Living in Florida certainly has its perks, with Walt Disney World and Universal Studios being basically in our backyard, we’re kept pretty well entertained. But withn the past few months, we’ve started to explore the state and have really fallen in love with Florida more and more (sorry Mom and Dad!). Our newest love is Miami and South Beach, and you certainly don’t have to ask us twice to make a Miami trip in 24 hours…
… and that’s exactly what we did on Monday and Tuesday!
We checked into the Loews hotel at noon, and by 12:30 we were walking straight to the beach and ready to play in the sand! Well, I say that, but actually Walter hates being sandy. He hates it! Luckily that little meltdown didn’t last long, and he and Walter were both in the water before I could blink twice! We rented a clamshell cabana which was great for us to lounge and snooze on the beach, and the Weiss fam loved it. It was the perfect beach day, with beautiful blue-green water and the prettiest blue sky… we couldn’t have been happier.
After spending the afternoon at the beach, we got cleaned up and went on a walk along Ocean Drive for dinner. We stumbled on Havana 1957 and loved their outdoor café feel so we decided to sit and enjoy the view (and the mojitos!). I ordered the Cuban chicken fricase with fried plantains (sooooo good!) and I was pretty much in heaven. We also had a delicious trés leches cake, but Walter decided to sneak the cherry before I could take a decent photo of it… four year olds, am I right?!
We woke up early Tuesday morning (thank you, Eloise) and by 8am we were walking down Collins Avenue to the Delano hotel for breakfast, aka my favorite swanky boutique hotel. This favorite swanky boutique hotel also boasts my favorite breakfast in all of Florida: the brûléed oatmeal with macerated peaches at Leynia, the restaurant at Delano. Y’all, I would drive four hours for this breakfast, it is that good. Well, we technically did drive for a 24 hour stay in Miami and this was a big perk, soooo…
Leynia has become a must-do/must-eat for every Miami trip, and it’s no secret why- the outdoor seating overlooking Delano’s garden and pool is absolutely swoon-worthy. And the food is divine, really, it is the best breakfast I’ve had in a very long time. Peter ordered the french toast with guava dulce de leche drizzle and a blueberry compote, and just looking at it made me drool! The brûléed oatmeal was incredible, as always, and I can’t wait for my next Leynia fix.
After breakfast we had planned to do family photos at Delano (because this place is stunning!) but when we stood up from the table, we noticed that Walter was wearing his breakfast… literally. Chocolate croissant had dripped all over his shirt and white shorts, and it was a disaster. Photos of the kids on the Delano steps disappeared as fast as the chocolate appeared on Walter’s pants; there was no chance of photoshopping that stuff out.
But then I decided not to care about how destroyed Walter’s outfit was, and ended up taking a few photos. And guess what? I have a gem of a photo of these two. I’d like to think they’re just sad about leaving Delano and Leynia, but it was actually because it rained the night before and I plopped these two kids down on a wet rug and their bottoms were soaked. It’s fine, everything’s fine.
We walked back to the Loews hotel and got the kiddos changed out of their wet clothes to play at the pool for the final hours before checkout. The weather was perfect while we were splishing and splashing in the shallow end, and we couldn’t have had a better finale to our 24 hours in South Beach!
And just like that, our 24 hours in Miami Beach was up and we were headed back home to Orlando. We love this place so much, and it’s the perfect quick getaway for us as a family. I’m hoping that we’ll have another trip soon and we’ll be able to explore more of what Miami has to offer, like the Children’s Museum and more of the Wynwood area (which is so cool). Here’s a peek at some of my InstaStories from Instagram during our 24 hours below 🙂
Are there any spots in Miami or South Beach that you recommend? I’d love to hear about them!
