Back to Nature In Orlando

This morning walk about 20 minutes from your room at Aloft Orlando Downtown to Craft & Common, a local coffee shop that’s so much more.
Take a look at the menu and it can be hard to choose. There’s avocado toast, natch, but the fig and hummus toast (with candied pecans, mint, and balsamic) certainly tempts the tastebuds. Why not order both?!

Leave the theme parks behind and opt instead to get outside and back to nature with a two-hour Cypress Forest Eco-Tour with The Paddling Center.
Follow your guide down Shingle Creek, which, believe it or not, is the headwaters of the Everglades. You’ll arrive into a cypress forest that’s home to turtles, wading birds, birds of prey, and alligators… will you spot one? You may also catch a glimpse of deer and otters that make the cypress forest home, too.
Note: Two-hour Cypress Forest Eco-Tours depart daily at 10am.

You’ve likely worked up quite an appetite after paddling all morning, so it’s time for lunch. Drive back to downtown Orlando and prepare for a crunchy feast at Tin & Taco.
Actually, you can feast the way you like — via bowl, salad, wrap, or tacos served on Tin & Taco’s signature parmesan-crusted tortilla shells. And that’s just your first choice; next up is ingredients. With so many from which to choose, you may be back for seconds and thirds.

After lunch spend some time walking around Thornton Park, about a 10-minute hop, skip, and a jump from downtown Orlando. The neighborhood is known locally as “Downtown for Grownups,” rich with more than independent storefronts, restaurants, and bars.
Lake Eola serves as a centerpiece for Thornton Park, and if you feel the need to get back out on the water, rent out a swan-shaped paddle boat and start pedaling.

During your wander around Thornton Park you likely spotted a few restaurants you’d like to try tonight. If you can’t decide, give SOCO, or Southern Contemporary Cuisine a try.
SOCO effortlessly blends warm southern hospitality with exceptional dishes that you will want to linger over, like grilled meatloaf served atop lobster mashed potatoes; a vegan boiled peanut ravioli; and the pecan-crusted fresh catch of the day.
Note: SOCO is closed Mondays.

Return to your hotel for a good night’s sleep — you’ve got a big day ahead.