Most Eligible Bachelor

Oh sorry the title didn't include that this was back in early 1900's.  John Deering owned this beautiful mansion in Miami called Vizscaya.  Named for no other reason then it was easy to say and sounded pretty.  The details in this place were beautiful. 3 amateur designers helped with all the little details.  Instantly I could pick out any Italian flair....I haven't been in Venice for about 6.5 years yet the house felt like I was in Venice.  Sure enough the explanations stated many of the designs were from here.  There was a Spanish touch (never been there so not as recognizable) as well as french.  And of course a piece of our heritage, Dutch!  The one table setting dishes had artwork of the Dutch people on it...who wouldn't recognize the wooden shoes??? The Chinese artwork was also noted a few places and who knows what all else was in there.  This house even had a swimming pool....which the owner swam in once.  We weren't supposed to take photos indoors, i snuck a few...

One large pipe organ here....It had a whole room of it's own pipes hidden behind beautiful artwork.  Sorry for the fuzziness on this photo...was trying to be a little sneaky.

Some fun stairs...they were narrow compared to other stairways the house and first though they were for servants.  But the upper 2 rooms were for guests.  

I just loved the added touch of the star at the bottom.

The outdoor grounds were beautiful as well.  Acres and acres of gardens.  What a job to maintain.  The ocean water was but a few steps off the balcony, the tea house on the waters would be enjoyable and well the photo opportunities were endless on this property.  I guess if you're ever out in Miami and are interested in a little piece of history, art, architect, beauty you probably would enjoy this place....

this pool was swam in once by the owner of the home...

don't worry his guests enjoyed the pool a lot more often!

Yeah that "boat" in the background was just for show

The architecture....

orchid garden with a crazy tree

The outdoor tea room

The side of the house

By the "casino" overlooking some gardens

Modern day statues.. 

and the first iguana we've ever seen in the wild.

After spending a few hours in and around the house our stomachs were calling for lunch.  We're on holiday time so after a fun bike ride around the docks we made it to Coco landing for lunch.  It was the earliest lunch we've had at 2:30.

We browsed around this little district for a bit, attempted to hit a market, but it wasn't a market then drove around different bridges and neighbourhoods of Miami.  Some of the homes around here are crazy.

Upon our return we cooked up dinner and watched the sun go down......not much of a scene, but maybe another day?

With one last swim in the pool and a relaxation in the hot tub that ended another day here.

Hebrews 3:4 was on someones construction truck but it was also a suitable for our day in that big house.
"For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything"