Saturday was the official start of the 2009 Gasparilla Season here in Tampa...in its 105th year, its hard to believe, this will be my 21st. A month and half of events(Extravaganza, Invasion and Pirate Fest, Night Parade, Distance Classic, Intl Film Festival, Outbound Voyage, and Festival of the Arts)
I took the bike up to a buddies house near Hyde Park, and we biked along the Bayshore Blvd to visit some friends that were in Krewe's and setting up, getting ready for the Children's Parade. The afternoon was perfect...about 70 degrees and clear blue skies....there were 107 floats for this years Children's Parade, which always takes place the week before the main Invasion and Parade(for the adults). The historic Bayshore Blvd was closed for all 6 miles, and what a crowd there was this year...after chatting it up with our friends in the different Krewe's, we headed back home, and let the kids enjoy this one...
The evening I was back on Bayshore with a few friends, to watch the Mock Pirate Battle and Night Air Show, then the 25 minute display of Fireworks...which seem to get bigger and better every year. Afterwards we visited some friends over in Davis Islands neighborhood near downtown, and had some dinner at 220 East along the Davis Island Boulevard. Even at 930, the restaurant was busy, ive never had a bad meal here, very home style, steaks, chicken and seafood, burgers and sandwich's and pasta...we started with a bottle of Italian Pinto Grigio, priced just right, and tasty...and chowed down on a Portabella Mushroom Cheese burger, a Cheeseburger, and Chicken Pasta Alfredo....the burgers were very big, and on fresh Italian Sub Roll, the pasta portion was huge, and very tasty...we were too full to finish the bottle of wine, but was reminded by the very friendly server that we are now allowed to take home the unfinished bottle to enjoy at home...so we did just that.
Meetings this week take me to.....New Tampa...not a bad journey. The city is really gearing up for SuperBowl coming up this Sunday, you can already tell that its busier, lots of events are taking place...but this upcoming weekend will be most exciting with all the concerts, events and festivals that eventually lead to the big day...SuperBowl Sunday!
Showing posts with label davis islands. Show all posts
Showing posts with label davis islands. Show all posts
Monday, January 26, 2009
Sunday, July 13, 2008
A Saturday in Tampa: Downtown to Ybor City to Davis Islands
Got out of the house pretty early Saturday morning with a buddy of mine and went for some breakfast at First Watch in downtown Tampa. I still had some Manager Gift Cards sent to me from a not so good experience late last year(its in the blog)...First Watch tends to be a very consistent for breakfast, fast and fresh, interesting omelets and brunch menu items in a nice diner like atmosphere...this trip was one of my best, immediately seated, nice large pitcher of ice water with lemon brought to the table and fresh squeezed OJ. We dined on the Bacon, Avocado and Cheese omelet, very fluffy and light, served with diced potatoes and English Muffin, and a Chicken Breakfast Burrito with potatoes and fruit...service, food and all was at its best this morning, it is also nice to run into good friends here that you normally don't see to kind of catch up....after breakfast we walked over to Indigo Coffee for an Iced and Hot Green Tea, and wanted to check out the Police Museum, but it is was closed on the weekends, disappointing to have a museum closed on weekends...so we walked over to the Riverwalk and Curtis Hixon Park where they are re-doing the entire riverfront park, its kind of a big mess right now, the whole area is torn apart from Kiley Gardens to the area where they are building the New Tampa Museum of Art...the renderings look nice, it should be a great asset to the area.....
we then headed over to see some friends that were having a Yard Sale on Davis Islands...i've always like the Islands, its so close to downtown, but you feel like you are in another small town with a main street and great historic architecture in the apts and homes, with the Tampa downtown skyscrapers peering out over the islands.
The afternoon brought us to Ybor City and Muvico theaters to see "Wall-E"...cute movie, kind of wish I had my niece and nephews with me, the Pixar effects were amazing, had a cute story line as well....after the movie we walked around 7th Ave in Ybor, went into a few of the funky shops, and then wanted to play some pool maybe throw some darts so we went to check out Lounge 714, but the pool room was in the dark, so after there we walked down to Double Decker, too many people in there for happy hour playing pool and darts, they did have a really nice outdoor courtyard in the back that opened up...so we ended up at the Boneyard, very funky place, a few pool tables, couches were made from old bath tubs cut in half, and some of the seating included some interesting commodes, definitely worth a visit, interesting crowd as well, all watching wheel of fortune during happy hour....wanting some munchies, we were told about a great hidden gem of a restaurant, kind of underground like, attached to a Wine Store on 22nd Avenue, West Plam Wines and Beaune's Wine Bar...interesting very small menu, you can choose a bottle of wine from the very extensive wine store and bring into the wine bar to have with dinner...we munched on a great cheese and meat tray, you choose from over a dozen different types of cheeses and several meat selections...we got two different cheeses, and a sliced salami meat, that comes with fresh sliced bread, grapes and fruit, nuts, pickles and olives....nice socializing over a few glasses of wine and a light meal. The server was very knowledgeable and friendly, I believe dinner is served only on Thursday thru Saturday evenings, and the menu changes constantly.
It was late in the evening, and some Friends of ours that were having the Yard Sale were at Yeoman's Road Pub on Davis Islands, so we went there after dinner and had some great drafts with a very entertaining band...hangin out in the alley, listening to the tunes, with some great conversation amongst our friends and other friendly patrons in the crowded, English pub like bar in the main Blvd on Davis Islands where there are a dozen or so other restaurants, bars and shops....later we went to a friends apartment a few blocks away to end the night listening to tunes till the wee hours of the morning.
Sunday Brunch was at my friends place in Port Tampa City neighborhood here in South Tampa...and Sunday proved to be a fine day for relaxing and hangin with the dogs...
we then headed over to see some friends that were having a Yard Sale on Davis Islands...i've always like the Islands, its so close to downtown, but you feel like you are in another small town with a main street and great historic architecture in the apts and homes, with the Tampa downtown skyscrapers peering out over the islands.
The afternoon brought us to Ybor City and Muvico theaters to see "Wall-E"...cute movie, kind of wish I had my niece and nephews with me, the Pixar effects were amazing, had a cute story line as well....after the movie we walked around 7th Ave in Ybor, went into a few of the funky shops, and then wanted to play some pool maybe throw some darts so we went to check out Lounge 714, but the pool room was in the dark, so after there we walked down to Double Decker, too many people in there for happy hour playing pool and darts, they did have a really nice outdoor courtyard in the back that opened up...so we ended up at the Boneyard, very funky place, a few pool tables, couches were made from old bath tubs cut in half, and some of the seating included some interesting commodes, definitely worth a visit, interesting crowd as well, all watching wheel of fortune during happy hour....wanting some munchies, we were told about a great hidden gem of a restaurant, kind of underground like, attached to a Wine Store on 22nd Avenue, West Plam Wines and Beaune's Wine Bar...interesting very small menu, you can choose a bottle of wine from the very extensive wine store and bring into the wine bar to have with dinner...we munched on a great cheese and meat tray, you choose from over a dozen different types of cheeses and several meat selections...we got two different cheeses, and a sliced salami meat, that comes with fresh sliced bread, grapes and fruit, nuts, pickles and olives....nice socializing over a few glasses of wine and a light meal. The server was very knowledgeable and friendly, I believe dinner is served only on Thursday thru Saturday evenings, and the menu changes constantly.
It was late in the evening, and some Friends of ours that were having the Yard Sale were at Yeoman's Road Pub on Davis Islands, so we went there after dinner and had some great drafts with a very entertaining band...hangin out in the alley, listening to the tunes, with some great conversation amongst our friends and other friendly patrons in the crowded, English pub like bar in the main Blvd on Davis Islands where there are a dozen or so other restaurants, bars and shops....later we went to a friends apartment a few blocks away to end the night listening to tunes till the wee hours of the morning.
Sunday Brunch was at my friends place in Port Tampa City neighborhood here in South Tampa...and Sunday proved to be a fine day for relaxing and hangin with the dogs...
Friday, May 30, 2008
Tampa's Wild Side and an Island Dinner downtown
Left the office around 3pm today to put my my Busch Gardens pass to use, decided on a two year pass earlier this year, this is my second time to the park this year, it includes free parking and discounts on food and stuff in the park-even beers! A quick drive of about 20 minutes from South Tampa to the park, no traffic at this time on the roadways, and nearly no one in the park. It's nice just to be able to relax, walk around the gardens, see some wild things, maybe hit a roller coaster or two..very relaxing end of the day. We tried some Shock Top brand beers from Anheiser-Busch, tasted just like Blue Moon. I was surprised at the amount of new beers they are coming out with, Bud Lights now have lime, lots of different types of energy drinks, and also mixing half and half of one type of beer with another. The Jungala exhibit was just opened last month, and seemed to be more for the kids, with lots of interactive exhibits and play areas, I did finally get to see a Gibbon in person which was very cool to watch. It was kind of sad not to see The Python rollarcoaster there anymore, as that was the very first coaster I ever rode, my Uncle and one of my older brothers must have rode it about a dozen times before they could get my butt on it, and ever since, I have loved rollar coasters..the bigger the better!!
After the Gardens we went to dinner on Davis Islands, a very unique and interesting part of the downtown Tampa area, Davis Islands is its own community unto itself with a small airport, major hospital and trauma center, community college, authentic main street with a dozen different types of eateries, playgrounds, ballparks, tennis complexes, and full marina, a beach and dog park, and lots of water everywhere.
I received a $25 gift cert from my friends at another blog site SOHOTAMPA.com, so it was off to Ricks Italian Cafe. Driving onto the Islands from Bayshore Blvd near downtown Tampa is like escaping to a Mediterranean oasis, with historic apartment buildings scattered amongst million dollar homes, there are no high rises here except for Tampa General Hospital. Rick's had a guitarist playing on the outside patio, it was another dry and breezy evening so we decided to take advantage of this, immediately as we sat, we were offered menu's and drinks...we ordered the Veal Brisoile, excellent Veal wrapped around mozzarella and Canadian bacon, and also the Trip Around Italy with ravioli, sausage, meatball, and eggplant, both served with a side of pasta, garden salads and vege of the day which was Italian greens and green beans in a garlic-oil, and fresh rolls dusted with parm cheese and garlic butter. Both good meals, Rick's isn't the best Italian, but makes do as a local Italian place for the Davis Islanders, and nice to sit outside along the Blvd and watch the people walk around, and listen to some live music....afterwards we walked over to the Channel, overlooking million dollar homes along Harbour Island and incredible views of downtown Tampa skyline. You can also sit and watch the HUGE ships coming in and out of the Port of Tampa as well. Davis Islands is a nice local escape, and you would never know you were in Tampa, except for the tops of the skyscrapers peering out every now and then as you walk along the Main Blvd.
After the Gardens we went to dinner on Davis Islands, a very unique and interesting part of the downtown Tampa area, Davis Islands is its own community unto itself with a small airport, major hospital and trauma center, community college, authentic main street with a dozen different types of eateries, playgrounds, ballparks, tennis complexes, and full marina, a beach and dog park, and lots of water everywhere.
I received a $25 gift cert from my friends at another blog site SOHOTAMPA.com, so it was off to Ricks Italian Cafe. Driving onto the Islands from Bayshore Blvd near downtown Tampa is like escaping to a Mediterranean oasis, with historic apartment buildings scattered amongst million dollar homes, there are no high rises here except for Tampa General Hospital. Rick's had a guitarist playing on the outside patio, it was another dry and breezy evening so we decided to take advantage of this, immediately as we sat, we were offered menu's and drinks...we ordered the Veal Brisoile, excellent Veal wrapped around mozzarella and Canadian bacon, and also the Trip Around Italy with ravioli, sausage, meatball, and eggplant, both served with a side of pasta, garden salads and vege of the day which was Italian greens and green beans in a garlic-oil, and fresh rolls dusted with parm cheese and garlic butter. Both good meals, Rick's isn't the best Italian, but makes do as a local Italian place for the Davis Islanders, and nice to sit outside along the Blvd and watch the people walk around, and listen to some live music....afterwards we walked over to the Channel, overlooking million dollar homes along Harbour Island and incredible views of downtown Tampa skyline. You can also sit and watch the HUGE ships coming in and out of the Port of Tampa as well. Davis Islands is a nice local escape, and you would never know you were in Tampa, except for the tops of the skyscrapers peering out every now and then as you walk along the Main Blvd.
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