Ocean's Drive and South Beach! (Miami 2017)

I've just returned back from Miami for a short 5 day trip! I had an absolute blast and loved every single second. I went with my friend from high school, Katherine, and we stayed super busy. This week, I'm uploading 5 blog posts and vlogs(!) from each day so stay tuned to the next few days. 

Our flight was super early so I headed to London the day before and stayed at one of the local Premiere Inn, which was a pick up point on the shuttle bus. Katherine eventually joined me, for a short sleep and then we repacked and went to the airport! We arrived safe and sound in Miami, via chauffeur service...wow! First stop was South Beach and food on Ocean's Drive. 

Click here or watch the vlog below. 

Like I said, we set an early alarm because we needed to be at check in 3 hours before. In the end, we arrived over 4 hours early and check in wasn't even open. It was quite funny really but after a few minutes we quickly got checked in and though security. I knew we would be early if the shuttle bus arrived on time but if we got the second bus and it was even 5 minutes late, we would have been late and had to rush. 

In all honesty, the time in the airport flew by fairly quickly. I got my WHSmiths goodies: a drink and my sucking sweets for take-off and landing. We chilled for a bit and then had bacon sandwiches from EAT which were amazing. I've never flown from Heathrow before and it's HUGE, so we decided to head towards to the gate and chill there instead of in the main areas. Well 15 minutes later, we arrived.

 British Airways flights are completely different than my budget airlines usually used. Extra legroom and free drinks throughout the flight amazed me. It was very much comfortable, especially with the incredible headrests...mind blown! Plus, I even liked the 2 meals we got which is quite the record for fussy little me.

As we exited the arrivals area, I saw my name being held by a man in a suit. Our chauffeur took our luggage as we headed to an incredible, huge vehicle that was our ride. My first views of America were incredible. Palm trees, sunshine, sea and beaches. We even passed Shakira's house!

Of course, as soon as we got into the hotel and checked in, I called my mum, unpacked and then we both headed down to the beach. The hotel we staying at had a portion with private sunbeds on so it was nice to see them. We strolled across and then dipped our toes in the sand. Is this real life?! I was still in complete shock and everything felt totally surreal! How had I won this?!

By this point it was early evening and we were a little peckish. The hotel was about 10 minutes walk from Ocean's Drive that is basically a road of restaurants so we walked along the sea front and then up. Lifeguard towers and palm trees were everywhere and I loved it.

I think Katherine and I both loved the multi-coloured zebra crossing. We passed a fair few restaurants before settling on our meal of choice. As you can see, it was quite a difficult choice to choose what to have.

I ended up going for pizza which I had thought would be a safe choice. Katherine complained the entire time that I was ridiculous for taking some of the cheese off but when she tried it, she agreed it was super strong! Not the best I've ever had...in fact it's probably one of the worst. She did really enjoy her's though which was good.

A quick walk through the street's of Miami introduced us to the roads and layout which would become second nature. I was so excited to see what the rest of the holiday had in store for us!

Over the next few days, I'll be making my Day 2, Day 3, Day 4 and Day 5 posts live so stay tuned!