Miami Travel Diary

Hey loves,

As the leaves start to redden and brown, it is finally approaching my favourite time of year that is autumn. This got me reminiscing over summer, and the next two blogs will focus on my summer travels. My family and I had the pleasure of going away for two weeks to the US, with a stop at Orlando for a couple of days combined with Miami Beach, so I thought I would share my experience. 

A street in Miami

Sunday 28th July:

After fighting off the jetlag and humid Miami heat we stopped off at what would soon become our favourite lunch spot: Shepherd café. The staff were so friendly, and there was such a vast amount of healthy salads, sandwiches, cakes and shake options to cater for everyone. One day my sister and I asked for some help with making something on the menu vegan; they kindly made us a completely fresh vegan salad that was delicious. The rest of the day we were pretty chilled out, but the evening highlight was the restaurant Essensia. They cooked us a vegan platter of rautouille, potatoes, spicy rice and veg that complimented eachother perfectly. 

Tuesday 30th July:

The second day we were met with sun, and as we soon found out we had picked to go away in thunderstorm season, learned to make the most of that sun! After sunbathing we went to the highly recommended and raved about vegan restaurant Planta. Their ethic is about appreciating and sharing food, so they bring out the food at different times, and give you sharing plates. The food was honestly so incredible, and I can see why it was so hyped. I would say they were almost too efficient with their service, but their knowledge of vegan cuisine was super impressive, and their decor was what I would imagine an Urban Outfitter's restaurant to look.

A collection of desserts at Planta

Wednesday 31st July:

The next day we walked down to South Beach and took on a Soul Cycle (Rachel's class to be specific) class to try. I've heard through the grapevine that in America it is seen as an experience you should try, and lets just say it's like a jazzed up spin class, with mini-motivational speeches given throughout to encourage you through the pain! Rachel's class was really high energy and felt like being in a club at times, despite working out! What I enjoyed about the class was that you could still jam out and that was encouraged (believe me, my sister and I enjoyed having a boogie to Miley Cyrus) and ability didn't matter. After the class we were met with a hailstorm so severe it felt like a scene from an apocalyptic film. The idea of catching some rays was soon diminished so we seeked to find shelter at the outlet shopping centre: Sawgrass Mills. The actual centre was huge, and was filled with high-brand stores (with some heavily reduced goods), as well as the general high-street stores. Although we went for an afternoon you could easily spend a whole day there.

Thursday 1st August:

After a chilled day by the pool my sister and I ventured to plant-based restaurant Full Bloom in the evening. We sat outside and they did the most amazing mango cocktail that had fresh mango in it, and gave my sister a glass of rosé about the size of her head! The menu was what I would describe as a rustic take on veganism; we went for the faijitas because we're kids at heart, but you could definitely have some really authentic vegan meals. 

Ultimate chill vibes

Friday 2nd August:

On the Friday we headed to Boca Raton to visit one of my close friends. It was only a forty minute drive away, and her home was located on a beautiful golf club site. Arriving I felt like I was in HSM2, but in true Sharpay style on the back of a golf buggy we had a lovely catchup and tour around! It felt so surreal seeing a friend who I can normally go round the corner to see, on the other side of the Atlantic ocean, but it was so lovely to see her other place in person rather than the old FaceTime's we used to swear by at school! After a day of chatting we said our farewells and headed back to Miami. In the evening, surprisngly not to the vegan's deciding but one non-vegan family member suggested us returning to Planta, which we were only too happy to accept!

My close friend Lydia, Is and I

Saturday 3rd August:

Saturday called for shopping, so we thought we'd see what Miami Beach had instore (lol) for us. They had the typical commercial shops that you would expect to find (e.g. H&M, Victoria's Secret), with some very high end stores as well. We also went on a little drive through Little Havana, and Brickell which reminded me of New York. For our Saturday night we went to the highly raved and massively hyped Giovanni Versace's Mansion. Oh what an experience. The house may have been designer, but the service certainly wasn't. Honestly, I thought is was extremely overrated. The house itself was incredible; it felt like you were outside at an Italian courtyard, but the whole scheme was a money-making scam. They rushed us to a table in the hallway (which was an experience in itself), and we had barely gone to the toilet and they had already brought out our food. This was about ten minutes in, which to me screamed that they were desperate to get us in and out as quickly as possible. Another note is as vegans there was one option of pomodoro pasta, super exotic I know. Yet when it came out it looked like the Cheddar Gorge had erupted over it. Although the chef came out and happily made it again for us, I couldn't help but feel this aura of annoyance on his face when we asked to change the recipe slightly. The only positive was the Versace red wine, yet not even that could mask the superficial nature of the place. 

Is and I at the Versace Mansion

Sunday 4th August:

On the Sunday, instead of a lazy Sunday we returned to Soul Cycle partaking in Natasha's class. Her class was perfect for a Sunday, as it was a 'teenage angst' playlist with a more chilled out vibe. What I love about Soul Cycle is that weights are incorporated into the routine as well as choreography, and that each class varies depending on the instuctor. Therefore, you are not only working all muscles as opposed to just legs, but also you can do a class that you feel comfortable with. Natasha let you push yourself, and gave inspiring words of advice without overdoing it. That evening we went to the Faena's restaurant: Los Fuegos. I have to say I was truly blown away by the food. Never in my life has a cauliflower tasted so good! The chef Francis Mallman has an episode on a Netflix series about his style, and this restaurant displayed this. When I first found out I was going to an Argentinian steakhouse I did think what on earth would there be for a vegan, but the flavours and textures to the cauliflower dish was unlike anything I've ever had before, and explained why we had to wait so long for it. It truly was amazing.

the start of the thunderstorms

Monday 5th August:

On Monday, we truly had developed a Soul Cycle obsession and did Aubrey's high energy dance-style class, before embarking on our five hour journey to Orlando. The journey was horrific because we were met with hailstorms and thunderstorms galore. The best part of that day was experiencing an American service station, simply because of the novelty of it, but once we arrived in Orlando it did feel magical and like what you see on a travel guide. What else was lovely was that in the hotel we were staying in meant that we could see the Disney fireworks at night from our bedroom window!

The swimming pool at the hotel in Orlando

Wednesday 7th August:

Despite the initial downpour from the heavens, this was the day that we headed to Universal studios Orlando. I have heard many a thing about the Orlando version of Universal that it is pretty special, but I was astounded by how large it was. We actually booked to do two of the parks, but I would say that all timings considered you would need well over two days to complete it properly! Another tip, I would say is to purchase the skip-the-queue extra fast pass. Although it is expensive, in the long run it saves so much time and gives you more of a chance to do as many rides as possible, especially if you are only going for the day! The Harry Potter section of Universal was actually insane, it felt like we were walking through Hogsmeade! Seeing all of the rides really puts into perspective how many films and franchises are built off of Universal. I think if you go to Orlando you should definitely do a theme park; our family chose to do Universal over Disney, but from the day we had didn't regret our choice. 

view from our window

Thursday 9th August:

On our last Thursday the highlight of our day was the vegan restaurant called Proper and Wild. It was a chilled out and authentic restaurant that was completely plant based. My mum actually said that it was her favourite vegan restaurant that she had been to! The 'fishcakes' were so delicious, and you could tell that the ingredients were very fresh and an original take on plant based food. 

the fabulous fishcakes

Friday 10th August:

After the five hour drive we made it back to Miami and took on a once in a lifetime experience of swimming with dolphins at the Miami Seaquarium. Meeting Ringo the dolphin was incredible; it did feel slightly exploitive though if I am being honest, but being able to get that close to a dolphin is something I will cherish forever. That evening we went to Cecconi's for our final meal and were met with a beautiful restaurant, decorated with fairy lights around a massive tree; it was like A Midsummer Night's Dream met a bar in New York. Yet again, we were met with a delicious cauliflower; I can't even express this enough: Miami knows how to cook Cauliflower!

me and Ringo

Saturday 11th August:

On the final day we took to one last Soul Cyle on South Beach. This time we did Joanna's class, and I felt like I was being taught by an absolute goddess. Joanna truly for me embodied what it was to be a strong woman, and I think my legs agreed to! After, we went for one last stop at our beloved Shepherd café before heading to the airport. One thing I will say is that we did in fact go MIA at MIA (Miami International Airport), it is massive and I think my sister and I underestimated just how big it was!

Reflecting on the holiday, I would say that Miami Beach is beautiful, but unless you're there for a girls holiday or stag/hen do, there isn't loads to do apart from shop. In comparison, Orlando was just like the pictures you see on a travel advertisement, and although the theme parks are expensive, it is well worth the money for the amount you can do, and definitely better suited for families.

We went for a relaxing holiday which is what we achieved, but I would say if you want a more upbeat holiday, perhaps another area of the US would be better suited!

I hope this has provided you guys with an insight into the land of Miami; next in my travel diary series will be Barcelona which I will post soon! If you want to see photos about the restaurants we went to on our holiday then check out @veganlivinguk for more!

Lots of love,

Odette

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