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Moving to a new city can either be daunting or thrilling. We chose the latter and set out to explore our new town. Our adventures took us all over the city and surrounding neighborhoods, and within a couple months, we felt at home. Amusingly, all of the places we visited seemed to have a Washington counterpart.
Downtown and Thornton Park – Downtown Orlando is clustered around Lake Eola, a pretty spot of water with a fountain, swan paddle boats, and a mile-long walking path surrounding it. Sunday farmers markets bring an eclectic crowd, mostly selling chachtkies and food. It is exquisite for people watching. Within a couple blocks are the public library and history museum. The library reminded Mark of buildings in his old neighborhood in Yonkers, NY. We attended a wine tasting at the history museum. The wine was not too good, but the museum was worth a visit. Downtown gave me the feeling of Pioneer Square in Seattle. Lots of cobbled roads brick everywhere. We enjoyed lunch at an Irish pub and listened to the fans yell and cheer for their team on the TV. To the southeast of Lake Eola is Thornton Park, a funky
little neighborhood that could have been Seattle’s Fremont. We attended a wine walk, unknowing this was a major event for the young adults of the town. There were booths for beer, wine, “jungle juice,” food, and tons of shops and galleries. My favorite was the gourmet pet cookie shop.
Mount Dora Farmland – My favorite fall activity used to be darting through a corn maze with my Mom and picking pumpkins. Happily, we discovered a corn maze within easy distance of Orlando and I got to take my Mom while she was visiting. I had no idea there was so much farm country in central Florida. It was so much fun, and I hope it will become an annual tradition.
Winter Park, I say – Winter Park, the sibling city to Edmonds, Washington. It was clean, polite, and expensive, and I don’t think its residents would have it any other way. The farmer’s market had a huge produce section, which delighted me. There’s plenty of opportunities for window shopping, with Park Avenue lined with shops like Williams Sonoma. My Mom and I went to the Wine Room, where you do a self-guided wine tasting,
lots of fun. Winter Park also has lots of vegan-friendly restaurants. Our favorite so far is Ethos, though I am eager to try out a couple more.
Winter Garden – On a quest to find the best farmer’s market, we stumbled upon Winter Garden. For a Washington comparison, think Port Townsend. It was plucky, neighborly, and had an instant feeling of “home.” Close to the sadly polluted Lake Apopka, the town had pretty much everything you could need and was completely absent of big chain establishments like Starbucks and Olive Garden. I fell in love immediately.
Boardwalk and Portofino – To celebrate our birthdays, anniversary, engagement, new jobs, and move across the country, Mark and I each planned a half-day surprise for the other. My surprise took us to Disney’s Boardwalk, where we rented a surrey and peddled around a lagoon. For lunch we shared a beer flight and people watched from a slightly crowded café. It was a fun and silly afternoon. Mark’s plan required some dressing up, and we found ourselves at Universal’s Portofino resort. It looked just like the town in Italy. We enjoyed supper at Mama Della’s Ristorante, where guests
were serenaded with opera songs throughout the evening. It was perfect.
Orlando City – Finally, my first experience at a pro soccer match! Orlando City SC was recently promoted to the professional ranks, but its fan base was already established. I’ve never seen so much fanfare before, it was fantastic. The first attempt to go to a game was abandoned due to thunderstorms, but we were able to snare tickets to another game and sat in very close proximity to the crazy fans. Good times indeed!
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