Living in America's Europe

Tag: Forgotten Tonic

Living In America’s Europe – Wrapping up the Birthday Week

June 7th, 2023
2023.6.5 / Wrapping up the Birthday Week

Saturday morning found us at our favorite Brunch Spot—Roosevelt Room on St. George Street. A great way to start the day and the weekend. We started with Champagne, of course! The Mimosa of the day was Blood Orange, so I took a splash of juice! I had the Triple Mushroom Sandwich with a side of fruit and Phil had the Croque Monsieur with their famous Confit Pommes, which are so good! It’s our favorite brunch spot because they never disappoint, and Saturday was no different. And the staff is friendly and service is spot on.
Then we took a walk around town, stopped at Chocolattes for some croissants for Sunday morning. Chocolattes also has great breakfast sandwiches and beautiful cakes if you are having a sweet tooth. Next stop was The Gifted Cork to pick up a few bottles of wine. If you recall I told you about their wine club, June is Spanish wines, so we chose the two reds for this month. We have not done June’s wine tasting yet.

ChocoLattes

On our walk home we chose to walk along the Bayfront. Walking on the Bayfront is one of my favorite paths; first there is the water, and in my opinion, there really isn’t anything better than the scent of the salty sea air, plus there is always a nice breeze coming off of the water, so it keeps you cool, and depending on the time of day, the horse carriages line up along Avenida Menendez. Always love to see the horse carriages.
Sunday was a low key day which started with croissants and cappuccinos made by my own personal barista Phil. He really makes a delicious coffee! We have a great espresso/cappuccino machine, the Gaggia Classic Pro and our coffee of choice is Illy Intenso and combined they make a great beverage.

I have the BEST Barista

Sunday evening, we went to Forgotten Tonic around the corner for a cocktail and appetizer. Phil has his own drink there called an “Abbynormal” (think Young Frankenstein); it’s an Absinthe Mojito and while it may sound odd, it is actually very good…IF you like the taste of black licorice, so of course he had that. I had the Penicillin – Islay scotch, ginger, honey, lemon; I’m finding I like cocktails with honey and lemon and this one did not disappoint. For apps, we shared the Bruschetta and the Cajun Egg Rolls; which are always a favorite. And then we just came home and watched the telly…we have been binge watching Pennyworth on Amazon Prime. Which is pretty good!
On Monday, last day of birthday week it was a nice quiet day, I mean it is a ‘school day’ after all. I started the day with my morning walk. It was a very blustery day, I almost lost my ‘Wine People’ hat and at the top of the Bridge of Lions you could hear the wind vibrating the cables on all the sailboats at the marina. Have you ever wet your finger and run it around the rim of a wineglass? It was that sound at a much higher pitch/resonance. Natures orchestra. I love windy days.

After my walk, I made us a little breakfast – avocado toast with press pot coffee. And the rest of the day was a Monday…but not in a bad way.
And there it is, Birthday Week 2023 is over and celebrated in style!

Ciao,

Phil and Dee

Links:

Roosevelt Room

Chocolattes

The Gifted Cork

Gaggia

Illy

Forgotten Tonic
Living in America’s Europe – One Year Later

May 18th, 2023
2023.5.17 / One Year Later

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year already. But we recently renewed our lease on our FABULOUS apartment…so it must be true. And simultaneously it feels like we just got here and that we never left. We love living here.
Literally we love everything about living here: The fabulous artistic vibe, the abundance of great restaurants: our local bar/gastro pub, our local Trattoria, our favorite Sunday brunch spot – shout out to Forgotten Tonic; Nonna’s; and Roosevelt Room; our local wine bars, coffee shops, gift shops, art galleries, pastry shops, the beaches, our cool small Publix on Vilano Beach, the Saturday Farmer’s Market, the music scene, the beach bars, the Amphitheater, the festivals, the holiday parades, First Friday Artwalk….you see the list is endless. Always something going on and always something to do.
But more important than that is the people we have met and the friendships and relationships we are building. We are now closer to family, so we have been able to share some holiday celebrations together. We have reconnected with good friends that we maybe saw once a year, and now we see several times a month.

A few weeks ago, my nephew came to visit for a weekend. He is at college at Embry Riddle studying to be a Rocket Scientist (seriously!!!). He was overwhelmed with schoolwork and finals and wanted to get away for a weekend. So we picked him up in Daytona and came back to StA. We had a great time hanging out, walking Lincolnville, showing him around, and eating and drinking. But the funny part is he told my sister he had a great time and “Phil and Dee are famous.” LOL We are not famous, we just know those in our neighborhood; we our locals with our local hangouts, and there ‘everyone knows our name’. He also told her we took him to ‘fancy’ restaurants. Ok, maybe one was fancy!
Sometimes, late in the evening, when we have our windows open and our lights are still on, an employee from one of our local hangouts – better called a friend – walking past our apartment will shout up to us, “good night Phil and Dee, love you”.  It’s sweet and genuine like a ‘Walton’s’ moment. It’s home for us. It makes our hearts happy.

Phil just had an art opening and is at Jensen Pottery  gallery for May and June.  Which is very exciting for him, he had a great turnout. It was also our 16^th wedding anniversary making it a double celebration.

Phil at his opening. A beautiful installation.

I still take my morning walk along the bayfront and over the bridge.  Every day is different, and I never get tired of that view. I love when I see something on my walk that I never noticed before.  I love when I find small hidden side streets I didn’t know were there, or secret garden courtyards in the middle of the city.  I love the smell of gardenias and night blooming jasmine in the early morning hours.  I love the sunrises and the cloudy days equally.  I love the briny smell along the bayfront at low tide, and the salt air aroma at high tide. On non-work days I love to stop at ChocoLattes at the end of my walk and have a Mimosa while I wait for my croissant and Phil’s bagel, egg, bacon, and cheese sammie to go.

Rose Mimosa at ChocoLattes

This is the life we are building.  I’m so happy to be back here.  Did I mention we love living here?

America’s Europe, one year later, we are ‘still’ here, and we ‘still’ feel alive.

Ciao!

Philip and Dee

Links:

Forgotten Tonic

Nonna’s Trattoria

Roosevelt Room

Jensen Pottery

ChocoLattes
Greetings From America’s Europe AKA StA! – an Art Opening

May 12th, 2023
2023.5.05 / An Art Opening

Friday was a busy day! It was our 16^th Wedding Anniversary, Cinco de Mayo, and Phil’s art opening at Jensen Pottery on Aviles Street. We started the celebrations with a late brunch at PK’s Roosevelt room. Switched it up today, rather than the Ham and Brie Omelet I had the Triple Mushroom Sandwich. Phil had a build your own breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon, biscuit and gravy – AND their famous confit potatoes. Then the Art Opening followed by a late dinner at Forgotten Tonic. It was a great turnout, Ken and his band were playing a good jam, the weather was gorgeous, dinner was delicious…

Having a wonderful time – wish you were here.

Phil and Dee
Links:

Jensen Pottery

PK’s Roosevelt Room

Forgotten Tonic