Where am I and do I have to go back to Ohio...aka the Ft. Lauderdale Bar Crawl

Betty and I flew down to Ft. Lauderdale the night before our cruise and man oh man was I impressed. My main memories of Florida were going to Orlando, Orlando, and then some more Orlando as a kid. I found Ft. Lauderdale to be very clean, upscale, and quiet. I was prepared for college kids on spring break and while there was some of that -- there was a strange calm in the warm night breeze that was seductive. I suppose the fact that it was 80 something degrees with clear skies in March and that I was surrounded by the ocean and the woman I loved helped as well. Betty and I hit up the strip and decided to jumpstart the first day of our vacation by doing a bar crawl.


First stop was Sangria's cafe. We decided we'd start of with a gigantic margarita...everybody else was doing it.


Margarita was nothing to write home about but at the same time it didn't really matter cause everything else was so perfect. So perfect that we didn't bother finishing either of ours. :) We did split a chicken quesadilla that was simple and delicious. One thing I noted about Ft. Lauderdale was that you started to forget about how good the drinks or food were and just really took in the ocean view and relaxing vibe of the city.

Not properly buzzed from our first drink we decided to check out the House of 100 Tequilas.


We took a seat at the bar and engaged the bartender in a conversation on tequilas and Ft. Lauderdale culture. We tried 2 tequilas that I had never heard of and they were tasty.




Later on that evening we ended the evening at our Hotel Restaurant and Bar at the Hilton called Ilios. We sat on the patio where we had a dramatic view of the ocean and skyline. We had some martini's and tried a number of their tapas that were delicious and pricey including:



a crab and corn chowder; bread with 3 dipping oils/butters; and shrimp and mango ceviche



along with a jerk chicken with carmelized sweet potatoes and asparagus.

It was a whirlwind night before our cruise. The mood of the Ft. Lauderdale strip made it difficult for even the grumpiest of critics to mind the expensive drinks and cuisine. There was definitely a magical and intoxicating vibe (okay...maybe that's being too literal) in the air that stole Betty and mine's heart and money. Let's see how I feel when my credit card bill for this month comes.