St. Petersburg Ghost Tour

The St. Pete Ghost Tour is a walking tour of downtown St. Pete filled with storytelling of some of downtown's historic landmarks and "previous" residents." Ghost tours are a great way to learn more about a city's history - and not to be confused with "ghost hunting" tours where you actually look for these spirits - whew.

The St. Pete tour meets at 8pm at Hooker Tea on Beach Drive. With the hustle and bustle of Beach Drive, this can be a busy spot, but soon we went to a less crowded area for our first stop. Our guide, Geneva, told us tales featuring historical facts about the city, and how some of our famous landmarks, like The Vinoy, came to be.

Our tour guide

I did this same tour many years ago and most of the stories were the same. This time we actually went inside the Vinoy. We learned about the mysterious spirits that are rumored to be in the hotel, specifically room 503, while enjoying their lobby and air conditioning. The TV show Ghost Hunters actually came to the Vinoy a few years ago to film an episode.

One of the Vinoy ballrooms

Storytelling in the Vinoy lobby

Since we did this tour in August, it was extremely hot outside, even at 8pm. I would recommend taking this tour in the cooler months because you do a lot of walking and standing. Wear comfy shoes and bring a bottle of water. I think each guide does a slightly different route, so there's no guarantee you'll make any of the air conditioned spots. We spent about two hours total on the tour.

Exploring near Beach Drive

It doesn't look like any of my pictures have orbs in them - so it looks like the ghostly spirits were at bay on the night we went exploring. This tour is family friendly, but may be a little too much storytelling and not enough action for children under age 12. Be sure to reserve online to save $2 per ticket, and make sure to book in advance, especially as we get closer to Halloween.


Have you ever done a ghost tour?

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Bites of Nassau Food Tour

Food tours are one of the best ways to immerse yourself in a city. You can interact with locals, learn history and fun facts, and literally taste the culture. During my most recent trip to Nassau I got to immerse myself in Bahamian culture via a foodie adventure.

Our three hour culinary tour with Tru Bahamian Food Tours allowed us to explore six different dining destinations in the city. Our first stop at Bahamian Cookin' provided us with a true Bahamian meal. Along the way we tried everything from decadent handmade chocolates, to seasoning mixes and a thai coconut soup. Our tour ended with a sweet treat at Tortuga Rum Cake Company.

My favorite stop on the journey was #5 - Athena Cafe and Bar. Athena is a Greek restaurant located above a jewelry store not far from the cruise port. We were served a mini Greek salad with grilled pita bread. It was a perfectly refreshing dish after a day walking around the city and exploring new flavors. When we return to Nassau in the future, we will definitely stop at Athena for lunch.

Here is a look at some of the dishes we got to try:

Conch Fritters!

Chicken, baked Mac and Cheese, Rice and Beans, Plantains, and Coleslaw

Thai Coconut Soup

Greek Salad with grilled pita

Sea-Salt and Key Lime Chocolates

I recommend Tru Bahamian Food Tours for visitors to Nassau. Not only did we eat well, but we also walked away with a lot of information about Nassau's history and day to day life in the city. This was a great alternative to the typical cruise excursions offered in the port area. 

What city would you most like to do a food tour in?

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Chihuly Collection

Downtown St. Pete has a lot of gems. A gem that sparkles extra bright is the Chihuly Collection on Beach Drive. Dale Chihuly is the master of glass. The glass art featured in this collection will have you marveling at just how impressive a bunch of glass can be. Whimsical, creative and magical are some of the terms that come to mind.

The Chihuly exhibit goes with the approach of quality over quantity. The Collection is not a full museum, and it certainly does not take long to explore. You could walk through and see everything in as little as 10 minutes, but because you will be stopping, staring, and awing at the art, you will likely spend 30 minutes or more inside. In fact, you may even want to go back through and see it all again. It's really that impressive. There is also a brief film you can watch before or after you explore the art. The film gives you a behind the scenes look at how Chihuly and his team work their magic.

The Collection contains the famous Chihuly chandeliers (my favorite), as well as other stand alone art pieces. Some of the pieces hang from the ceiling, and you could easily touch them but I wouldn't recommend it. (Who would want to be responsible for breaking a beautiful piece of Chihuly artwork? Not me.)

My favorite piece

Yes, this is all glass

Hours for the exhibit are 10-5pm Monday-Saturday and 12-5pm on Sundays. Too bad they aren't open weekend nights because this would make a perfect date night. A dinner on Beach Drive and a leisurely stroll through the Chihuly Collection sound like the perfect evening to me. Whenever you go, you'll be lucky to have an up close and personal view of some amazing art. For an extra Chihuly fix, head over to the Vinoy Hotel and check out the Chihuly piece in their lobby.

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Orlando weekend recap

Last weekend we ventured out of Tampa Bay and into the Orlando area. No theme parks in mind on this particular visit, just relaxing and enjoying time together and with friends.

The best part of our trip was our temporary vacation home at Windsor Hills Resort. Windsor Hills is a perfectly kept community of vacation homes for families visiting the Orlando area. They boast themselves as "the closest vacation home resort to Walt Disney World." The property seemed to be very secure, and totally picture perfect. The lawns were perfectly manicured, the neighborhood was perfectly quietly, and it looked like the ultimate suburbia dream land. Nearby you could find every chain restaurant you could imagine and lots of souvenir shops. If you are vacationing with your family to the Disney area, this is the way to do it. Our vacation home had 6 bedrooms, a game room, and a private pool.

Ah, Pleasantville

My favorite meal of the trip came from Shula Burger. I found out that this was actually the newest location - it was in Kissimmee at the Rolling Oaks Plaza. (We actually visited the Rolling Oaks Plaza several times while we were in town. It has pretty much everything you need.) Shula Burger is a part of the Shula family of restaurants (including Shula's Steak House), from namesake and former NFL coach Don Shula. The Kissimmee location of Shula Burger is the 5th - and I was really surprised when I learned that one of the locations is in the Southwest terminal at Tampa International Airport. I am hoping that Shula Burger adds a full scale Tampa or St. Pete location in the near future. I have been thinking about that burger since I had it 2 weeks ago!

Shula Burger is a fast-casual burger chain. You order at the counter and your meal is delivered to your table. The staff was incredibly accommodating, starting with Carlos who greeted us at the door and explained the experience to us. He mentioned that he had tried everything on the menu (lucky guy!) and would be happy to make recommendations if we needed them. I stuck with my favorite type of burger, the Mushroom Swiss burger. There were 9 signature burgers to choose from or you could customize your own creation. I counted at least 8 cooks in the kitchen during our Saturday afternoon visit. It was nice to know that they had adequate staff to handle the lunch rush.

The Shula Burger and Sweet Potato Tots

Mushroom Swiss Burger with Sea Salt Fries

I was also very happy to find that Shula Burger uses brioche buns for their burgers. I hate going to a burger place and being served a cheap bun. The buns used at Shula Burger were strong enough to hold the patty and toppings without falling apart. The burger patties are made from Black Angus beef, short rib, and brisket. The burger was very juicy and flavorful. I loved that they used a perfect ratio of cheese on the burger. The cheese fit the whole patty - not too big or too small like at other burger places. The branding of Shula on the bun was a nice touch too. The Sea Salt fries sounded a little intimidating because I don't love salt THAT much, but they were pretty much regular fries. The salt was not overwhelming or even really that noticeable and the fries were extra crispy.

In case you can't tell, I give Shula Burger an A+!

On Saturday evening we ventured out to Citywalk at Universal. I love going to the Universal parks, especially during Grinchmas. Our visit to Citywalk featured a trip to Rising Star. Rising Star is the ultimate karaoke venue for those who dream about being on stage. You sing karaoke along with a live band and backup singers. All of the singers were really good. This is not your typical "tone deaf" karaoke bar (although maybe some not so good singers came on after we left?). Rising Star has an ample list of karaoke classics and several current songs to choose from. The downside was that the band takes 30 minute breaks in between sets of about 30 minutes. I'm not sure why they go from 100% entertainment to 0% entertainment for such long periods. However, this is the perfect spot for anyone who dreams of being on stage and wants a taste of stardom - even if just for 1 song.

Rising Star - backup singers, live band, and an awesome performer

What are your favorite places in Orlando? I hope to be back for Grinchmas this year!

Check out Shula Burger on UrbanSpoon:

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