Sushi, Ultra, and H50

Friday was the first day of Ultra Music Festival. Three days of Ultra mixed with a bunch of pool parties and nightclubs. I have no idea what I was thinking. I guess I wanted to make the most of it. I headed back to Mary Brickell Village for a bite to eat. I saw Sushi Maki and walked right in. It’s a local chain serving sushi rolls, tacos, ramen, and bubble teas.

I grabbed a seat at the sushi bar and ordered a Thai Iced Tea. It’s probably my favorite beverage. It was pretty hot out and the refreshing slightly sweet drink was just what I needed.

I ordered a salmon miso taco served with a type of chili sauce. It was good, nothing special. It was a pretty small crispy taco shell filled with chopped salmon, scallions, and miso sauce.

I tried a couple sushi rolls as well. The Haystack had salmon, white fish, avocado, crab stick, ceviche mayo & crispy sweet potato strings on top. The other roll was the Two Timing Tuna made with spicy tuna, avocado , sweet mayo, and tempura flakes.

The rolls were good. No complaints. I had my sushi fix and I was ready to head to Bayfront Park…not before stopping next door for a couple margaritas of course.

I followed the crowds making their way towards the entrance of Ultra. It was a fairly short walk from The Viceroy.

The annual music festival started out as a one-day festival from 1999 to 2006. It became a two-day festival from 2007 to 2010, and then it was a three-day festival in 2011 and 2012. There were lots and lots of people. I later learned that a record 155,000 people attended the year I went.

The UMF Korea Stage was near the entrance. I was able to catch Nicky Romero for a bit.

I met a really cool girl from Milan and we hung out the next few days. One of the best things about traveling is meeting new people and making new friends!

We headed over to the Main Stage where Tommy Trash was playing and everybody was dancing up a storm.

The energy was intense. I had to take some pics with more awesome festival attendees. People from all over the world make their way to Miami for this.

The festival goes from 4pm to midnight the first night. As it gets darker, the stages get brighter and the people go crazier.

We made our way back to the main stage to see Skrillex. I’m not really one for dubstep, but I did not mind seeing the mayhem. Tiesto followed and closed out the festival.

The first day of Ultra was a success. After about 8 hours of walking around and dancing, you would think it would be the perfect opportunity to get a good night’s sleep. Not in Miami! I walked back to my hotel to get ready for a rooftop pool party.

I didn’t even realize the pool party was at the hotel I was staying at when I bought the ticket online. How convenient! I got ready and took the elevator fifty stories up to the Fifty Ultra Lounge.

It was almost midnight and the party has been going since earlier that afternoon. The area wasn’t very big and it made for an awesome intimate event. I had the opportunity to meet some of the DJs.

The main reason I came to this event was to finally see legendary DJ and producer, Paul Oakenfold! This guy has been around for a while and was named the No. 1 DJ in the World back in 1998 and 1999 by DJ Magazine. I remember those Perfecto mix albums and his popular single “Ready Steady Go” released in 2002.

This event was so much fun! Getting up close with the DJs and partying on an intimate rooftop with stunning views of Biscayne Bay was unreal. The party continued until 5am. The fact that my comfy bed was waiting for me downstairs was fantastic 😉

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Sushi Maki
1000 South Miami Ave
Miami, FL 33130
(305) 415-9779
Website

Ultra Music Festival
Bayfront Park
Miami, FL 33130
Website

Fifty Ultra Lounge
50th Floor of Viceroy Miami
485 Brickell Ave
Miami, FL 33131
(866) 781-9923
Website