Bok Tower Gardens sounds like it should be another theme park but in this case it is as the name suggests – it is a garden with a tower. Actually, that’s doing it an injustice as it is a really relaxing place and the gardens are beautiful. Also, unusually for Florida, most of which is as flat as a Perkins pancake, the gardens are reasonably high up which gives some great views over the surrounding land including the orange groves.
We visited today without the boys, unsurprisingly, who stayed at home in bed. After the storms of yesterday the weather was good and the temperature very pleasant. It was also nice to visit somewhere where there weren’t any crowds and the only sounds were of birds rather than children.
You cannot go into the tower itself but it houses a carillon which, according to wikipedia, is a musical instrument consisting of at least 23 cast bronze cup-shaped bells or, in this case, 60 of them from Loughborough. You can hear what it sounds like on the video below:
After a gentle stroll round the gardens we returned home for a quite afternoon in before going out to one of our favourite restaurants – Ruth’s Chris Steak House. This is very much at the top end of dining here in Orlando but the food is excellent and since eating here a few years ago on a business trip I haven’t been able to find steak anywhere near as good in the UK.
Tomorrow is our last full day so, being Thompsons, we have meticulously planned it to get the most from it. Another early start is required!
Click here to see more pictures from Bok Tower Gardens