Fort Lauderdale by the Sea

Fort Lauderdale by the Sea

Another hot and sunny day greets us this morning, eager to explore we walk towards Fort Lauderdale by the Sea. At first the walk is along an esplanade running next to the beach then expensive mansions with sea views and eventually high-rise hotels and condominiums. We’ve now been walking for an hour and are hot and dare I say, sweaty, time for a drink and a cool off in the air-conditioning of a café before going on further. Dave wants to go on the beach but every turning ends in a gated and fenced car park, its miles till we find an access onto the beach. By now I need to cool off, I’m almost running to get in the cool water. Dave sensibly sticks to paddling and when we’ve finished strolling through the waves into Fort Lauderdale by the Sea, I wish I’d done the same! I’m now very soggy as we eat our burgers in Mulligans Beach House. And even more embarrassed to get into the uber car still looking like a wet T-shirt ad from the front at least. We’ve managed to walk 3½ miles in 34⁰C heat, and Dave in flip flops! Must have a snooze by the pool to recover!

Our Friday night out in Fort Lauderdale starts with an uber ride to Treasure Trove where all the locals seem to be out in force drinking beer and shots, we stick to the beer. We’ve put our names on the list for the restaurant, Coconuts, a very cool riverside restaurant where we can dream of luxury yachts as we sip drinks on the riverside deck. The tall table inside gives great views of the sun setting over the marina as we tuck into Jambalaya and tuna salad. Over a bottle of wine, we indulge in people watching, the large family in front of us, the large guy is obviously the patriarch and the children are so well behaved. There’s lots of couples enjoying romantic meals together. A short stroll takes us to Ibiza, a Mediterranean styled restaurant with uninterrupted views of the ocean and a superb sax player cum singer songs by John Legend, Mike and the Mechanics and Neil Diamond.

The marina from Coconuts restaurant deck