Miami, Florida
Featured in 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, I’ve wanted to go to Villa Vizcaya for years. The house seemed intriguing enough, with wealth and opulence on display in Miami.
Credit goes to the former owner, James Deering, a Vice President with International Harvester, who decided to build his mansion in a Mediterranean Revival style, making his 110-year-old house look like it was much, much older.
Today, the mansion and gardens are well maintained, and the mansion is worth the cost of admission. The only downfall seems to be that everyone in Miami with an Instagram account is aware of Villa Vizcaya’s photogenic qualities. Many people wore fancy dresses and full makeup on the grounds, seeking to capture the perfect Instagram shot. Some people were taking pictures of each other, while others had someone in tow to take all the shots. The irony is that Miami’s hotspot for photos was built by a man who famously did not like to have his picture taken.
Villa Vizcaya was being set up for a wedding the day we arrived, and we wondered how expensive (at least 7 figures) this wedding would be. My wife took a photo of the guest list, and we noticed that Hollywood star Christian Slater was on the guest list. On the drive back to the hotel, my wife and her sister told us all of the events of this wedding and the life story of the bride and groom.
Overall, the trip to Villa Vizcaya broadened my horizons, giving me insight into two lifestyles I vaguely understand: those of the ultra-rich and those of the Instagram-famous.
