Vizcaya Palace

This was my favorite thing we did in Miami last weekend.  This is an Italian villa that was built by John Deering and is now a museum owned by Miami-Dade county.  We were fortunate because they are closing the courtyard of the main house to replace the skylight and make other improvements to the villa.  Thus we were able to see everything before parts were closed for repairs.

There were rain clouds earlier in the day and we stayed indoors to explore the house while it rained for a brief while.  I will say that while the house had very many beautiful antiques, I couldn't help but feel that Mr. Deering must have felt very inadequate and constantly wanted to measure up because it seemed that every single item was traced back to a royal or otherwise illustrous owner in Europe.  I appreciate the beauty of the items, but I definitely came away with a huge feeling of pity for Mr. Deering. There was even portraits of Lord and Lady Dering from England and we discovered that they are no relation to the Deering family of Miami!

Original Pipe Organ

Beautiful chandelier and semi-nude bust

Cooper pots and lids in the amazing kitchen upstairs

Once the rain stopped, we went outside to the gardens and they were incredible! I loved walking around and seeing all the different elements.  A quick tip about taking photos when you aren't supposed to: don't use the flash on your camera! I've become quite the expert at taking stealth photos and the fastest way to get busted is to have a flash come on.  That said, outside was fair game and I loved all the gardens.

I will leave you with this photo of the outdoor pool that faces the Orchidarium.  Mr. Fantastic took one look and declared that our new house needs this pool!

I will finish my Miami series this weekend with a brief glimpse of Calle Ocho and my favorite meal plus what I wore the last day there.
Have any of you been to Miami? What was your favorite location?