After almost a year and a half of no travel thanks to COVID-19, we had to get out of Miami — it had been wayyyyyy too long. Last month, we finally decided to hop on a plane and say goodbye to the 305 for a long weekend. Where to? Boston, one of the places we had originally planned to visit in 2020 … but you know. It was our first time in Boston, and it certainly won’t be our last.
For the past few months, we’ve been traveling like crazy: Orlando, Chicago, New York, D.C., Paris, London, Amsterdam … The list goes on. With all these out-of-state (and out-of-the-country) excursions, we forgot about all the awesome stuff in our own backyard.
Thankfully, Playa Largo Resort & Spa reminded us of just how fun a sleepover in the Florida Keys can be. Only an hour away from Miami, the Autograph Collection hotel is among the newest developments in the Upper Keys — and one of the most beautiful.
Only three-ish hours away from Miami by plane, Washington, D.C. is one of our favorite weekend getaways. There are two reasons we usually find ourselves there every year:
1. Some of our best friends live there.
2. Flights are cheap.
Back in April, we made our way back to the nation’s capital for a different reason: to eat. Beyond the free museums, parks and other historic attractions, there’s a ton of great food and libations just waiting to be consumed. We discovered that firsthand as we devoured thousands upon thousands of calories for the sake of research.
While we could have easily just eaten ourselves to death on the trip, we tried to balance things out with a few non-food activities. Below, you’ll find the fruits of our labor.
When we think of Orlando dining, we immediately think of Winter Park. Take a short drive up from Downtown Orlando, and you’ll find yourself among an extensive roster of restaurants in the city’s Park Avenue artery. If you’re hungry, there’s no better place to satisfy your stomach’s desires.
But what if you don’t want to make that drive? What if you want to stay close to the theme parks and eat some good food in the area? We stumbled across a few spots during our latest Central Florida trip and had to share our findings. And of course, we had to throw in a Winter Park restaurant for good measure.
Without further ado …
Although food is our main passion, another big passion of ours is travel. The two things go hand in hand, so we’re launching a new series that combines these two interests: MFP Destinations. Whenever we manage to get outside of South Florida — whether for a week or just a weekend– we’ll be posting our own guide of what to do in that specific city.
For this first installment, we’re focusing on St. Augustine. Located roughly five hours north of Miami by car, it’s the nation’s oldest city. As a result, there’s a lot of history here; expect to learn quite a bit about the city — and Florida in general – as you explore St. Augustine’s attractions. It’s not all forts and museums, though. There’s a bustling culinary scene as well, as we quickly found out.
Here are some of the best spots we discovered during our weekend trip there.