my birthday weekend in miami

miami-with-a-toddler-by-myseastory-1a couple of weeks ago, we flew to miami for a weekend with my mum. i was so looking forward to it. but to be honest, it was harder than i expected. julia was very clingy, and i felt like i didn’t have a break – it was way harder to be away from our routine at home. but she was not herself and something was definitely bothering her, either it was because we were not in our environment, or because we were a family of 4 instead of 3 or because she had no idea if we were coming back to her home.

so we tried to plan things around activities that would help her get distracted and entertained. these were the 3 fun things we did with our toddler in miami, and she enjoyed – Continue reading

mid week break in south beach

myseastory in miami 1my mum was over visiting for a couple of weeks, and since she had to overnight in miami on the way to turks and caicos, julia and i flew over for a mid week break of a little bit of shopping, people watching and lots of city walking.

every time james and i go to miami, we rent a car and end up driving back and forth between target, whole foods, aventura mall and also the design district for out favorite restaurants. this time, we decided to stay in south beach, and although the south beach vibe is not exactly our thing, we were determined to enjoy it fully. Continue reading

pestana / miami

whenever we go to miami, we are on the look out for the perfect place to stay – we don’t really want to splurge in a fancy hotel – we basically spend the days out and about shopping and dining. but we do like staying somewhere nice, well located, close to lincoln road and easy access to parking.

we have previously stayed at the townhouse, a small boutique hotel that we really liked, although the rooms were slightly on the small size. then we decided to try out an art deco hotel in ocean drive and stayed at the victor, but we found it too busy and noisy, and not worth the upgrade.

whilst i was looking for a place to stay on expedia, i found a newly opened hotel, that belongs to the portuguese hotel company pestana, and with a very friendly opening rate.

the hotel was exactly what we wanted, a small boutique hotel in a convenient location, nice and simple decor, close to parking, friendly staff – and brand new!

i specially loved the simple decor, all whites and brights, with beach themed black and white pictures in rooms and public areas.

the breakfast was simple, perfect to grab something on the go and served at the coffee shop by the pool – the capuccinos were delicious!

we will definitely try to stay here on our next visit to miami, i hope the property is well maintained and the prices don’t get too high.

ps – pestana south beach’s website, and other favourite places we have stayed and liked