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Hello hello! Today I'm finally sharing a recap of my recent trip to Florida. It's a long one with a lot of photos, so settle in!
We had a very early flight into Fort Lauderdale on Sunday morning - it ended up getting delayed by a couple of hours and we landed just before noon.
We walked the beach and it was so nice - the beach is long and the water is SO clear and beautiful, very different from my beloved Outer Banks.
We had to snap some pics with one of the iconic lifeguard stands - they're all colorful and painted differently!
Don't you just love a palm tree? 😍
As a Virginian from the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, seeing all of the different wildlife in Florida thrills me. 😂 We saw several iguanas, this one was RUNNING across the grass to get to this tree and it was so funny.
We had to stop by the Versace mansion to see it - we considered going there for lunch but didn't have enough time!
After walking the beach, we stopped into Il Bolognese for a bite to eat. We got a cute corner table on the patio and it was so nice! It was happy hour, so I got BOGO limoncello spritzes since Kenny doesn't drink. 😜
We got the fried calamari and shrimp which was honestly not good - it came out cold and just kind of gave me the ick. We also got a margherita pizza which I didn't get a photo of, but that was very good!
After our late lunch, we headed back to the car to check into our hotel!
Random, but we kept seeing these little fruits growing along the sidewalks so we looked them up and they're called surinam cherries. They're edible so we tried one and it tasted like a candle - I think it just wasn't ripe yet, but I don't regret trying it. 😂
We made it to our hotel - we stayed at the Sentral in Wynwood and LOVED it. It's actually an apartment complex, but they rent out open rooms by the night. Two major benefits of that is that the rooms are extra spacious and include a kitchen and laundry, and they have an amazing rooftop pool area that we headed to right away.
The city views were amazing and it was so peaceful up there, we basically had the whole place to ourselves! Kenny and I both wished we could've spent more time up there. but it was getting late and we were ready for dinner.
We searched on Google Maps to see what restaurants were close enough to walk to and landed on The Taco Stand. Kenny walked there to get takeout while I took a shower and we ate in bed which is one of life's greatest pleasures. 😍 I got a shrimp quesadilla which was amazing and Kenny got a few different tacos that he loved.
The next morning (Monday) we had a tour of Biscayne Bay National Park scheduled with the Florida National Park Institute. They offer a bunch of different boat tours, but the exact one we did was the "Boca Chita Key heritage cruise from Coconut Grove" and we loved it! The captain and first mate were fun and informative. The park is unique because it's primarily underwater since it's made up of the bay itself. It's a fishing destination and we saw a bunch of people out in their boats, which is such a dream for a beautiful Monday morning!
The tour was about three hours long and covered a lot of history and fun facts about the bay and its wildlife. We saw some cool starfish and sponges and I even spotted a dolphin! One of the coolest things we saw was "Stiltsville," a series of structures built in the middle of the bay as early as the 1930's. They were famous for stories of illegal alcohol and gambling and had their heyday in the 1960's. Only a handful of the original 27 structures have stood the test of time, and they are protected under the Stiltsville Trust to be preserved for historical purposes.
There's a trail around the island that we walked a couple of laps around.
There were a couple of little beaches that were so beautiful!
Always on the hunt for seashells. 😍 I've been on beachcombing TikTok lately and I am so jealous of the Florida shell hunters!!
After our boat tour, we asked the captain for lunch recommendations and he told us to try Monty's, which was a really cool outdoor tiki bar near the marina. I got a guava mojito which was so good! We also got coconut shrimp and ceviche, and Kenny got grilled mahi.
After lunch, we headed to Vizcaya, which is a historic estate that is now open to the public as a museum. Kenny and I love places like this, so we knew we had to visit while we were in Miami!
Photos can barely scratch the surface of how gorgeous and intricately designed this place is! I highly recommend visiting if you're headed to Miami. It's the perfect place to spend a sunny day because you can explore the gardens then duck inside if you need a break from the heat.
The whole grounds were filled with people taking photos. We saw multiple girls getting bridal and quinceañera portraits taken, and there were multiple weddings taking place on site that day!
These archways were made up of fossilized coral - they remind me of the catacombs!
When we were done exploring Vizcaya, our time in Miami was done and it was time to head up to our next destination: Boca Raton!
We checked into our hotel and went straight to the pool! We stayed at the Wyndam Boca Raton and we loved it! It had everything we needed and it was in a good central location to everything we wanted to do. It had a really nice pool area, so we headed straight there after checking in (rosé in a Big Gulp cup in hand). 😎
Kenny's all about pool life so he was living the dream!
We didn't have plans for dinner, but when I looked to see what restaurants were nearby, I saw that Meat Market was a block from our hotel, so we got changed and walked over! We sat on the patio outside and it was SO nice, and offered surprisingly good people watching. 😂 I got the "tangerine dream" cocktail which was refreshing and delicious - it had gin, tangerine, yuzu, lime, and kiwi.
Our waiter brought us this spiced choclo which is basically fried Peruvian corn, and we loved it! We also ordered a crab cake dish to split, but I forgot to take a photo!
We were having such a good time hanging out that I got another drink - a gin bramble, one of my favorites!
Unrelated, but when we got back to our hotel Kenny got a drink from the vending machine and it gave him change in gold dollars and that just cracked me up. 😂
The next day (Tuesday) we planned to spend the day in Palm Beach! I had my bachelorette party in Palm Beach and I was so excited to be back with Kenny. I made a separate post dedicated to my outfit this day because I love this dress so much!
We started the day by shopping around on Worth Avenue, one of the best shopping districts in the country! We visited the flagship Lilly Pulitzer store which is home to their print studio. I love seeing all of the unique, hand-painted designs!
Every little corner of Palm Beach is breathtakingly gorgeous, it's so lovely just to walk around and take in the views.
I will never forget these STUNNING orchids! They were everywhere, they didn't even look real!
After we were done shopping, I wanted to head to the Colony Hotel to look around and get a drink. We serendipitously walked right up to it, my soul must've led us there. 😂
I can't remember what my drink was called - it was definitely good but nothing to write home about! The pool deck on the other hand was a dream. 😍 It was the perfect place to recharge!
We also ordered the crushed avocados AKA guacamole and it was insanely expensive at $38 but very delicious nonetheless!
After the Colony, we headed down to the beach for a walk. The beaches in Florida are just gorgeous, and Palm Beach specifically is much less crowded than the other beaches I've visited. We had the loveliest time!
I found three pieces of sea glass at the beach, my favorite treasures. 😍
Besides the beautiful architecture and interior of The Breakers, the flowers will always be memorable to me! They have the most amazing massive arrangements adorning all of the common areas, the most impressive of which greet you when you enter through the main doors.
I don't know if you consider exploring hotels a hobby, but Kenny and I definitely do and it's always something we find ourselves doing on trips.
After we had gotten our fix of exploring the property, we stopped by the bar at HMF, one of the restaurants named in homage to Henry Flagler, the founder of the resort. I had to get "the redhead" cocktail in honor of my husband. 😍 It was described as a "sophisticated cosmopolitan" concocted from citron vodka, blood orange liqueur, cranberry juice, and lime foam. It was amazing!
We also ordered the warm crab dip on a whim and OMG it was unbelievably good. We had such a great time at HMF hanging out and people watching! The bartender who served us was excellent, and I always love watching bartenders in their element - watching them all work around each other making beautiful drinks is like a ballet!
The weather forecast was dicey and calling for storms all day, but we ended up getting such a gorgeous day! It did storm while we were at dinner later, but it didn't affect us at all so we really lucked out!
We had late dinner reservations at Buccan, so after sunset at The Breakers we drove around West Palm Beach and did some sightseeing until our reservation time.
I was so excited to visit Buccan because we were supposed to go there for my bachelorette party but they lost our reservation, so I knew we had to make sure to go this time around. I started with a a citrus tea cocktail, and we got the lobster ceviche.
For our main courses, Kenny got the yellowtail snapper served with black rice, Thai yellow curry, pineapple, and toasted cashews, and I got the spring vegetable gnocchi which came with morel mushrooms, white asparagus, parmesan, and truffle. Everything was unique and delicious!
Wednesday was our last full day in Florida, so we started the day off at the pool! On our way back to our room the CRAZIEST thing happened - we ran right into AJ and Mama Justice of the Costco Guys TikTok fame! 😂 They were legit the nicest people ever and we had such a good time chatting with them!
After the pool and our ~celebrity sighting~ we got ready and headed to Luff's Fish House for lunch. We got the Spanish-style garlic shrimp as a starter and it was yummy.
I got the seared scallops with crab fried rice, but I wish I had gotten the same thing as Kenny - he got the mahi Rueben and it was SO good!
After lunch, we headed up to Fort Lauderdale because we had booked a sunset sail! We checked in at Marina Village and got drinks at The Shorely which is a bar on a boat! I ordered a cocktail with vodka, watermelon, aloe vera, lemon, and mint.
We booked our sail with Tropical Sailing and had a great time! We always love doing a sunset sail anytime we're on vacation near the water, and this catamaran cruise was the perfect way to to spend our last night in Florida. I just LOVE the vibes in any marina - everyone's having fun and I feel so at home!
We went under a drawbridge which was very cool!
We met the sweetest girls on the cruise - a group of Fort Lauderdale locals and a one from Arkansas. I had the best time talking with them!
At sunset, the first mate poured everyone some prosecco and we toasted to an amazing trip!
After our sunset sail, we stopped at the Mainland Bar back in Marina Village for another drink - I had "The Local Buzz" with Tanqueray, passionfruit, honey, lemon, and mint and it was one of my favorite cocktails I've ever had!
We got a ton of recommendations for dinner and ended up at 15th Street Fisheries. It is right on the water and it was crazy to see all of these fish swimming around right under the dock!
We got alligator bites to start and they were so good, alligator really does taste like chicken. 😂
We both got grilled mahi for dinner, and I got an elevated peach bellini that was delicious!
Our flight out on Thursday wasn't until the evening, so after we go packed up we did a little beach-hopping tour between Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale at the recommendation of our boat captain from our sunset sail. We started at Deerfield Beach which was SO cute. It was crowded, but a bit more low-key way than surrounding beaches. I would definitely visit there again!
Next we stopped at Pompano Beach which was much more commercial than Deerfield! We enjoyed walking the fishing pier.
I branched out and got blue nails for our trip and ended up loving them! This is OPI "Eurso Euro."
We saw a bunch of pelicans just hanging out among the fishermen hoping for a snack.
Last but not least, we stopped one last time in Fort Lauderdale for lunch at Coconuts. Kenny wanted to try stone crab which is a variety fairly exclusive to the South Florida region, and he really enjoyed it! I got a grilled shrimp flatbread which was delicious - I forgot to snap a picture!
We did one last walk to the beach before dropping off our rental car and heading back to the airport. We saw this diving platform on our way out which was crazy - Fort Lauderdale is home to the international swimming hall of fame museum so I am assuming it's also a destination for swimming training as well!
I just love Florida and I know we'll be back one day soon - I'm interested in exploring the Gulf Coast because we've never been there and have heard nothing but great things!
xoxx, Laura
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