Miami Beach - for reals

I gave you a taste, but here's the "real" entry...

South Beach / Miami / Florida

That's right Lis - your picture is my "Main" Picture!

I'd been in Miami about 10 years ago to depart on a cruise to the Caribbean. But that was Miami. This time it was South Beach... When Debbie and I started talking about where to have her Bachelorette Party, a few places came up - the typical, Vegas; Cabo San Lucas; New York City... We finally decided on South Beach. Someplace neither of us had been but were both curious about.

This is South Beach, Miami!!

My overall impression: well, I don't need to go back. It was a ton of fun. And there were beautiful beaches and warm water. And good food and fun bars and clubs. And some shopping. And palm trees. But really all of the above can be found much closer to home for those of us in California.

But instead of being a Debbie Downer... let's talk about Debbie the Bachelorette and our trip to celebrate her. Our group ended up being bridesmaids only - which while being small, was actually very nice. Not too large a group to coordinate or keep happy and small enough that we could all share a room!

Guess which one is the bachelorette?

Last weekend, Connie, Deb and I took a red-eye from San Francisco into Miami and got lucky enough to actually check-in at 8:30am! The South Beach Marriott really made our day right there. We were worried we'd be stuck wandering the city until 3pm. The hotel really was beautiful and perfect for what we wanted. Comfy beds, a nice large pool, beach access, lots of mirrors in the room (a must for a group of girls!) and most importantly - walking distance to both Nikki Beach and Privé!! I mean literally each was under 500 feet away!

After a nap, our first stop was Uhma Spa for massages. Have you any idea how good a deep tissue massage feels after a 6 hour red-eye? They welcomed us with flavored green tea - hot or cold. Then an hour of blissful massages before strolling back to the hotel to lie at the beach and sip [expensive] drinks at the pool. What a rough life!

Ang and Lisa came in from LA that afternoon and thus - The Party Started. Of course a lot of this "Party" was lounging at the pool/beach and eating. But we definitely did some celebrating at Mango's, Mansion, Nikki Beach, Barcelona Lounge (barely) and Privé on Friday and Saturday nights.

Cheers! at Nikki Beach

The rest of the weekend was full of (like I mentioned before) eating. We also spent an afternoon shopping - at one point being "forced" into Zara due to a sudden 20 minute downpour. Sillily enough, the highlight of our shopping trip was actually getting Kidrobot Zipits (zipper pulls). They're a surprise - you don't know which one you'll get until you open it.

Opening Kidrobot Zipits!

Good thing we ducked into Zara during the 20 minute downpour!

Our last day was back to Connie, Deb and I again after Lis and Ang flew out in the morning. Hurricane Ike was on his way over Cuba at the time and we could really feel a difference in the weather. We still had sun, but lots and lots of wind. The ocean was rougher today and the palm trees all had side parts! So we walked to the promenade and shops along Lincoln Road with a stop at Miami Ink along the way. None of the guys from the show were there - but we still took touristy pictures.

None of the guys were there - Miami Ink

After snapping some final pictures of the hotel and the windy/rough water it was off to the airport to escape Miami before the effects of the hurricane really brought rain into town. We got pretty lucky!

Relatively rough water -- Palm trees with side parts!

It was a great trip and a perfect way to send Debbie off relaxed and excited about her upcoming wedding!

Only Deb would look that good in a corny veil!