Escape the Cold this Holiday Season: London to Miami, Florida

It keeps getting colder and colder nowadays in London. Cold winds and chills are daily circumstances you have to face. For those of you who yearn to shake off the winter chill, you can go and visit Miami. It is never cold in Miami, so if you want to take a quick escape then it may be the right choice for you. Here are some recommendations on what you can do and see when exploring this vibrant city.

Image Courtesy of www.flightsinternationaluk.co.uk

The Beaches

What’s better than escaping winter and going to a sunny beach? There are a lot of beaches you can explore in Miami. Miami Beach is one of the top tourist attractions to visit, but there are other beaches too. You can have a picnic, go surfing or windsurfing, read some magazines under the warm sun, and more. If you prefer to be near the beach, then you can stay at one of the many beach hotels. There are plenty to choose from. You can wake up in the morning and go directly to the beach in front of your hotel to sunbathe, which would be very convenient.

Vibrant Tourism

There are a lot of places to visit and explore in Miami. For example, the Art-Deco District brings memories of Florida's past. It is restored with 1930s Art-Deco buildings in pastel colors. These buildings and structures display neon signs and awnings that cover the outdoor dining areas. After visiting the Art-Deco District you can pay Ocean Drive a visit. Ocean Drive is a popular for some drive-by sightseeing. There are other interesting places to visit too such as Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, Little Havana, Zoo Miami and Jungle Island, Miami Seaquarium and so much more.

Top Restaurants to Try

There are a lot of restaurants that offer delicious food that will make you ask for more, but Joe’s Stone Crab is on the top of the list. The restaurant was opened in 1913 by Joe Weiss, and is a huge success. It serves magnificent stone crabs, as well as other tasty dishes, including fried chicken and Key Lime pie. You'll want to get there early though to avoid crazy-long lines because it is very popular. There are other prime restaurants tourists love to visit other than Joe’s Stone Crab. Check out Yardbirds, Estatorio Milos and the Bazaar.

Image Courtesy of throughmiami.com

Clubs to Visit 

As one of the world’s top party destinations, Miami is filled with bars and nightspots. Your trip to Miami would not be complete if you didn't visit some of the clubs in the city and, of course, sample some cocktails and champagne. You might want to try Brut champagne, as it tastes amazing, and you don’t have to worry about the Brut champagne price. In Miami, there are so many nightclubs it can be difficult to choose which to go to. Some recommended clubs are Chalk, Score, Mansion, Wall, Cameo, Nikki Beach and LIV. Don’t forget to visit at least one of them.

Those are just some of the things you can do and places you can visit if you are going on a quick getaway to Miami. There are a lot of amazing things you can experience, so rather than staying inside during this cold, windy winter, you can just pack your bag and enjoy the vibrant city of Miami.

Have you ever been to Miami? If so, what do you recommend for first-time visitors?

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. 

Let CardNinja Make Travel Less Bulky

Do you find juggling all your stuff when you travel difficult? I know I do. I have to have my ID out and my boarding pass, plus I like to have my phone on-hand to check my email, flight status changes and to take pics. I've always got a last-minute purchase to make; usually a bottle of water and/or some gum, and rummaging around in my purse to get stuff out multiple times is annoying. Of course, you could put it all in your back pocket, but chances are, at least one of those things is going to fall out and break or get lost forever. Not optimal.

Want to make your travel days easier? CardNinja wants to help you out. What if you could keep all your important things on the back of your phone? Now you can! CardNinja is a stretchy little pocket that attaches to your smartphone (any smartphone) that holds your ID, credit cards, cash and more. I'm loving this idea, because I only have to take one thing out of my bag at any given time and everything is right at my fingertips. 

 

I mean, do you ever go through security, then throw everything into your bag, so you can send it through the X-ray machine and not have anything on your person, then panic later because you have no idea where it ended up? This happens pretty much every time I go to the airport. You'd think I'd come up with a better way, but nope. Frantically digging: "Where the *@#! is my driver's license!?" Every. Single. Trip. I finally ditched paper boarding passes and went with e-tickets, but that didn't keep me from misplacing my ID, again.

CardNinja solves my problem. I slip my ID credit card and cash into the CardNinja pocket - it has a textured inside to keep everything in place - and just have to keep track of my phone, through TSA checks, through security screening, through the airport shops, past gate boarding and right onto the plane. It's pretty awesome and I feel totally organized.

It is nice and snug, so you can just stash it in your back pocket without everything falling out or being all bulky. And when you're not traveling? Easily toss your phone into your purse, no matter how small, or your jacket pocket if you're not into carrying a purse. On your trips, you can still keep everything you need together. This is a perfect solution to keeping your tickets and ID together at theme parks when you have to show them throughout your visit. If you are the holder of everyone's tickets, you can hold them all together in CardNinja, because it's stretchy enough to hold up to 8 credit cards and cash. Even with the few items I had in mine, I turned it upside down and shook it vigorously. Nothing moved at all.

Another plus is that it doesn't obscure your camera or your speaker. You may need to take your stuff out if you want to use your flash, like I might on mine, but I hardly ever use that anyway, so it isn't that big an issue.

Want a bit of security? I don't particularly like to travel around showing people that I've got cash and credit cards on display. That's just asking for trouble really. Put a business card in front of the other stuff in there, so it just looks like you're ready to network at any point. 

As you can see, you don't have to apply CardNinja right to your phone. It fits nearly all cases as well and removes just as easily as it is to apply. The sticky 3M backing won't harm your device or take muscle to take it off when you change phones. CardNinja comes in a bunch of colors and styles to match your phone and/or personality, and the price is so affordable, you can easily buy these for everyone you know. They make great stocking stuffers.

More details:

Where can I buy CardNinja? On the Cubi website or on Amazon

How much is it? $9.95-11.95

What's it made of? High quality, spandex blend fabric with durable ultrasonic welding, so it holds it's shape over time and everyday use.

Think CardNinja is cool? Connect with them on Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

Disclosure: I was provided with the CardNinja for the purposes of this review, but all opinions are 100% my own.

Jet Lag Is The Worst, So Don't Get It

If you're traveling across the country for the holidays, there's nothing worse than suffering from jet lag. It can ruin a day or more of your trip. It can also make you cranky when stress is already running fairly high. Here are some ideas on how to combat the dreaded jet lag, so you get to your destination bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, or sleepy and ready for bed if you get there at night. It can be hard getting into the swing of things at first, but if you get your internal clock on your new time as soon as possible, I find that's a good start.

photo credit

On our first trip to London and Paris, I didn't try to acclimate myself to local time before I got there, we arrived early in the morning and the first day was a disaster, stressing me out even more. We spent our first two days in London, then took a three-day side trip to Paris. I fell asleep on the train and was pretty much useless for an entire day when we arrived, sleeping most of the day away. Since, I've learned how to deal with jet lag and don't push myself the first few days I'm at a new, far away, destination. Have you ever had a situation where jet lag ruined your vacation?

If you want some more practical tips for jet lag, see my posts here and here.