Why you need to visit Miami

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Why you need to visit Miami
15/07/17
Beaches and Alligators - Miami
If there is somewhere that you ever need to visit in your lifetime if you get the chance, it is definitely Miami. I feel super lucky to have had the opportunity to even experience this beautiful place, even if it was just for two days. I have been feeling like I haven't had that much interesting content to add to my blog for a while now, so was so excited to be able to take some gorgeous photos and bring you along with me when I was visiting Florida.

As part of my Florida trip, me and my now fiancé (that I will go into detail on!) decided to do an all inclusive journey down to South Beach and visit the Everglades for an airboat ride and see how the other half live. It has always been a dream of mine to see Miami, and now that the opportunity had arisen I just couldn't wait. It was definitely a fun packed two days, but one that I will not forget. So keep on reading to find out what I got up to while there, and there is something additional at the bottom of the post to give you more insight into what I did.
Bayside Market Place and Everglades Airboat Ride
Let me start by telling you how worth the money this trip actually was. For around £300 for us both this all round trip through Dolphins Tours included; travel to and from Orlando, overnight trip in Miami, including the accommodation in The Catalina, which might I add was 5 minutes away from South Beach, travel to and from The Everglades with the boat ride and finally travel to and from Bayside Market Place, where we had an incredible boat ride showcasing some of the most gorgeous mansions I have ever seen, including none other than Victoria and David Beckham's and Enrique Englasias, amongst many others. Day one started with travelling to The Everglades to go and scout some alligators on one of their airboats, and I must say that it did not disappoint. For those of you that haven't heard of The Everglades, it is a tropical wetland in the south of Florida. After dousing myself in bug spray, there were many bugs! and for some reason they always choose to bite me, we were taken for a 30 minute round trip along the water and given some facts about the alligators and how they are actually trying to rebuild it and protect the wildlife there. Well I have never been too scared in my life! not only was it breeding season (territorial crazy mammas) one of the alligators came right up alongside our boat and gave us a right show! We managed to capture him on the video below, he was about ten feet long and far too close to comfort, but incredible though non the less. From there we were given a presentation on the sanctuary itself and what they are trying to do to protect alligators, crocodiles and other native animals and their habitat. They told us about some of their rescues, which to my surprise included Mountain Lions, Panthers and Caracal cats, where I managed to snap a few shots of them. We were here for around an hour and half where we then ventured over to Bayside Market place for a spot of shopping and a boat-ride.
How the other half live
If there is ever a place that can fill you with pure jealousy but determination to do well in life, it is the homes known as 'Millionaires Row' that surround the gorgeous farmers marketplace in downtown Miami. Not only are the surroundings beautiful, but it has a whole history of fame featuring in programs such as Miami Vice. Of course while we was here, we had to visit Hooters, ever since seeing this on films such as Big Daddy it is just one of those places you have to visit when you're there and after having a very refreshing beer and a lovely burger, we booked ourselves onto the cruise which takes you along Biscayne Bay, going past the port, Miami skyline and Fisher Island.
South Beach and Ocean Drive
It was finally time to head to our hotel and we were put up in The Catalina Hotel and Beach Club, on Collins Avenue, where we were 5 minutes away from South Beach. The hotel definitely didn't disappoint, the staff were really friendly, we were put in a beautiful room with ensuite and kingsize bed, bathroom goodies and with a view out of the front of the hotel. There was a lovely bar which had happy hour from 7pm to 8pm, two gorgeous pools, one of them rooftop, front and back patio, free wifi, as well as two other restaurants called Maxines Bistro and Bar and Fung Ku. After checking in, as it was around 5pm, we literally went straight in the room, cleaned ourselves up and headed straight back out again down to South Beach. Now let me talk about how gorgeous this beach is! You see the pictures of the gorgeous white sands and crystal clear water, but you can never quite comprehend it until you actually see it in person, and I must say, the pictures I saw were exactly what I expected. The water was so warm too, and I just absolutely loved all the quirky little safeguard huts that were dotted along the beach. Each hut had its own colour and theme, and along each of them, the beach loungers and parasols all matched too. I must say, I was highly disappointed that I couldn't find the sign for South Beach as I really wanted a picture, but I literally walked the full length of it down to Nikki Beach, and knowing my luck, it was right up north! One of the other little things I loved was that they had cornered off a few sections of the beach where turtles had laid their eggs, and had staff keeping an eye on them, I would have loved to have been there during their venture to the sea.
Over the two days, we had the chance to venture onto Ocean Drive which is Miamis main strip of restaurants and nightclubs. On the first day we enjoyed a few beers in a lovely little bar down on 16th street, unfortunately I cannot remember the name! And then at the night we had an absolutely gorgeous meal at Havana 1995 a cute little cuban cuisine restaurant, and actually my first time trying cuban food and I must say it did not disappoint. Can I also just point out, that they do the nicest cocktails that I have ever tried....ever! You know when you tuck into a lovely drink and your eyes just widen, and you're like wow! That was me after one of their Mojitos! amazing. For the food, I ended up having the Vaca Frita and Bill had the Palomilla A LA Plancha, which of course both included steak! This was absolutely delicious and the staff here were so lovely and helpful with our choices and just general customer service. We then headed down Ocean Drive after our meal and went in a few of the bars along the way and sampled some of their gorgeous cocktails.
Can I also just take this moment to mention that I got engaged throughout this trip too? If it wasn't already a holiday that I would never forget, it was absolutely topped off with my now gorgeous Fiancé taking me on a night stroll down South Beach, to then get down on one knee and present me with the most gorgeous ring I have ever seen and ask me to marry him! Of course I said yes! and cried like a little girl, but it was just a fantastic cherry on the top of an absolutely amazing trip.
The morning after consisted of breakfast at a gorgeous cafe called Cafe Milano, where we both tried the Blueberry Waffles and the Smoked Salmon Bagel - with coffees on the side. This breakfast was so beautiful and so fresh that I would definitely recommend this place to start your day off. We then walked all the way down Ocean Drive and towards Nikki Beach, looking at the harbour and some of the amazing boats. You could have chosen the opportunity to go swimming with Dolphins and seeing Manatees on the second day, but as we had already done that at Discovery Cove, we decided to spend this morning strolling down the beach and taking in the sights until 3pm when we would be heading back to Orlando.
Outfit details

So if you find yourself heading to Florida any time soon, I would definitely recommend this trip, and you will not be disappointed. The company who we did the trip with were called Florida Dolphin Tours (you can find them on trip advisor), and the lovely Madeline who was our Tour Guide made the trip so wonderful and exciting, baring in mind the journey is 4 hours from Orlando. So all in all, Miami is fantastic and it is definitely a place I will be visiting in the future.
Let me know if you have been or fancy going to Miami? and what you think of it if you have been before.
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