A Day in St Augustine
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Beautiful artwork on all the walls, and stain glass windows that are sure to grab you attention.
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.
It may be a little small, but it’s packed with local history, such as details on the first REAL Thanksgiving.
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!!
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.
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.
Our food was all wonderful, and check out this fresh bubble waffle sundae!!
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!!
When you are staying in the St Augustine area, be sure to add
Ravine Gardens State Park to your itinerary.
One of my favorite places! We havent been to the macaroon place, but will definitely add that to our next visit. Great pics!
I see how this is one of your favorite places.
O.C. White’s restaurant is wonderful place to eat- great food and atmosphere!
Great! I will add this to our list of places to check out next time.
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!
We are not too far either, and plan to visit way more often. It’s just too nice to stay away. Thanks for sharing!!
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Looks like a great trip! You can never miss with St. Augustine!
That is for sure!! It’s been way too long since my last visit! I need to go back!
I missed the macaroons. Now I need to go back!
You sure do!!
Looks like a fun place to visit!
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.
Still amazes me they teach Jamestown to be the first settlement.
Macarons!! YUM! Glad you were able to get some time to visit and see your daughter!
Now I need to find some time to go back!
You had me at macaron! Seriously, I’d love to add this as a day trip to one of our trips to Orlando.
Yes!! Great idea!
St Augustine looks like a place to visit cause of the history and activities
It sure is!
I’ve only visited St Augustine overnight so would love to return and explore this historic and charming city.
Yes!! I’ve not been there long enough to see all I want either!
Great history and food! Macaroons are my favorite!
My 2nd, after ice cream!!
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!
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!
How fun!!! What a special memory. I hope my girls keep these as fond memories too!
St Augustine is one of our favorite places to visit.
There is just so much to see and do, I can understand why.
The church is beautiful. I have a thing for doors as well and windows. Oh and can talk about that sundae??? I want it!
A city full of old doors and windows. Hope you get the chance to visit.
oh my gosh this is sooooo on my list! Thank you for the inspiration!!!
You are welcome!! I know you love history, so you will most definitely enjoy St Augustine!
Macarons, yum. I just had some this week.
Lucky!! They are so good!