Tuesday, April 11
Today we set off to explore historic St. Augustine, the oldest continually populated town in America. It started with the Spanish in 1565, then alternated between the British and Spanish until the Spanish ceded it to the Colonial government of Florida.
There are a lot of claims of "oldest" this and that, but it does have the old Spanish fort (Castillo de San Marcos) and an original city gate, which was part of the wall that ran around the city. The historical sites were well sign posted and the information on them was very helpful. A lot of the shops on St. George Street, which is a pedestrian only area, were very tasteful and was popular with all the tourists in town.
Today we set off to explore historic St. Augustine, the oldest continually populated town in America. It started with the Spanish in 1565, then alternated between the British and Spanish until the Spanish ceded it to the Colonial government of Florida.
There are a lot of claims of "oldest" this and that, but it does have the old Spanish fort (Castillo de San Marcos) and an original city gate, which was part of the wall that ran around the city. The historical sites were well sign posted and the information on them was very helpful. A lot of the shops on St. George Street, which is a pedestrian only area, were very tasteful and was popular with all the tourists in town.
Some of the other old buildings such as the Lighthouse and the Keepers house, as well as others, have been restored over the years by various organisations and are now run by the National Parks service. They have a strong educational and historic focus which is good for the city.
Another feature we liked here were a couple of luxury hotels that were built over 100 years ago, but were gifted by their owners to the city in their wills. The hotel that railway magnate Henry Flagler built is now the Flagler College - he also built a Memorial Church to honour his wife when she died and gave it to the congregation!
We enjoyed walking around in the warmth of the afternoon checking out the many beautiful homes in the streets of this unique city. Yes it's touristy but it has a lot longer and mixed history than any other American city we've visited.
Another feature we liked here were a couple of luxury hotels that were built over 100 years ago, but were gifted by their owners to the city in their wills. The hotel that railway magnate Henry Flagler built is now the Flagler College - he also built a Memorial Church to honour his wife when she died and gave it to the congregation!
We enjoyed walking around in the warmth of the afternoon checking out the many beautiful homes in the streets of this unique city. Yes it's touristy but it has a lot longer and mixed history than any other American city we've visited.
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