Day 4 - Tampa and St Petersburg

This morning we got up and ready and left the hotel and headed west. We stopped at Starbucks along the way for coffee and breakfast.

​Our first stop of the day was Wat Mongkolrata Temple in Tampa. We only wandered around the exterior property and took some photos. From there we drove to St Petersburg to visit the Dali Museum. During the short drive I happened to see a billboard for the museum and I was ecstatic! Not only would we be viewing works by Dali but there just happened to be a Frida Kahlo exhibit!

We entered the museum and decided to visit the Frida Kaho exhibit first. Not only was the exhibit about her art but also her life. We were deeply moved by the artwork, photographs, and pieces in her own words. While the exhibit was simple in design the combined pieces flooded us with a variety of emotions.

The works by Salvador Dali made us emotional, curious, amazed, and excited. We were truly inspired by the depth, thoughtfulness, and level of detail in each piece. Later on that evening we had a spirited conversation about how he painted, how amazing his brain worked, and what would took away from it for our own paintings. 

Finally we visited the garden and the gift shop. The day was beautiful and the weather perfect for wandering around the maze. 

Driving to St Pete Beach we hit a good amount of traffic. We tried to go to a restaurant recommended by my brother in law however the parking was very limited. We drove a little further down the road and decided to try The Salty Rim. We opted to sit on their deck with the beautiful scenery. The staff were all really friendly and helpful. Our drinks were also very good. The portions are huge! We ordered Conch fritters, grouper bites, fish and chips, and sesame seared tuna steak. Everything was good well and was delicious. 

Luckily the ride back to Orlando is very pretty because we hit rush hour traffic! A while later and we arrived back to the Waldorf Astoria Orlando. Sadly my friend had to head back home since she was working the next two days. 

After she left we decided to sit down in the lounge (Peacock Alley) and enjoy a few rounds of Manhattan's along with some snacks. We ended our evening back up in our room relaxing with a nice bottle of red wine.