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