SATURDAY
SIGHTS
"I love Key Biscayne, a tropical island village six miles off the
coast of Miami. The Rickenbacker Causeway takes you from Miami to
Key Biscayne over the water. It's a great drive. On the left you
can see the cruise ships; on the right are all of the beautiful,
large homes. It's peaceful, and you've got the water on both sides
of you. In Key Biscayne, you have tennis, golf, nice restaurants,
the Miami Seaquarium; everything a vacation is all about."
BEACHES
"Crandon Park Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in
America, and the best party beach in Key Biscayne. It's miles of
wide, flat beach, right along the drive, and it's always packed and
everyone's barbecuing. There are outdoor grills everywhere. Crandon
Park also has an amusement park, gardens, and a nature center.
Fisher Island has a great beach with a nice eating area and a huge
dock. The beach is very quiet, very nice, and not big. If you're
staying at the Inn at Fisher Island, you can go to a mile-long
private beach with sand imported from the Bahamas."
TENNIS
"The Crandon Park Tennis Center in Key Biscayne is where they play
the Ericsson Open, the fifth biggest tennis tournament in the
world. I love that tournament. It's really one of the best. Crandon
Park is a public tennis center, and it's one of the best tennis
sites in the country. It seats about 14,000, has good lighting at
night, and a good atmosphere for tennis. At the Ericsson Open,
you've got Andre Agassi, Gustavo Kuerten, Patrick Rafter, all the
top guys. If you win, you play six matches in 10 days. A lot of
guys like playing Crandon Park."
GOLF
"Crandon Park Golf Course is one of the best public courses in the
country, and the only golf course on Biscayne Bay. It faces the
ocean and is nicely manicured, but it's also tough, with a lot of
character and history, and it hosts an annual PGA tournament. The
golf course is right next to the tennis center. Sometimes when I'm
finished playing or practicing, I'll go and play a quick nine
holes. There's also The Links at Fisher Island, a nine-hole course
designed by P.B. Dye. It's between the ocean and Biscayne Bay."
LUNCH
"Coconut Grove is a nice area for lunch. I love Mezzanotte, which
is, once again, great Italian with a very hip, stylish crowd. After
11 on the weekends, a DJ spins music and customers dance on the
tables. I love the lobster ravioli or the veal chop with rosemary
wine sauce at Capriccio. It's a pretty good-sized restaurant with
an outdoor terrace, which is the perfect place to sit, especially
in winter, when the temperatures are in the 60s and 70s."
SPA
"The Spa Internazionale at Fisher Island is housed in the
Vanderbilt family's huge old seaplane hangar. I've gotten massages
there, and they have all types of beauty stuff: mud baths with
black Hungarian mud, herbal wraps, and things like that. It's one
of the best spas I've ever been to. The gym overlooks the water and
there's a private VIP suite that guests can book. It has
everything: steam bath, sauna, Jacuzzi, shower, and more."
DINNER
"Joe's Stone Crab probably has the best stone crabs in the country.
This is such seriously great crab that people will wait in line for
up to three hours, because Joe's doesn't take reservations. Don
Shula, former coach of the Miami Dolphins, has Shula's Steak House.
It's very good. Good meat. They have something called the 48-Ounce
Club, with more than 16,000 members. To join, you've got to eat a
48-ounce steak in one sitting. The ambience is like a club: dark
wood, soft lighting. It overlooks the golf course. It's definitely
very popular. Don Shula's a legend in that area, so everybody
goes."
SPORTS
"I've gone to a lot of Miami Heat games. It's convenient to Fisher
Island. Once you get off the ferry, the team's stadium, the
American Airlines Arena, is about 15 minutes away. I'm a big NBA
nut, so I've gone to a lot of games in Miami, which is a fun way to
have a little entertainment after dinner. Pat Riley, formerly of
the L.A. Lakers, is the Heat's coach now. Miami and L.A. games have
a similar kind of atmosphere when it comes to basketball. People
are very laid-back. Obviously, my heart is with the Lakers, but I
enjoy watching the Heat. A couple of times when I've been in Miami,
the Heat and the Lakers have played each other, which is a really
passionate game for me to watch."