“Mellow,
The palm tree trail,
The concrete pier on Second Avenue,
The ocean breeze in between music,
All together a perfect rendezvous.
Mellow,
As the shadow during summer’s heat,
As a drink after a thirsty race,
An opera at Mahaffey Theater,
After the evening pace.
Sweet the stroll of art galore,
The best of the world,
With something to eat,
Here, at beautiful Saint Pete.”
Poem “Beautiful Saint Pete” by Ella Vega
On the far west coast of Florida’s pristine beaches, a peninsula with a cheerful personality and a grand doze of refinement invites the traveler to cross the highway 275 bridge. With its well-kept piers and inviting galleries, Saint Petersburg makes a convert out of any sea skeptic, showing that the city’s high life can live in harmony with a vacation destination.
The Dalí Museum
A fine example of such an intrinsic relationship between elegance and leisure in Saint Pete is the Dali Museum on Bayshore Drive. Its architecture, developed by Yam Weymouth of HOK, combines the simplicity of concrete with the organic curves found in nature to translate Dali’s surrealistic ideas into a building.
At the Pier
On any given afternoon —if the sun persuades and the time allows— a walk on Saint Pete’s pier on Second Avenue can transport you from city buildings to a beach setting, to an aquarium, and then back to fine city dining. Halfway to the end of the pier is The Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center, a boutique-style aquarium whose purpose is to educate its visitors about Tampa Bay’s estuary while playing a significant role in recovering the area’s marine environment. At its tip, Saint Pete’s very own Teak Restaurant provides a retrospective view of the city or an unobstructed view of the ocean, whichever you prefer, all while dining what they call a “nautical-inspired” menu.
And so, one can keep going, discovering hidden gems: shops, art, and food for even the most intolerant stomachs —yes, they even have pretty good gluten-free coffee shops— in between historic houses and high-rises. The serene sound of the sea seems to dull the sound of business coming from the streets, creating a relaxation sensation in between traffic and tourists. The wind hitting against the palm trees echoes in alleys and parking garages. The sunset colors match the buildings, as if they were competing to becoming a part of the glorious evening sky. Once the night begins, a whole different society emerges: people full of glamour, dancing with each step, dressing the night up for appetizers and wine.
That’s Saint Pete in a nutshell: never dull, always welcoming; ready to play and work all at the same time.
For more information on The Dali Museum, please visit http://www.thedali.org
For more information on The Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center and its efforts to protect the Tampa Bay estuary, please visit http://www.tbwdiscoverycenter.org
For more poems from Ella Vega, or to purchase Ella Vega’s latest poetry book, please visit http://www.ella-vega.com
