We started off on a very bad start. While we were heading to my brother Ricardo's house in Coral Gables, a lady rear-ended us. The crash wasn't a big deal, but we had to call the police to get a record of the accident. That delayed us quite a bit, because the officers didn't show up right away.
The poor Peruvian woman was distracted and did not notice our car in front of her. It was a dramatic moment because our Toyota RAV-4 had been in operation for months.
The Tren Around St. Augustin
For some reason I can't figure out, I couldn't find the video of the St. Augustine train ride. However, it was the same ride that Siomi and I took in 2015 during our second honeymoon.
In every city we visit for the first time, the first thing we do is find out if they have a tourist trolley to tour the most emblematic places. We did that on our first trip to St. Augustine and on this one in December 2016.
In St. Augustine, we took the "Old Town Trolley Tours", located at 108 Sea Grove Main St. - Daytime tours cost between $30 and $40. Night tours are over $100 per person.
At the Hotel
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This time we stayed at a La Quinta hotel located at 250 Outlet Mall Blvd. This hotel chain has never let us down.
The first time we visited St. Augustine in 2015, we stayed at a modest but very functional and well-located motel near the historic part of town, the Knights Inn, which has since closed permanently.
Our motel on our second honeymoon in 2015
On the way back to our hotel, Siomi explained to Santi what a limpet was, whose meat was exquisite but absolutely forbidden because it is a protected animal of the Venezuelan native fauna, very similar to the Cuban hutia, whose meat is also delicious. In Cuba, many families used to raise hutias for food consumption.
The disaster in the room was amazing: indescribable! If I hadn't recorded it, no one would have believed it.
My brother and I shared a separate room. I didn't have any problems with his apnea because he brought his machine to stop him from snoring, otherwise no one would have been able to sleep on the floor of the hotel where we were staying.
The Cathedral
Of course, we couldn't miss a visit to St. Augustine's Cathedral, which was built over a five-year period - between 1793 and 1797 - and was designated a United States National Historic Landmark on April 15, 1970. Originally erected in the second half of the 16th century, it was rebuilt in the 18th century, making it the oldest Christian church or Catholic parish in the entire current territory of the United States of America.
We were deeply struck by the fact that homeless beggars used it to spend the night and avoid the cold or heat of San Agustín. The Cuban faithful brought an image of the Virgin of La Caridad del Cobre to the church and were responsible for installing the new floor of the cathedral. An imposing place, especially for what it means historically for this country.
The church suffered the ravages of two fires and was rebuilt twice. The last one occurred in 1887 when Florida became part of the United States. Only the coquina blocks and the cement masonry on the outside that could be saved remained standing. The reconstruction began with donations from Henry Flagler.
Our Lady of La Leche
Our Lady of La Leche (Spanish: Nuestra Señora de La Leche y Buen Parto; "Our Lady of the Milk and Good Delivery") is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with a statue of her breastfeeding the infant Jesus Christ. It is said to be one of the oldest of all Marian devotions.
Dating back to the Early Church, the image was later widely venerated by Spanish Catholics in the early modern era, some of whom brought the image and devotion to the New World and what would become the United States.
Our Lady of La Leche is an ancient devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary dating back to the time of the Roman Empire, where Christians depicted the infant Jesus nursing at Mary's breast on the walls of the Roman Catacombs, where they were known to congregate and worship.
It has been traditionally associated with pregnancy and successful deliveries, for which devotees would pray with the intercession of the Blessed Virgin.
The popularity of the devotion grew in Spain, especially in Madrid in the late 16th century and eventually made its way to the New World by means of Spanish settlers.
The Oldest School
My brother Ricardo, nicknamed "El Choro", explains to us the statue of the then president José María Vargas donated by the Venezuelan government to this school in 1948. We do not know why this donation was made; however, the small monument has been in place ever since.
The Oldest Street
The oldest street in St. Augustine is Aviles Street, which dates back to the 16th century. It is the oldest public street in the United States and was the first home of the city's arts district.
Aviles Street is known for its art galleries, romantic restaurants, and gourmet sandwiches. It is also possible to visit landmarks such as the Spanish Military Hospital Museum, the Father O'Reilly Museum, and the Ximenez-Fatio House.
St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied city in the United States. Menéndez de Avilés founded the city on September 8, 1565, making it the first permanent city in the country.
St. George Street
St. George Street was the main street, and today the thoroughfare is still considered the heart of the city. Here, we found historic attractions and some of the restaurants, galleries, bakeries and shops for which the city is famous. is the premier street in the nation's oldest city, a thoroughfare where pedestrians can stroll unencumbered by vehicle or even bicycle traffic.
There we visited landmarks such as the Oldest Wooden School House and the Peña-Peck House, and soak in the beauty of the Cathedral Basilica — the oldest Catholic Church in the country. Next time we will tour and experience the Shipwreck Museum, Colonial Quarter, Governor's House, and the Pirate & Treasure Museum. Ray Charles, by the way: used to live on St. George Street.
Conquina
Coquina is a sedimentary rock composed of unconsolidated, poorly cemented aggregates of shells, coral skeletons and fragments of these that have been mechanically fractured by natural processes - such as the action of ocean waves. They are found at river mouths and in brackish beaches and shallow coastal areas. Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, 20 miles south of St. Augustine, is home to one of the largest coquina outcrops on the planet. Today a kilo of coquina can cost about 30 euros.
As a resource, it is normally a source of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) that is used in agriculture, poultry feed, metallurgy and glass manufacturing.
Coquina is currently used in poultry feed, lime for foundry, glass manufacturing and PVC products.
The Prayer Wall
The St. Augustine Boardwalk
Plaza de La Constitución
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Constitution Plaza is a public square founded by the Spanish in 1573 during the colonial era of Spanish Florida and is the oldest plaza in the United States. The plaza forms the center of the colonial city and is surrounded by historic structures such as the Government House (1710), residence of the Spanish governor, and the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine, built by the Spanish between 1793 and 1797.
Within the plaza is the monument to the Constitution of 1812, the city's first public market, the Spanish public well, and several other monuments, gardens, kiosks, and green spaces.
Since 1980, the plaza has been designated a National Historic Landmark.
The Ghosts
Like New Orleans, St. Augustine is famous for its ghosts and its dead people, like the one we see in the video playing guitar. Like New Orleans, in St. Augustine you can take part in tours to visit the houses of the city's famous ghosts, as is the case where Potter's Wax Museum operates today, at 31 Orange Street, the first wax museum founded in the United States. It is said that the property belonged to a city resident who hanged himself and his spirit usually comes out at night.
We didn't have time to visit the museum on this trip, but we have it noted for a future visit to this city that is among our three favorite cities in the United States.
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Pirates
San Agustín became famous among the pirates who roamed the Caribbean. We do not know now if the pirate we passed on the street between the Plaza de la Constitución and the seawall was an optical illusion or was a real pirate with whom we had a close encounter of the first degree.
Santi & Miranda with a pirate captain from the XVII Century
The Preacher
Crazy, fanatical people are everywhere, like this amateur preacher who spent hours preaching on the air while passersby walked by without stopping to listen to him.x
Dogs
Our grandchildren's adoration for animals and especially dogs is simply indescribable. We have already warned them that not all dogs are good, as is the case with people, and that some of them: bite!
This time we came across the clone of "Baloo", Santi and Miranda's dog who stayed in Weston. A year later, in September 2017, we took him with us to prevent him from being taken away by Hurricane Irma.
Taking "Baloo" on that trip we were going to make in September 2017 was a bit of a problem because not all hotels allowed pets until the governor of Florida ordered them to be allowed. In the video above we see Santi taking "Baloo" out for a walk so he could do his physical needs.
The Kids
When Maria Carolina and Miranda started dancing in the hotel room, they called us to stop the scandal. The hotel almost called 911.
Miranda explained to us that since it was nighttime we couldn't buy junk because the junk shops were closed, but that they would open the next day.
Right next to the Catch 27 restaurant where we had lunch, there is a macabre museum called the "St. Augustine Shipwreck Museum" and at the entrance the children ran into a crazy boa constrictor lover. They would have spent the whole afternoon handling these snakes if it weren't for the fact that we were running late for dinner at the most famous Spanish restaurant in the city.
By the way, this love for snakes runs in the family. In 1997 we adopted a huge boa that was wandering around our garden at La Finca Daktari. Alejandro and Eduardo were impressed by the huge animal.
We tried to feed the boa with mice and newborn chicks, but she was not used to being fed. Seeing that she was not eating, we decided to release her far away from the farm.
Small snakes are not generally dangerous to people or pets. However, larger boa constrictors have large, sharp teeth, and their bites can cause severe lacerations. Large animals are also fully capable of eating dogs and cats. Virtually all bites occur when the snakes are intentionally bothered. While many people may be afraid of boa constrictors, there are very few cases of them attacking humans; even human babies are too large to be suitable prey for boa constrictors.
Non-native Burmese pythons have established a breeding population in South Florida and are one of the most concerning invasive species in the area. Pythons compete with native wildlife for food, which includes mammals, birds, and other reptiles.
Scooter Coupes
We were struck by the number of scooter coupes that circulate around the historic part of San Agustin. We found out that they rent them at a place called "Solano Cycle" located at 100 San Marco Avenue.
Restaurants
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On all our trips, having breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner in good restaurants is always an important activity. On this trip we were able to visit Cracker Barrel, Catch 27, Pizza Time, Hyppo Gourmet Ice Pops and Whetstone Chocolates.
Breakfast
We had all breakfasts at the hotel, the typical breakfast in tourist hotels where everyone serves themselves and even prepares their own waffles. Santi was the first to serve himself. María Carolina arrived last because she liked to sleep late. That day there was an impressive fog in San Agustín.
Cracker Barrel
Shortly before arriving in St. Augustine, we decided to have lunch at Cracker Barrel, one of our favorite restaurants when we travel by road in the United States. This is an American chain of restaurants and gift shops with a southern theme. The company was founded by Dan Evins in 1969; its first store was located in Lebanon, Tennessee, and it remains the company's headquarters. Initially, the chain of stores was located on highway exits in the Southeast and Midwest of the United States, but they expanded throughout the country in the 1990s and 2000s. The restaurant chain operates 630 stores in 42 states.
Cracker Barrel's menu is based on traditional southern cuisine, with an appearance and décor designed to imitate the general stores of yesteryear. Each restaurant features a front porch with wooden rocking chairs, a stone fireplace, and some local artifacts. Cracker Barrel is known for its partnerships with country music artists and has garnered attention for its efforts to contribute to society, including its contributions to support victims of Hurricane Katrina and war veterans.
Hyppo Gourmet Ice Pops
We thoroughly enjoyed the ice cream at "Hyppo Gourmet Ice Pops" located at 70 St. George Street in the heart of the historic district. I can't compare it to "Baskin-Robbins", but it was very tasty. This ice cream parlor operates in the Ortega House, one of the many historical houses in St. Augustine, built in 1763.
We had to wait in line over an hour to get in. The line of customers was many yards long outside the pizzeria... but it was worth it. We saw how the pizzas are made in batches. Siomi ordered a calzone, and I ordered a mushroom pizza. For dessert we ordered Italian gelato and cannoli.
Columbia Restaurant
We had planned to have dinner at the fabulous and very famous Spanish restaurant in St. Augustine, "Columbia Restaurant", the oldest continuously operated restaurant in Florida,as well as the oldestSpanish restaurantin the United States.The 15 dining rooms cover 52,000 ft seating 1,700 customers. It is the largest Spanish restaurant in the world and occupies an entire city block.Founded in 1903 as "Saloon Columbia", it was renamed in 1905 to "Columbia Restaurant". The landmark has been owned by the Hernandez-Gonzmart family for five generations and serves Spanish andCuban cuisine.
Llegamos tarde al restaurante, no teníamos reservaciones, estaba totalmente lleno y a punto de cerrar la cocina. No fue hasta un viaje que hicimos Siomi y yo a esta bella ciudad en julio de 2024 que pudimos conocerlo y disfrutarlo.
We had lunch a restaurant call "Catch 27", located at 40 Charlotte St. "Catch 27" stands in the heart of historic St. Augustine. They prepare and serve fresh, locally caught seafood from the nation's 27th State. They cook everything from scratch with seasonal ingredients and local products.
Their fish, shrimp, and clams are caught in Florida waters, delivered fresh every day. The selection varies from Snapper to Sheepshead, Mahi Mahi to Triggerfish, and Flounder to Black Drum.
The Oldest House
The González–Álvarez House, also known as The Oldest House, is a historic house museum at 14 St. Francis Street in St. Augustine. With a construction history dating to about 1723, it is believed to be the oldest surviving house in St. Augustine. It is also an important example of St. Augustine's Spanish colonial architectural style, with later modifications by English owners. It was designated a U.S.National Historic Landmark in 1970. The house is now owned by the St. Augustine Historical Society and is open for public tours as part of the Oldest House Museum Complex. Evidence can be seen of the Spanish, British, and American occupations of St. Augustine.
Visiting St. Augustine for a couple of days is not enough, especially if you have never been to this beautiful city. On this trip in 2016 we did not have time to visit everything, however, on our second honeymoon we were able to visit the oldest house in St. Augustine.
Otro lugar donde no tuvimos tiempo para visitar fue el Museo de Ripley: "Believe it or Not". Siomi y yo lo visitamos en nuestro viaje de la II Luna de Miel en 2015:
Ripley's Believe It or Not! is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the Believe It or Not feature proved popular and was later adapted into a wide variety of formats, including radio, television, comic books, a chain of museums, and a book series.
The Ripley collection includes 20,000 photographs, 30,000 artifacts and more than 100,000 cartoon panels. With 80-plus attractions, the Orlando, Florida-based Ripley Entertainment, Inc. (a division of the Jim Pattison Group) hosts more than 12 million guests annually. Ripley Entertainment's publishing and broadcast divisions oversee numerous projects, including the syndicated TV series, the newspaper cartoon panel, books, posters and games.
The "work of art in wax" lasted until Hurricane Irma hit in 2017 and we had to abandon Serendipity. The area was left without electricity for several days and when we returned, the "work" had melted.
The St. Augustine "Matanza"
In 1565 some 300 French castaways, under Jean Ribault, were massacred in St. Augustine by Spaniards, crushing their attempt to occupy Florida. The French ships, sailing from Fort Caroline to attack St. Augustine, were driven ashore by a storm. At this inlet most of the survivors were put to the knife by Don Pedro Menendez. Hence it was named Matanzas, meaning Slaughters.
The "monument" above is located at the "Believe it or Not" museum in St. Augustine.
Castillo de San Marcos
Another place we have never been able to visit. We tried to do so in 2015 but left it for another time. On the 2016 trip we did not have time to visit it.
The Castillo de San Marcos (Spanish for "St. Mark's Castle") is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States; it is located on the western shore of Matanzas Bay in St. Augustine, Florida.
It was designed by the Spanish engineer Ignacio Daza, with construction beginning in 1672, 107 years after the city's founding by SpanishAdmiral and conquistadorPedro Menéndez de Avilés, when Florida was part of the Spanish Empire.[2][3][4] The fort's construction was ordered by Governor Francisco de la Guerra y de la Vega after a raid by the English privateer Robert Searles in 1668 that destroyed much of St. Augustine and damaged the existing wooden fort.[5][6] Work proceeded under the administration of Guerra's successor, Manuel de Cendoya in 1671,[7] and the first coquina stones were laid in 1672.[8] The construction of the core of the current fortress was completed in 1695, although it would undergo many alterations and renovations over the centuries.
When Britain gained control of Florida in 1763 pursuant to the Treaty of Paris, St. Augustine became the capital of British East Florida, and the fort was renamed Fort St. Mark[9] until the Peace of Paris (1783) when Florida was transferred back to Spain and the fort's original name restored. In 1819, Spain signed the Adams–Onís Treaty which ceded Florida to the United States in 1821; consequently, the fort was designated a United States Army base and renamed Fort Marion, in honor of American Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion. The fort was declared a National Monument in 1924, and after 251 years of continuous military possession, was deactivated in 1933. The 20.48-acre (8.29 ha) site was subsequently turned over to the United States National Park Service. In 1942 the original name, Castillo de San Marcos, was restored by an Act of Congress.[10]
Castillo de San Marcos was attacked several times and twice besieged: first by English colonial forces led by Carolina Colony Governor James Moorein 1702, and then by English Georgia colonial Governor James Oglethorpein 1740. However, possession of the fort has changed five times, all peaceful, among four different governments: Spain, 1695–1763 and 1783–1821, Kingdom of Great Britain, 1763–1783, and the United States, 1821–date (during 1861–1865, under control of the Confederate States of America). Owing to its strategic cannon placement and star-shaped design, the fort was never breached or taken by force throughout its various stages of sovereign ownership.[11][12]
Although built in part by African slaves owned by the Spanish, the fort later served as one of the first entry points of fugitive slaves from British North America into Spanish Florida, where they were freed by the Spanish colonial authorities. This quickly led to the first free Black settlement in the future United States (Fort Mose, formed just north of St Augustine).[13][14]
Ownership of the Castillo was transferred to the National Park Service in 1933, and, along with the nearby St. Augustine Historic District has been a popular tourist destination ever since.
St. Augustine Distillery
My brother, "El Choro", would have liked to visit this wine distillery, but we didn't have time either. You'd come away drunk. They let us try so many wines that it's impossible to leave the place sober. On our second honeymoon we tried the experiment, and we proved it!
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