Miami

I recently went to Miami for a week, and it was incredible. Miami feels like paradise. It is a mixture of a city and a beach and the weather is fantastic. We stayed in the Red South Beach Hotel and were there for 6 days in total.

Miami had always been on my wish list. As you may have noticed, I love visiting America. I think this is due to my obsession with American TV growing up. I went to Orlando when I was 15, so this wasn't my first time to Florida. Miami was very different though. 

We did so many different things whilst there, such as a trip to the Everglades, a baseball game, a bus tour and a boat tour. My favourite part of the trip was the sightseeing bus tour and I would recommend this to anyone who is travelling to Miami. The city is so big and there is so much to see, the hop on hop off tour is a perfect way to see as much as possible in an easy and convenient way. 

There were 4 routes, and the ticket lasted for 48 hours - and we didn't even complete it all in that time. There were still places I would have liked to have gone and if we had been there longer, I would have considered buying another 2 day ticket. The buses also have a tour guide, who shared loads of cool facts about the different areas. 

Some of the tour highlights were:

Bayside

 This was the main bus stop where all the routes start. This area is home to the Miami Heat stadium - much to my boyfriends delight. There is also a small shopping complex with numerous restaurants including Hooters, Chilli's, Five Guys, Bubbu Gump Shrimp and Hard Rock Cafe. 

There is a small selection of shops, some market style, and some actual shops such as Express, Gap, Footlocker and Guess. Bayside also has a harbour, and it's where you go to start all the Biscayne Bay boat tours - another must do. On these tours, you can see all the homes of the rich and famous - not sure how true these celeb tours actually are, but there are some beaut views and perfect photo ops. 

Coconut Grove 

Another beautiful area of Miami, big houses, beautiful scenery and a place you can dream of living in. When driving through, look out for the peacocks strolling through. One of the stops is another small shopping area, where you can find The Cheesecake Factory - home of the best cheesecake in the world, and also some delicious food. I had an amazing Californian Cheesesteak sandwich and it was probably my favourite meal I had in Miami. This was followed by a huge chunk of salted caramel cheesecake, which sadly was so big I couldn't finish it. The choice of cheesecake options is amazing, you won't be able to pick! 

Little Havana 

This is an area we didn't get to explore properly, but I wish we did. It is home to the Cuban community of Miami. As you drive through, you are hit by a delicious smell coming from the numerous food places. If I ever go back, I will definitely head there for a meal. We got off here as it was the closest stop to Marlins Park - home of the Miami Marlins Baseball Team. we were however warned that the neighbourhood was not the safest to walk through, so we got our first Uber to the stadium for a Baseball game. 

Art District 

Driving through the art district we saw some amazing graffiti art work on the buildings. This is another area we did not have enough time to explore as I think if we had got off at the art district stop, there would have been lots to see. Lots of people got off here, and the place seemed very busy, so I think there was a lot more there than you see driving through. I did however, get some great photos of some brilliant art. 

South Beach 

This is one of the main tourist attractions in Miami. The bus takes you nice and close to the beach, and you can go to places such as Lincoln Road Mall - so many shops!!, and Espanola Way - a spanish style street with numerous restaurants. We went to a lovely Italian restaurant, where I had a delicious Carbonara accompanied by Cosmopolitans. The prices were a bit higher than other places, but the atmosphere and tasty food makes it worth it. South Beach is also home to shops such as Sephora and DASH. Along Ocean Drive you can find famous places such as The Clevelander and The Sugar Factory. The tour also takes you past some famous hotels and past Millionaires Row, which is 'supposedly' homes to stars such as Justin Bieber, David Beckham and Simon Cowell. South Beach and Ocean Drive also have some amazing art deco style buildings that make the place even more beautiful.