TravelCent

Fort Lauderdale Coffeehouse

One of the best measures of a city is by the strength and character of its coffeehouses. It doesn’t matter much any more if there are too many strip malls that all carry the same stores as any other city in the world, because every city in the world has these (with a few exceptions). When one can find, in the midst of all the sea of sameness, a place that seems to cultivate difference, then there is hope that interesting things happen.

There’s no question that Fort Lauderdale is interesting. There are too many wild parties, too much ocean and sun, and too many travelers coming through to let loose on a weekend for it to be dull. For all the tourists looking for Fort Lauderdale cheap hotels , there are plenty of things to make this city a remarkably splendid draw.

The usual tourist haunts are always buzzing, even on the occasional rainy days, making it a wonderful city to come to unwind. And there are enough spots of solitude so that people looking for some peae and quiet, away from the parties, can find something to love, too. And, perhaps even more fantastically, with places like Underground Coffeehaus , there’s something different, too, where an afternoon can turn into an experience that’s impossible to forget, but for all the right reasons.

This is a community coffeehouse, in the old fashioned sense of the word. It has the atmosphere of a European cafe, except here there is coffee more than any other beverage, where people come not only for their daily caffeine intake, but to be with the community. This is a place where artists and intellectuals come to hang out, the place where students go to be with each other, playing board games, reading, and catching up on all the local gossip. It is an artist’s haven , but it is also home to a lot of other people, and if there are keys to the local underground scene, chances are someone here has them in their pocket.

Singapore Dance Graffiti

Singapore is always a surprise, with numerous opportunities to find yourself surrounded by cultural events that will really spark your appreciation for art, or fulfill an already-sparked desire to be put into a state of awe.  The virtuosity of the talents that live and work here demonstrates itself in multiple forms, and you can probably find whatever you might be looking for.  There’s so much happening here, in fact, that you can likely find most every form on any given evening.  There are many ways, then, to have a perfect night here, which just demonstrates further Singapore’s charm.  There are many paths to perfection.

One way is to spend the first part in a Japanese restaurant.  The food here is extremely fresh, and the chefs are very adept, and know so many splendid ways to prepare contemporary as well as traditional Japanese dishes.  Because of Singapore’s position as a major trading port, there are many necessary ingredients that are difficult to find anywhere else, but here, they are readily available, making your food absolutely stunning.  This can be followed with any entertainment, but if dance is on your mind, then you won’t want to miss Graffiti of The Celeste coming this March.

This is a new work by Arts Fission, and deals with the themes of the environment and the urban landscape, exploring the nature of change when nature comes into the city.  It is a very apt theme for Singapore, where the rich urban culture is in a tropical setting with forces of nature that are palpable and always present.  This is the same company where Wong Wai Yee has had a lot of splendid artistic history.  Her current work with Moving Arts, that teaches dance to children of all ages, along with the many other dance companies in town, shows that dance is alive and well in Singapore.

Singapore Memories

Singapore is a barrage of sensations, where sounds, colors, and smells are constantly coming at you, offering you new ways to turn your attention outward, and find new ways to chase your thoughts.  It’s a splendid city to get lost in, if you have the time, and one of the wonderful things about vacations is that funny thing they do to time.  You can enjoy all the sights that the guidebooks recommend, see the local shows, enjoy a Chinese restaurant, and find yourself distracted by the show of everyday life that’s going on in the streets.

There are plenty of entertainments in town, and all art forms, too.  With theatre, performance art, experimental music, installation art, and more, there are always lots of things to choose from.  There are also local filmmakers, too, and the indie scene is not necessarily at a level to compete with the big movie making cities, but with filmmakers like Eng Wee Pen, it is certainly alive.

She has two documentaries, Diminishing Memories 1 & 2, and they’ve both been earning her a lot of attention, and her reputation is growing as a young artist to watch.  Both of these films are about her family from her perspective, the first one constructed of her own memories as a nine-year old, and the second from her point of view today as a 20-something.  This is a very honest family portrait, framed in a way to make you constantly aware of the framing.  This is a rather brilliant touch, so that while we’re watching her memories, we think about how we construct our own.

Fresh Seafood Restaurant in San Francisco

I recently visited my friend Bill in San Francisco, California. I try and get out there once a year and he tries to come to my place in Phoenix, Arizona once a year as well. Conveniently we have it scheduled out that I visit him around August and he visits me in January or February. He jokingly refers to his visit as his summer vacation because Phoenix in February is frequently warmer than San Francisco in August. So, last month I was there in his little apartment on telegraph hill and we were talking about where we wanted to have dinner that night. He had mentioned a seafood restaurant earlier in the day, though I really wasn’t interest. Well, as I suspected might happen, he brought it up again when we were making dinner plans.

Well, I had the impression that it was going to be a sushi place, which I just don’t have a taste for. I realized that this was a silly misunderstanding when he started to describe the place. He said it was a seafood restaurant down by the pier and that it was the freshest salmon and most delicious seafood I could find anywhere. Well, logically I wasn’t going to try and argue that point as most of the entrees were probably caught that afternoon. So, finally I agreed that this place sounded good and we headed out to get a cab.

Ultimately I can’t tell you exactly how delicious that dinner was. Bill had the fresh salmon in a light lemon caper sauce and I had the shrimp scampi with pasta. We both had salads with the house mango vinaigrette, which was also delicious. The slivered almonds in the salad added the perfect balance to the light sweetness of the dressing. In addition to the great meal we had a beautiful view of the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. While we were eating I jokingly told Bill I would have to take him to my favorite restaurant in Phoenix that served the freshest cactus jelly he would ever have. On the non-joking side however, cactus jelly actually is very tasty.