I've done it again ... got swept up in a typhoon of fun and excess AND didn't blog. Don't worry, it wasn't the only area I slacked in. I also blew off the gym ... I went twice last week. I was hoping for a Sunday workout but it's J's only day off ... so I it didn't happen.
Enough with the self-explosive guilt bomb.
On to what I've been doing. As the title indicates ... I was having fun with friends. Mike and Anna Hall, both my longtime co-workers at the Brunswick News, came down to "the bottom" ... they hit up the Keys on Saturday and Sunday, then came to us on Monday.
I scooped them up that afternoon in Coconut Grove (where they could park their car for less money than at our apartment), we had a beer at the casa, got them settled and took a tour of the building.
I was so excited to show them all that Miami has to offer. However, Miami wasn't hip to my plan.
In fact, she was a total bitch. Winds were around 30 miles per hour and it was rainy.
We made the best of it. We hung at the house then went (ducking the rain) to Baru for happy hour. When Josh got home, we took the Metromover to Bayside for dinner and drinks. It was an interesting trip (as most are, via public transport) but the way back was much more ... uh, confounding? Anna accidentally (of course) spilled her take-out box and this random guy runs over to pick up some of the pieces. He sniffs them .. and tosses the pieces of ceviche across the train car.
Ummm. Ok.
So we get home and hang out for a bit before hitting the hay. Josh, of course, had to be up and out by 6 a.m. But the rest of us slept in (until 7:45-8). Once we got up and rolling, we did a tour of downtown and back to my car and drove over to South Beach.
We parked just off Washington Ave and walked down the road, past the Kardashian's Dash store. We all really wanted mimosas so we stopped in at a hooka bar/hotel restaurant attached to the retro Clinton hotel (and actually right next to the Dash store). No one was in there save the bartender and one waitress ... neither of whom were interested in serving us. Eh.
So we had a drink and dipped. We went over to Ocean Dr and did the tourist walk. We stopped in at a café for lunch. And enjoyed the best part of lunching on South Beach ... people watching.
The adorable Halls.
From lunch, we went to the beach. I had planned to actually GO to the beach (coolers and all) but the weather put the kibosh on it - so we fought the wind to walk over and look at the water. It wasn't the usual SoBe water - reflecting the grey skies - BUT we did get this awesome shot.
I was a little worried that the wind may pick Anna up and carry her off.
We left the beach and swung by the Versace mansion before heading home. If you look closely, you can still see blood stains on the steps. Sad.
The property recently sold for $40 million, I believe.
We left South Beach and all took a bit of a breather. Josh had late meetings so we decided to go out to eat at a place he would never want to go. After a quick bit of research, we discovered there was a tapas-style Spanish restaurant named Perfecto in Brickell.
So we agreed. We head out and right into a pack of rabid runners (apparently it's the running club's night). There were hundreds of runners who all started down Brickell Ave at the exact same time we did. It was terrifying. I've never been so close to a stampede.
Luckily, we had to cross the street to get to the restaurant so we did so ASAP. When we got to there, we discovered the place is pretty snazzy. The only other branch is in Barcelona.
But I was so glad to have the Halls' adventurous palates to go with me. Josh wouldn't dig it. But it had food for me - a vegetarian - so most people can find things there. I had the cheese plate accompanied by some bread with tomato paste. (Noms.) They had pickled anchovies and stuffed shrimp.
It was all lovely. Especially the Spanish wines.
We likey.
The staff was amazing. And that's really saying something for South Florida. It doesn't happen often. Anna even complimented the waiter on his watch ... he took it off and gave it to her.
The food was great and I devoured nearly all mine. The Halls polished off their tapas and we decided it was time to roll. Josh was about to get off and clearly this wasn't a place that he'd chose for dinner. We hoofed it down to Beer and Burgers.
Right when we left, J called. The timing was perfecto (ha). He drove home and met us there. We hung out, had great beers and (they) noshed on some duck fat fries. Then we went home and TRIED to squeeze in some hot tub time (before it closed at 11 p.m.) but it was lights out early due to the blustery conditions. Such a bummer.
Instead, we just hung out, had a beer and watched "Counting Cars." And by this time, it was late and Josh had to go to bed ... again. Poor guy. He so wanted to stay up.
**I can't wait until his schedule is normal again.
SO ... the next day (the day they were leaving) ... was beautiful. Much less wind and blue skies. I was so pissed that Miami FINALLY got her act together when they were leaving. But we had a bit of time. We did brunch and mimosas at Balans, then a photo op on the pool deck.
It was such a great time with two people that I have spent the better part of a decade with. I just hope they had a good time, despite the weather.
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