Miami Nice: A girls trip (for when you just gotta get away!)

Highlights from a girls trip Miami: mojitos and sunshine.  Includes a sample itinerary and all the ingredients needed to make the most of your time away.

In early February, I heeded the call of the sun and flew down to Florida for a long weekend with two of my friends.  This was my first “girls’ trip” since before Jonny was born in 1999 — I was DUE!!

But first, a little background:

A few years ago, my two friends and I were having drinks at our local Mexican restaurant, when we started reminiscing about the games we played as kids, particularly the “pretend” games — you know, Cops & Robbers, Superheroes, Charlie’s Angels . . .  As we talked, it gradually dawned on us that the three of us were a blonde and two brunettes — in other words, we met the Charlie’s Angels casting requirements!  (In case you’re wondering, our bodies look JUST like theirs, so we had that part covered too.)

A smidge quicker on the uptake, I suddenly yelled, “I’m Kelly!”  Eyes rounding in horror at possibly having to be Sabrina, my brunette friend yelled, “No, I’m Kelly!”   As ever, the blonde friend (secure in her own role as Jill, the Farrah Fawcett character) got to assign roles.  And, as ever, I lost on being sexy Kelly (Jacklyn Smith).

My friends claim it was ONLY because of my height, but whatevs.  All I know is, I’m the lame Angel.  (I mean, have you ever looked at the classic Charlie’s Angels pic — you know where you see the black silhouettes and they’re all holding something?  You may remember them all holding guns, but look again.  Kelly is holding a pistol; Jill has karate-chop hands; and Kate is holding . . . a WALKIE TALKIE!  That’s right, while the other two are ready to fight the bad guys, Kate is phoning for help.  Lame.)

Nonetheless, since that night we have referred to ourselves as “The Angels” and our frequent outings as “missions”.  Sick of the snow, we decided to have the biggest Angels mission yet, and booked tickets for Miami.

And now, the trip:

From what my rum-soaked mind remembers, here are the highlights:

The beach, the beautiful beach . . .

Truly spectacular, the beaches of Miami just cannot be beat (except by Hilton Head, and Myrtle, and . . . BUT in February, in the continental US, you really cannot do better!).  We only spent one day lounging on the beach at our Surfside hotel, but could have happily spent a week.

Since we were in Miami, we HAD to check out South Beach, so, after an awesome lunch just off the beach, we strolled a little ways on the beach itself.  While it was beautiful, we were looking for “the scene”, and didn’t really find it.  Maybe we weren’t in the right area, or maybe it was just a random Friday in February, and there was no scene to be had?

Surfside has two beachside paths (which occasionally merge) — one for walkers / runners, and one for bikers and dog walkers.  I went a couple of miles north one morning, and the views were just exquisite.  The paths connect to paths in Bal Harbour to the north and in Miami’s North Beach to the south.  The theory is that the truly motivated could make it all the way to South Beach on the beachside paths . . . maybe next time!

The sunsets . . .

On our first night, we watched the sunset over Miami from the rooftop bar of our hotel, the very swank Grand Beach Hotel Surfside.

Later in the trip, we found a quiet pool bar at some residences overlooking the harbor.  (It MIGHT have been for resident’s only, but security let us in when we asked nicely. :))

The food . . .

We had some truly memorable meals:

Nobu — The food is incredible.  It’s designed to be eaten family style, so, if you don’t want that, be sure to emphasize.  We each wanted our own entrée, and, when that was not conveyed to the kitchen, my one friend’s meal came after my other friend and I were completely finished — AWKWARD!  The restaurant was great and brought us another dish so that we had something to eat while she was eating.  My friends have been to the Nobu in Vegas and preferred the atmosphere there, but, as a Nobu-newbie, I was pretty impressed with the one in Miami!

Barton G — This place is incredibly fun!  Every order comes out as part of a huge presentation — some people call it “Art”, but I’m not sure it’s artistic, just over the top in a really fun way.  Our margaritas, for example, each came out with a piñata; our lobster pop-tart apps arrived in a toaster; etc.  Food was excellent and service was superb.  I found a couple of things a little obnoxious though: 1) they required a $150 non-refundable deposit 24 hours prior to the reservation (this made no sense to us, because the place was empty!!); 2) they called a couple hours prior to make sure we knew there was a dress code (really?? Again, the place was empty!!).  But this was more on the business side of things and didn’t affect our actual dining experience.

GG’s Waterfront Bar & Grill — We ate here on our way from our hotel to the Fort Lauderdale airport.  Sat outside on the deck, looking out at the intracoastal waterway and watching the boats go by.  Drank our last mojitos of the trip and soaked in a last bit of warmth.  Oh, and the food was good too!

The drinks . . .

Ummm . . . memory’s a little vague here???  I had mojitos EVERYWHERE!!  (In NH they make them with Sprite, which is NOT a mojito, so I was psyched to be in Miami, which I secretly dubbed Mojito-land.)

We had a great night, post-Nobu, at the 1930’s House.  Very cool atmosphere.  We sat outside by the pool, watched some hot guys play air hockey, and had a rambling, somewhat inebriated argument about politics.  My conservative friends ganged up on me.  As the Lame Angel, I’m sadly used to it . . . happily, I walkie-talkied for help (a taxi back to the hotel).  The 1930s House is sadly closed, but this bar seems similar.  Let me know if you’ve tried it!

Bottom line:

When you absolutely MUST escape the cold, and the kids are in school and the spouse is a-working, grab your best girls and escape!  Florida is easy-peasy and offers the best flight to beach-time ratio, at least for those of us on the east coast.

Girls Trip Itinerary for Miami Beach:

Day 1:  Check in to your fabulous hotel, explore the property to get the lay of the land, and end up at the rooftop bar to toast actually being warm and to enjoy the sunset.

Hotel: Grand Beach Hotel Surfside

Dinner: Yardbird

Day 2:  Beach and pool day.  Exercise and spa excursions optional (but highly recommended).

Dinner: Nobu

After-dinner drinks (pick your poison):  20 Best Bars in Miami (list by TimeOut)

Day 3:  South Beach and shopping.  Helpful hint: If you aren’t staying in South Beach, take a cab or an Uber.  We tried to get there on Miami’s lauded trolley system, but it took a crazy amount of time (and time is at a premium in a weekend getaway!).

Lunch:  The Front Porch Cafe

Sunset Cocktails:  Mondrian Bar

Dinner:  Barton G

Day 4: Departure.  If you have the time (and if you’re flying out of FLL), drive up Highway 1, exploring as you go.

Lunch:  GG’s Waterfront Bar & Grill