St. Pete with Steve

March 10, 2009

After our heavy dinner, we woke up ready for a healthy-food day. Our over-thought health food plan resulted in subpar smoothies at a nearby mall. We did discover a green and healthy fast food burger joint called Evos, where we cast our sugary faux-fruit conconctions aside for delicious turkey wraps. Fueled up, we headed to St. Petersburg for the Salvador Dali Museum.

The amazing collection of all-original pieces actually represented the entire personal collection of Mr. and Mrs. Morse. The husband, a plastics pioneer, and his wife were close friends with the artist. Our guide explained that the collection never served as an investment, but only a collection of pieces absolutely adored by Eleanor.

The famous Persistence of Memory and my former favorite Temptation of Saint Anthony visited the museum until last July, but went back to their home at the MoMA in New York. The hour-long tour imparted interesting details about Dali’s artistic, political, emotional, and religious growth throughout his life. It concluded with a look at the remarkable Hallucinogenic Toreador and the Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. A new favorite is The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can be Used As a Table.



For lunch, we happened upon a perfect local sandwich joint – Lonni’s. We had the most spectacular wild rice soup! Then off to Treasure Island beach for late afternoon sun. A row of yellow cabanas made the beach even more inviting. We strolled the beach, counting gulls and collecting more shells. For dinner, we perused downtown St. Pete, and decided on Central Ave. Oyster Bar – one of the best decisions of the trip!

We plopped down at the end of the bar, ordered some drinks and a dozen raw. The shucker stuck with us and threw in at least a dozen extra fresh oysters while we chatted. Smitten with the delicious food we’d been served, we ordered oyster stew (loaded with delish oysters) and an oyster trio (Mexican style, blue cheese, and raw). About forty five oysters later, we had to drag our full, happy bellies away from the bar.

Steve picked up a hand-rolled cigar, we stopped for coffee, and listened in on a concert in the open courtyard of nearby Jannus Landing.

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