Shark Valley, Everglade National Park

Still haven't updated tons of stuff but I did want to post these photos at the year's end. Simian and I saw tons of birds at the Everglades Shark Valley that made it to our Life list - Abhingas, Great and Little Blue Herons, Back Vultures, Limpkins and Great Egrets. We didn't see any Gators because it was the wrong season for them but it was a gorgeous visit nonetheless. I expected the Everglades to be much more marshy but it turned out to be very flat land. Apparently the water level rises a lot more but it was fairly dry when we went. A gorgeous trip.

Wynwood Walls

Photos from inside the Wynwood Walls.

More Murals

Wyndood

It's been a while since I posted because things have just been kind of busy! I was reading about Art Basel in Miami though and wanted to post these. Our friends told us to check out the Wynwood District - they said it was still a little rough, but we felt it was pretty okay (despite the sneakers on power lines :)). These were some of the gorgeous murals we saw.

Dinner at O and P's

O and P were amazing hosts who let us stay for a whole week. P cooked for us several times - making Lentil Stew and cooking up whole meals in minutes. He made us Pizza and a great Frittata. I contributed Banana cake.

Cuban Food at La Carreta

O took us to La Carreta to try Cuban Food though he warned us it was very heavy on the meat. We ate a whole bunch of sides and they were awesome. I've never had Plantans in so many different ways - some were familiar (like goreng pisang but without the batter), but Fried Green Plantans were unusual - savory and delicious. Plantan chips were amazing. We also had Yucca and in texture, it tasted like a savory Thai dessert and Mamey Milkshake which tasted almost like Chiku - delicious. We finished with a traditional Tres Leches dessert - O told us every single Cuban restaurant makes it differently.

Mango Jam

I made scones and we had them with Mango Jam. Yum.

Skyline

Interestingly we saw a lot of construction going on in Miami as well.

Tiong Bahru

Doesn't this look like Tiong Bahru? This is a pretty posh area around South Beach.

Buildings near the beach

South Beach

 

The famous South Beach - miles and miles of beach. We spent about two minutes on the beach.

Miami Ink

The Miami Ink Store - I did a double take and went back to take a photo.

Versailles

 

Simian and I just spent a week in Miami and our friend, O, took us to Versailles - which touts itself as the most famous Cuban Restaurant in the world. O assured us the bakery next door was very old-school and authentic and it was great! He told us to avoid the restaurant (also because Cuban food isn't very vegetarian friendly). Versailles had Empanadas of all shapes and sizes, plus they had pastries with guava and guava with cheese. All delicious and reasonable. Almost everyone speaks entirely Spanish so be prepared to point and use your few words of Spanish, por favor :)

Cherry Pie

I finally got around to using the pie dish goiriego got for me and made cherry pie. I used sour cherries as suggested by Cooks Illustrated and the pie turned out pretty delicious.  

Awesome Bird Videos

Despite the recent kerfuffle that David Attenborough has gotten himself into, one cannot argue that with these amazing videos. From the nest making skills of the bowerbirds, to the Boy Band acrobatics of the manakins, to Mr Sexy Armpit, these are all fascinating.

Banana Tree

 

Mom's friend gave us two small banana trees last year. One of them grew and grew and is huge. We were contemplating cutting it down when - tada, a flower was spotted!

Fine Palate

We had lunch at Fine Palate yesterday because J had to get to work by 2 pm. M, WW, and E came and we met D and J there. We had an early birthday lunch for D. Simian realised that he had done his exams in the same building we had lunch in.

Gokul

I read about Gokul here and told Simian I'd like to try it so we went on Saturday. There were so many items that I was torn by indecision. I felt like everyone probably feels when they go into a restauant :)

Pasar Bella

I went to Pasar Bella the other day - it wasn't a Farmer's Market though, and it was expensive. I don't quite see how it was wholesale either. There were some interesting shops but most were also quite meaty.

Pita Pan

We met T at Pita Pan, just before he heads back to the US for a few months. It was a new branch at Marina Square and was pretty good - like Tahina's back in MD, which has now sadly, closed.

Pekoe and Imp

Simian and I went for a tea tasting with Pekoe and Imp. I learnt a lot about tea from the two knowledgeable ladies!

Out around the port

Simian and I went with Dad to take a look at the harbour a few weeks ago. It was great being on the boat again, but I was sad to see how crowded the waters have become. We got to see the container port at PSA and it was amazing how many containers they can unload but I miss the quiet days we used to go out and there weren't more boats around.

The sky does actually look like this - all dreary and smoky. We were told that sometimes you can smell strange chemicals from Jurong Island wafting out.

Food for Thought

Imp and I had lunch at Food for Thought - conveniently located in the Museum. I enjoyed the fries especially, but then went home and had food poisoning :(

More Paintings

More of the works that caught my eye.

Reubens

The Lamentation and Mars and Rhea Silver.

The Triumph of Death

A copy of the original, by the son, Jans. I loved this painting.