This was the second leg of my birthday week celebration and I really just wanted to put my toes in the sand and my feet in the ocean to conclude my 32nd complete year around the. What better place to do that than Miami, Florida.
Where We Stayed
When looking for a hotel there were a few things I wanted to keep in mind. I wanted to be close to the beach, close to shops and restaurants, somewhere clean, and somewhere that would not break our pockets. While searching the internet highways and byways for weeks I came across a cute boutique hotel that checked off those all boxes plus it was a newer hotel opening only earlier 2022. I was sold.
The hotel you ask, Uma House by Yurbann South Beach. Uma House is located on James Ave right behind Collins Ave. The pros of this hotel definitely outweighed the cons. Let me give you the cons because there are two major ones and it concerns the room itself. First, the lighting in the room was TERRIBLE yall. My mom hated it! There were just not enough lights and it was constantly dim, especially in the evening. Second and most important, they would not allow the air to go below 69 degrees. Now yall are probably thinking that's not too bad, right? But it is. The temperature never dropped below 71 degrees in the room it was 100 degrees outside. Was it unbearable, no but this heat we have been having this summer is different and it was warm at times in the room but it would cool off but not as cool as my mom or I like it. Neither of these were total deal breakers but definitely affect my overall rating.
Now you are probably like why would stay there again because the pros outweighed the cons. All of my boxes were checked out. It was about a block away from a beach entrance and they provided beach towels in your room, a beach bag, and two chairs at the beach. As noted above it is located one street over from Collins Ave, a few blocks from Espanola Way, walking distance to Lincoln ceneter. In short the location is prime! It was very clean, it's new, and they cleaned the room regularly all of which rank top for me. The best part, the price was goodt! All in all out of 5 stars I would this place a 3.8 which is good and I would definitely stay again.
What We Did
I hope you didn't come to this post to hear about the turn-up spots because unfortunately this won't' tickle your fancy. I went to Miami to relax honestly. I was coming off of a 4 day trip to Disney World (don't worry that blog post is coming soon) and I already knew I would be be dog tired. I just wanted to hit the beach and relax plus I was with my mom who likes to have a good time but the club is not her scene and I might be getting a little old myself. If there are two things that my mom and I enjoy doing together though, it is shopping and exploring so we did just that.
Where We Shopped
If you are looking for a good shopping area Lincoln Center is what you are looking for. You have your Nike, H&M, Forever21, Macy's Zara plus an Apple and so much more and please take it from me and my mom, if you have an iPhone you should always know where the nearest Apple is when traveling because you never know when you will have to make a quick trip in (don't ask how I know). Now if you are a luxury girl that follows me, (Hey girl hey) Bal Harbour is going to be for you. Now we did not make it there because we are yet luxury girls but I know from sources that's all yall.
Where We Explored
Depending on how long you have been following me you probably know that if there is one thing that I am going to when I travel it is find the art walls, the art galleries. I love a good art wall and Miami did not disappoint! By recommendation from my cousin we visited the Art District and the Wynwood Walls. The Art District itself is filled with tons of art walls, graffiti and just overall a vibe. The Wynwood Walls is a a wall art museum that does cost to enter. You can find walls painted by different artist depending on the time you visit and even sculptures designed by artist. During our visit one of the walls was painted by Shepard Fairey who is the artist that created the famous Obama Hope photo. All in all my heart was full with all the art.
What We Ate
If you have been around long enough then you already know that if it is one thing your girl is going to do, it is eat good rather on vacation or not. I am a self-certified foodie. Whenever I travel there are at least 2 places that I have done full work up on's. Meaning I read reviews on multiple sites, study the menu, check the location and see if the drins are strong. Baby, I do not play about my food! With that said, please believe that your girl will never shear you a restaurant not worth your month or time.
While in Miami to say that we ate good is honestly an understatement, we GRUBBED y'all! I know that everybody has different tastes but I promise all these places are worth a good rather you are looking for a quick bite or a sit-down brunch.
Here are all the places that we ate, my rating from 1-10 (1 being alright and 10 being absolutely delicious), the location, and a brief review:
Bodega Taqueria y Tequila 1220 16th St. Miami Beach, FL 33139
Tacos my love language and Bodega feed my heart! The all tacos were delicious and definitely more on the authentic side. The food was fresh and hot and came out rather quickly. The service was good and the margaritas was tasty. I would suggest getting an extra shot in the margarita for an extra hit. The yuca fries were hot, the guacamole was fresh and perfectly seasoned. All in all I give Bodega a 8.9/10.
Nostimo Greek Kitchen 170 NW 24th St. Miami, FL 33127
While in the art distract we were looking for dinner and stumbled upon this little greek place. They were in the process undergoing a menu makeover by a woman fresh from Greece. I have the lamb skewers and my mom had the greek chicken both were AMAZING!!! The chicken was sweet with tons of spices and the lamb was seasoned to perfection and perfectly grilled. This place gets a 8.6/10.
Bacon B*tch 1001 Collins Ave Miami Beach, FL 33139
Sometimes you have to be careful of the Instagram popular restaurants because they could be all vibes and terrible but food. Bacon B*tich however, gave vibes and absolutely delicious food! The croissants are homemade and so fresh and buttery! The bacon is some of the best tasting bacon I have ever had. The drinks are hella strong. I would go on and on y'all. Just go. Make a reservation and go. 9.4/10 is the rating! GO!!!
Havana 1957 405 Española Way Miami Beach, FL 33139
Havana 1957 was a whole vibe! The one on Espanola Way sits at a corner of the alley with other restaurants. You hear music playing, people chatting and enjoying their meals. The ambiance feels like Cuba (and believe me, I know since I visited in 2019). The food here was good as well. The food was seasoned, the drinks strong, and they even sang happy birthday to me and brought me cake. I would give it a 8.0/10 and I would definitely go back.
Maxine’s Bistro & Bar 1756 Collins Ave Miami Beach, FL 33139
On our last day there we needed a close restaurant to grab breakfast before a little more shopping and heading to the airport. A quick Google search brought this place up which was literally around the corner from the total. This is one of those restaurants on Collins that has drink specials and decent food. Out of all our meals these would be my least favorite. Would I return yeah but I would not break my neck to go. 7.0/10 is the rating take with that as you will.
The whole trip we were looking for something sweet. Just something to hit the sweet tooth and Rosetta's bakery did just yall! They had pastries and sandwiches. We just went for the pastries. They were not too sweet, fresh and delicious y'all! Give them a try. I would rate them a 8.5/10.
We were in Miami for a good time, not a long time and we had just that, a good relaxing time. It was hot, we experience the random Florida rain and we enjoyed some quality mother-daughter time. All in all this was one of the best tips I have ever taken and spending my first week of 33 with my mom, at the beach was PRICELESS! If you are close with a parent(s), this is your sign to make memories with them and love on them. If you have never been to Miami or have been considering revisiting, this is your sign to book the trip.
Let me know in the comments some of your favorite Miami eats, places to stay and to-dos.
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