My first visit to the US was in '99. I stayed in Miami for a few days, a conference, but with lots of free time. I went to South beach, and immediately fell in big time love with the place. In as much as the art deco buildings were in such bad shape.,it was a wonderful felling to soak up the atmosphere, I felt like I was back in the 40's or 50's, time travel. There were no tourist traps, I found many locals just willing to have a nice conversation with a foreigner, I guess they were not used to visitors anymore. There was almost no traffic, the beach wasn't crowded, and I found some nice places to eat. I recall a Jewish Deli, Wolfies, so 50's. Also, a place with the best lemonade I had in my life, on Lincoln Road. Also, a store selling those Duralex glasses in any shape you can imagine. Fast forward to 2010, I'm back in Miami. Oh my, I didn't recognize anything. I had to fight my way in the crowded streets, only to find the restaurants were no more, replaced by trending fashion shops catering to the tourists. Lots of traps, like shops showing “antiques” surely made in China. I never saw so many people doing nothing, because there was nothing to see or do. I guess they were there only because they were told it was “the place to be seen”. As for the art deco buildings, I'm not sure, but it seemed they got a coat of paint on the outside, nothing more.