Wynwood Art District in Miami

I’ve been to Miami plenty of times in my lifetime to visit my Cuban grandparents. They lived in a sweet little Spanish-style house with terracotta tiles and a pale blue swimming pool. Every morning started with a strong dose of Cuban coffee and very smushed, very buttered bread that had been toasted between flat sides of a panini press.

I miss that little house and my Abuela knocking as hard as she could on the table to indicate she was passing her turn in a fierce game of dominoes. I miss my adorable Abuelo’s laugh, it was so elongated and over annunciated (if that’s something you can even annunciate). Since their passing, I haven’t been back to Miami until now. My oh my, has it changed.

This go round, I wandered around the vibrant neighborhood of Wynwood. The art district began to take form in the early 2000s. The streets are covered in graffiti. Little coffee shop, breweries, studios, and art galleries are scattered around the wildness. My day went like this:

First, I grabbed breakfast at Enriqueta’s Sandwich Shop to fuel up for a day of walking. It’s not too far from Wynwood and it’s as authentic as Cuban food can get. Then I dropped my bags at the Hilton Downtown and headed off to wander the streets. My first stop in the art district was Panther Coffee (grab a nitro coffee if you’re there). Then we headed over to the Wynwood Walls. This is a group of warehouses that have been painted over and turned into an outdoor gallery. You could honestly walk around the area forever. Once I’d taken way too many pictures we headed over to J. Wakefield Brewing. This Star Wars themed joint has great beers. Get El Jefe, a hefeweizen brewed with coconut and banana. So good and strange at the same time.

Miami, I hope we get to see each other soon. I didn’t realize how much I missed you.