Finals Relaxation in Miami

The Fall semester is finally over! I passed both my classes with amazing grades. I am happy in saying that I am a step closer to my career. And sense I did so well in the semester, I decided to spontaneously reward myself with a few budgeted days in Miami.

Now this trip was very last minute, but I still manged to budget around it as best I could, all while still having a great time. First was transportation, I decided to take the Mega Bus, I got to see nice views from the second floor of the bus, along with the inside of my eyelids for a couple of hours. The round trip was a total of $42. Next for my stay, I chose to stay in someone's home from Air BnB. It is a website that allows people to rent out rooms in their homes, or even their whole houses out. They have reviews and you can even contact the people who stayed with them in the past. I stayed in a cute room with my own bathroom and late check out free of charge for $100 flat. To get around I used the application called Uber (live under a rock if you have not at least heard of them). They are speedy and light on the pockets. I took a few trips where you "car pool" which just means you share the car with someone else going in your same direction. All the times I used it I was in the car alone, and still reaped the benefits of an even cheaper ride to my destination.

First night I was there I headed to a taco place by the name of Coyo. Now most of you recall I blogged on two taco places back in Orlando. Now if those two places in Orlando made a taco child, sprinkled perfection on it and served it to humans, let's just say the taco baby would be named Coyo. This place was so amazing, from the food, to the vibes, to the employees. Jazzmin helped me choose which tacos I would enjoy, her along with her coworkers were very attentive and amicable. I grabbed two carne asada tacos, and two pastor y pollo tacos. The meats and toppings were so fresh and juicy. My favorite for sure had to be the pastor y pollo tacos. They were the perfect mix of sweet and salty in a tortilla. They had your fresh and tender meats, along with their toppings, but the one that took me for an unexpected ride were the pineapples on top. This was with out a doubt the best taco I've ever had, and I've had my fair share of tacos. I had to wash it down with my classic Mexican Coke. Total for these for $18 but worth EVERY penny. They sent me some nachos on the house, which were very much appreciated. The vibes were so cool all around. Monday nights they have a club/bar in the back where you can enjoy house music, and a live band playing too. By 12 it is like a full blown party back there. Everyone is just dancing, feeding off each others dance moves and energies. I will always be one to go where the good vibes take me. I met an amazing artist while outside, he does his painting by using his fingers. No brush required. He is inspired by the great artist Basquiat. They are both very versatile and have great choices of color and abstract art.  What I truly enjoyed about him, was his vision for art, the world around us, and how he allowed everyone to see his art evolve in the blink of an eye. You truly know a great artist when they are willing to be socially naked for the enjoyment of others. His Instagram is @Footcrown please give him a follow and enjoy greatness is the making.

Next day I took advantage to sleep in, I had no work, no homework, no papers to write and no tests to study for. I enjoyed a quiet room to rest in. When I got up and ready I headed to the Wynnwood area aka The Art District here in Miami. Basically every street has murals for eyes to indulge in. I walked around for a couple of hours just seeing the amateur and perfected work. For those that prefer something a little more organized the place to head to is the Wynwood Walls. They have a walk through of amazing art work, extremely detailed from artists all around. They have a studio where they have paintings for sale for $30,000-$50,000, I sure as hell can not afford that even if I sold myself to a third world country King, but I did enjoy to look and shoot some flicks of the art. Anyone that can truly appreciate art will do the street walking all around, and the organized Wynnwood walk through walls too. 

I stopped into this pretty big thrift store. I am all up for a bargain on something old. The store was called Give Good Works, it is a thrift and vintage shop they actually collect from different people right in the area. It is all by donations and they always have great sales available. They were great help with answering questions, having a variety of things and having good quality clothes, paintings, jewelry, books, fur coats, furniture and even records, considering everything there was used. I grabbed some long black pants to hang around the house or to the beach in. I also grabbed a very 70's themed dress that fit like a glove. Also a choker and a pair of earrings all this for about $11. Can't ever go wrong with a thrift store pick up.

For a late lunch a hit a spot named Kush. It is a small, extremely eco friendly, and surrounded by quality beers and customer service. They hold their silverware and napkins in recycled cans of coffee. Their tables are held up by kegs and wood. Even their business cards are on recycled paper, I love a resourceful place. All their meat is of quality, and all their veggies are from locals that grow it themselves. I chose a burger by the name of Frita. My awesome waitress Mariel helped me choose it. She was very detailed and helpful with my choosing. The burger is served with a guava jelly, melted Gruyere stuffed with potato stix, crispy bacon and their special Lokal sauce that by far has to be an equivalent to what a predator feels like when they catch their prey from how delicious it was. All pressed on a flat top grill. I had these with a side of sweet potato fries. Mariel recommended a garlic dipping sauce, which usually I would not use for sweet things, but it was a marvelous addition to the great tasting fries. The burger itself needed to be dipped in nothing but your mouth. The burger was $13, and I washed it down with a $4 Mexican coke and some free water.  I am not a drinker myself, but they have a wide variety of quality beers with high percentages of alcohol or little, depending on your liking. They have a saying "Good beer ain't cheap, cheap beer ain't good". They host a Brew Bus on Saturdays open to the public to visit some local beer breweries, this is a safe, affordable and unique way to get your drink on with your crew. Make sure to have an Uber on deck for after the tour enjoy your next location, which in all honesty should just be Kush for a burger.  They gave me a few cute details to take back with me, a coaster, some matches and a sticker. Very much appreciated the detailed gifts and amazing service. Can't wait to go back to town and pay them another visit. My last night was spent relaxing in the colorful pool where I was staying at, followed by about 45 minutes of bubble jets in the Jacuzzi. Felt good to not think about anything around me, just be with myself and a perfect down south night breeze. 

They next day I woke up nice and early, went for a walk, grabbed a bite to eat at a local corner store and went back to my room to finish packing. Now I did go to a restaurant before heading back to bus stop. But since I vowed to not speak back on places on my blog, I will just say thing... they had an awesome view of planes landing and taking off while you at. That is all. Now I am all ready to head back home, and back to work. Overall on this trip I spent about just under $300. This was all using Uber, Air bnb for my stay, and Mega bus to get here. 2 nights, 3 days. I hope that this gets some of you out your house, or even out of your city. We must learn to enjoy our time here, and not only be about work. Allow ourselves to enjoy outings, new surroundings even if it is on a budget. "Love and allow to be loved" Xoxo.

Coyo Tacos: 2300 NW 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33127

(305) 573-8228

Mon-Th 11am-2am Fri-Sat 11am-3am Sun 11am-11pm

Wynnwood Walls

2516 NW 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33127

(305) 531-4411

Give Good Works

2401 N. Miami Ave. Miami, Fl 33127

(305) 573-2976

Givegoodworks.Org

Kush 

2003 N Miami Ave, Miami, FL 33127

(305) 576-4500

Sun-Tues 12pm-11pm Wed-Th 12pm-12am Fri-Sat 11:30am-1am