My best friend, Barb, and I began a wonderful vacation today - May 30, 2008. We started our first day at Bayside Marketplace in Miami, which has become a tradition - first stop . . . Bayside. For the next nine days, we visited different areas in South Florida, including some spots in Delray Beach and Fort Lauderdale. We headed down to Key West on June 4th - spent three full days there then made our way back up to Miami. The weather prediction called for scattered thunderstorms 99% of the vacation; HOWEVER, we only encountered some rain on the first day. After that, the weather was great - very humid - but no complaints (well, maybe just a little complaining now and again) but overall - we were thrilled that it didn't rain at all for the next nine days :)
![Denise > Bayside Marketplace - Miami (May 30, 2008) [BAG]](http://newenglander.smugmug.com/Travel/Florida-2008/Bayside-Miami-May-30-to-June-8/IMG2123/310197883_8oE9r-Ti.jpg "Denise > Bayside Marketplace - Miami (May 30, 2008) [BAG]")
![Denise > Bayside Marketplace - Miami (May 30, 2008)
Freedom Tower was built in the Mediterranean Revival style in 1925, when it housed the offices of the Miami News & Metropolis. It is said that it was inspired by the Giralda Tower in Seville, Spain. The cupola tower contained a beacon light to shine over the Miami Bay, which would have served the practical purpose of acting as a lighthouse while symbolically announcing the enlightenment brought by the Miami News & Metropolis to the rest of the world.
When the newspaper went out of business over 30 years later, the building lay vacant for some time. When the Castro regime came into power and political refugees flooded South Florida looking for a new start, the tower was taken over by the U.S. government to provide services to the immigrants. It contained in-processing services, basic medical and dental services, records on relatives already in the U.S. and relief aid for those starting a new life with nothing. For many thousands of immigrants, the tower provided nothing less than their freedom from Castro and the hardships Cuba had come to give them. It rightly earned its name then of Freedom Tower. [Information found at About.com: Miami.]](http://newenglander.smugmug.com/Travel/Florida-2008/Bayside-Miami-May-30-to-June-8/122-Bayside-May-30-2008/312057810_frxHV-Ti.jpg "Denise > Bayside Marketplace - Miami (May 30, 2008)
Freedom Tower was built in the Mediterranean Revival style in 1925, when it housed the offices of the Miami News & Metropolis. It is said that it was inspired by the Giralda Tower in Seville, Spain. The cupola tower contained a beacon light to shine over the Miami Bay, which would have served the practical purpose of acting as a lighthouse while symbolically announcing the enlightenment brought by the Miami News & Metropolis to the rest of the world.
When the newspaper went out of business over 30 years later, the building lay vacant for some time. When the Castro regime came into power and political refugees flooded South Florida looking for a new start, the tower was taken over by the U.S. government to provide services to the immigrants. It contained in-processing services, basic medical and dental services, records on relatives already in the U.S. and relief aid for those starting a new life with nothing. For many thousands of immigrants, the tower provided nothing less than their freedom from Castro and the hardships Cuba had come to give them. It rightly earned its name then of Freedom Tower. [Information found at About.com: Miami.]")
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