My First Visit to Fort Lauderdale

When sometime in the not too distant past, I figured that I was ready to move to Florida, I knew I had some research to do to help me decide where that place would be.  It's an adventurous feeling to be on the threshold of a new chapter in your life and to be able to choose the place where your journey will continue. Having been to the Miami area a while back, and with the picture that I get from the media, I felt that the southeast coast of Florida was a bit too crowded and the pace a bit too fast for my liking.  I wanted a location that was more laid back and calm, but not asleep and isolated.

I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Fort Lauderdale with my friend Steve.  He recently moved to Saint Petersburg from San Francisco (after never having been to anyplace in Florida) and one of those birthdays that end in a zero had crept up on him.  Since he had left his heart friends behind in San Francisco he was looking to do something special with new friends.  Since I am fortunate to have become one of his new friends here, he decided at the last minute to head to Fort Lauderdale to celebrate and to invite me along.

He made reservations at The Grand Resort and Spa.  It's about 2 blocks from the beach.  The accommodations and staff were amazing!  Included were champagne, a massage and a logo terry robe to take home.

For birthday dinner we headed to La Dolce Vita.  A super place.  The food was excellent and the Italian music was a nice mix.  The staff all had Italian accents.  Either they all were from Italy, or have good voice coaches.  :-)

We ate lunch one afternoon at The Green Bar, a vegetarian restaurant.  The food was tasty and the owner or manager kept giving us samples to taste and comment.

I always (mistakenly and ignorantly) thought that Fort Lauderdale was a place I would not like.  Now I see it as a nice vacation spot, still Florida, but a world different from Tampa Bay.  I see many future road trips!