(Photo) The Dali Museum.

Piece 1: Museums (James Museum, Chihuly Collection, Dali Museum). St. Petersburg FL is just across the bay from Tampa, which is easily accessible from many airports in the Southeastern US.

St. Petersburg has some extraordinary architectural features and if you enjoy art museums, there are a variety to experience there.

For our trip, we based ourselves at the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront which provided us pedestrian access to The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art, The Chihuly Collection of glass artwork and sculpture, and the Dali Museum.

The James Museum was established by the founder of Raymond James Financial, and features a significant part the family’s extensive personal collection of paintings and sculptures portraying images of western history, American Indian culture, and wildlife.

The Chihuly Collection contains several large-scale installations, including the spectacular Ruby Red Icicle Chandelier created specifically for the St. Petersburg exhibit by artist Dale Chihuly.

The Dali Museum celebrates the life and work of surrealist artist Salvador Dali. The building itself (described as a combination of the rational and fantastical) is an art piece, and the grounds include a unique garden space and hedge labyrinth.

Inside the museum is a complete display of Dali’s distinctive (and evolving) artistic style.

Perhaps our favorite piece was the double image painting that, when viewed from a distance, becomes a picture of Abraham Lincoln.

Downtown Looper

Piece 2: Downtown Looper Trolley/Central Avenue. The St. Petersburg Looper is a free trolley (operating everyday) that gives visitors a fun and informative ride around the downtown area.

With 20 stops incorporated into the route, the trolley can be used to easily access many points of interest. The driver of our trolley was a wonderful tour guide!

Central Avenue is a great place to hop off the “looper” for a stroll; it’s loaded with food and beverage options, and specialty shops.

We stopped at Driftwood Kava & Roastery St. Pete and enjoyed iced coffees and some really tasty empanadas. The shop has shaded seating outside along Central, which allowed us to enjoy the weather and do some “people watching”.

As pet owners, we were excited to visit the Three Dog Bakery, which offers homemade treats (including birthday cakes) for “furry family members”.

Ford’s Garage

Piece 3: Ford’s Garage (Prime Burgers and Craft Beer). Located at 200 First Avenue in Downtown St. Petersburg is Ford’s Garage, a gourmet burger restaurant themed as an early 20th century automobile service station.

This fast casual eatery is a chain with locations in Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Texas…although Florida has most of them.

The St. Petersburg restaurant has a big garage door that opens up to an outside seating space. A Model “A” Ford car is suspended over the bar and old style gas pumps are positioned around the place. Cloth napkins are actually rolled up shop rags with hose clamps around them.

As an appetizer, we had onion rings that were stacked on an oil funnel.

The food is really good at Ford’s, and the atmosphere there makes it more than a meal…it’s an experience!

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