When I had to travel to West Palm Beach Florida for a business trip, one of the many I seem to be called to in Florida I ended up being able to spend some time golfing near Palm Beach at a wonderful golf course and talking over a few important deals with the prospective buyer who was located in Miami.  We golfed at the Emerald Dunes Country Club for most the day and I must say it was an enjoyable experience, besides the fact it was in Florida and the weather was perfect.  The grass was good, as is all grass in the Florida environment I gather, and the greens were firm, able to let me sink a few good ones.  I was surprised by the waterfall that was there too - amazing detail and also surprising really to think that there would be a waterfall at a golf course like this so close to the ocean.

I of course, did not win, as that wouldn’t have been very good for the buyer’s confidence, besides I didn’t mind the loss, afterwards I planned on eating at one of the Palm Beach restaurants I frequent quite a bit nowadays.  The game went smoothly with all things considered and I was most impressed with the view atop a giant dune that let me see for what seemed to be miles and miles of palm trees and wonderful Florida landscape.  There really is no place on earth quite like West Palm Beach in Florida - the club itself was very well maintained and the overall experience was superbly enjoyable.  Remarkable course by all means, It made my entire trip worthwhile - as for the deal, well… Let’s just say I sank it in the hole and reaped the benefits from my planned loss. Should you ever get a chance to play there in West Palm Beach I recommend it.

I had never been SCUBA diving before in my life, but when I went SCUBA diving I am happy I did it in West Palm Beach Florida, and not anywhere else.  After being taught how to actually SCUBA dive I was shown the underwater environment, and trained in how to dive and not kill myself (I am prone to injury to myself because of my own infallible ability to do something unintended) Under the water it was amazing!  I could see for a distance that I thought wasn’t possible under water, and after we had gone down a bit I saw my first fish, colorful tropical beautiful fish.  The entire underwater environment was alive, and I was lucky enough to see a turtle.  During the dive we also got to see a wreck of a ship from who-knows how long ago, I was amazed at how many things were living on it and in it, the reef was colorful and alien to me - as if I was floating above another planet that hadn’t been explored yet.  The entire dive lasted for what seemed only a few seconds because of how thrilling it was - so of course I had to go back for more. 

The second trip we went to a different area and I couldn’t belive that just a few minutes ago I was in West Palm Beach, and now I was under the water looking at these fish just swimming by, I was lucky in that I got to see a second turtle, and I got to take a few pictures with my camera.  Unfortunately my infallible abilities kicked in and the camera suffered a terminal injury on a rock.  I plan to be back in West Palm Beach Florida again to take pictures, and this time I wont break the camera on a rock - SCUBA diving is one of the best activities in my opinion and I highly recommend you try it too.

When I was in Palm Beach, well, West Palm Beach, I went to try something different instead of going to a generic restaurant that seemed so bland like everything else (in West Palm Beach there is no such thing as bland except chain restaurants), so I went to this middle eastern restaurant called Leila which a few people had told me about in the hotel, and it was pretty darn good - more like excellent, something unique and different I had never before tasted, well many things I had never before tasted, and that’s after having been to several restaurants in West Palm Beach. 

From the Feta Puffs to the things I can’t pronounce it was very excellent food in a very excellent environment to eat in.  You have never smelled or tasted food so good before in your life until you try this restaurant and see for yourself what a wonderful environment it is.  They served some very excellent wines and some very very good music was on in the background.  In Palm Beach you hear allot of noise, or what others call music, but in here it was what I consider in my snobbish was real music.  It wasn’t a place where you hear the thudding of today’s youth as they scream by in their cars thinking they are somehow hip, it was devoid of that kind of stress and made for a very good eating experience. 

They also had all kinds of samples you could try and some people got themselves some old fashioned pipe tobacco’s.  Overall I have to say the service, the food, the environment, the overall effect makes this restaurant one of the best I have been to and it has to be the best eastern food eatery in West Palm Beach, or even if I dare say in all of Florida.  I haven’t found something near to this quality even in Miami, so if you are ever looking for something new and great try Leila.

In my travels I have eaten at many a restaurant and been given many a good treat to eat, and also man a stomach ache to defeat.  One place while I was in West palm Beach Florida was an Italian restaurant that reminded me of my uncle Vin and his restaurant back when I was a boy.  The Maison Carlos is a wonderful restaurant with a great atmosphere, it was just like Vin’s, except it was much bigger and of course, it is still around.  Vin’s shut down when he died back when I was still in grade school, and it wasn’t anywhere fancy like Palm Beach.  When I entered I was immediately taken off guard by how nice the place looks, and I was also very happy that the staff was so nice to me.  They had French Cuisine there along with the Italian favorites, it was just a great treat to finally eat somewhere I felt at home.

Nostalgia aside, the food was very good, and their wine selection was excellent.  They had some very nice aged red wines that tasted wonderful, and the meal, that was probably the best part about it.  I had a wonderful Caesar Salad and the Spaghetti with crab meat - absolutely great.  Before I was done though I had to try one more thing - and that was the veal.  That was probably the best and most well remembered meal of my entire life, like one of those epic movies you go to see and you never get it outta your head - now every other restaurant i go to I expect to live up to this standard, and most of them don’t.  When you’re in Palm Beach you have to stop by Maison Carlos and try the food, or else you will regret it for the rest of your life.

While I was staying in West Palm Beach I went to a little English restaurant there called the Serenity Garden Tea House and Cafe - I felt like I had just taken my 2002 trip to England all over again.  It’s in a little cottage I learned about while I was there, built in the 1910’s and had a wonderful selection of delectable delicacies - I was quote impressed with the tea and very impressed with the soups.  I have to say I went back there again the next day to try more that they had to offer, it was very excellent and the food was superb - I did have to make reservations though. It really did break the lull and dull of the trip I had there at all those hack restaurants which tried to be cute, or were just grease shops - none of them had any good real tea. Iced Tea from a Mcdonalds is not the same as good old fashioned tea from a real tea house. They get quite crowded at lunch time and I chose to sit outside to enjoy the air whist I ate and drank there. 

The finger sandwiches were very well made, and the scones were good.  They had plenty of sides to go along, with good jelly’s jams, butters, and all sorts of other blueberry, raspberry, and strawberry delights.  It was very peaceful and relaxing to eat there without a constant barrage of people in and out like at some other restaurants, and the waitress who handled me was very prompt and very kind.  It was one of the, if not the absolute best cafes I have been to since I began traveling to West Palm Beach in Florida on a biyearly basis, so I say, if you are ever out in Florida around Palm Beach or West Palm Beach you should go to this establishment - the Serenity Garden Tea House and Cafe.