My friend Dave got married in Tampa this weekend, I flew down for his wedding Friday. Here's some random thoughts and a recap of sorts...
I took the all-night bus from Yonge and Eglinton to the airport. Left at 3.44am. Yikes! I got there about 4.20am, and it took 2 hours to do all the assorted check-in/security stuff at Pearson - it was a zoo!
That being said, Sunwing was pretty pleasant. I was astonished at how goodnatured the flight crew was being at 6.30am. I would be snarling. Plus, they served a meal on board. Who knew! (I didn't eat it, I got on the plane, fell asleep, and woke up when we landed.)
Once I got to St. Pete's, I grabbed the car and headed to the Dali museum, which was both gorgeous, and filled with very nice paintings.
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| Outside of the Dali Museum at St. Petersburg |
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| Spiral staircase inside the museum |
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| Lovely views of the water |
The paintings were organized chronologically, and showed Dali's evolution as an artist. Very similar in nature to the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam.
Post paintings, which I was not allowed to photograph, I ate lunch at the Dali Museum (gazpacho and a potato omlet - very Spanish in nature), and then headed to my hotel room for some well-deserved sleep.
I forced myself to wake up around 5pm - I needed to shower, dress and head to Dave's pre-wedding dinner. Met Addison and Ben Flaster there - got a chance to catch up with them, and Dave (a bit, he was busy running around doing stuff, of course!) and Erin, who seemed really nice. Ate tons of food - plantains, salad, some Cuban black bean rice, some pasta, a whole slice of key lime pie... The guys were going to a Mighty Mighty Bosstones concert, but I needed - lame though it was - to sleep. Back to the hotel room it was, for some well-deserved shuteye.
Saturday morning, I woke up - texts and emails were flying around between the Michigan contingent - plans were being made for lunch. I headed into Ybor City - and grabbed breakfast and coffee at the Brick.
- Saturday morning, I woke up - texts and emails were flying around between the Michigan contingent - plans were being made for lunch. I headed into Ybor City - and grabbed breakfast and coffee at the Brick. They had come up in conversation the previous night - due to their Star Wars art exhibit. (May 4 is a big Star Wars holiday, evidently. Who knew? You learn something new every day.)
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| Gateway to Ybor City |
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| Interior of the Brick |
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| Star Wars artwork... |
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| And Cinco de Mayo celebrations... |
Once a half of a grilled cheese sandwich was eaten, I found a little farmers market that I wandered through, and also a reuse store which was super interesting - it was all about crafting supplies, and was pay-what-you-can. I paid $10 for 6 vintage sewing patterns - there was lots of fabric too, but I resisted (silly fabric bet with Madhav!)
Patterns in hand, I headed to the Columbia for lunch. Strange place, the Columbia, super crowded, super inefficient, and evidently, an Ybor City landmark. Been there for a hundred years, or some such thing. It was pretty though - lovely interior. Met Igor, Ben and Julie, Deepika and Kevin there - got a chance to catch-up, etc.
Post lunch, the original plan was to grab some beer before we headed to hotel rooms to get ready, but there was no time for that once we were done eating. We scattered - I went back, and did some cab research - the wedding had an open bar, I wanted to make it count - and driving seemed like a pretty silly thing to do.
Ok, now my rant. So Tampa cabs are a strange thing. I called the cab company, and asked for a cab at 5.30, since the wedding was at 6pm. They say ok, but at 5.35, no cab shows up. So I call them, and they tell me that a cab hasn't been assigned to me, and suggest I call a different cab company. Grr. Why wouldn't you tell me up front that a cab might or might not show?
So, I'm now running late, and tear out, driving to Dave's wedding, much to my basic disgust. Thankfully though, I made it in time.
The wedding was lovely. It was very Dave - there was laughing, and the rabbi said nice, personal stories about Dave and Erin, and it just had a lovely vibe. Post wedding, there was drinking, and dancing (no dancing for me, there's not enough alcohol in the world!) An after party at a bar called Drunken Shame? and then, it was time for me to head back - oddly enough, I was fine to drive, so I did.
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| Since Erin's a journalist, there was a bit of a Scrabble theme going on at the tables. This is Lauren's contribution. |
Although I was supposed to be at brunch at 11.00am on Sunday, I woke up late instead, and managed to make my way there by noon. Got to say goodbye to everyone - most people's flights were in the 3pm range.
Sunday afternoon, I put my agenda into action - I headed first to the beach, where I waded in the water for a bit, followed by a tempeh sadwich at the Brick.
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| I made Ben take photos for Me-Made-May. |
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| Ah, beach. |
Then, we (Ben Flaster, Dave, Erin and me) headed to see the Avengers.
Post Avengers, I dashed off to Cigar City Brewing for beers. (Of course.)
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| Tasting room at Cigar City. Open till 10pm on a Sunday night, bless them. |
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| So many choices. |
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| Must take a photo of the tap list. |
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| I love tasting samples - I tried 6 4-oz samples, they were all pretty good. |
Then, I dropped Ben off at the airport, and headed back to my hotel room.
Monday morning, I woke up and got to the airport in the nick of time. On the plane, I read Night Circus, which I've been avoiding reading for a couple of weeks now. Not sure why, the book was delightful. I was awake for the meal this time around, they served a four-cheese-pizza like thing. Tasty.
Back to Mississagua, where my mom fed me (I am rather spoiled) and took pictures for my SWAP. My dad gave me a ride back, and I'm now sitting on my couch.
An excellent weekend!
