st. augustine, florida - st. george street
I have big dreams of traveling around the world with my kids. In fact, Pippa at the age of 3 has already been to England, France, and Mexico. We've taken a brief hiatus from globetrotting since moving across the country, starting new jobs, and having 2 more babies, but that doesn't mean we can't be explorers in our own city and state!
We live fairly close the nation's oldest city, St. Augustine, FL, so we often find ourselves bringing visitors there. You could spend a week in St. Augustine and not get bored with all of the historical landmarks, attractions, parks, museums, beaches, and restaurants, but we like to start simple, especially when toddlers are involved! If we only have a few hours to spend in this charming city, we like to wander around the downtown area, specifically St. George Street.
With my mom in town to help with the older kids while I have a baby and recover from a C-section, we thought we would head over to St. Augustine and enjoy some quality time with Pippa and Teddy before their little brother arrives. We went early on a Monday morning, which was the perfect time to go! The streets were empty, and the shops were just opening up for the day, so letting Teddy run around and splash in puddles wasn't a problem at all!
The best part about St. George Street when you're with kids is that it is only for pedestrians, so I can let the kids wander a bit without worrying about them accidentally stepping in front of a moving vehicle. I can honestly sit back and enjoy the picturesque Spanish architecture and the palm-tree-lined streets filled with ice cream shops, cafés, restaurants, boutiques, gift shops, and a few historic sites, like the Oldest Wooden School House.
We ate our way through St. George Street, starting with gourmet popsicles at The Hyppo. They're made with fresh fruit and cane sugar, so it's the perfect cool treat for a hot Florida day. The courtyard in back was shaded, and they even had a tiny picnic table for the kids to enjoy their ice pops! We went with Strawberry Basil and The Elvis, which was a peanut butter/banana/honey flavored pop.
When the kids got hungry again at lunch time, we ducked into Burrito Works Taco Shop for some shredded beef tacos, then made our way over to Le Macaron French Bakery for macarons, since Teddy was chanting, "Cookie, cookie, cookie!" Who am I to deny my one-year-old the pleasure of a colorful macaron cookie?
Other favorite restaurants on St. George Street include Prohibition Kitchen - (I wrote about it here), Tedi's Olde Tyme Ice Cream, and the Spanish Bakery and Café.
The rest of our morning was spent browsing shops and trying to keep Teddy from pulling breakable things off store shelves. It was absolutely the perfect way to spend a day, even at 39 weeks pregnant.
I truly look forward to the day my babies are little older, and we can travel the world. Until then, we will keep finding ways to explore our little corner of the world!
