(2020) How to Spend 24 Hours in St. Augustine, Florida [PICTURES]
FRONT: Vintage postcards of the Alcazar Hotel, now Flagler College.
BACK: Vintage postcards of the Alcazar Hotel, now Flagler College.
Welcome to St. Augustine
St. Augustine is a city of only 15,000 residents, located on the northeastern corner of Florida (just beneath Jacksonville).
It’s a city I’ve always wanted to visit due to its history (where the Spanish are, I go) and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
When I first crossed over the Bridge of Lions and into St. Augustine, I felt immediately transported to a place outside of the United States.
St. Augustine is made up of old Spanish architecture and brightly painted plaster. The city is framed by the nearby Atlantic, so a sea breeze is never far away. The buildings stack closely together, creating that European feel.
Sunshine and Cousin Time
My cousin Mitchell is currently getting his PhD at the University of Florida and I somehow convinced him to come hang out with me for a weekend in St. Augustine.
St. Augustine also marked the official last week of working a 9-5 job (see the last image in the below series to see the elation on my face). Wahoo!
Interestingly enough, the Sunshine State delivered a few days of rain, limiting our outdoor activities.
Though a highlight was renting a little toy car (see the pictures below) and tooling around St. Augustine for hours. It’s a great way to see the town, though I feared for my life a few times. Worth it.
The beaches were unbelievably beautiful. One of the beaches, South Ponte Vedra Beach, was so picturesque due to a reddish tone in the sand that I didn’t even need to touch the photos from a lighting perspective — they’re completely perfect. The water was warm, and I even boogie boarded at one point. The waves weren’t very cooperative and kept falling into each other instead of creating the long barrel that carries you into shore.
Mitchel and I cooked a lot (made a delish fish meal one evening!) and watched my favorite new movie, Palm Springs.
There were no thrift stores to be had in St. Augustine. The ones that did exist were pretty pathetic. I didn’t buy a single thrifted item, which is a record!
Perhaps most interestingly was Flagler College, a gorgeous campus located right in downtown St. Augustine. The college was once a hotel named the Ponce de Leon Hotel (completed in 1888) that attracted the wealthy elite from New England. They’d travel in droves by train to stay at this very fancy hotel (Tiffany glass in the ballroom) to escape the Northern winters for the staggering cost of 250k for two months (today’s prices). Isn’t that crazy?
Things to Do in St. Augustine
Places to Eat & Drink in St. Augustine
Shop
Go to Laurel Baker’s store, Anchor Boutique! It’s right in town and there is something for all jewelry lovers, at all price points (check out her bling bar for an affordable and incredibly personal and chic piece).