Menorcan Madness

Our neighbor is a Menorcan (meaning that her family is one of the town originals from the Spanish island of Menorca).

I don't know a whole lot about the group, but I know that they make an amazing clam chowder and I am a big fan of their pilau as well. Pilau (at least the way I've had it) is a single pot dish with rice and meat and onions and probably anything else sitting on your countertop.

I mention this because tomorrow is the Menorcan Festival. It's held right down the street at the Llambias House and admission is FREE. They're going to have pilau (the flyer says "various kinds"), clam chowder, and baked goods.

I plan on checking it out--it's open from 11 til 2.

Hide Your Women and Groceries!!

On Saturday, March 3, our lovely city was attacked. Invaded. Plundered.

Yup, folks, its historic reenactment at its best (if by best you mean bloodiest!) It's Searle's Attack on Saint Augustine, reenacted St. Augustine, Florida, that “noble and loyal city” is the oldest inhabited European settlement in North America.  Founded by Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles in 1565, it was a valuable outpost of the Spanish Empire, serving as a haven for the imperial treasure fleets sailing from the New World to Spain.  For over a century and a half, beginning with Sir Francis Drake’s raid in 1586 and ending with General James Oglethorpe’s attack in 1743, English troops and buccaneers repeatedly tried to wrest this strategic port from the Spaniards.

In 1655, Oliver Cromwell’s “Western Design” resulted in the capture of Spanish Jamaica, thus providing English freebooters with a safe base from which to plunder the Spanish Main.  The “Golden Age of Piracy” had begun! 

In 1668, Captain Robert Searle and his privateers sailed from Jamaica to loot the silver ingots held in the royal coffers at St. Augustine.  Under the cover of night, they slipped into the harbor and attacked the sleeping town, killing sixty people and pillaging government buildings, churches and homes.  The devastation wrought by these bloodthirsty pirates prompted Spain’s Council of the Indies to issue money to build a massive stone fortress on Matanzas Bay to protect the city.  The Castillo de San Marcos still stands as an enduring reminder of Florida’s exciting heritage...if by exciting, you mean bloody.

The canons were going off all day...and there were even more people in costume than usual. Every weekend is a fun one here in St. Augustine!!

For you theatre lovers...

The following press release was in our inbox this morning. I don't have a lot more information on it, but since it's starting in three days, I thought I should get it out there so everyone could see it!! (The show starts March 8!!)

A CLASSIC THEATRE

CAST ANNOUNCED FOR “IS LIFE WORTH LIVING?”

Directed by Deborah Dickey, this delightful farce

By Lennox Robinson opens at The Pioneer Barn on March 8th

St. Augustine, Florida – A Classic Theatre announced the cast for its next production Is Life Worth Living? by Irish playwright Lennox Robinson and presented in association with the Romanza 2012 Celtic Music & Heritage Festival.  Directed by veteran director Deborah Dickey, Is Life Worth Living? will have performances in the Pioneer Barn  at Fort Menendez, 259 San Marco Ave, St. Augustine, starting March 8 and running Thursday, Friday & Saturdays at 7:30 through March 17^th.  There is one Sunday matinee at 2:00pm on March 11^th.  Tickets are $20 + tax.  All tickets can be purchased in advance by calling 904-824-8874 or at the museum 259 San Marco Avenue. www.fortmenendez.com. For production information email aclassictheatre@hotmail.com.

Set in the quaint seaside village of Inish, this delightful farce from Dublin’s Abbey Theatre is a joyous “love letter” to the theatrical profession as the lives of the residents of the Irish village are transformed by the arrival of the De La Mare Repertory Company which is dedicated to the serious classics of the theater!

The Classic Theatre production of Is Life Worth Living? features the following actors: Wes as Hector De La Mare; Jessica Ferris as Constance Constantia; Margaret Kaler as Lizzie Twohig; Vanessa Warner as Annie Twohig; Jim Wells as John Twohig;  Ashley Carter as Eddie Twohig; Chelsye Ginn as Christine Lambert; Maggie Thierrien as Dolly Hegarty; Daisye Tudor as Helena; Stan Weintraub as Peter Hurley; Jared Heeren as Michael and Aaron Liggett as Tom Mooney.

Tony Bennett: You Can Find Your Heart in St Augustine!

Frankly, I'm not entirely sure how you leave your heart anywhere...isn't that the type of thing that you usually pack first? And then you tap your chest on the way to the airport, just to remind yourself that it's still with you? (That's what I do with my driver's license on the way to the airport, every time).

Anyway, as I mentioned in the last blog, Mr. Bennett is coming to Saint Augustine on March 20. And YOU can see him for FREE!!

There is a small catch: you have to win the "History with Heart" contest at www.450years.com. It's easy to enter--just post a short video or write a small essay about why YOU (heart) St. Augustine, and if your answer is chosen as the winner, you get a pile of stuff:

2 free tickets to see Tony Bennett sing his heart out at the Saint Augustine Amphitheatre
Romantic horse and carriage ride around the oldest city
Brunch for two at the Raintree Restaurant
Dinner for two at the Floridian (one of our faves!!)
Mini flip cam
Basket full o' goodies
PLUS a whole lot more!!

All you have to do is go to www.450years.com and click on the CONTEST link. While you're there, check out the other cool things planned for the big 4-5-0...it's only three years away!!

Good luck!!

Top Acts in Saint Augustine

We moved to Saint Augustine because we thought it was the most beautiful town we had ever seen. We loved the architecture of the old houses, the fort, the charming narrow brick streets.

Without sounding like too much of a geek, we also loved the amazing culture we found here--the Lightner Museum, the Oldest House museum, the Dow Museum of Homes, the pirate museum. For a little town, we've got a big list of museums!!

But as they say on the infomercials...THAT'S NOT ALL!!

It turns out that Saint Augustine also has an amazing venue for top-tier acts. It's the Saint Augustine Amphitheatre, and it's right across the Bridge of Lions. In the next few months, here are some of the scheduled events:

The Moody Blues, March 17
President Bill Clinton, March 19
Tony Bennett, March 20
Lyle Lovett, March 23
Martina McBride, April 13
The Beach Boys, May 2
Ringo Starr, June 29

Impressive, right? That's the kind of line up you might expect to see in a huge metropolis!! But no, it's right here in St. Augustine, and--unlike some of those "other" big venues, you don't have to lose $1000 gambling, or drive around for hours looking for a safe parking space (they have a huge lot right there).

Plus, you get all the charm of St. Augustine thrown in as a bonus.

If you want to see all of the acts playing in the next few months, you can check it out at www.staugamphitheatre.com. Don't forget, when you buy your tickets, be sure to reserve a room at the inn--because most of these acts are playing during high season.

Mike and I already have tickets to see The Beach Boys and Ringo Starr. But I'm eyeing some of those other acts, too...I just can't get over what a great line up we have this year!!

Holler if you need a ride across the bridge!!

MORE to Eat: Annual Oyster Roast

As if there weren't too many great food choices ALREADY in St. Augustine, today there's one more: the annual Cathedral Parish Oyster Roast.

For just $20 in advance ($25 at the gate), you can slurp down all the salty slick goodness you want!! Bring your own oyster knife--or buy one at the event. While you're there, you might also want to purchase chowder, shrimp boil, wine, or funnel cakes (they're Pennsylvania Dutch, you know--who else could make a yummy fried dessert with leftover gooey dough!)

And yes, in case you're wondering, this event is about 30 steps away from the inn. So waddling home is easier than ever!!

Swing on by from noon til 4 today.

All proceeds benefit the school.

You (Still) Light Up My Life

If you visit Saint Augustine, you might think--"Boy, that's a great place, and very cosmopolitan with all the museums, and artist studios, and high end architecture." But if you lived here, you'd know that deep down Saint Augustine is just a prettier-than-average country girl with a bit of a shyness problem.

All of us residents think that it's a great place--don't get me wrong--but at the end of the day it's just our little town. Despite all the prettiness, we don't have a lot of high-falutin' ideas about ourselves.

So you can imagine the uproar caused when our little, shy, prettier-than-average town was named as one of the Top Ten Places to See Holiday Lights by National Geographic. And we're not talking about one of the top ten places in the United States (although we would be pretty darn proud of that as well). We're talking about one of the top ten places IN THE WORLD.

Yup, it's us and a couple of little towns around the globe--towns like Vienna, Brussels, Copenhagen, Hong Kong and Madrid. Maybe you've heard of them.

It's like that shy, prettier-than-average, little country girl just went and got herself crowned Miss America. NO...WAIT...Miss WORLD!!

Anyway, we're all pretty psyched about it. It was on the front page of our local paper three days in a row.

Feeling left out? Well, you might not have time to fly to Hong Kong (I think their lights are down already), but you still have time to get to little Saint Augustine. The lights will be on through the end of January.

If you can't make it, here are a couple of pictures to whet your appetite for next year.

This is the park. It's the epicenter of romance, with all the trees lit up overhead.

The Casa Monica.

The town tree. (Note: the gift boxes are empty. A cruel joke).

And a little place we like to visit--the Bayfront Marin House.

Hope we see you there soon!!!