St. Augustine, Florida

Last weekend Taylor and I decided to go see St. Augustine. St. Augustine is an old city about 40 miles south of us that is known for being rich with culture, history and a fun place to wander. We've been hearing about it since we got to Florida, but put it off until the weather cooled down a little, which was genius of us.

We took the scenic route, along the coast past the dozens of bikers out enjoying their Saturday morning. We stopped at a Gate gas station at the half-wayish mark where I found pink Rockstars! If you don't know this about me, I love pink Rockstars. The marketing / branding is so perfect I can't handle it. And yes, they taste amazing. Anyway, I guess Rockstars are only king out west, because we've only seen three flavors max here (Regular, Diet, Lemonade) but there, in the little gas station, was my flavor. I bought them out.

Needless to say, my day was already awesome. But it continues:

We started by hitting up a farmer's market near the amphitheater. It was small, but full of interesting people selling whatever it was they loved; everything from ribbon angels and ceramics to sea food and pickles on a stick. Yeah, that was my favorite too. Pickles and olives.

We then just went and walked around the old part of the city and the fort. We didn't have any plans, we just wanted to get a feeling for St. Augustine because we definitely want to go back. The city has a quaint feeling, leaving you nostalgic for a European world you've never seen before.

 

Our first stop was in a chocolate shop for some ice cream. (Obviously.)

The town was settled by the French, then taken over by the Spanish before finally becoming part of the United States. The Spanish influences wins throughout the city, as you can see by these buildings. This was near Flagler College, across the street from which was a posh hotel. The whole thing was very 1920's glamorous.

Below is the view looking out from the old fort, where we watched a reenactment of a ceremonial cannon shot.

For lunch we decided to backtrack to a pizza shop we found earlier in the day. On our way back we came across this secret garden. I want one.

Also, do you notice Taylor's new haircut? He did it himself. :)

Pizza: It was just like walking into a New York pizza shop. The owner grew up working at those places in New York, so when he moved to Florida he opened up his own shop. It was amazing.

So the real question is, when are you coming to visit?