Miami gets a bad rap. Before our trip to Florida this summer, people told us stories about how they were disappointed visiting Miami. Like any major city, Miami has its benefits and drawbacks, but we went into our time there with realistic expectations and truly enjoyed ourselves.
1. Miami is humid. We were there in early July and most days were in the upper 80s or lower 90s with a decent bit of humidity. I went into it knowing my face would glow in pictures and my hair wouldn’t stay straight and embraced it. After living in Phoenix for five years, any temperature under 100 degrees doesn’t really seem that bad.
2. People in Miami are all about the club scene. If you’ve listened to rap music at all, you’ve probably heard references to people partying or dancing in Miami. Miami Beach, especially, is like the Vegas of Florida. I went there expecting crowded streets at night, neon lights, and people wearing club clothes, and that’s exactly what I saw. It’s kind of a cultural distinction of southern Florida, and I like witnessing different subcultures in the U.S.
3. Miami is a melting pot of cultures. You can almost pretend you are are walking through a foreign country. Miami is a destination spot and a crossroads for world travelers, so you will literally hear five different languages as you walk down a single city block. We passed so many families with young kids on the sidewalks and every single time they were speaking a foreign language as we passed them. Chefs from around the world call Miami home and cook up amazing fare for travelers worldwide. You can get the best Italian food, Colombian food, or Japanese food within blocks of each other on Miami Beach. Also, Florida has many Cuban influences that you can’t find in other regions of the U.S. Cuban sandwiches and Cuban coffee are plentiful in Miami. If you want to feel like you are abroad without having to bring your passport, Miami is the place to go.
We rolled into Miami on a Thursday afternoon and hit up the beach before dinner. We stayed in a little AirBnB hotel room directly across from the water in North Beach. Literally, the only thing between us and the ocean was a crosswalk, and we only paid $89 a night. This was the first sign that we would love our time in Miami. This was the view of the sunrise from our room…
The first night we visited the Wynwood Walls in downtown Miami. This is a neighborhood that was previously run down by poverty and crime. Then a developer had a vision to use the old warehouses as canvases for an exhibit of street art. There are blocks and blocks of amazing graffiti in the area, as well as a designated museum/gallery space. Once the neighborhood was revitalized by the art, shops and restaurants started moving back into the area. Now it’s a fun spot for dinner and art viewing. This was probably our favorite attraction in all of Miami. We thought we would stop by for a few minutes before dinner and ended up staying for more than an hour.
After the visiting the walls, we headed to Little Havana for dinner and ice cream. We ate at Lung Yai Thai Tapas and it was amazing! I had the steamed dumplings (best I’ve ever had) and the Pad See Ew. I will dream about eating this meal again for the rest of my life. We sat up at the counter and watched the chefs cook our food just inches away from us. So fun. After dinner, we walked down the block to Azucar Ice Cream to try some of their unique Cuban flavors. Micah loved the mantecado (Cuban vanilla with cinnamon and nutmeg) and I had the Cafe Con Leche with Oreos. Loved it.
The next day Micah visited another cable park. On the way, I stopped at Alaska Coffee Roasting for a latte and a cronut. Well, the cronut wasn’t planned… but the both were delicious. If you happen to find yourself in the north Miami suburbs, this place is a gem. That evening, after our daily late afternoon swim, we went out to dinner in South Beach to get a feel for the culture. We had appetizers at Bolivar, dinner at Naked Taco, and dessert at O’ My Buns. The food at these places was okay, but if I ever go back I will scout out the most authentic Italian food I can find and top it off with a cannoli.
On our last day in town, we grabbed brunch in South Beach at The Front Porch Cafe. The bonus to being in the Miami Beach clubbing culture is that everyone stays out all night and brunch spots don’t get busy until 11am or even noon. I called our restaurant in advance and the hostess said there would be NO wait, even as late as 10am! I spent the next few hours wandering around South Beach while Micah visited the wakeboarding park one last time. I adore Art Deco architecture, so I walked around the historic district a bit, grabbed coffee at Crema, and went shopping all by myself at the Lincoln Road Mall. I only bought one shirt, but being alone and not in a hurry was an amazing feeling. Since having kids, shopping is usually a drag.
We made our way to the Fort Lauderdale airport in the late afternoon and said goodbye to our Florida adventure. We loved Miami. It was affordable, relaxing, and fun to taste and see an array of cultures collide in a beach setting. Adios Miami! Until next time!
