Miami - United States

Miami, you were fun! It was a great idea to spend a few days exploring Miami before we embarked on our Oceania cruise to discover and explore the East Coast of South America.

Miami is a simmering pot of sights and smells, seasoned by its diverse population, and will show everyone a good time. There is plenty to keep you entertained, a hub for shopping, and an abundance of dining options to satisfy every cuisine craving you can think of. When the sun retreats, it leaves you with a tangerine sky, where you can join the city's beautiful crowd as they light up beach parties and rooftop bars around town.

We stayed in a beautiful new Airbnb downtown, part of a new hotel; it was always buzzing with a great bar downstairs for our nightcaps and meeting new friends.

It was the perfect spot to knuckle down and get through work and all our laundry. It was also very close to Brickell Centre, the hotspot for shopping and home to Saks Fifth Avenue and Victoria's Secret—perfect!

We took the opportunity to spend a few days enjoying fabulous and delicious lunches, shopping, shopping, and more! This was perfect for our upcoming cruise to flip the wardrobe, which we needed to make sure we blended in a little on the Oceania cruise, as there are country club dress codes throughout the ship. The sales were also on, and it was nice to have so many choices!

Zuma Miami is a chic Japanese restaurant overlooking the Miami River. We had this first on our list, and as soon as we were shopped out, it was time to indulge, so we hastily made a booking through OpenTable and were there in a heartbeat with all the speedy Ubers to enjoy our lazy lunch.

The food at Zuma was mouthwatering, and the wine to match. We were fortunate the lunch special was running, as you can enjoy tasting various incredible dishes; we hope to be back in April to continue.

We had been planning an evening for months with our dear friend Redona and her boy Mark, whom we met on our travels two years ago in Albania; we stayed in the hotel she managed in Durres. They were currently in Fort Lauderdale for a few weeks, so we took the opportunity to all catch up for dinner and drinks; it was a magical, fun evening full of laughter and friendly to have some familiar faces around. Unfortunately, we had so much fun over dinner, followed by rooftop cocktails, that we forgot to capture the moments.

We couldn't leave Miami this time (we have visited Miami about four times over the past ten years) without a slow lunch at the Versace mansion, which has been converted into a restaurant and boutique hotel.

It was a great way to spend the afternoon and to experience the dazzling mansion and original home of Gianni Versace; tragically, it was also where his life was taken. We had a beautiful afternoon and were incredibly impressed by the team's exceptional service and warm welcome—a special thank you to team Gianni Versace Mansion: Villa Casa Casuarina.

We followed this with an evening of cocktails at Rosa Sky, a Miami rooftop bar, to enjoy the Miami skyline. There, we met more lovely locals and continued with a night full of new friends and more laughter. It was the perfect way to end our short stay in this metropolis city. Miami, you are growing on us each time we visit, and we can't wait to be back in April.