Where do I begin? I had a great, stupendous, wonderful, eye-opening time.
I don't suppose you hunks would be interested in the weather, or the flora, or even the great looking Art Deco buildings ... but let me tell you: all of that goes together to make SoBe the paradise that it is.
Understand that South Beach or SoBe as it is known down there, has the reputation of being a Gay mecca. From 12th to 18th Streets, the beach flies rainbow flags, and the cutest guys are to be seen lying on rented lounges with thick padding -- mostly on their backs with scanty thongs or speedos. I remember this one guy wearing a pair of "white" almost see-through trunks, and his "equipment" was quite visible -- a hefty one too!
So my friend Peter and I just sauntered up and down the rows of hot buff guys and gawked! Hahahaha ... Of course, there were some not so buff guys, but even they were something to look at and take notice of. There were couples too.
You have to imagine the sun shining brilliantly out of a cloudless sky; the air light and a bit breezy -- after all this is January, and even in south Florida, the temperatures can fall. The buildings in SoBe are all Art Deco, either originals or newly made look-alikes. And the colors! You've never seen houses painted like this: pale green with a darker green for the balconies; pale pink and rose; yellow and beige; and all the buildings -- well, almost all the buildings -- have rounded corners. That gives this place a softer feel too! Of course the most tasty eye-candy are the men.
No matter where we went, this whole area kept saying softly, "We're here, we're queer, get over it!" And it's a funny thing about gay men in a "gay world", they can BE who they really are! It was sooooo relaxing to just BE and not worry about who, what, when, and where.
Peter knew of this little place on Ocean Drive called "The Palace" -- guess who lives there? Hahaha ... The folks there were really friendly, the drinks were just the best, meaning, not too strong and flavorful. We had Pina-Colada's and man! Were they good! On Sunday afternoon, a few hours before I had to leave, we went back there and that's when I met Ditmar. Wow! What a hunk -- really built, not too muscular and a smile that made you look for your sunglasses! I managed to snap a photo of him on Easter Sunday just before I left. I was enjoying my goodbye PinaColada and noticed he was going on duty, so I grabbed him for this pic.
| Ditmar |
|
The Palace also has a restaurant right next door where luncheon and dinner are served. However, you can have something right at the bar if you like, and I did.
Sunday was a warm day and that was when we walked to the beach. It's only 4 blocks from Peter's apartment building. This is also the day we saw all those beautiful guys all laying around in the sun. A few brave souls actually ventured into the water, which felt like it came from Nova Scotia. I put my feet in, just to say I did, but that was all. Most of the hotels in the area have heated jacuzzi's where, no matter what the temperature, one can soak or go "scuba diving" if you get my meaning.
Well kids, that's it for now. I plan to go back for Spring break, and if I do, there'll be more pictures ... promise! Mou.
| Peter |
|
This is Peter, my friend who lives in South Beach.
| Peter, again |
|
I stayed at his place, a cute apartment in a lovely building on a residential avenue, just four blocks from the beach. The following pics are of the beach, a tree with "balls" and flowers too ... and others. Have fun and don't forget to visit the Palace Bar when you're down there!
| Mouadib |
|
Ok, so this is me at the Delano Hotel ... only $250 a night ... maybe my honey will take me there one weekend. :) Take a good look at the height of those columns. That's the main lobby and lounge and tea room behind me. The ceilings must be 20 feet high and the whole place gives the feeling of spaciousness and coolness. I just loved the interior and the outside pool and beach bar were great also! The very large pool has a shallow area where and intimate luncheon or dinner can be experienced with ones feet and ankles in the water, a very good idea when temperatures are over 85F.
| Mouadib Squinting |
|
And here I am on the beach, squinting, disheveled, but feeling just great!
| Mouadib's Eye View |
|
Note: this is a Mouadib's eye view of South Beach. Guess what his attention is focused on.
| Ball Tree |
|
Mouadib saw an interesting tree. It had little balls hanging from it. For reasons he couldn't quite verbalize, he thought that it might be of interest to us here. Cute tree! Maybe it's a male tree.