Sunday
Admittedly, Fort Lauderdale isn't the most walkable city as a whole, but there are sections that are easy to walk through. One of those sections that is really great to walk through is Las Olas Boulevard by the Riverwalk. Las Olas is the main street leading from downtown Fort Lauderdale right to the beach. We were fortunate to be in town during the Las Olas Art Fair and Riverfront Arts & Crafts Show. The Las Olas Riverfront Arts & Crafts Show is probably one of the best times to visit this area because every single shop has gone all out to display their wares. There are artists from around the country displaying every known form of art to help decorate your home or yacht, in our case home. We actually saw a couple of things we wanted to buy so we took information from those vendors in order to possibly purchase items when we got back home.
We grabbed a quick bite to eat and then headed down to the Riverwalk. The Riverwalk as the name simply suggests is the walk along the river and canals of Fort Lauderdale. It's a beautiful brick paved walkway with shops along the shore and yachts along the river. There are street performers, vendors and thousands of people walking around. This was probably one of the best highlights of the trip. If you're into people watching, this is the place to go because there are people there from every walk of life. There are also plenty of places to stop for coffee or a cold drink. On the weekends there are musicians at various locations with crowds of people gathered around.
About halfway through our walk we went into the Stranahan House, which is an historic house restored to around 1913. It has served various functions from an Indian trading post to a bank over the years. The second floor contains a museum that goes over the local history. It explains how Fort Lauderdale evolved into a vacation spot.
After walking further down the Riverwalk we happened to spot one of the signature bricks with our friend's name on it. For a small fee, you can have one of the bricks that pave the Riverwalk engraved with a message. Many people have proposed marriage with a brick. Doesn't sound that romantic but it is a really cool way to make your proposal last for quite some time.
Well, after spending the afternoon walking around Riverwalk we grabbed a Taxi to the hotel, packed our bags and headed out on Jet Blue. Overall, I learned that Fort Lauderdale is a city that requires you know your purpose ahead of time. That is, if you're going to the beach, book a room at the Marriot Beach Resort or another hotel along the beach. If you're going to a convention or just want to relax by the pool, the Marriot Marina where we stayed seemed great. If, on the other hand, you're going for the shops, stay in the downtown area. Lastly, if you want to see a lot of the area, rent a car, as this is not a walking city or a taxi city, but one that requires a car.
Read part 1 ~~ Read part 2
