Miami Vacation Part 1 – A Day in North Beach

Hi friends, welcome back! Today I’m sharing part one of my long weekend in Miami! Now I’ll admit, Florida isn’t on my travel bucket list, but Jon had a work conference in Miami so we spontaneously decided to make a weekend out of it. Now I normally have our vacations scheduled in advance and do a lot of research, but this trip I didn’t do any research or planning. We were both looking forward to escaping the NYC winter for some relaxing in the sun and fresh air!

Jon and I flew out Friday afternoon and landed in Miami around 6:30. It was about 60 degrees when we landed and quite dark. We ubered to our Airbnb at the Crystal Resort in North Beach, and then searched Yelp! for dinner nearby. We discover Taquiza, a Mexican street taco style restaurant that was about a five-minute walk down the street. There are a few locations around Miami Beach so I’d highly recommend checking it out if you’re in town.

We got a seat at the bar and started our vacation with some margaritas. Funny enough, National Margarita Day was the following day.

Jon and I were advised by the amazing people on Yelp! that the homemade tortilla chips were a must! We ordered them, and they were some of the best blue corn tortilla chips I’ve ever had! They were served right out of the fryer and they were the thickest chips I’ve ever seen. They exceeded my expectation and were incredibly filling with the guac and salsa, which were also delicious.

We both ordered three street tacos as our entrees. I went with the Pollo, Carnitas, and Asada and Jon ordered the Carnitas, Cochinita, and Asada. The tacos are no frill with the toppings put on the side. They were quite filling even though they were smaller street style tacos. I would have been full after two.

The next morning, we ventured out for coffee, and it was a little chilly. The second we left the hotel, we could feel the 20-25mph wind gusts! We had our coffee from Cachito and this was a busy spot filled with locals, so we knew it was good. I stuck with the basic cold brew and Jon ordered the cold brew mocha. They were both tasty! We drank our coffee in the shop and then headed to the beach for a morning walk.

The sand was incredibly soft and it felt so good to walk barefoot along the ocean. The winds were like nothing I ever experienced, so the walk was sadly unpleasant. After about twenty minutes of walking along, it started to rain so we headed back to the hotel to warm up.

Once the rain passed our hunger caught up to us, so we headed out to La Sandwicherie for lunch. I was excited for lunch because I love croissants sandwiches and I’ve been craving them ever since we got back from Scotland. We sat down at the counter and I ordered the Terminator (ham, turkey, salami, and provolone) and Jon ordered the SOBE Club (turkey, brie, and avocado) and then we put their special Vinaigrette on top. This sauce was delicious, it’s their “magic” sauce that is a secret combination of vinaigrette and Dijon mustard.

My sandwich was so filling and delicious!! Jon and I both decided we would order that again. Honestly, we could have split the sandwich and been perfectly full. I was full the rest of the day, it was a lot of food and a great value!!

We walked the beach afterwards, but the wind was still not our friend, so we walked along the little boardwalk and had a better time. We hung out by the pool and relaxed until we got a tiny bit hungry for ice cream because ice cream on vacation is always a good idea! We stopped in at Cholyfruity, a no-frills ice cream store with quality, delicious ice cream. I got cookies n’ cream and Jon chose the rocky road.

For dinner we were not hungry, so we just picked up some items from the grocery store and made an impromptu dinner. I realized that on vacations, Jon and I aren’t big on going out to dinner every night. In Scotland, we went to dinner a few times, but liked getting take out just as much. We may be foodies, but our favorite places to try out on vacation are dessert shops, coffee shops, and good value quick bites. I think this also stems from being health conscious and not wanting to eat too much on vacation because we feel gross if we eat too much.

Anyways, thanks for reading part one of our trip to Miami! Have you guys been to North Beach and if so have you experienced the crazy winds? See you Wednesday for part two of our trip exploring South Beach!