Disclosure: I was comped rides to the airport from Blacklane and a boat tour from Get Your Guide.
I can’t believe it’s been a full month since my weekend trip to Miami! I’ve mentioned in various parts of the internet how special this trip with my parents to Miami was.
One thing I appreciate about adventuring with my parents and especially my mom is that they are easily pleased. Because they spent much of their last few decades working from early mornings to late nights including weekends, it didn’t leave a lot of time to experience much else. I’ve enjoyed introducing them to new experiences however small or large. For instance, I was given complimentary luxury rides to and from the airport from Blacklane, and my mom was floored that a chauffer was taking her to the airport in a Town Car. She was wide-eyed and tickled that a man in a suit held the door open for her.
This trip aligned with my dad’s 72nd birthday. My thoughtful friend and our hostess Nazanin bought a birthday cake for my dad. She is like a sister to me and by the time the weekend came to a close, she had further and forever endeared herself to my parents. This photo is one of my favorites from the weekend!
Now what’s a travel recap without a list of our sights and activities?
Island Queen Cruises
I booked a 90 minute boat tour with Island Queen Cruises through Get Your Guide and it was the perfect activity for my parents. My dad’s stamina isn’t what it was, so being able to sit and relax on a boat and admire the sunset was a treat for us all. The tour guide gave us juicy details of sprawling celebrity mansions. There were some jaw-dropping homes! One such home had an outdoor AC system! Finally, I loved how the downtown skyline twinkled and reflected in the water after dusk.
Books & Books
265 Aragon Ave, Coral Gables, FL 33134
http://www.booksandbooks.com
It is customary for me to visit bookstores when I travel. I collect these visits to bookstores as my mental souvenirs. My dad and I are both avid readers so I also had him in mind. I’ve seen Books & Books in Coral Gables listed on a few travel sites. It was the first time I browsed a book store with both my parents and I relished it. I liked how we separated and merely smiled at each other if our perusing crossed paths. Even my mom who doesn’t enjoy reading found herself lost in the cookbooks. I bought A Tale for the Time Being.
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
3251 South Miami Avenue, Miami, Florida 33129
http://vizcaya.org
Nazanin and I stayed up late gossiping and thus overslept the morning we planned on taking my parents to Vizcaya Museum and Gardens before our lunch reservations. Oops! We ended up only having an hour and a half at Vizcaya. I paid extra for the house tour which I didn’t realize would take a full hour just to cover the first floor of the mansion! It ultimately worked out since it was so hot and humid outside in the gardens that by the time it was time to leave, everyone was done. I recommend setting aside more time. The house tour only covered the first floor but guests were free to explore the additional floors on their own. The gardens were breathtaking! It reminded me of the Biltmore in North Carolina.
Miami Beach
You can’t visit Miami and not visit the beach! Especially if it’s the inspiration of your trip. It was cloudy. It was cloudy a couple of years ago when I last visited Nazanin too. I prefer cloudy days at the beach though. It feels romantic and moody. Nazanin and I laid out and gossiped some more while my parents walked the beach.
Food
I can’t recap a trip and not mention the food! You can read about the restaurants we sampled in Miami on my food blog.
Question: Have you been to Miami? What were some of your favorite sights and activities?
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