Orlando +

Coming to Florida on a conference, doesn't sound like the most exciting thing to do, but I always make the best of it by doing what I do best when away from home: pretend I live there, and enjoy what “my city” has to offer, and, mostly that means trying some local entertainment flavors, possibly away from what the “tourists” are doing.

Disney, Universal - been there, done that!

Thornton Park Area: When I visit a city, I always look for the neighborhoods that are known locally for arts, culture and entertainment, away from usual tourist areas; that’s how I found Thornton Park in Orlando. Facebook has been my friend for finding local events and Thornton’s FB site has a wonderful collection of fun events. During the week I was going to be in Orlando, there just happened be a 2nd Thursday Art and Wine Walk. $15 got you a glass and a map of 25 local businesses who will pour you up a tasty treat if you visit. Our designated driver enjoyed this event just as much as the rest of us as we talked to many local community members, shopped locally, checked out many art vendor's beautiful craftsmanship, and heard a variety of live music along the way. (Side note: as part of my conversation with a neighborly lawyer that we met along the way, we learned a foodie tip for the Convention Center Area which I haven’t checked out yet, but I’ll leave this info here for you. He said the Highball and Harvest at the Ritz is worth the cost of the drink and an appetizer just to experience the lounge’s locally inspired food and drink recipes, often using ingredients from it’s own on-site 7 000 square foot garden. He described it as “clever and reasonably priced”: an experience in itself.)

Winter Park Area: What a shiny gem this area of Orlando is! Among the upscale shops and art galleries on Park Avenue, we found the "best bang for your buck": the Scenic Boat Tour where, for a mere $14, just off a side street, you can tour a few beautiful lakes connected by Venetian-like canals bordered with lush greenery and colorful flowers. Along these lakes, you will see historical and modern, expansive mansions, the historical campus of Rollins College which was founded in 1885, and an abundance of wildlife such as cranes and alligators. The ladies whom I was traveling with all loved our hour long tour of 3 out of the 7 lakes that exist in Winter Park.

Our adventure worked up an appetite so our lovely, and knowledgeable captain pointed us up the street for a mouth watering lunch, at the Croissant Gourmet. We had some of the most creative and perfectly flavor-paired sandwiches and salads, we've EVER had. Being a French bakery, the Paris-trained French chef, Francois Cahange, successfully transports one to a European bistro with alluring pastries, along with unique breakfast and lunch options. I certainly wasn't disappointed with the Panini Parisien blending ham or turkey with Brie, crisp apple slices, Dijon, mayo on cranberry bread accompanied with a delicious side salad with homemade vinaigrette.

Kennedy Space Center: I know Cape Canaveral isn’t technically Orlando but the short hour drive to the the amazing Kennedy Space Center is well worth it while staying in Orlando. As we were a group of four teachers, some of us with a passion for science, we thought a couple of hours visiting the space center would be a good side trip. We were so glad we went early on our “free” day during our conference because we spent a very enjoyable, engaging and informative FULL day at the impressive Kennedy Space Center. We learned the timeline of the world’s race to the moon, relived the final moments before man took his first step on the moon, touched a lunar rock, learned how close we are at landing and living on Mars, interacted with astronauts in real time from the International Space Center, and were able to honour our fallen astronauts. We also got up close and personal to the space shuttle Atlantis displayed as she was in space complete with an extended Canadarm (proudly invented by Canadians!). The icing on the cake was a bus tour taking us to restricted areas such as old and current launch pads, and past assembly facilities such as partner, SpaceX's. Visiting Kennedy Space Center is worth every penny: engaging, interactive and informative for all ages and interest levels.

And, oh yeah, we learned a lot at our Educational Technology conference, and soaked up the Florida sun, a little, in January. :0)