Travel

Happy New Year from St. Augustine!

Posted by clubparaiso on

Hi everyone, happy New Year from St. Augustine! Well, technically I’m back in Miami but wanted to share a bit about my trip with you guys…AND…wish you all great things for this year, including lots of travels and adventures! Continuing my tradition of starting the New Year in a location away from home, I hopped in a car and visited St. Augustine, Florida to welcome in 2017. This is the oldest city in the United States, complete with beautiful historical sites, and a warm modern vibe, with outdoor bars (the kind with light bulbs hanging from trees and a wide variety of craft beer that you imagine hipsters frequent), petite restaurants with gourmet dish presentations and many shops to satisfy all kinds of cravings.

Wishing you all a great New Year and hope you adopt my tradition of starting the year in a different location

I stayed at the beautiful Casa Monica Hotel & Spa, located at the heart of the city. Its Spanish architecture and decor were beautiful. My room was spacious, super comfortable and overlooked the pool and courtyard. The service was great (yes to welcome cocktails!) and the restaurant recommendations provided by the hotel concierge were phenomenal. Casa Monica also has a restaurant on-site, but I didn’t have time to try it out. Maybe next time!

The plaza in front of the hotel still had Christmas lights, so beautiful! The whole city was lit up.
Casa Monica hotel lobby

I did try— and loved— Catch 27. This restaurant is on Charlotte St., and walking distance from Casa Monica. The menu includes seasonal seafood, caught in Florida waters and prepared fresh every day. I enjoyed the Farmer’s Market Risotto with Shrimp and the Minorcan Clam Chowder. Wow. Just Wow.

At the fort, Castillo de San Marcos

Other things I did included visiting the Castillo de San Marcos, an old Spanish Fort with a great view of the ocean (a great photo opportunity) and walking along St. George’s Street. Of the many shopping options along this street, my personal favorite is located between Hypolita and Treasury St. The Red Pineapple Boutique, a “I-just-died-and-went-to-decor-and-fashion-heaven” store is owned by an English woman that moved to St. Augustine. This little shop has jewelry, clothing and home decor galore. I wanted to buy everything within sight, but couldn’t have brought it all with me to Miami.

St. George’s St. The shop on the first floor was playing a Colombian song 🙂
Listening to Cumbia coming from the inside of this hat shop
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Do you have any other favorite places in St. Augustine? Join the club and comment below! Would love to have more ideas for the next time I visit.