If you have never been down the Gulf Coast of Florida, head that way with St. Petersburg in mind. We’ve gone twice in the past two years. So many people go to Destin, Tampa or Sanibel Island. Don’t get me wrong, these are all lovely beachside locations that I love to visit. St. Pete is not a place I remember going to before, but we won’t make that mistake again.
St. Pete is a lovely town full of beautiful parks, museums, unique shops, great restaurants and clean, sunny beaches. We’ve stayed three days each time we’ve gone and we’ve barely scratched the surface of what there is to see and do.
We found one restaurant so good, we went twice on our first trip in ’15 and once again on our ’16 trip. O’Maddys, open-aired, friendly neighborhood spot with a terrific menu. I had the Lobster BLT on our first trip. OMG, that was heavenly and large enough that two people could easily have shared it. You can sit at the bar or a high-top table and look out on a fishing pier on one of the bays of the Gulf. It is gorgeous at sunset! O’Maddys is not on a main thoroughfare. In fact, you must drive through an older neighborhood to get to it. I posted a picture on Facebook and a friend commented that O’Maddys is their favorite place to eat when in St. Pete. What a coincidence!
In the downtown area along the water, you’ll find the Salvadore Dali Art Museum. Touring the museum is a fun, yet educational, way to spend your time. Tour at your own pace, take a docent tour, or plug in earphones for an individual guided tour, again at your own pace. Walk through the gardens and be sure to take a picture sitting on the melted clock bench or become part of a giant mustache. There’s even a maze to enjoy.
Another art gallery in town is for the Chihuly collection. This small gallery has a collection of glass works by the renowned glass sculptor and designer, Dale Chihuly. Info on this gallery is located at the Morean Arts Center site moreanartscenter.org/chihuly. While Chihuly has other galleries and his base of operations is Washington State, this collection is small, but representative of his style of glass sculpture.
Not far from the Chihuly gallery are an actual glass art studio and hot shop, behind the Morean Arts Center. Go on a cool day as the hot shop lives up to its name. It’s HOT! The demo you will see here is fascinating and detailed. The Center offers classes in glass blowing, even including a Ladies Night.
We checked out the Grand Central Warehouse Arts District of St. Pete. The neighborhood is historic and home to local artists and a large Annual LGBTQ parade.
The unique shops reside in older warehouse buildings, many covered by large murals. We stopped by on our way out of town and wish we had planned more time for the visit.Next time through, we will. Park your car and devote at least half a day to walking around town. Don’t just stay on the main street as you will find some great murals on buildings several blocks beyond the main drag. You can take a walking tour that lasts 1 to 1 1/2 hours or tour at your own speed. What a great way to get in all your Fitbit steps for the day!
In our wanderings, we discovered The Bikery covered in a previous post. The Bikery is a bike shop/ Coffee shop combo. Unique, right? Creative Clay offers sculpture and pottery classes, while vintage shops are on every street. The mixture of offerings includes craft beer pubs and specialty retailers. I guarantee you will be impressed by the murals you see, drawn and painted by some of those local artists. I suspect you could arrange to have your own mural designed just for you. A visit to this section of St. Pete is a must see.
Last, but by no means, least, you must check out the Don Cesar Hotel, a flashback to classic Florida architecture. The elegance in dining, shopping and accommodations help make this a 4/5 star Hotel. (Priced accordingly, so book ahead.) We had breakfast/brunch at the poolside restaurant. The food, ambiance and wait staff were all remarkable, contributing to the hospitality of the Don Cesar. With all the chandeliers, lovely hallways and decadence, I wouldn’t be surprised to find a Great Gatsby style movie had been filmed here, or that the Rat Pack had hung out here while vacationing. Check the Don Cesar out, even if you don’t stay there. Oh, and ask for Geoff from Hamburg, Germany at the poolside restaurant. He was terrific!
St Petersburg was worth the three days we spent there. I can’t wait to go back and start checking out all the things we haven’t done yet!
