End of Quarter Break: Miami
Burn out is real. We work to live, but sometimes it feels like we live to work. This is something that my fiancé and I have experienced, just like many others. That’s why, pre-pregnancy, we made it a priority to book ourselves some sort of get-away every quarter of the year. We realized how much we both really needed this time to step back, reflect and refresh before diving back into our work. We started this last spring, with a tried and true classic, my personal favorite: Miami.
Day One:
We flew into MIA and headed straight to South Beach. I know, I know - as touristy as it sounds, this was Porter’s first time in Miami and we were in desperate need of some beach time. We also booked our hotel on South Beach, Sonder at the Abbey. We knew we would be spending a lot of our time in or near the ocean, and South Beach is really the only way to do Miami without a car - unless you plan to stay inland.
We hung out at the beach, grabbed some giant margaritas on Ocean Dr. (typical) and then had reservations at Gianni’s at the Former Versace Mansion. Porter is all about fashion (and Italian culture), so this felt right up his alley. The food was great.
After dinner, we did some more exploring around South Beach and ended up at the Watr, the Rooftop bar at the 1Hotel South Beach (where we will be hosting our joint bach parties later this year). We had a drink and some late night sushi before heading in for the night.
Day Two:
We started our morning off at the beach, and then headed to Wynwood for a little Sunday Funday action. I made sure we went to Kiki on the River, because Drake said so. It’s a fun spot on the bay, think: loud music, giant yachts and occassional celebrity sightings. The drinks were great and the food was expensive food but that’s Miami for you. We then wandered around the rest of Wynwood’s Sunday Funday scene - popping in and out of bars until we decided to make our way back to the hotel.
We stumbled upon this yummy little Gelato spot for a night cap.
Day Three:
Porter actually had a wild bout of Vertigo in the middle of the night on Day two, but after a night of mystery illness, he finally recovered enough to grab some breakfast on South Beach. We still took it slow that morning, hung out in the room and watched some TV but when he was feeling better, we headed over to Bayside Marketplace - super touristy (and pretty run down). However, there’s this celebrity homes boat tour that I would always take my visitors on when they visited me as a student at FIU, so naturally I had to take Porter. They take you through the bays of Star Island and you’ll get to see homes that belong to people like Jennifer Lopez, Jackie Chan, and other Miami locals. So if you’re into outrageous real estate, cheap drinks and touristy boat rides I recommend Fiesta Cruises of Miami. Yes, it’s a little cheesy but it’s a cheap and fun way to kill a couple hours before a flight.
This was a much more low key Miami trip than what I am accustomed to, but it was a great weekend getaway for us. We got some much needed R&R and were as ready as we’d ever be to head back into the work week once we landed in Nashville.
