PreCruise in Fort Lauderdale: Day 2

Sunday, 5 December

Here’s a downside to the layout of our room at the W … it’s one more reason why it might not be a suitable choice for everyone.  When one person wakes up early and turns on the lights to use the lavatory (which is, by the way, inside a frosted-glass enclosure for privacy), the lights in the vanity area also come on.  With the clear-glass shower enclosure the only thing between the bed and the rest of the room, it’s like the room lights have been turned on.  The room is definitely not designed to be shared unless both parties are early risers.  Luckily, we are … even when we’re on vacation.

We have our very own alligator to keep us company.

We were up at 5:00a.  It was pitch dark outside, and more than a little cool on the balcony.  In fact, it was downright chilly.  Still, I couldn’t help but step out a few times to watch the cruise ships coming into Port Everglades.  All lit up, the ships sparkled like so many diamonds against a black velvet setting.

Around 7:00a, we wandered down to the “Living Room” (as the bar/lounge area is known at the W) to grab a light breakfast of bagels and fruit.  Afterwards, we wandered around the pool deck and checked out the peaceful morning scenery that was broken only by an occasional vehicle or a lone jogger, and later by bicyclists participating in a race.

A new day is born.

A fire would be quite welcome right about now.

A race to start the day.

Ready to tackle the day, we left the hotel.  Unable to resist the siren call of the beach at our front door, however, we made a detour.  There were just a few souls around as we removed our shoes and went for a walk along the edge of the surf.

A lovely morning for a walk on the beach.

Only the early birds are out enjoying the morning quiet.

Fort Lauderdale (Ft L) and its environs have a lot to offer visitors.  In addition to the beaches, there are museums and gardens, and my favorite … wildlife management areas.  We did some of those things on a past trip to Ft L (no blog, but click here for images).  We debated doing a few more of them this time, but R&R won out over exploration … that and the fact that I left my big guns — SLR camera and lenses, that is — at home.

So, around 8:30a we headed out to the not-too-distant Hollywood Beach.  Along the way, we stopped at a Publix grocery store to pick up a six-pack of water and a couple of bottles of wine to enjoy on our veranda on the ship.  We got the water OK, but had to delay purchasing the wine until after noon — some quaint state law that prohibits wine and beer sales before noon on Sundays!!!

Welcome to Hollywood Beach!
[courtesy of the visit Hollywood website]

Finding parking on one of the many streets leading to the waterfront promenade was not a problem at the early hour of 9:30a.  After paying the nominal parking fee, we set off on our walk on the Broadwalk (that’s not a typo).  It didn’t take us long to shed our shoes and change our path from the brick-paved walkway to the warm sand next to it.  The temperature was in the mid-80s (28-29C), the sun was shining brilliantly overhead, and thanks to the ocean breeze and lack of humidity, conditions were perfect for a long walk.

Broadwalk … one of America's top ten nostalgic promenades (USA Today).

Not many people are on the beach … yet!

Mui finds a seat so he can put his shoes back on.

Our meandering walk eventually returned us to our starting point.  By then it was nearing noon and our tummies were letting us know that it was lunch time.  I had a recommendation for İstanbul Restaurant, a casual beach-front eatery serving Turkish and Mediterranean food, so we decided to check it out.

We were welcomed by Hasan, the owner, who hails from Trabzon, on the Black Sea Coast of Turkey.  We had our pick of the tables set up on the pedestrian way … easy choice since we were the only patrons at that early hour.  Though short on ambiance, the place turned out to be a good choice and we enjoyed our meal.  The food was good, as was the location overlooking Hollywood Beach.

Serving Turkish food since 1991.

A cold brew on the beach; that’s life!

We ordered a selection of small plates … cacık (chilled yogurt soup with diced cucumbers, garnished with dried mint and a drizzle of olive oil); barbunya pilaki (red kidney beans cooked with olive oil, green and red bell peppers, onions, tomatoes and diced carrots); çoban salatası (literal translation, shepherd’s salad; diced tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, green peppers, parsley and spices, dressed with Turkish olive oil and vinegar, garnished with grated feta cheese and a black olive); sigara böreği (deep fried rolls of Turkish phyllo pastry filled with a mix of feta cheese and fresh parsley); falafel (patties made from ground chickpeas and/or fava beans); and Adana kebap (chopped lamb, flavored with fresh red bell peppers and spices, grilled on skewers, served with slivered onions, roasted tomatoes, green bell peppers, and rice).  We washed it all down with a couple of Efes Pilsen beers.  Though they had baklava for dessert, we opted to walk next door to the ice cream shop for a cold treat that went down well on a hot, winter day.

Clockwise, starting from the center: Adana Kebap, Çoban SalatasI,
Falafel, Sİgara Böreğİ, and Barbunya Pİlakİ.

We returned to the W about mid-afternoon (after making a detour to pick up some wine from Publix).  Changing into beach attire, we went down to Fort Lauderdale Beach for Mui to take a quick dip in the ocean while I did some people watching sitting on the beach wall.  Then, it was up to the W swimming pool for another dip for Mui and more people-watching for me.  We didn’t stay long, however, as the cold front that we’d heard was heading our way was making its presence known with a sudden drop in temperature and a stiff breeze.

The Plexiglas cover over the stairs makes for an interesting experience.

A see-through swimming pool.

Mui looks like he’s having a good time!

Having told the Zs that we’d try and get to the beach in time to watch their sailaway on Celebrity’s Solstice, around 4:00p we headed to the far end of Fort Lauderdale Boulevard.  Leaving the car in the beach parking lot, we walked along the edge of the water for about a mile until we reached the point where the beach meets the ship channel.

Our timing couldn’t have been better.  Carnival’s Miracle was just exiting the channel when we arrived.  Then came the Solstice.  Perched on the rocks, we waved goodbye even though we were on the wrong side of the channel to see the Zs on their veranda.  (Little did we know then that they were on the bow deck above the bridge, waving right back at the crowd of well-wishers on the beach.)

As dusk deepened, the parade of ships continued with Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam, Ruby Princess, and Royal Caribbean’s mega-mega ship, Allure of the Seas (220,000 GRT/5,400 pax … that’s big!).  By the time Coral Princess started heading out of the channel, the light was all but gone, but we couldn’t not wave bon voyage to the ship that took us through the Gatun Locks of the Panama Canal in 2007.

Parade of Ships
Clockwise from top Left: (1) Nieuw Amsterdam; (2-3) Allure of the seas;
(4) Coral Princess; (5) ruby Princess; (6) solstice.

Though I was less than enthusiastic about walking barefoot on pavement, we decided to chance a short cut through a condo property (hey, they left the gate open) to catch a cab back to the car before our time on the parking meter expired.  Good plan; we would never have made it in time had we walked back along the beach.

By the time we were back at the W, night had fallen … and so had the temperature.  After bundling up in our winter layers, we walked to Casablanca Café, another restaurant that came highly recommended.  We weren’t planning to dine on the patio since it was downright cold, but a corner table that was out of the wind proved to be comfortable enough.

[collage of photos from the restaurant website]

Casablanca turned out to be another good dining choice for us.  The food was really tasty and the ambiance was charming.  My capellini with tiger shrimp and blue crab meat was plentiful enough to share with Mui, who got a half-order of stonecrab claws as his main course.  We skipped dessert as we were both comfortably sated by the time we had finished our meal.

Quick-stepping it back through the chilly evening, we made it back to the hotel with plenty of time for blog-writing before calling it a night.   Tomorrow’s forecast is for a high of 66F (19C) before the temps drop lower into the 40F (4C) range later in the week.  It’s time for us to blow this popsicle stand … tomorrow, we board our ship.

Next Up … Video: PreCruise in Fort Lauderdale