The first time we visited St Augustine we thought if we left Orlando early one morning and had an overnight stay we would have more than enough time to enjoy it. How wrong we were there is so much history there and so much to explore and enjoy when we went on our second visit we decided to stay for 3 nights. We argued if we got fed up exploring we could always go to St Augustine beach and top up our tans.
We never did get to the beach!
As we entered St Augustine we passed over the Bridge of Lions which stretches over the bay and to the right you could see the well groomed horses that were used for the carriage rides waiting patiently at the kerbside for visitors to hire them.
However once more this time we decided to use the Trolley Bus to explore St. Augustine. Tickets for this last 3 days are relatively inexpensive and you can hop on and off them at any of the designated stops. So this is how we came to visit Aviles Street (which is reported to be the oldest street in the United States) in the Old Town of the city.
We had previously only seen the entrance to this street early in the morning when it was very quiet but the day we visited we were there about lunchtime. As we entered the street we saw some local characters in costume sitting on a bench. We then had to stand aside as a horse drawn carriage came past with visitors on a tour on board.
We spent some time at the end of the street browsing at some of the fascinating little shops which contained an art gallery, pottery shop and a goldsmith. My Mother bought some lovely pottery vases which she left on display at our villa.
We had been up early and only having had a light breakfast we were in need of some lunch although it took us some time to decide when to eat as there was so much choice.
We eventually settled to go to Gaufres and Goods inc which served authentic Greek and Polish food. It was a very cosy little restaurant with art by the locals hanging on its walls. We had delicious borscht which is like a soup with dumplings in and then shared a couple of portions of hummus and 2 Greek salads. Our meal was finished off with a gaufres (as in the name of the restaurant) which was a delicious waffle covered in sweet cream and strawberries.
After lunch we found a bench to relax on outside Amiro as we watched the visitors and train tours go by. As we left Aviles Street we stopped by the plague on the Segui-Kirby Smith House to read the inscription.
If you do visit St Augustine you will enjoy wandering down Aviles Street.
We never did get to the beach!
As we entered St Augustine we passed over the Bridge of Lions which stretches over the bay and to the right you could see the well groomed horses that were used for the carriage rides waiting patiently at the kerbside for visitors to hire them.
However once more this time we decided to use the Trolley Bus to explore St. Augustine. Tickets for this last 3 days are relatively inexpensive and you can hop on and off them at any of the designated stops. So this is how we came to visit Aviles Street (which is reported to be the oldest street in the United States) in the Old Town of the city.
We had previously only seen the entrance to this street early in the morning when it was very quiet but the day we visited we were there about lunchtime. As we entered the street we saw some local characters in costume sitting on a bench. We then had to stand aside as a horse drawn carriage came past with visitors on a tour on board.
We spent some time at the end of the street browsing at some of the fascinating little shops which contained an art gallery, pottery shop and a goldsmith. My Mother bought some lovely pottery vases which she left on display at our villa.
We had been up early and only having had a light breakfast we were in need of some lunch although it took us some time to decide when to eat as there was so much choice.
We eventually settled to go to Gaufres and Goods inc which served authentic Greek and Polish food. It was a very cosy little restaurant with art by the locals hanging on its walls. We had delicious borscht which is like a soup with dumplings in and then shared a couple of portions of hummus and 2 Greek salads. Our meal was finished off with a gaufres (as in the name of the restaurant) which was a delicious waffle covered in sweet cream and strawberries.
After lunch we found a bench to relax on outside Amiro as we watched the visitors and train tours go by. As we left Aviles Street we stopped by the plague on the Segui-Kirby Smith House to read the inscription.
If you do visit St Augustine you will enjoy wandering down Aviles Street.