Travel

A Day in St Augustine

Share Our Happy!!

Who else is familiar with the struggle to manage their schedule of multiple children?? With Emma away at school, it is definitely a priority to visit, and be part of her journey, whenever we get the chance. Her first year away definitely panned out much differently than I had expected. Sadly, chances to go visit, were far and few between, even with a flexible homeschooling schedule. We finally were able to squeeze in a day in St Augustine.

St Augustine's government house museum

Students from Emma’s school took part in the Ramanza Festivale in St. Augustine, not far from her school. We were actually free that day, so we headed up early to spend some time around the city until Emma had to perform. Walking around the city has been on my bucket list since moving here. It was a short visit, but we were able to squeeze in some pretty fun things. 

What We Did in St Augustine

Teens eating macarons in St Augustine pinterest graphic

LeMacaron

While driving around for a parking spot, Le Macaron pastry shop caught Josephine’s eye. No surprise there! She loves her macarons. We popped into the cute, Paris themed shop for a quick treat.

Display of macaroons at Le Macaron in St Augustine

A large variety of flavors for their macarons, we decided on coconut, Baileys, espresso, bubble gum, rose, and chocolate mint. My favorite ended up being the bubble gum.

Alter area of Cathedral of St Augustine

Being a Catholic family, touring churches, especially historic basilicas, cathedrals, and shrines is something we enjoy. On top of that, the FIRST parish in America!! Therefore, it is also the oldest continuously running Catholic parish in America. We had to check it out. The wood beams stood out to us immediately. Such intricate detail on the beams.

Mary statue in Cathedral St Augustine
St Augustine Cathedral Stain Glass window

Beautiful artwork on all the walls, and stain glass windows that are sure to grab you attention.

St Augustine Cultural Center and governor house

Cultural centers are becoming one of our favorite FREE historic adventures. They are filled with art, history and fun facts. St Augustine Cultural Center is located in the old governor’s building, just across from the cathedral.

Teen girl sitting at dinner table in St Augustine Cultural Center

It may be a little small, but it’s packed with local history, such as details on the first REAL Thanksgiving.

Teen girl pulling on old door
white Old Door
Maroon old door

After the concert, we took time to walk around some of the alley streets with lots of shops and restaurants, taking the time to appreciate the old building details, and I LOVE old doors!!

St Augustine Wooden School House

We even came across the oldest wooden school house in America. If you go, be sure to check out the upper window! There’s a nice surprise.

Romeo’s Italian

Since our visit, we have learned that Romeo’s is no longer in business.

Romeo's Italian restaurant window

We ended up at Romeo’s for dinner. Our waitress was super sweet, and friendly. It was quaint and quiet. We had lasagna, alfredo, and flat bread pizza.

Romeo's St Augustine Waffle Sundae

Our food was all wonderful, and check out this fresh bubble waffle sundae!!

Hyppo St Augustine

Emma and I had already settled on the fact we wanted to get a homemade gourmet popsicle from Hyppo. I chose the blueberry lavender lemonade, and Emma had the pineapple blueberry.  We were told the blueberries were freshly picked that morning, locally. 

I know there is a lot more history in the oldest town in America. We all look forward to heading back for another day in St Augustine. If you have been to St Augustine, tell us your favorite things on Instagram so we can add them to our list!! 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp46ji1lnWD/

When you are staying in the St Augustine area, be sure to add

Ravine Gardens State Park to your itinerary.

            

Share Our Happy!!

Julie Gazdecki

Julie is owner and founder of How We Find Happy. As an optimist, the name is perfect as we share the ways we find happy living in Florida, visiting breweries, spending time with our adult children, and getting away on some couples trips. As previous residents of Michigan, we still spend lots of time each year visiting our family up there, along with new and favorite places. My hope is to encourage others to spend time exploring this beautiful world, and finding happy in unexpected places.

39 thoughts on “A Day in St Augustine”

  • One of my favorite places! We havent been to the macaroon place, but will definitely add that to our next visit. Great pics!

  • O.C. White’s restaurant is wonderful place to eat- great food and atmosphere!

  • We are pretty close so visit St. Augustine often. I love your post, and will post it to my All Things Florida Board on Pinterest. Looks great, so far!

  • howwefindhappyPost author

    We are not too far either, and plan to visit way more often. It’s just too nice to stay away. Thanks for sharing!!

  • howwefindhappyPost author

    Great! I will add this to our list of places to check out next time.

  • howwefindhappyPost author

    I see how this is one of your favorite places.

  • Pingback: 9 Things To Do In & Around Lexington, KY - How We Find Happy

  • Tricia

    Looks like a great trip! You can never miss with St. Augustine!

  • Cindy

    I missed the macaroons. Now I need to go back!

  • Lisa Manderino

    Looks like a fun place to visit!

  • Julie GazdeckiPost author

    That is for sure!! It’s been way too long since my last visit! I need to go back!

  • Julie GazdeckiPost author

    You sure do!!

  • Julie GazdeckiPost author

    So much history, you would love it!

  • That church is just gorgeous. I love visiting churches as well. It’s pretty cool that it is the first parish in America. I could totally get into the macarons too.

  • Macarons!! YUM! Glad you were able to get some time to visit and see your daughter!

  • Julie GazdeckiPost author

    Still amazes me they teach Jamestown to be the first settlement.

  • Julie GazdeckiPost author

    Now I need to find some time to go back!

  • Julie GazdeckiPost author

    They were so worth it!! I love how ingredients are locally sourced. Hope you get to visit! It’s a really special place.

  • Cathy

    You had me at macaron! Seriously, I’d love to add this as a day trip to one of our trips to Orlando.

  • St Augustine looks like a place to visit cause of the history and activities

  • I’ve only visited St Augustine overnight so would love to return and explore this historic and charming city.

  • Great history and food! Macaroons are my favorite!

  • Julie GazdeckiPost author

    Yes!! Great idea!

  • Julie GazdeckiPost author

    It sure is!

  • Julie GazdeckiPost author

    Yes!! I’ve not been there long enough to see all I want either!

  • Julie GazdeckiPost author

    My 2nd, after ice cream!!

  • Lisa Wells

    How awesome to be able to see the first parish in America! Looks like a fun place to visit! And the food and treats look amazing!

  • Julie GazdeckiPost author

    I had no idea until we got there too. It was a pleasant surprise.

  • When I was a kid and we were out of school for the summer, my mom used to planned trips like these once a week to be educational. Such good memories!

  • Julie GazdeckiPost author

    How fun!!! What a special memory. I hope my girls keep these as fond memories too!

  • Ashley

    St Augustine is one of our favorite places to visit.

  • The church is beautiful. I have a thing for doors as well and windows. Oh and can talk about that sundae??? I want it!

  • oh my gosh this is sooooo on my list! Thank you for the inspiration!!!

  • Macarons, yum. I just had some this week.

  • Julie GazdeckiPost author

    There is just so much to see and do, I can understand why.

  • Julie GazdeckiPost author

    A city full of old doors and windows. Hope you get the chance to visit.

  • Julie GazdeckiPost author

    You are welcome!! I know you love history, so you will most definitely enjoy St Augustine!

  • Julie GazdeckiPost author

    Lucky!! They are so good!

  • Julie GazdeckiPost author

    They’re such beautiful buildings, it’s tough not to.

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