I figured that it's probably about time that I blog about my current town - Tampa. So here we go . . .
Most people thought I was crazy to move to Tampa from Chicago considering I'm a Midwest girl. I received lots of "but it's so hot in Florida" comments. Duh! It is Florida and the sun shines 12 months out of the year. Yes, it's hot and humid in the summer and there are torrential rains every day in the months of July and August but the other 10 months are gorgeous. The North offers beautiful days about 3 months a year. I decided I would prefer seeing the sun, walking around outside and enjoying outdoor activities most of the year to the alternative. I haven't regretted my move for a minute. Let me describe a typical weekend in this lovely Gulf coastal city.
Friday
Mark took a quick walk to his favorite thing about Tampa (I come in a far second) - Publix. For those of you that don't know what Publix is, it's a supermarket - yep, just a supermarket. However, for those that do know Publix, it is the best supermarket out there. There is so much Publix loyalty in the South, I can't really explain it. Regardless, it was a beautiful morning and a short walk to get some delicious handmade sandwiches and a few pieces of their famous fried chicken.
Although it was a beautiful day, we needed to run to the mall to pick a few things up. The shopping options down here aren't quite as good as they are in Chicago (or other large cities) but it does the trick and we found what we were looking for, and more.
After a lazy afternoon, we headed to South Tampa / Hyde Park for dinner. South Tampa is an older part of town full of great restaurants and bars and really close to the water. We were dining at Ceviche a great, quaint Tapas restaurant. We began our meal with a bottle of Cava (Spanish sparkling wine) - well you know how much I like bubbles. We were seated outside next to the pool with fountain and ordered another bottle of Cava. (If you haven't tried Cava, you should. It is delicious and reasonably priced for sparkling wine.) We enjoyed 4 different delicious tapas - all with fish or seafood - and then topped it off with an after dinner drink. It was a beautiful evening, complete with the best date a girl could ask for!
Saturday
We were off to St. Petersburg. St. Pete is on a peninsula jutting into Tampa Bay. I have been to the Gulf side of St. Pete on numerous occasions but this time we ventured to the Bay / Marina side. It's a beautiful town, very typical Spanish-inspired Florida. The hotel we visited, The Vinoy, was built in the 20s and is classic Florida.
It was another gorgeous day so I took a long walk around the marina, watching the boats, planes and people. It was a great way to spend the late morning and early afternoon.
We returned home to change in preparation for a Fall tradition - College Football. My favorite season is Football Season and we were so excited to kick-off the season with some good friends. Now that I live in Florida, I'm surrounded by University of Florida and University of Southern Florida alumni. I don't mind rooting for the favorite teams of some of my favorite people; however, I did change the channel a few times to check the score of the Michigan game (and Mark kept me updated by checking ESPN on his phone for me). We finished the football themed day with many good friends at Leroy Selmon's bar and restaurant for the UF game. Sadly, Leroy was in the hospital on Saturday and passed away on Sunday. He was such a champion of the Tampa Bay area - he will be sorely missed.
Mark and I visited his other girlfriend, Publix, on our way home to pick up ingredients for dinner. The best part - I wasn't cooking. He made homemade enchiladas that we enjoyed while watching episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm. The perfect end to a wonderful day!
Sunday
Mark's closest friends - Roger, Michelle and little Maddy - had driven down to Largo from Hilton Head for the weekend so we met up with them at Clearwater Beach. I love CB and take every opportunity to hit the sand and surf. After playing with Maddy in the sand for a while, we ventured to Frenchy's Rockaway Grille for drinks and lunch. Frenchy's is right on the beach and has a great view for people watching.
After Roger and Michelle put Maddy to bed, the four of us went out for an adult's only evening. We went down to Ybor City for dinner at Columbia. Ybor City is the historic district of Tampa and resembles New Orleans in it's architecture and the bars/restaurants/music available. Columbia is a Spanish/Cuban restaurant that has been open for over 100 years. It is a huge restaurant with lots of secret passageways (or at least that's what they told us). We had some mojitos, cava sangria and regular sangria. No, we didn't just drink. We had some tapas and paella. Yum.
We weren't ready to end the night so we headed out to check out Ybor. We had a drink at Gaspar's Grotto, normally a great indoor/outdoor bar - however it was a Sunday and kinda dead. We walked a ways down 7th Avenue to check out the sites. And by sites, I mean the outrageous outfits most of the women were wearing. I think I owe Michelle a pair of neon green hot pants for our next outing! ;) We finished the night at Double Decker where people were singing some pretty bad karaoke. It was a great night, with good food and even better company. We were so glad that Rog and Michelle came down.
Monday
Departure day...a lazy morning that lead to another visit to the mall - we couldn't pass up the Labor Day deals. We stopped into Seasons 52. It's a great restaurant where we enjoyed a few drinks, a great flatbread and delicious entrees. We'll definitely be visiting again.
As you can tell, most of my travels include good wine/drink, great food, beautiful ambiance and amazing company. Tampa is a great back drop for a great weekend!!
Most people thought I was crazy to move to Tampa from Chicago considering I'm a Midwest girl. I received lots of "but it's so hot in Florida" comments. Duh! It is Florida and the sun shines 12 months out of the year. Yes, it's hot and humid in the summer and there are torrential rains every day in the months of July and August but the other 10 months are gorgeous. The North offers beautiful days about 3 months a year. I decided I would prefer seeing the sun, walking around outside and enjoying outdoor activities most of the year to the alternative. I haven't regretted my move for a minute. Let me describe a typical weekend in this lovely Gulf coastal city.
Friday
Mark took a quick walk to his favorite thing about Tampa (I come in a far second) - Publix. For those of you that don't know what Publix is, it's a supermarket - yep, just a supermarket. However, for those that do know Publix, it is the best supermarket out there. There is so much Publix loyalty in the South, I can't really explain it. Regardless, it was a beautiful morning and a short walk to get some delicious handmade sandwiches and a few pieces of their famous fried chicken.
Although it was a beautiful day, we needed to run to the mall to pick a few things up. The shopping options down here aren't quite as good as they are in Chicago (or other large cities) but it does the trick and we found what we were looking for, and more.
After a lazy afternoon, we headed to South Tampa / Hyde Park for dinner. South Tampa is an older part of town full of great restaurants and bars and really close to the water. We were dining at Ceviche a great, quaint Tapas restaurant. We began our meal with a bottle of Cava (Spanish sparkling wine) - well you know how much I like bubbles. We were seated outside next to the pool with fountain and ordered another bottle of Cava. (If you haven't tried Cava, you should. It is delicious and reasonably priced for sparkling wine.) We enjoyed 4 different delicious tapas - all with fish or seafood - and then topped it off with an after dinner drink. It was a beautiful evening, complete with the best date a girl could ask for!
Saturday
We were off to St. Petersburg. St. Pete is on a peninsula jutting into Tampa Bay. I have been to the Gulf side of St. Pete on numerous occasions but this time we ventured to the Bay / Marina side. It's a beautiful town, very typical Spanish-inspired Florida. The hotel we visited, The Vinoy, was built in the 20s and is classic Florida.
It was another gorgeous day so I took a long walk around the marina, watching the boats, planes and people. It was a great way to spend the late morning and early afternoon.
We returned home to change in preparation for a Fall tradition - College Football. My favorite season is Football Season and we were so excited to kick-off the season with some good friends. Now that I live in Florida, I'm surrounded by University of Florida and University of Southern Florida alumni. I don't mind rooting for the favorite teams of some of my favorite people; however, I did change the channel a few times to check the score of the Michigan game (and Mark kept me updated by checking ESPN on his phone for me). We finished the football themed day with many good friends at Leroy Selmon's bar and restaurant for the UF game. Sadly, Leroy was in the hospital on Saturday and passed away on Sunday. He was such a champion of the Tampa Bay area - he will be sorely missed.
Mark and I visited his other girlfriend, Publix, on our way home to pick up ingredients for dinner. The best part - I wasn't cooking. He made homemade enchiladas that we enjoyed while watching episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm. The perfect end to a wonderful day!
Sunday
Mark's closest friends - Roger, Michelle and little Maddy - had driven down to Largo from Hilton Head for the weekend so we met up with them at Clearwater Beach. I love CB and take every opportunity to hit the sand and surf. After playing with Maddy in the sand for a while, we ventured to Frenchy's Rockaway Grille for drinks and lunch. Frenchy's is right on the beach and has a great view for people watching.
After Roger and Michelle put Maddy to bed, the four of us went out for an adult's only evening. We went down to Ybor City for dinner at Columbia. Ybor City is the historic district of Tampa and resembles New Orleans in it's architecture and the bars/restaurants/music available. Columbia is a Spanish/Cuban restaurant that has been open for over 100 years. It is a huge restaurant with lots of secret passageways (or at least that's what they told us). We had some mojitos, cava sangria and regular sangria. No, we didn't just drink. We had some tapas and paella. Yum.
We weren't ready to end the night so we headed out to check out Ybor. We had a drink at Gaspar's Grotto, normally a great indoor/outdoor bar - however it was a Sunday and kinda dead. We walked a ways down 7th Avenue to check out the sites. And by sites, I mean the outrageous outfits most of the women were wearing. I think I owe Michelle a pair of neon green hot pants for our next outing! ;) We finished the night at Double Decker where people were singing some pretty bad karaoke. It was a great night, with good food and even better company. We were so glad that Rog and Michelle came down.
Monday
Departure day...a lazy morning that lead to another visit to the mall - we couldn't pass up the Labor Day deals. We stopped into Seasons 52. It's a great restaurant where we enjoyed a few drinks, a great flatbread and delicious entrees. We'll definitely be visiting again.
As you can tell, most of my travels include good wine/drink, great food, beautiful ambiance and amazing company. Tampa is a great back drop for a great weekend!!
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