Blogs from Miami Beach, Florida, United States, North America

We got into Miami by around 4, and as we had made it a day earlier then originally predicted we now had 3 different groups of friends in Miami that night; Margie and Chris (from San Diego and who came to Vegas with us) they were in Miami for one night before their cruise to the Bahamas, Olivia (my friend from The Hughenden Hotel in Sydney) who was flying to New York the next day after spending the semester at the Uni of Miami and then there were Gavin, Murray and Adam who we made friends with a couple of years ago at Jimmy's Beach who I had only met a few times but Laura and the girls still kept in touch with them. We organised to meet all of them out that night, so after ... read more

I woke up at about 10:30 which we never let ourselves do because we never want to miss anything but we were in Miami for four nights so we were a bit more lenient! Laura ended up sleeping until I woke her at 12:42! We went for a very hungover lunch at South Beach and walked around that part of town looking at everything (including the actual beach- which is the nicest US beach I've seen so far, but has no waves!) before heading back to the hostel to chill out and google things for the rest of our trip. That night we went looking for Cuban food (Miami has a high Cuban population) and ran into the boys who were going for steaks, we didn't find any good Cuban Food in that area so we ... read more

Today was my day to sleep in till 12:30! Whoops! Today my hangover was even worse than yesterday but we were determined to go bike riding on the main land so we headed off with me wondering if I'd be able to ride with my head spinning like that. We stopped in to a Cuban restaurant for breki and both ended up with nothing Cuban. When we got to the bike rental shop they unfortunately (thankfully as I was dying) didn't have any of the bikes that we could afford (so poor and only half way through our trip) so we trudged home without doing anything and played on our iPads and took a much needed nap!When I got up I heard some other aussies in the hostel talking about the Miami Heat NBA playoff game ... read more

We got up early and caught a bus straight to the main land with the intent of hiring bikes, but when we got there they didn't have the bikes we could afford AGAIN! Plus it looked like it was about to start pouring so we walked around the bayside area wondering what to do and trying to find info for the hop on hop off buses when we ran into their main terminal. We jumped on one and it took us to all the main areas we wanted to see (except the Miami design district) and we the guides were really informative and it worked out so much better than us trying to find all those spread out places on bikes... In the rain.Plus it took us straight back to near our hostel! We got home ... read more

Finally some vacation, since it was more than needed ! Almost 2 years without a true vacation and the ocean, sand, sun , warmth, just farniente ! With my friend, we picked one of the most jet set hotels in South Beach ! Le Fontainebleau , could not pick a better place ! We visited Viscaya Villa, Laura was my private guide and that was really a moment of charm and the museum brought us some nice delightful gifts ! This birthday day was lovely ! We drove to Palm Beach, which has the most beautiful houses I have ever seen ! So classy ! But what we liked, was always returning to our beautiful hotel : A wonderful place with beautiful swimming pools, yoga in the garden, that was enchanting, a paradise and the beach ... read more

Miami's South Beach draws in the rich, famous and trendy AND rowdy college spring breakers. Nightlife abounds, but South Beach is also a historic district, a people-watching haven and a beach-lover's dreiam. We hauled down from Jensen Beach for a day trip with friends. South Beach didn't disappoint. We hopped on a double decker, open air bus for an hour plus tour which took us through the South Beach Art Deco area and parts of Miami. The live narration was well informed about the history and architecture of the area. The story of how the Art Deco hotels were saved by Barbara Capitman and a group of activists is legendary. We walked on Ocean Drive passing through touisty sidewalk cafes loaded with spring breakers to famed Joe's a little too late for lunch; but nibbled great ... read more

Get to South Beach around noon, and there are loud people stumbling, girls in bikinis, and about a third of the people are carrying a plastic cup with golden liquid. This looks like a recipe for a fantastic disaster. Check in at the Congress isn't until four, so park the car and check out the beach. Windy as all hell, and clouds are dark but scattered. No sun bathers, only a few swimmers. Look at that water though, clear and green. Gotta try it out. Warmer than the air, maybe I should just float for a few hours. Nah, gotta check out the area and do some planning. Cheap cafe, great reviews. Cute waitress. Braces, uh-oh. Stop flirting with me, there is no way you are 18. Clubs everywhere, but there has to be a dive ... read more