Back To Flamingo Palm Neon | andrejrusskovskij.com

23-27/03/2017, Miami (USA)

Landing in Fort Lauderdale and taking an Uber to Miami kinda felt like going back home. I remember that, for the first time in 4 months I got my mobile out of my underwear (yes ladies and gentlemen, that’s exactly where I hid it all the time…) and, without a single worry in the world, I fell asleep on the Uber to our friends’ place.

When it came to plan our return trip to Europe both me and Isa agreed on a 5 days stopover in Miami, where we could spend some time with our beloved Martina and Richard, doubtlessly two of the friends I miss the most in my daily routine, and also allow ourselves a bit of time to slowly start getting back to reality. Funny how grateful you can become for a hot shower with good pressure and for having the time to shave in peace.

This time around we took it super easy. We adopted our friends’ lifestyles and lived like locals, making the absolute most of the time we had on our hands.

Miami is the kind of place I like to close my eyes and think of. As soon as I do it, I get hit by an overwhelming mixture of memories, sounds, flavours and colours. The taste of the perfectly ripe fruit of Robert Is Here, the shiny streets of Wynwood and the feeling of being in a photoshoot set you wouldn’t even dare to dream about, the smell of sunscreen on my skin while strolling around the mangrove forests of Key Biscayne, the echoes of the trumpets of a feel good latin tune, the light in Richard’s eyes while he passionately talks about the Miami young democrats’ plan of action, how proud Marti looks when she tells about the achievements of the Empowered Youth teens she mentors, the warmth of their laughters and the spontaneity of the moments we share… I often find myself saying that I could easily live in Miami. I kinda feel like a belong there but, I guess, it’s quite hard to feel differently in such a melting pot of a city. A city where being politically, socially, culturally and artistically involved seems to be not so out of reach.

There are definitely “worse” ways to go back to reality.