LauderBlog

As I write this blog, Passover begins in a matter of hours. It's an important period on the Jewish calendar, of course, and in South Florida. Only this morning I was reading about the large number of Jewish visitors who celebrate Passover here. There's even a Passover cruise out of Fort Lauderdale's Port Everglades. Jews come from all over the country and from around the world to remember their past and enjoy their present, from New York and San Francisco, from England and Israel. Any time of the year, though, South Florida benefits from a strong Jewish presence. We're very lucky that way. This is reflected perhaps most obviously in our culture, but also in other aspects of South Florida society. It's hard to imagine Greater Fort Lauderdale without our vital Jewish influence.

That is apparent in the variety of theater and music available to us, for instance, where Jewish support for the arts helps to keep organizations alive that couldn't make it otherwise. The same is true for our charities and nonprofit groups, where the great Jewish tradition of helping others is powerfully evident.

In many other areas of our lives too, South Florida is vastly improved by the high number of Jews who visit or live here. Increasingly as each year passes, Jewish cultural and social enrichment is a topic of personal interest to me. This is because I've become convinced that I have a genuine Jewish ancestry. I know about my Irish, English and Canadian roots for sure. But my mother was adopted long ago in Canada and her background remains very hazy. The full story behind my belief in a Jewish heritage is too long for any blog. Let's just say that a growing body of circumstantial evidence suggests this likelihood to me. Not least among that evidence is my mother's personality and behavior throughout my life. For a supposed Gentile, she always has been a classic Jewish mother in many ways -- a comment I make with affection. This awareness of my likely Jewish past has progressed to the point where one Jewish friend jokingly gave me a yarmulke for being an official "half Jew." Whatever the percentage of Jewish blood I may really possess, I take true pride in it. Not just at Passover but all year long. The Jewish tradition is one of accomplishment and intellect, giving us a line of human beings that includes the likes of Einstein and Freud and Mahler. If any part of that flows through my veins, I'm very grateful. Just as I feel gratitude for the rich contributions my Jewish neighbors have made to life all around South Florida.

Sometimes it's the simple things, isn't it? Like taking a walk. How many of us do this anymore? I mean, do you ever put aside the day's demands and worries, find a short block of time and just go for a walk? No, I didn't think so. But that's okay, you're not alone. I suspect that relatively few of us venture out on walks anymore, quite honestly. But maybe more of us should. This time of year in South Florida is excellent for walk-taking. The temperatures are pleasantly warm, but not hot. The skies are clear and the sun feels welcoming. The trees and bushes are blooming. And many other people are outside too, maybe working on their lawns or washing their boats or whatever it may be - some busy folks you can greet along your unbusy way.

Trust me, this really makes for a very pleasant part of your day. I know this from first-hand experience because I take walks often, especially during periods of the year like this. Our weather is about perfect right now. So yes, I've been putting on my gym shoes but, instead of going inside some gym, I've simply headed outside my condo door for a delightful walk around my neighborhood.

I'm just back from my morning walk today, actually. It was great. There's a nice little community of single family homes beyond the large condo complex where I live. I crossed the street and could feel the sunshine against my face as I rounded the corner between two houses. I was moving at a more relaxed clip today than I've been walking lately, but for some reason it felt good. So I ambled down one long block, taking in the neatly cut grass and the trimmed hedges. As I came to another street, a neighbor waved and said hello and I smiled and did the same back. I passed pink bougainvillea and purple bougainvillea in full bloom and exchanged greetings with someone else who was out enjoying the gorgeous day, a pretty blonde woman riding her bicycle. By the time I got home, I felt both more invigorated and more tranquil than when I'd left a half hour earlier. I think it works just as well if you're walking around Las Olas or along A1A, across Lauderdale-by-the-Sea's beach or on Hollywood's Broadwalk. Or just through some  residential neighborhood near your home or maybe your hotel. A walk clears the head and soothes the emotions, it seems to me. I don't know about you, but that's something I sure can use during this spring season - or any time of year.

I remember my winter dreams when I was a northerner. They went something like this: I would imagine the pavement I was walking on - but without slush, ice or snow. I would recall the feeling of dry concrete under dry shoes and the look and smell of grass that was green, not brown. And I would think about spring. Real spring, with warmth and flowers and leaves on the trees. Then I often fantasized about visiting some place that could offer that kind of weather now, without having to wait for weeks. All this came to mind for me recently as I was reflecting on the horrible winter so many people went through this year. I'm glad I didn't have to deal with it.

In the U.S. and in Europe, massive snowstorms and fierce cold waves battered residents over and over. Even though this is officially spring, the crummy weather continues for many folks. Snow over the weekend in Chicago, for instance, and rain today in New York. Yuck.

When I went through a tough winter while living up north, I didn't want cold rain at this time of year. And I sure didn't want any more snow. I desperately wanted to see the sun shine, to feel the heat on my face and in my bones. I craved summer, really, not spring. I can remember thinking, "Just give me a few days to thaw out, to really enjoy sunlight again and blue skies. I need that!" If this describes your feelings just now, as you sit by your computer and look outside at another dreary day, you have my sympathy. I feel for you, my friend. But hang in there and remember, there's always Florida. If you can swing a trip down here sometime before long, all the better. But if not, just bring us to mind once in a while. Take a tropical vacation in your daydreams to a spot on the map where it's expected to be in the high 70s with lots of sun for much of this week. The Fort Lauderdale ocean is as blue as the sky most days. People run across hot sand on the beaches where they lie on blankets in their bathing suits. The whole world really isn't harsh and cold and pitiless, much as it may seem that way to you at the moment. Soon enough, your own summer will come. But for now, one way or the other, feel free to borrow some of our sunshine if it will help.

This weekend you'll have a choice. Look over the latest wheels or scope out some new ways to enjoy the water. Or you can do both. Thursday through Sunday, the Fort Lauderdale International Auto Show and the Dania Beach Marine Flea Market each will draw thousands of enthusiasts looking for something to help get them around South Florida. Ironically enough, you'll have to drive to the Marine Flea Market, though you can arrive at the Auto Show by boat if you want. A Water Taxi will drop you within easy walking distance of the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center, where the 19^th annual edition of the auto show is taking place. I've been to this event before and thought it was pretty cool. If you're a car lover, as I am, this year's auto show should give you plenty of reasons to drool.

The hot cars include a 2010 Tesla Roadster Sport, which I haven't seen in person yet. But wow, I'd love to. This electric sports car goes from 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds but gives off zero emissions. The company's own website calls it "$130,000 of electric orange sex." Hard to argue with that. In addition to the Tesla, you'll find the auto show brimming with Jaguars and Caddies, Hyundais and Chevys, Smart Cars and Volvos. Even, ahem, Toyotas. Perhaps they'll be handing out discount coupons at that one? Seriously, this show looks like a terrific time for anyone in the market for a new car - or with money enough to only dream about one.

The Marine Flea Market is something else, mostly old stuff that's still good stuff. There's some brand new stuff mixed in as well. Happening at Dania Jai-Alai on Dania Beach Boulevard, this is just what it sounds like: a flea market for marine goods. Organizers say it's the largest event of its type in the world and who am I to question them? I live nearby and I can tell you this much - they definitely draw a crowd. The Marine Flea Market will offer everything from scuba equipment to fishing tackle, used boats to marine artworks. For more info, you can go to http://www.daniamarinefleamarket.com/. For the auto show, click on http://www.ftlauderdaleautoshow.com/. It's all rather Fort Lauderdale, really. We're totally into boats and things watergoing here, of course, and South Florida also is very much a place of fast, expensive cars. They've just thoughtfully combined both obsessions into one busy, mobile weekend.

Are you looking for a relaxing summer vacation? Are you looking for a nice, warm place to go with your kids? If you are, Fort Lauderdale is the place to do it.

Fort Lauderdale has everything you need to have an ideal summer vacation. You can relax on a towel in the glistening sand, while lying under the sun's magnificent beams on a hot day. If you are a shopaholic, or just want to get a few souvenirs for your family and friends, Fort Lauderdale has lots of stores where you can get some. I would recommend a store called "Wings." This store is huge! It has hundreds of toys, antiques, and many other items, just waiting for you to purchase them! Fort Lauderdale has tons of activities for the kids too! You can go parasailing, jet skiing, snorkiling, scuba diving, tubing, or just regularly swim! Can't swim? There are tons of activities that don't involve water too! You can make sand castles, go to amusement parks where you can find rollercoasters, go-carts, and an arcade!

It doesn't matter how old you are or who you bring! Whatever the age, whatever the day, Fort Lauderdale has it all!!

Carly, 4th Grader
Cicero, NY

Ireland is not renowned for its sunshine. Florida is. Where would you rather be on St. Patrick's Day? After the winter much of this country and Europe experienced this year, I suspect many might answer that the Sunshine State sounds a whole lot better to them right about now. As it happens, our weather is perfectly glorious. At the beach this morning, the green lifeguard flags were flying beside a gentle, glimmering sea. Those of us with sunroofs and convertibles had them open to the clear sky, just as we did all weekend. Paddy's Day festivals in Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood welcomed sun-warmed partiers on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The temperatures should stay pleasant for the real holiday on Wednesday. So the next question is: what's the best spot for you to go seriously green on St. Patrick's Day?

The hard part will be picking among the many, many Irish pub options. Or maybe the hard part will be going from one to another after a couple beers. (For that, of course, there's always the new - and free - iPhone app that can help guide you around town. Called iVisitLauderdale, you can download here. Just might help you find the next pub before the night's final jig is up.)

One of my personal favorite pubs always has been Maguire's Hill 16. Definitely real Irish, definitely fun. It's totally packed to the gills on St. Patrick's Day but, hey, that's part of the appeal, isn't it? Located at 535 N. Andrews Avenue in Fort Lauderdale, Maguire's is close enough to downtown that you can walk - not a bad idea, actually. There's also Briny Riverfront Pub, about a 20-minute amble from Maguire's. This is another huge draw on Paddy's Day and offers a great view of passing boats along the New River. You'll find Briny at 305 S. Andrews Ave. A little farther afield is, well, the Field Irish Pub & Eatery. Run by a former Maguire's owner, the Field is authentically Irish, with excellent food and a major Paddy's Day bash. It's at 3281 Griffin Road in Dania Beach, maybe a 10-minute drive west of Federal Highway. Other notable spots you can dial into that iVisitLauderdale app include Mickey Byrne's in Hollywood, Waxy O'Connor's in Fort Lauderdale and Korrigan's Irish Pub in Pompano. Among lots of others. All you'll need is an appetite, a thirst and some smilin' Irish spirit to fit right in. Being in Fort Lauderdale, of course, you just might need some sunscreen as well.

I mean, really. Who came up with green beer as a way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Not the Irish, I can assure you. And not any of the Irish around Fort Lauderdale who'll be serving the real, unadulterated thing over the next several days. Nope, they'll be pouring it straight and pure, just as they do the rest of the year. The black Guinness and the golden Harp and all the rest. I say this with a certain amount of pride. That's because I am genuinely part Irish, as I love to point out to anyone who'll listen around this time of year. I say this same thing like clockwork every March. But it's true. My ancestor folks came from County Cork, thank you very much. So yes, I like to think that I know a thing or two about celebrating Paddy's Day, as we Irish call it.

I've always been impressed with the variety and quality of Irish establishments around Greater Fort Lauderdale. There's no shortage of places to belly up for a well-poured Guinness or whatever libation you prefer. This year, there's also a huge Irish parade and festival at Huizenga Plaza in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Appropriately enough, it is called the "Fort Lauderdale St. Patrick's Day Parade and Festival." Thoughtfully enough, it will be held before Paddy's Day. Consider this a training session for the real deal on March 17^th. Strengthening those beer-glass lifting muscles, maybe. Anyway, the Irish fest happens on Saturday, March 13, from 11:30am to 9pm, with a parade on Las Olas from 2-3:30pm. Sounds like a serious blast to me. There will be lots of entertainment, of course, and lots of food and beverage. Of course. This is the first Fort Lauderdale Irish festival in 17 years so it's a big deal. They even will have something called a "Wee Folk Village," which might suggest a tent for overly enthusiastic beerdrinkers to socialize with those leprechauns they've suddenly seen. Heh-heh. Sorry. Instead, it's an area just for kids. Bounce houses, face painting, stories, arts, crafts - basically, some great fun for your own wee folks. For more info, just visit http://www.ftlaudirishfest.com/. Early next week, I'll blog about some of the amazing Irish pubs you may want to visit on Wednesday. Nary a green beer to be found anywhere among them, I promise.

I love it when friends or relatives visit South Florida. No, honest, I really do. I suspect many of us who live here feel the same way. We get to play the host for a special part of the world, emcee and master of ceremonies for all the good things that are around us every day. I had the chance to do that again, briefly, when my niece came to town for a medical conference last week. It was great to see Kerri and give her at least a brief tour of Fort Lauderdale. I picked her up at the hotel, then we grabbed one of those great Anthony's pizzas and chowed down, catching up on family news and each other's lives. She's a terrific woman and I really enjoy her company so we had plenty to chat about, for sure.

Then we hopped in my car and went for a spin around the area. Kerri never had visited Fort Lauderdale so we drove past Port Everglades: "It's about to become the largest cruise port in the world, probably in the next couple of years," I explained. She had heard about Oasis of the Seas, the planet's biggest cruise ship, and I told her that its home port is here in Fort Lauderdale. Then we motored north over the 17^th Street Causeway bridge, up A1A so she could check out the beach and some of the new super-lux hotels like The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale and the W Fort Lauderdale.

Finally, we headed slowly down Las Olas, our main shopping street within the city. The tour was over too soon when we had to get her back to the hotel for an early morning wakeup call. My only regret was that we didn't have more time in the Fort Lauderdale area. There's so, so much here - Kerri barely got a small taste of it. For one thing, our auto tour was at night so she missed the real beauty of our beaches and seascapes. But I also would have welcomed the opportunity to take her for an airboat ride in the Everglades, as I did a while back with her parents when they came to stay with me. Or to check out places such as the Bonnet House and Butterfly World. Kerri's a big animal lover and would really have liked these. Or just to sit at an oceanside café, letting the feel of the sunshine and the sound of the waves wash over her during a pleasant meal. Next time ... hopefully with her husband, Phil. They're wonderful people. It would be great fun to show them all around this place. Plus, I'd have a very good excuse to climb back into an airboat for another spin around the sawgrass. I may live here but, hey, that's something that never seems to get old for me.

Many places around South Florida feel arty. But as far as I know there's only one arty spot in town that offers tea. It's a new shop I just discovered - well, actually a friend discovered it and brought me with her. Anyhow, it's called Paul's Gallery and Teahouse and this storefront is a true find. Out of the way, tucked in among Fort Lauderdale's hidden nooks and crannies just off A1A. Paul's Gallery and Teahouse reflects the personality of its owner who, predictably enough, is named Paul. His full name is less expected: Paul Plaintaganuwong. From Bangkok, Thailand, he is a gentle young man who's also a talented artist, with his own canvases on the walls all around this delightful shop. That's part of its appeal. But only part.

When I stopped in the first time with my friend, Gaby, I immediately felt comfortable and welcome. Paul came over and shook my hand, then sat us down at one of the pleasant couches situated around his store. Very quickly, I began to feel as if I wasn't in any kind of retail store at all, though. This relaxing environment was more like being in someone's pretty, modern home.

Gaby ordered tea and lichee ice cream. I ordered a macchiato. It was raining when we met and the couch in back of Paul's shop felt like the perfect cozy spot for a chat between close friends. Paul's paintings are on sale there, vibrant and contemporary mixed media pieces that seem as hip as Paul himself. He's a cool kinda guy - even keeps a piano and acoustic guitar in his store to play when the mood strikes him. The service is excellent, as you might expect at a small, very personal shop of this type. But Paul's service can go above and beyond, for sure. That's what happened when Gaby realized her parking meter was running out. She was fumbling for quarters, then went outside only to discover that Paul already had fed the parking meter for her. He had seen her car and didn't want Gaby to get a ticket. How nice is that? To find Paul's Gallery and Teahouse, you need to look for it among two long rows of stores on the west side of A1A a couple blocks north of Oakland Park Boulevard. The address is 3304 NE 33^rd Street, Fort Lauderdale and the phone is 561-685-9744. Only in business about two months, Paul's place is open from 1-10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 4-10 p.m. on weekends. It takes a bit of effort to locate Paul's Gallery and Teahouse the first time. But it's worth it.

Who doesn't love a relaxing Sunday morning? I spent part of mine this week sitting at the beach in Fort Lauderdale. And sipping coffee at a lovely outdoor café. And ... Well, I'm getting ahead of myself. I probably should explain first that Sunday mornings really seem like special moments to me. Something more than just relaxation, I guess. This was true for me about as far back as I can remember. As an adult, I began to feel those few hours of the week were more important than ever. These days I often like to put on some classical music, then luxuriate over coffee and the thick Sunday newspaper for hours, ideally shared with someone as special as the time.

Or I like to do what I did this past Sunday - head to a café for an alfresco breakfast. Either way, it seems a wonderful start to a new week. The Fort Lauderdale area is perfect for this sort of thing, of course. Lots of cafes to choose from, lots of sunshine to help wake you up.

So I hopped in my new car and headed to one of my personal faves for breakfast, Croissan'Time in Fort Lauderdale. It's one of those great weekend spots, full of fellow Sunday morning lovers. You know, folks spreading newspapers over their tables, moving cups of coffee and plates of French pastries out of the way of their lifestyle and sports and business sections. Families with kids and dogs, singles and couples. Just very pleasant. I sat alone at a sunny table with coffee and a raspberry beignet, mostly watching everyone else and smiling as those dogs sniffed and barked at each other. When I'd sat for nearly an hour, I headed to the beach. It was a brisk morning by South Florida standards, but beautiful, very beautiful. The sea was a light emerald in the shallows, darkening out farther from shore to a deep forest green. Small breakers were rolling in, their foam spraying mists from the wind. Tourist children were playing in the surf. Tourist adults were sunning themselves on the sand, people from Quebec and New York and wherever else, their pale white skin exposed to the warm rays. As I walked back to my car, heading home to the newspaper waiting for me, I felt very lucky in many ways. That may sound exaggerated but it's true. Lucky for the chance to enjoy another relaxing Sunday morning and lucky to spend part of it by the Atlantic Ocean. Lucky, too, that another delightful Sunday morning was only six days away.