Travel With Me to St. Augustine
Hey everyone!!
I love Spring Break because it is a time to get away from your normal environment, from your normal routine including that Statistics class you’re getting so tired of, and go someplace different and new. This Spring break, I visited my good friend Breanna in Jacksonville, and we had a great time shopping, dining, and exploring Julington Creek and the first city built in the United States, St. Augustine.
The first place we visited was an area called Julingon Creek, a small shopping area where ate at Metro Diner, a casual diner where we both ordered chicken fingers for merely the price of Chick-fil-A. There’s an amazing chocolate store, popular in Jacksonville, in Peterbrooke, which has amazing chocolate and the most delicious, but pricey, chocolate strawberries. Possibly my favorite part about Julington Creek is the store The Pink Nickel; they have the cutest Florida and Southern-style summer clothing, lots of bright colors and prints! Everything is so cute! Breanna bought me a dress there for my birthday, and I bought a shirt there on sale for only $4!
At Julington Creek, I wore a white sweater with my pink wool J-crew skirt and black Tory Burch flats.
The next day I got to explore the charming town of St. Augustine for the first time in my life with Breanna and her cousin, Thorne.
Here I am standing in front of St. Augustine’s Old City Gates. These gates were the only entrance to the city when they were built in 1808, and they represent the turbulent times the city endured throughout the decades. At St. Augustine, I wore the new dress that I got from Pink Nickel, which has somewhat of a baby-doll look to it.
Next, we took a walk exploring the beautiful Castillo De San Marcos, which overlooks Matanzas Bay. This fort, which once was used to defend the primary trade route between Europe and the Americas, is now a National Park and a fun place to hang out with friends and family. I definitely recommend visiting this part of the city; it's a must-see for sure!
We walked across St. George Street, where we walked into several stores; most of them were cute but not exactly my style of clothing and accessories. However, I did get an adorable addition to my elephant collection at one of the shops! In this photo, I am up against an old coquina wall on St. George Street. Moss and ferns are growing directly on the wall. Coquina is a type of limestone used in Florida made up of compressed fragments of shells and dead coral.
We came across the most captivating garden on the corner of the street. The garden courtyard is in front of a Columbian Restaurant.
The Plaza De La Constitucion was a stunning area; there were photographers taking wedding pictures there. I enjoyed hanging out in this lovely park with my friends and taking pictures by the gazebo here. This gazebo was one of my favorite attractions at St. Augustine.
We then saw the Government House facing the central plaza, which has been used as a residence for Governors, a courthouse, a post office as well as for government offices, and more.
I also really enjoyed seeing the stunning Flagler Memorial Presbyterian Church which was built by Henry Flagler as a memorial to his only daughter.
Thorne used to attend Flagler College. I loved taking a peek inside the school's cafeteria building. This ceiling in the building was made using real gold leaf, real silver leaf, and real solid gold. It was painted by hand by only one artist; isn't that amazing?! The inside of the building was designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany (aka Tiffany and Co.). Many of his elaborate stained glass windows are still present in the dining hall, along with representing the four seasons and a large painting depicting a Spanish Galleon underneath the full sail.
These are the gorgeous stained glass windows he designed for Tiffany, his most extensive collection insured for 80 million dollars but considered to be priceless!
We later approached the entrance to the famous Ponce de Leon hotel, which was quite an amazing site! As you can see, the architecture is incredible.
The courtyard outside the hotel is quite alluring! The area is absolutely gorgeous. It is so charming; definitely a must-see!
Everything is within walking distance at St. Augustine, and there are so many places to go. By the beautiful St. Augustine's Matanzas Bay, there is a boardwalk, and many beautiful boats on the bright blue ocean. I did happen to find one store I really loved, where I bought a pink Lilly Pulitzer dress for only $26! I definitely recommend adding this epic city to your travel bucket list; it is a must-visit. There are also plenty of restaurants and bars where you can have a fun Saturday night. It is hard to be bored here in Florida's most historic city. My Spring Break vacation here at St. Augustine was nothing short of a memorable experience.
-Lexie
