Days 155-156: Florida (Part 3)

by | October 2015 | 0 comments

Day 155 (11/2/14): Naples, FL | St. Petersburg, FL | Tampa, FL

IMG_1778

View of the Bay from The Village on Venetian Bay

Since we didnโ€™t arrive in Naples until late last night, we wanted to explore the city before we headed up to Tampa. The first place we came across was The Village on Venetian Bay. The waterfront shopping center contained fine dining restaurants along with high-end fashion and home dรฉcor stores, all of which were out of our price range. Knowing it was pointless to even look at the expensive shops, we did a quick walk through and went on our way.

Next, we visited Naples Beach where we caught a glimpse of the pier. The beach consisted of fine white sand, but the water still had a grey hue to it rather than the blue we had been hoping for in Florida. Unfortunately, we didnโ€™t have time for a day at the beach anyway, so we continued our tour of Naples. Our course brought us to Tin City, another shopping complex situated on the water. We perused the eclectic eateries, gift shops and specialty stores housed in the collection of colorfully painted tin buildings.

Naples also had a sophisticated little downtown area including the Historic 3rd Street South and 5th Avenue South, nicknamed โ€œThe Heart of Naples.โ€ The palm tree-lined streets featured various boutiques, galleries and cafes. There were more Italian restaurants than we could keep track of, which made sense considering that Naples, FL, is named after an Italian city. As one of the wealthiest cities in the United States, the classy town of Naples seemed like an upscale community with a well-off, more mature population. Weโ€™ll have to keep it in mind for our golden years. ๐Ÿ™‚

On our way to Tampa, we passed through Treasure Island Beach adjacent to St. Petersburg. The beach town sounded promising. With the name โ€œTreasure Island,โ€ youโ€™d expect a tropical utopia perhaps with two crisscrossed palm trees forming an โ€œXโ€ to mark the spot. But instead there were mostly just casual beach houses with a few motels and bars. I will say, however, that the beach itself was nicer than I expected based on the town. The sand was not marred with clusters of dried seaweed like many of the other beaches in Florida. With the sun setting, the tall grasses bordering the beach glowed in the gilded light.

Day 156 (11/3/14): Tampa, FL | Clearwater, FL

For our day in Tampa, we had lunch at the Columbia Restaurant, the first and oldest restaurant in Florida as well as the worldโ€™s largest Spanish restaurant! Our meal began with loaves of hot, flaky Cuban bread. We then shared one of their famous 1905 salads, which the waiter constructed at our table. We probably should have just had the substantial salad as our meal, but we couldnโ€™t stop there with so many other items available to try!

Not being able to decide between several meal options, we ended up trying a few different tapas, including the Devil Crab Coquettes and the Stuffed Piquillo Peppers. By then, we had no room for entrees. However, we did manage to save just enough room to have the White Chocolate Bread Pudding for dessert.ย  ๐Ÿ˜‰

After leaving the restaurant, we made our way through downtown Tampa and reached Clearwater Beach.ย  We were surprised to see that even on the Gulf side of Florida, the sand bordering the waterโ€™s edge was covered with seaweed. However, people didnโ€™t seem to mind as the deep stretch of bare white sand leading up to the shoreline made up for the encumbered section.

The extensive pier was hosting Sunsets at Pier 60, a free daily festival where vendors sell their arts and crafts while street performers entertain. The name of the festival was fitting as we were treated to a fabulous view of the sun setting over the Gulf of Mexico.ย  Perfect timing! As we took the causeway back to Tampa, the horizon was emblazoned with brushstrokes of fiery shades across the skyโ€™s canvas, revealing where the day was transforming into night.

Follow Next Destination Unknown on Pinterest

Affiliate Disclosure

This post may contain affiliate links or links to Amazon. If you choose to purchase anything through these links, I may earn a commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me and my blog. Youโ€™re the best! See the full disclosure for details.

Join the Free Blog Launch Course and learn how to start a blog in just 7 days!

Let’s Connect!

Briana Nickas of Next Destination Unknown

Behind the Blog

Hey there! I’m Briana, a blogger, hiker, traveller, RVer, photo-taker, and National Parks lover who is passionate about exploring the great outdoors while practicing clean living for a healthier lifestyle to continue doing the things I live for. My goal is to inspire others to live a life focused on wellbeing and wandering. Join me!

READ MORE

Top Blog Categories

RVing

RVing

Blogging with Next Destination Unknown

Blogging

A Few of My Faves…

1

RAKUTEN

Get cash back on your purchases through Rakuten for free! This is seriously one of my favorite things in life!


2

SITEGROUND

Reliable hosting for your self-hosted WordPress website is a must! SiteGround is not only reliable, but it's also affordable!


3

DIVI THEME

If you want to design a custom WordPress website without having to know code, the Divi Theme is the way to go!


4

WP ROCKET

Boo for slow websites! Does your WordPress blog need a major site speed boost? You need the WP Rocket plugin!


5

MAILERLITE

For an affordable yet customizable email marketing service, MailerLite is my go-to choice!

Powered by…

Divi WordPress Theme
WP Rocket - WordPress Caching Plugin

Earn Cash Back

Get Cash Back with Rakuten!

Go Natural

Try natural skincare with 10% off Primally Pure!

Use code NDU10 for 10% off EVERY Primally Pure purchase!

Go Shopping

Get What You Need from Amazon!

Try RVing

Blogging Tools I use, LOVE, and highly recommend:

  • SITEGROUND I use SiteGround as my web hosting provider for this self-hosted WordPress blog. Their plans are affordable and include must-have features. Learn more about SiteGround and their web hosting plansย HERE.
  • DIVI THEME –ย I love the Divi Theme’s page builder to create a fully customizable website. Plus, it comes with some super handy plugins! Get 10% OFF the Divi Theme HERE.
  • WP ROCKET –ย Site speed is critical for blogs. I use the WP Rocket Plugin in conjunction with my SiteGround hosting and their SG Optimizer plugin for a super fast site. Check out the WP Rocket plugin HERE.
  • CANVAย –ย Canva makes it super easy to design eye-catching graphics and Pins for your blog. Sign up for a FREE Canva account and try Canva Pro FREE for 30 daysย HERE.
  • MAILERLITE – I love using MailerLite to design and send engaging emails to my subscribers.ย Get MailerLite FREE for your first 1,000 email subscribers HERE.

You may also like…

Leave a Comment!

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Treasure Chest of Freebies with Free Resources for Blogging, Travel, RVing, and Hiking

Unlock the Treasure Chest of Freebies!

ย 

Sign up for the key to unlock the Treasure Chest of Freebies and get your free Travel, RVing, Hiking, Wellbeing, and Blogging resources!

Success! Check your inbox for the key to unlock the Treasure Chest of Freebies.