If you’d like to shop in adorable little boutiques offering unique and beautiful clothes, hand embroidered, with appliqué, or fabrics that are cut on the bias and swish even when you are holding still, then Brevard Avenue in Historic Cocoa Village in downtown Cocoa FL is the place for you. Wouldn’t it make a laugh in your heart if the name of the shop was Frankly My Dear?

What do you do with your husband when he insists you’re not rushing through fast enough? Village Cappuccino, one of the many little coffee houses tucked in among the art and antique shops, offers a needed respite. Every table is different with odd chairs, some with the ability to claim being an antique and lots of crocheted things under the glass on the table tops. Actual flowers were hanging from the drapery on the window. There was an adorable teacup collection on the wall. Cosy? Bless their hearts; today’s newspaper was on the table. It really quiets a man down and it gives his wife a chance to ponder the idea of spending $69 on that adorable hand appliquéd jacket she just saw.

Did you ever think you’d be in a dilemma over whether or not you needed an oil painting of a picture of a closet full of clothes? Where, in your home, would you hang that item if you bought it? Carolyn Seiler Studio Gallery had several and they mesmerize you. It might really be something you just can’t live without.

The Red Hat Society ladies came ambling through on their way to the Black Tulip, a five-star restaurant in a beautiful old Florida building. Across the street was the Cocoa Village Playhouse, an old brick theater in excellent condition. Children Of Eden was playing.

For the young and slender woman that really wants to be noticed, Diva was the place to shop. If that’s not really you try the Strawberry Shop for bath items or just sit out in front on a park bench on the sidewalk, with full size replicas of the Blues Brothers, or walk up to Myrt Thorpe Square and listen to a sidewalk singer playing his guitar and singing about being a hobo.

The Allma Clyde Field Library, a historic library, is right in the center of the shopping district. A few blocks east are several waterfront parks. Tours of the Indian River are available from the gazebo at the waterfront. Expect to find parking on streets running parallel to Brevard.

Historic Cocoa Village is located in old, restored downtown Cocoa, Florida and features a potpourri of unique shops, galleries, and restaurants. One shop that we really enjoyed was The Country Craft Corner, where they have unique crafts and gifts, wood items, and cards. The Village Gourmet Shop is a gourmet gift shop with baskets, fine wines, coffees, teas, gourmet foods, kitchen gadgets, dishes, cookbooks, aprons, Italian glasses, and many more gift items for the home. The Strawberry Patch is another store that is an intriguing shop where decorating is an art with Victorian traditional and contemporary accessories. They also have unique flowers vines and berries, and candles of all shapes and sizes.

A restaurant we like for their cappuccino, coffee, teas, pastries, and light sandwiches is the Village Cappuccino Restaurant. It also appeals to us because it is in a smoke-free Victorian atmosphere. This village offers a lot more and for a full list of their shops, restaurants, and entertainment check out their website at Cocoa Village.