We arrived late Friday night and drove to our hotel, the Hilton Bayfront. The hotel was very nice and in a great location. Matt had requested a King room, but they put us in a room with two doubles. We should have asked to switch right away because those beds were way too small. Oh well.
On Saturday, we spent most of the day at Fort DeSoto Park in Tierra Verde. This park was amazing. We went to the North Beach which has been rated among the best beaches in America. I thought it would be really crowded since it was spring break for a lot of people, but it wasn't bad at all. The sand was so soft and the water was gorgeous. It was warm and sunny, but really windy.
After the beach we stopped by the historic fort to look around. The fort was nothing special. There were a few giant cannons and some empty concrete buildings...that's about it.
We really wanted to go kayaking, but when we arrived at the rental place they wouldn't let us go out on the water because the wind was too strong. We were both really disappointed because it would have been so much fun.
Instead, we rented a bicycle built for two and rode out to the East Beach. This bicycle was so funny looking, we felt like we were driving a clown car. It was really fun to ride along the trail and enjoy the breezes off the water.
When we got to the East Beach there were a ton of para-surfers on the water. I had never seen anyone para-surfing before. Basically, it was a cross between wind-surfing and parasailing. Every once in a while the wind would catch a surfer just right and they would fly into the air and spin around. Matt and I were both awestruck. I really want to try it one day, but I'm sure it's a lot harder than it looks.
Biking back was tough because the wind was blowing against us. It was quite the work out. When we made it back we rewarded ourselves with ice-cream. Well, I got ice-cream and Matt got a sno-cone (or sugar ice, as I like to call it.)
We drove back to the hotel and took quick showers so we could get to the Salvador Dali Museum before it closed. The museum was hosting their annual Dali Fest, which is an outdoor festival with music and ethnic food. Also, the tickets to the museum were half price! I've seen some Dali works before at the Reina Sofia in Spain, but it was very impressive to see so many in one place.
We saw several famous pieces including the Persistence of Memory, which was a lot smaller than I expected. I didn't realize that Dali also got into film during his career. We saw a couple of silent films that were just as twisted as his artwork. Dali did have a sense of humor, though. His piece 'Atmospheric Skull Sodomizing a Grand Piano' cracked me up for some reason.
After the Dali Museum we went to dinner. I had a couple of places that I wanted to try but we discovered they were further away from downtown than I thought. We ended up going to The Garden Restaurant on Central that had an intriguing menu. Unfortunately, the food didn't live up to the menu. I should know better...the fancier the menu, the more disappointing the food. It was still a relaxing dinner and a nice way to end the day.
On Sunday, Matt had to get up early and give a talk about his research. It was nice that he got his session over with first thing in the morning. We went out for breakfast at a local diner and then I walked around downtown St. Pete while Matt went to a session. The downtown area was a bit sleepy on Sunday morning, but it was really nice to walk around and get a feel for the city. There were a lot of restaurants and shops, but I think the downtown area is used more for work than play.
When Matt was done he and some other students wanted to go to the spring training baseball game that was across the street. I was kind of ambivalent about going to the baseball game, but I figured I'd indulge Matt's wishes and go along for the ride. Fortunately for me, the game was sold out! Instead, Matt and walked down to the pier where we took in the gorgeous views of the city. On the way back, we hopped on a trolley for 25 cents that took us on a little tour of the city and back to our hotel.
I spent the afternoon lying out by the pool while Matt went to one more session.
When he was done, we went to the best restaurant called Ceviche. This place was amazing. We started with sparkling sangria and a tabla mixta with fruit, cheeses, jamon serrano, chorizo and homemade pate. I was surprised that I actually liked the pate. Next we ordered a bunch of delicious tapas including croquetas de bacalao, tortilla espanola, vieras rellenas (scallops). Every bite was heavenly. I wish we could have ordered one of everything. I would highly recommend this restaurant if you ever have a chance to go!
After dinner it was time for me to head to the airport. I was so sad to have to leave, especially Matt was staying for a few more days. I would have loved to beach hop for another week, but we were lucky to enjoy the sun for a couple of days.
