Hmm... turns out they were renovating, but they have a branch a few blocks up north at Lincoln Road Mall. We didn't feel like trekking all the way up, so we stopped by Española Way to see this crêperie, but Harry was not in the mood for crêpes that day. Realizing there were no other decent, cheap restaurant in the area that was open at noon, we walked up to the other David's Cafe. Well, it was well worth it, I finally got my Cuban Sandwich and my cafecito.. yay! I don't know what is it with these Cuban restaurants in Miami, but they really need to invest on decoration.
David's Cafe looked like a blue-walled room with tables and chairs. Period. It looked like a makeshift dining hall with autographed pictures of Latin celebrities on the blue wall. Well, as long as the food was good.Key West
I know it's geeky, but as I drove along the Busway on Route 1, I can't help thinking that this is the same road that would take me home in Maryland. One day, I'm gonna do a Route 1 tour, from Key West up to Bangor, Maine. That should be fine... hmmm, maybe I can write a book, hahaha. Yeah... I do a lot of wishful thinkings.
After what seemed like days we finally got to the final stretch before the southernmost point of the States, the Seven-Mile Bridge. As we drove on the newly constructed bridge, the original was just a few hundred feet to our north. Made from steel instead of concrete like the new one, the abandoned bridge looked desolate yet seemed like it handled the natural elements quite well. Of course it was rusty, but considering how old it was, I'm amazed the structure still exists at all.
Benvenidos à Cayo Hueso! Also known as, Key West. There are plenty of theories regarding the name but there's one I like best: A false Anglo-Spanish cognate of the word Cayo Hueso which translates literally to Bone Island. Legend has it that human bones were found when the first explorers came to the island.
After checking-in, we went to the Old Town area, to Mallory Square. We LOVED Key West instantly. The square is an open area right by the sea where at sundown street performers show their stuff (think flame throwers instead of watercolor names in quasi-Chinese writing) and street art vendors dotted the plaza, plus lemonade & conch fritters stall galore.
It was really fun watching the performances, while gulping on home-made lemonades and stuffing ourselves with conch fritters. Jane and I were eyeing this cheese plates made from flattened liquor bottles but at thirty bucks a pop, it was a bit overpriced, we think. So we devised a psychologically-sound strategy to get the lady lower the price for us. The plan was for us to hover around, act mildly interested while trying to look friendly and wait until the stand is quiet before making the offer. Well, we finally got the lady by herself but she was one tough seller, so we ended up skipping the artwork. 
I don't know about Jane but I'm not that dissapointed actually, I'm a total impulse shopper :)Oh, another great activity at Mallory Square was watching the sun sets behind this leafy island while ships crosses the horizon. It was really nice, rayon-verte nice.
A few hours late we got hungry and after walking through the main nightlife area, Duval Street, we couldn't find any restaurants we would want to eat at so I checked the guidebook and we decided to go to Mangia, Mangia, an Italian restaurant a few blocks northeast of the Old Town. Well the walk was definitely worth it and it wasn't a bad walk either.
The restaurant was located in the residential area so we passed all these summer homes. We had fun planning our retirement and which Bahamas-style two-storey vacation house we'd build.We finally got to the restaurant about twenty minutes later, just a few minutes before they closed, but the place was packed! It was a really nice restaurant with really good food and really, really nice atmosphere. We got the window table overlooking the street. What a perfect way to end the day.
