St. Augustine: City of 'Oldests'...
ST. AUGUSTINE: CITY OF "OLDESTS" IS SPECIAL
WHEN SEEN THROUGH GRANDPARENTS`EYES
Varied attractions make Oldest City appealing for all ages
By Karen Rubin
When you visit places as a three-generational getaway, what is old and young takes on a very different meaning: our perspective of history and historic events is enhanced. There is nothing more wonderful than a grandchild being exposed to the world of ideas from the benefit of experience of grandparents.
For this reason, whenever possible, we turn our annual pilgrimages to grandparents in Florida into getaways that add an element of adventure and discovery. Changing the venue, getting out of Grandma`s house, and exploring has the effect of creating opportunities for shared experiences that becomes the stuff of family folklore.
And so, over our Christmas visit, we embarked on a three-day exploration of St. Augustine, the oldest permanent European settlement in the continental United States, a city that has so much to appeal to all generations - too much, in fact, for a mere three days.
Adding to the appeal was that we stayed at a beach cottage owned by the wonderfully charming and most historic St. Francis Inn, giving us the best of all worlds: we were able to sprawl out in comfort in this most pleasant house, just steps away from the white sand beach on Anastasia Island, and were able to enjoy the substantial amenities of one of St. Augustine`s oldest inns.
We arrived in the evening of Christmas Day to the sparkling lights decorating the city; the St. Francis Inn was gracious enough to provide a list of restaurants that were open on the holiday. Our choice of the Columbia Restaurant, walking distance from the Inn right in the center of the historic promenade, was a perfect introduction to St. Augustine, and so warm and welcoming for the holiday - specializing in Spanish and Cuban cuisine, served in what appears a Spanish courtyard, with seating on two levels.
The walk provided us with the sense of this place as a community, with most of the tourists gone or tucked in, strolling down these narrow, cobblestone streets, back to the St. Francis Inn. There, we enjoyed the dessert selections that are part of the guest amenities, before taking the 15-minute drive, over the bridge to the Beach Cottage, looking back at the glittering lights that formed the outline of the buildings against the water.
Volunteers at the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument reenact the cannon-firing drill, as the Spanish soldiers of 1740 (© 2007 Karen Rubin).
At the Beach Cottage (one of three beach homes, plus a "bed-and-boat" owned by the St. Francis Inn) we found a refrigerator stocked with fresh-squeezed orange juice, a carafe of milk, various cereals and coffees, and all that we would need for breakfast. We were able to spread out in two bedrooms and a living room with a queen-sized sofa bed, and two bathrooms for our use, and three remote control TVs. Our son dove into the whirlpool bath, in its own room with its own TV.
Instead of breakfasting at the beach, though, we opted instead to return to the St. Francis Inn to enjoy the delicious cooked breakfast consisting (that morning) of a cheese...(like a quiche), pumpkin pancakes, bagels and toast, juices, fresh coffee, served in a delightful dining room furnished with antiques and period pieces.
The St. Francis Inn, which proved an ideal choice for our multi-generational getaway, and its sister property, Casa de Solana, are within St. Augustine`s historic district - truly, one of the most beautiful and interesting anywhere. Indeed, the inns are two of only 35 buildings that date from St. Augustine`s Spanish Colonial Period.
Our first stop after breakfast was the imposing Castillo de San Marcos, which probably more than any other structure in St. Augustine, captures the essence of this city`s heritage. Perhaps because it is such a formidable structure - the equivalent of Europe`s castles but without the glamour of a royal mansion home - it is a literal link to the earliest days in the founding of the New World.
As we cross the draw-bridge, we are immediately taken back in time, greeted by men in the uniform of Spanish soldiers of the 1740s, who defended this outpost of Spain`s empire. That was a critical time: the British attacked the fortress in the summer of 1740, expecting a quick and easy victory. But they were rebuffed.
Indeed, the Castillo of San Marco had never been lost in battle. The castle was successfully defended in 15 different battles, and only changed hands, from the Spanish to the British, back to the Spanish and then to the Americans, by treaty.
We were lucky enough to come when the soldiers were demonstrating their cannon-firing drill. The officer explained that it was designed to take the
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