Everyone knows Will Smith’s famous song “Miami”. Well, let me tell you!! The words hold true. What a time was had!! I was there for my beloved Swing Phi Swing Social Fellowship Innnncorporated’s (IYKYK) annual convention. We change locations every year and this year Miami was chosen. My younger sister is a part of this organization as well, so she was my travel companion throughout the five days I was there.
Our adventure began as a normal trip would with the early arrival to the airport (even though I have TSA and she has CLEAR) and relaxing in the terminal until boarding time. The Southwest Airlines flight went as smooth as it could be with a complimentary drink for flying business class. You know we started the party on the plane with a glass of Rose’. Lol
My blood sister and I arrived at Miami International Airport (MIA) around 11am on Wednesday morning. The airport was crowded as expected but we were able to navigate down to the ridesharing area.
The fun really begin with the Lyft driver. He couldn’t find us, and he barely spoke English. My Spanish is as rusty as a nail that has been sitting out in the rain, but we managed to link up after about 10 minutes and headed to the Hyatt Regency Miami where we were staying. Now! I was born and raised in Maryland, but last year I moved to New Jersey. Experiencing those two places I thought drivers were bad, but they don’t hold a candle to Miami drivers! It only took 15 minutes to get to the hotel, but my life flashed before my eyes multiple times, and I was sent on a rollercoaster of emotions ranging from anger to anxiousness as the Lyft driver weaved in and out of traffic and quickly accelerating then slamming on brakes as we approached the car in front of us. My sister and I were looking at each other with bated breath as we finally saw the hotel approaching. I couldn’t get out of that car fast enough and I wanted to kiss the ground (but I didn’t). It reminded me of the movie “The Pacifier” with Vin Diesel where the teenage girl Zoe drove the rest of the kids to school and Lulu, her sister, jumps out the van and yells “Land!!” as she kisses the ground when they arrive. Lol This is one of many rides where I had to pray before getting in and praise the Most High afterwards for getting there safely.
The Hyatt Regency Miami is a vice hotel in the middle of downtown Miami and located right near the water. It doubles as a convention center so it’s pretty large. Once my sister and I dropped off our luggage, we went to the restaurant, Riverview Bar & Grill, located inside the hotel. My sister and I are on a vegetarian journey, so my sister chose their baked nachos, and I had the beyond burger with sweet potato fries. The food was good (I was hungry and forgot to take pics. Sorry), but as expected it was on the pricey side being as it was inside the hotel. I spent roughly $150 for meals and drinks, tip included, for two people.
To walk off the food we just ate, we walked around the area near the hotel and took some cool pictures. The yacht you see pictured is $40,000 for 4 hours! Not days! Not months! HOURS!!!!! Too rich for my blood lol We also saw statues of Claude Pepper, known for giving a voice to the elderly and disadvantaged while serving in US Senate and House of Representatives and Julia Sturtevant Tuttle, known as the founding mother of Miami.
That evening, the first Miami adventure we went on was a wine tasting at A Love Story Winery and Bistro located about 30 minutes from the hotel.
This place was beautifully decorated and reminded me of a Paris scene right out of a romantic movie. My sister and I were greeted by the hostess with a glass of wine (Le Colline Di San Giorgio Pinot Grigio) and taken down to the basement where the tasting would be held. Now I know what you are thinking. Eww! A basement. But this basement was beautifully decorated like a high-class restaurant. Various wines were lined along the walls. The tables were set with six wine glasses for each attendee.
There was a projector screen straight ahead when you walk in and a small bar on the right side of the entrance. Here’s where it gets really interesting. About 20 minutes after being seated, as we were early, the manager comes over to talk to us. She smiled brightly as she explained to us that when we booked the tasting via third-party, it was not explained it was an exclusive tasting for Spanish speakers! That’s right! The whole tasting would be conducted in Spanish! She asked us if we wanted to reschedule. Not one to be defeated, we stayed. My sister and I had both taken Spanish in high school and have worked with Spanish-speaking people, so it was an interesting night picking out the words we knew and using context clues to figure out the rest. It was a nice Spanish class refresher, but we both agreed we needed to practice more.
Besides it being in all Spanish, this wine tasting was also different as we tried six different wines and had an appetizer, main course, and a dessert. At the table we had 2 white wines (Yali Sauvignon Blanc, Tara Chardonnay) and 3 reds (La Garnacha Salvaje, Las Moradas de San Martín, and Azabache). We also tried a pink, Delaforce Pink Porto. I actually favored the red wines in this tasting, although I favor white when drinking wine at home. The white wines’ flavoring seemed off to me. I guess because I usually drink sweet white wines that they seemed too dry for me. I liked the Delaforce Pink Porto and would drink it in a social gathering, but I don’t think I would buy it for my personal use. It had just the right sweetness, leaning more towards dry flavoring in my opinion.
La comida,or the food, we had was vichyssoise soup (cold soup) as an appetizer, tenderloin with a wine reduction (Garnacha grape), and green risotto as the main course, and for dessert a pear tart with almond cream. Vichyssoise is a soup made of cooked and puréed leeks, potatoes, onions and cream. It is served chilled and garnished with chopped chives. Because my sister and I are not eating meat, we did not eat the tenderloin, but it looked really good. The green risotto made me scrap my plate it was that good! I also enjoyed the pear tart with almond cream. It had a crispy texture with the pear flavor not being too overwhelming and the almond cream complimented it well.
After the tasting, we had another attendee walk up to us and praise us for sticking it out even though she could tell we did not know everything that was being said. The dead giveaway must have been when jokes were being told and we didn’t laugh. She offered translation services if we ever decided to come back. The manager gave my sister and I two wine glasses and two specially made fans as gifts for the inconvenience. Overall, it was a great experience and we walked away with a Spanish lesson, nice gifts, and a great story to tell.
Kinda tipsy from the wine, we took a Lyft back to the hotel and met up with our chapter sisters to hang out for the rest of the night.
I thought to myself as I turned in for the night, "If this was day one, I can only imagine what is going to happen the rest of the trip!"
Stay tuned! Part 2 Coming Soon...
Disclaimer: I, Artilya Key, also known as A. Key (A Key To Adventure), am not affiliated with any of the links, places or sites mentioned in this blog nor did I receive any compensation for this post. Should you need more information, please refer to the linked information or contact the company or entities. Any copywritten information belongs to that entity and is not associated with A Key To Adventure.
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