Wednesday, March 20

It was overcast & 17C (62.6F) at 7:30 this morning.
At 8:15, we had a brief thunderstorm and by 9:30 it had cleared up.

We decided to check out a nearby Flea Market, which is indoors (in case it rains again).

After finding nothing of interest at the Flea Market, we went to the town of Celebration.

Celebration, Florida is a planned community created by a real estate division of The Walt Disney Company. The Walt Disney Company commissioned  famous architects to create the master plan and to design the buildings. The first phase of residential development occurred in the summer of 1996 with Celebration Village, West Village and Lake Evalyn; this was followed by the North Village, South Village, East Village and Aquila Reserve and the final Artisan Park phases.


Founded in 1994, Celebration has the flavor of southern American village from the 1930s. About 2,500 homes are clustered around a small, pedestrian-friendly shopping area. Celebration, Florida is often cited as an example of New Urbanism, or neo-traditional town design. Homes and condominiums are constructed along streets, with garages and garbage pickup done in narrow but paved alleyways behind the homes, keeping the look of home fronts and sidewalks pristine. Utility service is underground.


Graham Gund designed the Celebration, Florida hotel. Nestled along the Town Center lake, Gund's hotel suggests a Newport mansion with a Caribbean flavor.








The Bank of merica building is very interesting. We did climb up the stairs until we met with a gate half way up. The view was still good.




There are several walking/biking trails throughout the town, so after having lunch, we set off to explore.


Starting at the Town centre, we followed the trail around Lake Reinhard and along boardwalks which took us through lush tropical forests.

After rounding Lake Evalyn, we found ourselves across a long, narrow lake from a row of "estate" homes. These were unbelievably large, with separate 3 car garages complete with an apartmen above. Of course, each had a pool, some with waterslides.
In this instance, the waterslide is to the right foreground, amomgst the boulders. Only about 1/2 of the house is visible, there is more behind it.

On reaching the end of the lake, we returned part way by the street, so as to see the front of these homes. The immense size just boggles my mind!

It was a very interesting walk, 5.3 KM total. It turned out to be a beautiful day, 25C (71F).