Several years ago while in SW France, we decided to drive into Spain, to the Catalonia region, to see the Salvador Dali museum. After crossing the border and stopping for a lunch of mussels and wine we continued for a short time along the craggy coastline, weaving in and out of jutting land with the ocean on our left. Finally we came to our senses. This is not going to happen..at least not that day. We turned around and headed back into France.
Nonetheless, the desire to see the original work of Salvador Dali never left our minds. Fast forward to the present time. We now live within an hour of the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. No excuses now and certainly no wavy coastline to follow.
Today is The Trout's birthday. We decided to step out of our comfort box, our own kitchen, and headed to St. Pete for the weekend. We found a very cute boutique hotel that we would certainly visit again. The Hollander Hotel in downtown St. Pete is an old building, refurbished and a nice change from the modern hotels and motels available to tourists.
It was a cool Florida day, but we walked a lot this weekend. Went down along the wharf toward the St. Pete Saturday Farmer's Market. Anything and everything you would ever need or want was available in this bustling place. The Trout quickly made a friend with this young lady. She is a fixture here every Saturday, dancing her heart out. She could not convince The Trout to dance though.
A quick walk a little further took us to the Dali Museum.
It was quite crowded, but so worth our time. Salvador Dali was a very interesting individual. I would suggest that the free headphones that come with the price of admission are so well worth it. The paintings were explained in great detail. He painted in 3-D or double imagining painting. A favorite of mine was "Hallucinogenic Toreador." Since photos were not allowed to be taken in the museum, I have taken this one from the Internet to let you get a glimpse.

Study the second Venus de Milo from the right. The green skirt is the toreador's tie, go up and spot his chin, nose and his eye is in the head of Venus. Down in the left is the head of the bull. Many, many stories are found in this painting. In fact, when our friends come down in March for spring break, we plan to take them there. We liked it that much.
Also in the museum was a visiting display of Andy Warhol. We have seen these before when we visited The Centre Pompidou in Paris. The only one I really wanted to see was "Marilyn" and that painting was not there. As you can tell, I am not that much of a fan.
So then to dinner in a restaurant that The Trout actually read about in The New York Times. Rococo in a new restaurant that just opened in October. It is housed in the former YWCA which was formerly a funeral home.
This is a very nice restaurant with many employees waiting to please you. It was nice attention and we had a very enjoyable evening. We dined on grass fed beef which was our choice. Corn fed beef was also available. As a rule, we rarely order steak in a restaurant because we enjoy preparing it at home to our tastes. But we have to say, this was outstanding.
It was a great weekend in a small town that we have forgotten about. So glad we found St. Pete. I know we will be back. It has recovered its downtown nicely.
Happy 70th Birthday, Dale, aka The Trout. May there be many more good and healthy years ahead.
Nonetheless, the desire to see the original work of Salvador Dali never left our minds. Fast forward to the present time. We now live within an hour of the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. No excuses now and certainly no wavy coastline to follow.
Today is The Trout's birthday. We decided to step out of our comfort box, our own kitchen, and headed to St. Pete for the weekend. We found a very cute boutique hotel that we would certainly visit again. The Hollander Hotel in downtown St. Pete is an old building, refurbished and a nice change from the modern hotels and motels available to tourists.
It was a cool Florida day, but we walked a lot this weekend. Went down along the wharf toward the St. Pete Saturday Farmer's Market. Anything and everything you would ever need or want was available in this bustling place. The Trout quickly made a friend with this young lady. She is a fixture here every Saturday, dancing her heart out. She could not convince The Trout to dance though.
A quick walk a little further took us to the Dali Museum.
It was quite crowded, but so worth our time. Salvador Dali was a very interesting individual. I would suggest that the free headphones that come with the price of admission are so well worth it. The paintings were explained in great detail. He painted in 3-D or double imagining painting. A favorite of mine was "Hallucinogenic Toreador." Since photos were not allowed to be taken in the museum, I have taken this one from the Internet to let you get a glimpse.
Study the second Venus de Milo from the right. The green skirt is the toreador's tie, go up and spot his chin, nose and his eye is in the head of Venus. Down in the left is the head of the bull. Many, many stories are found in this painting. In fact, when our friends come down in March for spring break, we plan to take them there. We liked it that much.
Also in the museum was a visiting display of Andy Warhol. We have seen these before when we visited The Centre Pompidou in Paris. The only one I really wanted to see was "Marilyn" and that painting was not there. As you can tell, I am not that much of a fan.
So then to dinner in a restaurant that The Trout actually read about in The New York Times. Rococo in a new restaurant that just opened in October. It is housed in the former YWCA which was formerly a funeral home.
This is a very nice restaurant with many employees waiting to please you. It was nice attention and we had a very enjoyable evening. We dined on grass fed beef which was our choice. Corn fed beef was also available. As a rule, we rarely order steak in a restaurant because we enjoy preparing it at home to our tastes. But we have to say, this was outstanding.
It was a great weekend in a small town that we have forgotten about. So glad we found St. Pete. I know we will be back. It has recovered its downtown nicely.