Science, Art, and a VISA in Miami

'Coming home,' the term has various connotations depending on the topic, but for me, home means a place, but also a frame of mind. I consider anywhere in Florida, 'home,' but more specifically, I consider Tarpon Springs, home. Last week I flew into Miami, which, I will admit, is not my favorite city, mainly due to traffic and attitude of the many tourists, but I had a VISA appointment with the French Consulate so I braved two nights in Downtown Miami at the River Park Hotel & Suites (attached to the conference center). For $50 a night, in Miami, it wasn't a bad hotel, just kinda...sad. It was probably a really great hotel twenty years ago, but now the A/C is struggling and the TV only gets one channel (in Spanish). It's a big room though, two queen beds and a large bathroom, and for the location and price, it's hard to argue. Free Breakfast with sausage, cereal, pastry, and fresh-made waffles are also hard to argue with. It's in a weird location if you are driving though, so just take a taxi, or Super Shuttle, like I did.

After figuring out where the USPS, the French Consulate, and the the closest Walgreen's was, I used the MetroMover to go to the Museum Park stop and explore the Frost and Perez Museum. The MetroMover is free and gets you to most of the general areas in Miami. I recommend it for getting from one side of the city to the other for cheap.

I went to two museums, a church, and walked around the Downtown area. For museums, I went to the Frost Science and Perez Art Museums. They share a park area on the water and make for a nice afternoon, but are a bit pricey. Frost ($29) has a planetarium, aquarium (complete with touch tanks), interactive kids zone, science lab, and exhibits. It's good for a few hours with the kids or a morning by yourself. The summer camps were out in force when I went, which meant I should have worn earplugs. The entry to the museum gives you a planetarium show for free, which was good, but as someone with a science background, I was a bit disappointed in how little actual science was shown. Still, the kids all seemed to really like it (I saw the Dynamic Earth), which is fun to see. 

The current exhibits are Poison (everything poisonous) and Leonardo Da Vinci and are interesting, but geared for kids. I think 3-4 hours is more than enough if you are by yourself to see and do everything, but it's still fun. I was a bit disappointed in the shop the most. Throughout the facility there are these amazing zoology prints and I was really hoping to buy one in the shop, but they didn't have any of them or even a decent selection of women's shirts. Maybe 5 designs total, whereas the men had at least 10 designs.

For lunch, I went across the quad and had lunch at the Perez Contemporary Art Museum and then spent the $16 to walk through the museum. I...really shouldn't go to contemporary art museums...I just don't 'get' them, but here are some pictures for those who do. 

It only took me an hour to go through the museum and that is not because I don't like modern art, it's because most of the museum is empty. The restaurant is tasty, but pricey ($30 for the short rib macaroni and grilled asparagus) and that's for a starter and a side. If you are going with a family, bring your lunch and eat on the picnic tables outside the museum or overlooking the water, it's much cheaper and a lot more enjoyable.

Overall, my Miami trip was fruitful (I got my VISA), but expensive...which is pretty much my normal Miami experience. At least this time I only walked the wrong way for half a block on the way to the consulate. LOL