What are you doing this weekend? If you answered (a) the Grove, (b) the Beach, or (c) all of the above, then you’ll probably run into a bunch of students who claim the Grove and the Beach to be favorite nighttime hangouts. Here’s a rundown on the Grove and Beach scene and a selection of student favorites:

What is the Grove? Well, over a hundred years ago, Coconut Grove was built mainly by West Indian craftsmen brought in from the Bahamas. Attracting writers, artists and non-conformists, this hub of the bohemian arts contributed to Miami’s cultural renaissance. Fast forward a century, and the Grove is still one of Miami’s hottest nightspots, with more than 75 cafes, restaurants and clubs that line the streets. Coconut Grove has it all.

CafE Tu Tu Tango
2nd Floor, CocoWalk
This restaurant encompasses all that is the Grove in its appeal to the starving artist. Its dEcor is a vibrant mix of different painting styles, and the tables and stools are splattered with paint. The food itself is excellent, and instead of ordering a single entrEe, waiters encourage you to order three or four smaller plates per person for the whole table, so that each person can sample a variety of food. With belly dancers, tarot card readers and freelance artists scattered throughout, CafE Tu Tu Tango is definitely a unique dining experience.

Mezzanotte
1st floor, Mayfair
This is a great place to go in a big group with your loudest friends. After feasting on great (though pricey) Italian food and even better deserts, get ready to dance on top of your table as the lights dim and the music starts. The crowd here is mixed, and you’ll see everyone from the teenagers celebrating a birthday to twenty-somethings out on the town, to your occasional old people dancing way too dirty for their age. Get dressed up and see for yourself.

Monty’s
South Bayshore Drive
Monty’s is a tropical outdoor restaurant and bar, where live bands play island music at night. The parties are free, and Friday afternoons are busy for happy hour from 5-8 p.m. Come here in shorts or jeans and spend all night in a tiki hut drinking beer or tropical drinks and dancing with an eclectic crowd.

Tavern
Main Highway
The Tavern is a student favorite, where a tight budget can lend itself to a good time. It provides a casual atmosphere and attracts mostly the beer-drinking crowd.

Improv
3rd floor, Mayfair
The Improv Comedy Club is unique to the Grove in that it is Miami’s best place to see famous comedians. Weekend shows are Friday at 8:30 and 10:45 p.m. and Saturday at 7:45, 10, and 12 p.m. All shows are for crowds 21 and over except for the Saturday midnight show, which is 18 and over. Be there an hour early to buy tickets, and brace yourself for a hilariously raunchy show.

Color Me Mine
Main Highway
Though it closes early, this is a great place to bring a date. You and your date pick out a plate or a coffee mug and sit down at a table to decorate each other’s pieces. It costs six dollars an hour to paint, in addition to the cost of the item you are painting. Employees are artists willing to help with your masterpiece.

Club 609
3342 Virginia Street
If you don’t mind your clothes reeking of cigarette smoke for a week, Club 609 is not a bad place to spend a Friday night. Ladies pay no cover on Fridays, and Power 96 DJs broadcast live. In addition to the main dance floor, there is a room for Latin music.

Oxygen
2911 Grand Avenue
There’s always something going on at this new Grove club. Located where the Chili Pepper used to be at the Mayfair, Oxygen features a mix of DJs and live music as well as pan-Asian and sushi dishes.
Will Smith was onto something when he said Miami was “the city that keeps the roof blazin’.” Where better to see this than Miami’s most famous hotspot: South Beach. With more than 800 buildings designed in the 30s and 40s, South Beach serves as the largest collection of Art Deco architecture in the world. It also sets the scene for a nightlife that just won’t quit. Not only does South Beach serve as the setting for some of the most famous of music videos and movies, it is also one of the top tourist destinations in the world.

The Van Dyke
846 Lincoln Road
Located on one of South Beach’s most lively streets, this restaurant serves up modern California cuisine at an affordable price. The Van Dyke is a great place to go day or night, and it features an intimate upstairs loft with nightly live Jazz music.

Bolero
661 Washington Avenue
A lot of students are talking about Bolero. Inspired by Hemmingway’s Havana, it offers a fine dining experience with live musical entertainment. This is definitely a place to be seen and get dressed up for.

Score
727 Lincoln Road
This is one of the most popular gay and mixed bars in Miami. There is no cover, and the club hosts nightly themed events. In addition to the bar area with a large screen television there is open-air seating.

Honey
645 Washington Avenue
Honey is one of Washington Avenue’s newest tenants, and it is quickly gaining popularity. One thing that attracts club-goers is its sophisticated, posh atmosphere and European style music.

Lincoln Road
Lincoln Road is a South Beach street where one can find everything from excellent restaurants to boutiques to one of Miami’s best movie theaters. It is just as right to dress formally as it is to wear rollerblades and a swimsuit at any time of day. Since it’s leisurely, unlike Ocean Drive, one can enjoy the street performers and craft vendors that line the street.

Yoga on the Beach
52 street and Collins
(behind the Alexander Hotel)
On weekdays at 6:30 p.m., yoga classes are offered to students of all ages and abilities for a donation of $5.

Level
1235 Washington Avenue
Level is a South Beach club based on the format of Studio 54. It is for revelers 21 and older and features Latin-Euro sounds on Wednesdays, retro night on Thursdays and international DJs and live shows on the weekends.

Opium Gardens
136 Collins Avenue
This is one of South Beach’s most chic clubs. It is an outdoor nightclub with an Asian garden amphitheater and several rooms playing different types of music, spun by Miami’s best disk jockeys. Unless you’re 21 or know someone at the door, it’s going to be pretty hard to get in.

Relatively new in Miami, Sunset Place has become one of the premiere shopping and dining areas in Miami-Dade County. Even hotspot Coconut Grove has been losing business to the outdoor gallery of shops, restaurants and arcades. Albeit sometimes a bit too teeny-bopper, the UM student can find many fun and appetizing things to do there. Here’s a list of Sunset Place’s best attractions.

Virgin Record Store

By far the best record store in Miami, Virgin has the largest selection of music, ranging from imports to popular hit CDs. The only problem may be the steep prices, with each CD costing around $17 (as opposed to Best Buy’s usual $13 price). They have listening booths with selections of the newest, “hottest” CDs for customers to sample. Upstairs is a wide selection of entertainment books, computer games, and DVDs. A definite must stop for the avid multimedia shopper.

AMC

The closest and largest movie theatre to campus, the AMC at Sunset Place boasts a wide array of movies from the most popular to some lesser-known, dare I say, “artsy” films. With stadium seating, and the largest selection around, the AMC at Sunset Place is one of the best movie theatres (if you can tolerate the loud, adolescent clientele).

IMAX

This omni theatre boosts an extremely large screen, making it more like an amusement ride than a movie. Previous films have included the re-release of “Beauty and the Beast,” the Michael Jordan movie, and Fantasia 2000. Sometimes a good experience, but mostly full of such bad plots and dialogue as to make your aesthetic sensibilities fall to the bottom of your toes and swear to never come back. Prices are expensive, at about $9 per person.

Gameworks

An arcade/restaurant/bar, Gameworks has many different arcade games, ranging from classics to latest generation multi-floor challenges. The restaurant has the usual burger type selections. A great trick is the fact that playing requires a card that must be refilled instead of a huge bag of quarters. The downside, however, is that one doesn’t notice the $20 slowly disappearing. Though an all-age joint, under 18s require parental escorts, and must leave at a certain time every night. Tuesdays ladies play free!

Barnie’s coffeshop

Sick of the overpriced Starbucks? Then head over to the even more overpriced Barnie’s. Buying a brownie and coffee there can run over ten bucks. Their iced coffee is somehow much better than Starbucks though. Still, the prices are so steep as to warrant bulging eyes and a dropped jaw.

Zahbar’s

The recently opened restaurant boosts odd dEcor (a projector sends onto the wall pictures of nice scenery that are more jarring than anything else) yet fantastic food. Try the mushroom risotto and chocolate souffle for dessert. The service is friendly and attentive, price being about $25 for a table of two.

Armani Exchange

For all the label queens out there, Armani Exchange has become the hip Miami store to shop. Wanna look like a stylish drone? Then hop on the metro, walk to Armani Exchange, and buy whatever trendy monographed t-shirt they sell.

Though some cynics argue that such well publicized gallery walks may appeal to the masses instead of engaging the individual appreciation of serious art connoisseurs, the event is nonetheless an occasion that can bring greater awareness to a certain community and satisfy a growing hunger to see art.

Virginia Miller, owner and director of ArtSpace/VM Galleries and director of the Coral Gables Gallery Association, was the first to initiate such an event. In the late 70s, when she was the chair of the Cultural Affairs Committee for the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce, she organized a similar event with the galleries in existence at the time. However, from 1985 to 1990, ArtSpace was the only fine art gallery in Coral Gables.

“As galleries began to move again into the area, I suggested that we open on the same night to attract more people and raise the awareness of fine art in the community,” Miller said. “However, because the galleries were so spread out at the time, they did not think that an event such as this could be successful.”

Miller then went to the city of Coral Gables and persuaded them to sponsor their first trolley, to connect all the galleries along a one-mile route. Gables Gallery Night was born.

“I have been called ‘the mother of Gables Gallery Night’ because I have been shepherding its evolution for many years now,” she said.

In last May’s Gallery Night, ArtSpace, a 4,000-square-foot venue, attracted a crowd of 200-300 people. The gallery opened its current show titled “Abstractions.” It consisted of 39 paintings and sculptures by 11 different American, Latin American and European artists.

Miller explained that most galleries in the Gables specialize in Cuban or Latin American art. Her gallery, while also exhibiting works by Hispanic artists, regularly exposes contemporary and modern pieces in all media from other countries.

“Over the years, I have also specialized in introducing historically important artists, who were largely overlooked by the art establishment at the time, such as Richard Pousette-Dart, Alice Neel, Ramon Oviedo and Rover Thomas,” she said.

“Also,” she added, “this gallery has a bigger, unique setting that is different from the storefront spaces of the other galleries.”

Miller estimates that Gallery Night usually attracts 2,000 to 3,000 people throughout the district. She noted that most of the galleries here show well-established artists, who are represented in top museums and leading galleries around the world. Over 11 years, the area has been attractive for people to see and buy art. Galleries participating in the walk also included Elite Fine Art, Isidora Wilke, Inc, La Boheme Fine Art and the Americas Collection.

“Just as Miami is the gateway to Latin America, Coral Gables is the portal for Latin American art and is South Florida’s center for contemporary Latin American, North American, and European fine art,” Miller said. “In a one-mile by two-block area, it has one of this country’s largest concentrations of galleries showing Latin American art.”

Cordivi and Miller agree that the art communities in the area and around Miami are progressively growing. “Other areas in Greater Miami are beginning to attract galleries, which also adds to the cultural life and vitality of South Florida.”

An event like Gallery Nights, a still developing trend, can uphold the needed attention to maintain an art district in different communities in Miami by drawing in a broader audience.

“Arts need to be a very large part of a city with as much culture as Miami,” Cordovi said.

Soon enough, the arts communities in Miami may become leveled with the scenes in other booming cities, such as New York.

“We don’t have world-class museums like the MoMA or the Guggenheim,” said Cordovi, “but a community like Wynwood could possibly turn into SoHo in the next decade if enough artists unite to make a difference.”

A combination of culture and commerce along a four-mile stretch of open-door galleries and restaurants, Coral Gables Gallery Night – the pioneer of gallery walks in South Florida – is a prosperous event for the area, allowing people to unite in a synergy of food, drinks and art.

The event takes place on the first Friday each month between March and December and provides a shuttle service to participating venues. Gallery owner Dora Valdes-Fauli says she thinks the night is a great turnout and promotes “street life in Coral Gables, which usually doesn’t happen.”

Moreover, the event is especially significant because it lures people into the area.

“People go look at the art, and when they’re done, they may want to get a bite to eat, so they might venture into the neighborhood restaurants and help the city’s economy,” said Adriana Cordovi, a Miami Herald reporter.

Opening in the Gables for the first time in January 1991, Gallery Night has become a trendy event that has spread to several other parts of South Florida, such as in Little Havana, Lincoln Road and, most recently, in Wynwood and North Miami (NoMi). Inviting visitors to go door to door on the same evening to different galleries effectively exposes an area while showing art to more people. The event proved to be successful since attendance to the galleries increased and, consequently, more restaurants and galleries opened and joined the night.

Though some cynics argue that such well publicized gallery walks may appeal to the masses instead of engaging the individual appreciation of serious art connoisseurs, the event is nonetheless an occasion that can bring greater awareness to a certain community and satisfy a growing hunger to see art.

Virginia Miller, owner and director of ArtSpace/VM Galleries and director of the Coral Gables Gallery Association, was the first to initiate such an event. In the late 70s, when she was the chair of the Cultural Affairs Committee for the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce, she organized a similar event with the galleries in existence at the time. However, from 1985 to 1990, ArtSpace was the only fine art gallery in Coral Gables.

“As galleries began to move again into the area, I suggested that we open on the same night to attract more people and raise the awareness of fine art in the community,” Miller said. “However, because the galleries were so spread out at the time, they did not think that an event such as this could be successful.”

Miller then went to the city of Coral Gables and persuaded them to sponsor their first trolley, to connect all the galleries along a one-mile route. Gables Gallery Night was born.

“I have been called ‘the mother of Gables Gallery Night’ because I have been shepherding its evolution for many years now,” she said.

In last May’s Gallery Night, ArtSpace, a 4,000-square-foot venue, attracted a crowd of 200-300 people. The gallery opened its current show titled “Abstractions.” It consisted of 39 paintings and sculptures by 11 different American, Latin American and European artists.

Miller explained that most galleries in the Gables specialize in Cuban or Latin American art. Her gallery, while also exhibiting works by Hispanic artists, regularly exposes contemporary and modern pieces in all media from other countries.

“Over the years, I have also specialized in introducing historically important artists, who were largely overlooked by the art establishment at the time, such as Richard Pousette-Dart, Alice Neel, Ramon Oviedo and Rover Thomas,” she said.

“Also,” she added, “this gallery has a bigger, unique setting that is different from the storefront spaces of the other galleries.”

Miller estimates that Gallery Night usually attracts 2,000 to 3,000 people throughout the district. She noted that most of the galleries here show well-established artists, who are represented in top museums and leading galleries around the world. Over 11 years, the area has been attractive for people to see and buy art. Galleries participating in the walk also included Elite Fine Art, Isidora Wilke, Inc, La Boheme Fine Art and the Americas Collection.

“Just as Miami is the gateway to Latin America, Coral Gables is the portal for Latin American art and is South Florida’s center for contemporary Latin American, North American, and European fine art,” Miller said. “In a one-mile by two-block area, it has one of this country’s largest concentrations of galleries showing Latin American art.”

Cordivi and Miller agree that the art communities in the area and around Miami are progressively growing. “Other areas in Greater Miami are beginning to attract galleries, which also adds to the cultural life and vitality of South Florida.”

An event like Gallery Nights, a still developing trend, can uphold the needed attention to maintain an art district in different communities in Miami by drawing in a broader audience.

“Arts need to be a very large part of a city with as much culture as Miami,” Cordovi said.

Soon enough, the arts communities in Miami may become leveled with the scenes in other booming cities, such as New York.

“We don’t have world-class museums like the MoMA or the Guggenheim,” said Cordovi, “but a community like Wynwood could possibly turn into SoHo in the next decade if enough artists unite to make a difference.”

Car-less and wondering how to get around Miami-Dade County? It all depends on whom you ask.

The car-less student from the Northeast would probably call it transportation hell. The car-less student from the South or Midwest might tell you this is transportation heaven.

Truth is, South Florida’s mass transit service isn’t all that bad. The key, of course, is location, location, location. And this happens to be an excellent location. Here’s a sampling of some of the places you’ll most likely visit and a brief description on how to get there.

Many may groan and moan about the perils of mass transit, but it is undoubtedly the best way to explore the sites and sounds of the Magic City. Fortunately, the lifeline to all your urban adventures, the Metrorail, stops just a block away from the University of Miami’s main campus and UM is just a train ride away from the major bus routes. While the Metro won’t take you everywhere you want to go, it will help you connect to buses that will.

While your primary destination will probably be the beach, a word of advice: don’t underestimate the grimy streets of downtown Miami, just minutes away on the Metro from here. Downtown Miami is home to some of the city’s most interesting fauna, tasty, hole-in-the-wall restaurants and several art galleries.

It is also in downtown from where you can catch nearly half a dozen buses to Miami Beach-Miami-Dade’s party central-and the beach side communities along A1A. (An alternative to the Beach is the more family-oriented Key Biscayne. To get there, join the dozens of illegal Central American nannies on bus B and ride into the ritzy seaside community and its beachside parks.)

Need new underwear, tacky decorations, new sneakers or a killer Banana Republic dress? Take the train South to Dadeland North, where you’ll find the ever-classy Target, Best Buy and the Sports Authority. A few blocks away is the shopping hub of Miami-Dade’s noveau riche-and most of Latin America -Dadeland Mall.

Want to go to a movie but don’t want to bum a ride off your roommate? Craving a dose of killer sushi or a sinful tiramisu at a chic Italian sidewalk bistro? Take the train (or walk) to South Miami, home to a cluster of sidewalk restaurants, cafEs and Sunset Place, where you’ll find a 24-screen megaplex, a Barnes and Noble, Niketown, a Virgin record megastore, A/X, the Gap, Old Navy, and several boutiques.

Swanky Coral Gables also offers culinary delights and art gallery buffs, and bus 52 is one of several that will take you to downtown Coral Gables, where you’ll find an international collection of chic restaurants and cafes. Brickell’s famed pub Tobacco Road, a Miami staple, and the area’s cozy (but pricey) eateries are but a 10-minute train ride away.

To immerse yourself in the Cuban experience, complete with picadillo, tostones, flan de guayaba or cafE con leche, take bus 8 to Calle Ocho, Miami’s Cuban-and increasingly -Central American stronghold. The bus departs from the Brickell station, and the ride is about 20 minutes from there-without traffic.

For those of you who want to travel north of south of the county line: A recently-added bus route will take you to Marathon in the Florida Keys and some of the Broward County buses venture into some of Miami-Dade’s northern bus stops. The tri-county train system, Tri-Rail, stops at several of the Metro stations. Tri-Rail travels north-south from West Palm Beach to Miami-Dade County.

Miami-Dade’s transit fares are cheap. The initial one way fares on the bus and train are $1.25 or $1, with a token. A roll of 10 tokens costs $10. Bus and Metro transfers are $.25 each.

Bicycle enthusiasts will be happy to know they can take their bikes on the train and on certain buses. A bike pass is required and can be obtained for free at Government Center. Time restrictions apply on the train, however.

On safety: Take precautions, as you would in any big city. The stations beyond Government Center are in rough neighborhoods, but aren’t as dangerous as they appear.

The system does have its shortcomings. The buses and the Metro don’t run late. The Metro runs till midnight. Most of the buses don’t, and if they do, you’d miss the train, which means that if you want to stay out and party hardy on the Beach or in the Grove, or plan a dinner and a late-night movie, you’d have to catch a cab home. A cab ride from here to the Gables is about $6. To get to the Grove, you’ll pay about $10; to the beach you’ll pay about $35.

For more information, call 305-770-3131 or visit the county web site at www.miamidade.gov.

Only 105 years old, Miami is young by American standards. Yet the diverse city offer of some of most varied cultural and historical hotspots in the American South. Its history is market by good times and bad, success and utter abandonment.

From the works of Picasso and De Kooning being offered throughout the city’s art galleries to the history of bacteria at the Museum of Science, Miami and its surrounding communities serve up a uniquely appetizing dish of old and contemporary history and culture.

Here are some of the more interesting and unique spots Miami has to offer:

Vizcaya Museum and Gardens

3251 South Miami Avenue

Once you have made your way through the tree canopied, winding road that leads to this mansion, you will think you have been invited to the summer residence of a powerful Venetian doge during the Renaissance. Millionaire industrialist James Deering commissioned the 180-acre estate to resemble a self-sufficient Italian villa. When it was completed in 1916 it was the toast of the then-fledgling Miami, and still is. After Deering died in 1925 and the fierce hurricane of 1926 ravaged Miami, the estate was left in disarray until the county purchased it in 1952.

A tour of the mansion is a vivid lesson in European architectural history, as each room represents a different time period. Stories abound in every corner, and if your docent is good enough, they will share with you all of Vizcaya’s secrets – from the original Titanic-doomed china set of the sparse whitewashed kitchen to the origins of the dummy waiter.

While a tour inside the mansion is not to be missed, the view of the bay and a forever foundering concrete ship also commissioned by Deering is breathtaking. The gardens, a revival of formal European gardens a la Versailles, are also a sight to see with its maze of evergreen shrubs, tree-lined paths and classical statues and sphinxes.

A visit to Vizcaya is a one-of-a-kind true escape from the chaos of the modern city and a refreshing cultural break.

Admission: $10

For more information:

www.vizcayamuseum.org

The Biltmore Hotel

1200 Anastasia Avenue

You can gaze at the Biltmore Hotel’s majestic tower, a replica of the Giralda Tower in the Cathedral of Seville, Spain, from the University of Miami campus. Up close, the Biltmore is even more dazzling. Built in 1926, this luxury hotel has graced the Coral Gables skyline for decades of success and abandonment.

Coral Gables land developer George Merrick and Biltmore Hotel magnate John McEntee built the structure at the height of the Florida land boom. The hotel was a haven for northern socialites during the heady days of the Roaring ’20s, and survived the economic turmoil of the Depression by hosting royalty and guests such as Judy Garland, Ginger Rogers, and the notorious Al Capone.

The hotel was converted into a hospital by the army during World War II. Serving as an early site of the UM School of Medicine, it remained a VA hospital until 1968. The city of Coral Gables was granted ownership in 1973, but it was left abandoned until 1983 when it began to undergo a full restoration.

Thanks to its designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1996, visitors are free to roam the stately lobby and corridors. Ripe with Corinthian columns, Italian-styled rafters, an enormous pool, luxurious ballrooms, and 18-hole championship golf course the hotel is an amalgamation of fine faux European craftsmanship and an elite getaway for the wealthy and heads of state.

Local historian Linda Spitzer tells “ghost tales” every Thursday night for free in the lobby. With so many rich ups and downs, the hotel has many a tale to tell. Venture the hotel on your own or with friends, and if you’re not rowdy, take the elevator to the 10th floor, and then climb the stairs to the unmarked 13th floor and see if you can sneak into the two-story suite incorrectly known as the “Al Capone suite.” Something definitely haunts this opulent hotel.

Admission: Free

For more information:

www.biltmorehotel.com

Miami’s Freedom Tower

600 North Biscayne Boulevard

Before the late Cuban American National Foundation (CANF) chairman Jorge Mas Canosa purchased the Freedom Tower for $4.2 million in 1997, it was just another one of downtown Miami’s decrepit and forlorn buildings. It was a disgrace to its past glory.

The Mediterranean-style building sits on the site of Miami’s first train station, and its top was used as a beacon by ship captains to guide them into port. The building opened in 1925 as the headquarters of “The Miami Daily News & Metropolis,” the city’s first newspaper. In 1957, the newspaper sold the building to the U.S. General Service Administration.

The building gained its name and entered its most important period in 1959 when dictator Fidel Castro took over Cuba. More than 500,000 Cubans fled to America and many were processed in the building, rendering it the Ellis Island of the South.

The government abandoned the building in 1974, and the insurmountable cost to transform the narrow building into space for offices left it once again abandoned.

The building now resembles the beauty it once was in the Miami skyline thanks to the CANF. Doused in tropical yellow, it is sometimes the site for protests, hunger strikes, rallies, prayers and marches. Some of the plans the CANF has in store for the tower include a 15,000-square-foot gallery and interactive museum; a library and research center featuring a database of Cuban immigrants who have arrived in the United States; an outdoor Freedom Plaza landscaped with typical Cuban flora, and a ceiba, or kapok tree.

Admission: Free

For more information: miami.travelape.com/attractions/freedom-tower/

Cloisters of the Monastery of

Saint Bernard de Clairvaux

16711 W. Dixie Highway

How did the oldest building in North America end up in South Florida?

Originally built in the 12th century in the Segovia Province of Spain, the monastery was the home of Cistercian monks for 700 years until a social revolution in the 1830’s turned it into a granary and stable.

Media titan William Randolph Hearst purchased the Cloister and the Monastery’s outbuildings and had it dismantled and shipped to America stone by stone in 1925. Fearing an outbreak of hoof and mouth disease, the shipment was quarantined and stored in a Brooklyn warehouse for 26 years until they were purchased by Messrs. W. Edgemon and R. Moss to be used as a tourist attraction.

The cloisters include beautiful monastery gardens, vaulted cloisters, and a chapel straight out of another time.

Admission: $5, $2.50 with Student I.D.

For more information: www.floridagoldcoast.com/attractions/

spanishmonastery.htm

Museum of Science and Space Transit Planetarium

3280 South Miami Avenue

Like most museums of science, Miami’s is aimed mostly at children and their families. This is not to say that it is not worth a visit. Flashy and enticing exhibits include “Kinetosaurs: Dinosaurs You Move!” which features marionette dinosaurs that you control, “The Atoms Family,” where monster characters Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Mummy present you with energy concepts, and “Smithsonian Expedition: Exploring Latin America & the Caribbean,” where you traverse the Americas via an Indiana Jones styled adventure.

The always-fascinating planetarium offers daily shows on constellations, flying stars, and other universal phenomenon. Friday nights, the planetarium truly is out-of-this-world, offering a laser lights show that harmonizes with the music of Pink Floyd.

Admission: $10, $8 with Student I.D.

For more information:

www.miamisci.org

Miami Art Museum

101 West Flagler Street

While Miami lacks in the fine art scene when compared to other major American metropolitan areas with the paltry exhibition space that is the Miami Art Museum, the museum compensates with its permanent collection of western hemisphere art after the 1940’s and wide collection of international art and touring exhibits.

Admission: Varies $5 to Free,

depending on the day

For more information:

www.miamiartmuseum.org

Live music is seen by many students to be as quintessential to the college experience as kegs and class. However, the University of Miami does not have the common bar-hopping scene, in which a blur of live young rock acts and hilariously bad cover bands perform, only to be forgotten when you wake up the next morning with tiny sirens in your ears.

Music in Miami is extremely diverse and segregated, and for what it is worth, this often makes for nights of entertainment that are vivid and memorable. If you like punk, electronica, jazz, hip hop, emo, folk, salsa, metal, anything besides polka and Tibetan chanting, you can probably find it here if you’re willing to search.

The most extensive and popular scene is the one in South Beach that caters to the dance and electronica crowd. While a trance storm thrived here a couple of years ago, it has fortunately died down and made room for house, a little dub and drum ‘n’ bass, and given DJs a freedom to spin more eclectic and complex sets. The turnover rate for clubs on the beach is high, so by the end of the school year, the hippest place at beginning of the semester may be shut down for renovations, money problems, or to have a new trend setter take its place.

Towards the end of last semester, Honey, 645 Washington Ave., was the spot to be for UM students. Drenched in indulgent warm, syrupy yellows, Honey enlists DJs that playfully spin everything from 80s and old school rap to deep house. Opium, 136 Collins Ave., with a lavish and seductive Orient theme, is another place to be seen for both clubbing and dining, with music that usually borders on more progressive house and Latin flavor. For a weekly schedule of everything going down on SoBe check out the thoroughly dope web site www.cooljunkie.com.

For dance fans who just can’t get enough, wait until March, a way off, but definitely worth it. This is when the annual Winter Music Conference swarms the beach and brings every top worldwide DJ and electronica act to the city for four days of exhaustive beats and bliss. The most concentrated event of the WMC is Ultra, a one-day extravaganza that features hundreds of artists performing simultaneously at numerous stages and tents.

Last March’s event hosted artists like Deep Dish, Roni Size, The Crystal Method, Goldie, Diesel Boy, Perry Farrel and Del tha Funkee Homosapien, as well as thousands of the city’s finest girls wearing nothing more than bikinis and body glow paint. If so-called “intelligent dance music” is what you’re craving, check out Pop Life at Piccadilly Gardens, 35 NE 40th St, with resident DJ Le Spam and guest artists like Jega.

If you prefer the sound of guitar and vocals to beats, or if your bank account has been wiped out due to one too many late night bottles of Cristal, Miami has several venues that specialize in quenching the rock appetite, albeit in smaller servings. Churchill’s Pub, 5501 NE 2nd Ave., is a hearty little punk rock dive that is perfect for letting out some aggression, drinking away your sorrows, or just watching a soccer match with the friendly locals. There’s often no cover, the beer is cheap, and the Shepard’s pie is a workingman’s secret. The music ranges from punk to indie rock to reggae funk and is usually loud and raw. With a long history (it’s where Marilyn Manson got his start), there’s occasionally little surprises like ?uestlove from the Roots spinning old soul records on the down low.

If Churchill’s is the Sex Pistols, Revolver, 2826 N. Miami Ave., is the Talking Heads. For those who don’t know, Revolver recently moved from a suave location behind Sunset Place, into the venue that used to be FM. Revolver plays host to many CD release parties, ranging from Moby to the John Spence Blues Explosion, and live acts are often inches away from the saw blade of being the next “cutting edge” big thing. Last semester saw lively performances by Desaparecidos and several emo bands. The place is also known for launching into a full on electro pop dance party that is quite contagious and nostalgic. Venues with larger national acts include the ambitious and fully loaded Billboard Live in SoBe and the Sunrise Musical Theatre in Sunrise.

If you’re car-less or still perplexed by UM’s social structure, swing by the Rathskeller on campus or Titanic Brewery on Ponce De Leon Blvd. for a pitcher (with proper I.D.) and enjoy a performance by various collectives and start-up bands that consist of talented students from UM’s School of Music. The Surfrider Foundation throws parties at the Rat throughout the year that feature refreshing ska and pop punk bands and contests for surf boards and The Miami Hurricane should be hosting a rumored legendary bash as well before winter break.

All in all, make the most of the music scene in Miami as it continues to grow. The only way to help it flourish is to support it. As with everything in college, open your mind to experience, and continue to expand your listening palette as you party and enjoy the palm tree shaded college life of Miami.

Some Miami restaurants are known for their so-so service, yet hipster crowds. Some can seem like a place only for power couples and celebrities not caring how much a measly salads dents their wallet. For the University of Miami

college student, though, reasonable prices are as important as hipness (okay, price is MUCH more important than being hip).

Here is a list of some reasonably priced yet notable Miami restaurants:

Terrace Grill

A new restaurant that just opened up on U.S. 1, blocks from Sunset Place, Terrace Grill offers an assortment of Mexican inspired dishes at reasonable prices. The building is painted orange and mauve, in the style of Spanish adobes, and although the inside is cluttered, the outdoor seating is a step up (although the view of UM staple club Revolver is less then best). Try the zesty vegetable quesadilla, served on a triangle yellow plate, with vibrant corn relish and tangy salsa. The cake desserts are simplistic yet delicious. Even better is the attentive service (perhaps the best in Miami). Average price around $30 for dinner and dessert for two.

Balans

The best moderately priced South Beach restaurant, Balans is located on popular Lincoln Road. With a vast selection of vegetarian and meat dishes, Balans boasts some of the best-presented cheap dishes. The Sweet Potato Souffle, served in a sometimes salty cheese sauce with wilted spinach on top is an addictive and irresistible dish. For dessert, the warm chocolate soufflE with basil ice cream is well worth the fifteen minute wait. Service is definitely not the most courteous, yet

goes right along with the people-watching (sitting outside gives the patron enormous amounts of eccentric eye candy to nibble on). Normal price for two is $25.

Daily Bread

Not exactly a restaurant, but a middle-eastern food stop with desserts and dinners cafeteria style. The falafel sandwich and hummus are done as well as any place can do it, and the baklava and honey cake for dessert are great. Having the option of outdoor seating as well as indoors is definitely a plus. Prices are $5 dollars for the sandwiches, $1 for the desserts.

Pasta Fiore

Hidden in Kendall, off of U.S. 1 near the Kendall Book shelf and Tavern, Pasta Fiore is a find in Miami. It serves up some of the best home-made Italian food, from the delicious manicotti to the classic Penne pasta with buffalo mozzarella and basil. Each dinner comes with a salad, a revolutionary idea in this urban day and age. Prices are about $25 dollars for a table for two.

Moon

Right across from the University of Miami is the best sushi place, although not exactly cheap. With two menus, both Thai and Japanese, Moon offers the UM student a vast selection of delicious sushi and great Thai food. The Thai ice tea is smooth and the Pad Thai is the highlight of the menu. Prices are a bit more expensive, about $40 for a table of two. You could save on gas, though, considering it is no more than a few paces away.

Live music is seen by many students to be as quintessential to the college experience as kegs and class. However, the University of Miami does not have the common bar-hopping scene, in which a blur of live young rock acts and hilariously bad cover bands perform, only to be forgotten when you wake up the next morning with tiny sirens in your ears.

Music in Miami is extremely diverse and segregated, and for what it is worth, this often makes for nights of entertainment that are vivid and memorable. If you like punk, electronica, jazz, hip hop, emo, folk, salsa, metal, anything besides polka and Tibetan chanting, you can probably find it here if you’re willing to search.

The most extensive and popular scene is the one in South Beach that caters to the dance and electronica crowd. While a trance storm thrived here a couple of years ago, it has fortunately died down and made room for house, a little dub and drum ‘n’ bass, and given DJs a freedom to spin more eclectic and complex sets. The turnover rate for clubs on the beach is high, so by the end of the school year, the hippest place at beginning of the semester may be shut down for renovations, money problems, or to have a new trend setter take its place.

Towards the end of last semester, Honey, 645 Washington Ave., was the spot to be for UM students. Drenched in indulgent warm, syrupy yellows, Honey enlists DJs that playfully spin everything from 80s and old school rap to deep house. Opium, 136 Collins Ave., with a lavish and seductive Orient theme, is another place to be seen for both clubbing and dining, with music that usually borders on more progressive house and Latin flavor. For a weekly schedule of everything going down on SoBe check out the thoroughly dope web site www.cooljunkie.com.

For dance fans who just can’t get enough, wait until March, a way off, but definitely worth it. This is when the annual Winter Music Conference swarms the beach and brings every top worldwide DJ and electronica act to the city for four days of exhaustive beats and bliss. The most concentrated event of the WMC is Ultra, a one-day extravaganza that features hundreds of artists performing simultaneously at numerous stages and tents.

Last March’s event hosted artists like Deep Dish, Roni Size, The Crystal Method, Goldie, Diesel Boy, Perry Farrel and Del tha Funkee Homosapien, as well as thousands of the city’s finest girls wearing nothing more than bikinis and body glow paint. If so-called “intelligent dance music” is what you’re craving, check out Pop Life at Piccadilly Gardens, 35 NE 40th St, with resident DJ Le Spam and guest artists like Jega.

If you prefer the sound of guitar and vocals to beats, or if your bank account has been wiped out due to one too many late night bottles of Cristal, Miami has several venues that specialize in quenching the rock appetite, albeit in smaller servings. Churchill’s Pub, 5501 NE 2nd Ave., is a hearty little punk rock dive that is perfect for letting out some aggression, drinking away your sorrows, or just watching a soccer match with the friendly locals. There’s often no cover, the beer is cheap, and the Shepard’s pie is a workingman’s secret. The music ranges from punk to indie rock to reggae funk and is usually loud and raw. With a long history (it’s where Marilyn Manson got his start), there’s occasionally little surprises like ?uestlove from the Roots spinning old soul records on the down low.

If Churchill’s is the Sex Pistols, Revolver, 2826 N. Miami Ave., is the Talking Heads. For those who don’t know, Revolver recently moved from a suave location behind Sunset Place, into the venue that used to be FM. Revolver plays host to many CD release parties, ranging from Moby to the John Spence Blues Explosion, and live acts are often inches away from the saw blade of being the next “cutting edge” big thing. Last semester saw lively performances by Desaparecidos and several emo bands. The place is also known for launching into a full on electro pop dance party that is quite contagious and nostalgic. Venues with larger national acts include the ambitious and fully loaded Billboard Live in SoBe and the Sunrise Musical Theatre in Sunrise.

If you’re car-less or still perplexed by UM’s social structure, swing by the Rathskeller on campus or Titanic Brewery on Ponce De Leon Blvd. for a pitcher (with proper I.D.) and enjoy a performance by various collectives and start-up bands that consist of talented students from UM’s School of Music. The Surfrider Foundation throws parties at the Rat throughout the year that feature refreshing ska and pop punk bands and contests for surf boards and The Miami Hurricane should be hosting a rumored legendary bash as well before winter break.

All in all, make the most of the music scene in Miami as it continues to grow. The only way to help it flourish is to support it. As with everything in college, open your mind to experience, and continue to expand your listening palette as you party and enjoy the palm tree shaded college life of Miami.

Where else does one have access to all the major theme parks and amazing natural beauty, all within a five hour drive? Florida is a kid’s paradise when it comes to having the best backyard imaginable. With a few friends, about $150, inexpensive hotels and great deals (which abound year-round), great weekends are just a drive away.

Orlando

The Mecca of tourists. Here we find Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Wet’n’Wild, Sea World, and little-known complex called Walt Disney World – which in itself comprises four major parks, countless resorts, three water parks and a public transportation system better than Miami’s. This, of course, is not counting all the lesser tourist attractions like Ripley’s Believe It or Not or Church Street.

Average entrance for any of the major parks is $50, and is likely to be the greatest expense on a weekend getaway. Hotels can be found for as low as $40 or $50 a night, so, split among two or three friends, it should not run you into the ground. Factor in $20 for food each day (we’re talking supermarket, here, kids, not going out), and you’re set.

Tampa

Not as many options as Orlando, but also not as crowded and just as nice. Parks are limited to Busch Gardens and Adventure Island, but since both are owned by Anheuser-Busch, most likely, there will be a cheapening deal if you buy tickets for both.

The Keys

Natural beauty abounds on each and every one of these small islands. Here, one can snorkel, dive, and even make the trek to one of the more remote islands for camping. One must not, however, neglect Key West.

Key West is the place with the most bars (and churches) per capita in the country. A few hours south on U.S. 1 lies the infamous Duval Crawl (on Duval Street – how clever…) and some amazing beaches. Besides drinking costs, a weekend here will cost next to nothing – the youth hostel is a mere $22.50 a night for non-Hostelling International members.

The Everglades

Definitely for the more rugged types. One and a half million acres of preserved wild fauna and flora definitely have their value, however, the temperature and the mosquitoes will, undoubtedly, be obscene. If that doesn’t faze you, make sure to arrange for a boat or kayak, since that’s the best way to experience this amazing national park.