My family just returned from spring break in Naples, Florida. We have been going to Naples since 2004 and we love the area. Southwestern Florida is less developed than some other parts of the state and is filled with natural beauty. There is a protected mangrove swamp near my mother’s house that we cross every time we go to the beach. Sometimes we even canoe on the swamp’s waterways. My kids revel in their daily sightings of herons, egrets, ibises, turtles, lizards and especially alligators.

Old Naples, as the city’s downtown is known, is a charming town filled with gracious homes, restaurants and posh boutiques. We make the drive down Route 41 several times a week to eat on the patios of our favorite restaurants, visit the Naples Botanical Gardens, and play in the fantastic Cambier Park.

One of my favorite Naples traditions, however, is a visit to the Third Street South Farmers’ Market on Saturday mornings.  We come to Naples in the winter and early spring months, when farmers markets in Chicago are nothing but a distant memory. To see fresh, locally grown produce at this time of year, for me, is like seeing an oasis in a desert. In short, visiting the Naples farmers market is almost as restorative to my soul as the warm weather and sunshine.

The Naples farmers market features a wide variety of stands, not just the locally grown fruits and vegetables that define a farmers market for me. There are also stands selling flowers, baked goods, all kinds of prepared foods, crêpes made to order by a bona fide French lady, kettle corn, woven baskets, jewelry and kitschy home décor items made from seashells. I kind of prefer my farmers markets a little more focused but I have no complaints about the crêpe lady.

On our last day of vacation, we strolled through the market, drinking fresh squeezed lemonade and munching on savory crêpes (properly known as galettes). My mother and I shopped for that night’s dinner, picking up fresh asparagus, strawberries, grapefruit and salad greens. My husband and daughter bought some beef jerky for the plane ride home. My son begged for some cheese curds and my mom bought yet another basket for her house. It was the perfect way to spend our last morning in Florida.

And those grapefruit? I used them to make the Glazed Grapefruit Cake from the March issue of Saveur. Pretty, no?