St. Petersberg is a combination of resort town ambiance, commerce with big buildings and some funky art. It is the home of seven museums, including the Salvador Dali Museum housing the largest collection of Dali's art outside of Europe and the Chihuly glass collection. It is a place of endless sunshine and and sailboats.
Tourism is an important economic driver for the city as it hosts more than 10 million people each year.
Architecture reflects an earlier moneyed era.
Bicycles are found everywhere, both for riding and as art.
Just down the street from the yarn shop one can find lovely cafes that serve outside.
Lots of interesting characters who are not shy about having their photograph taken.
Street art is in abundance all over the downtown area.
We had read that there were lots of murals 'in an alley' but it did not specify which alley. We looked for quite a while and found the area serendipitously when we stopped at Mirror Lake.
Mirror Lake is right in the middle of St. Petersberg. I had imagined some reflections of tall buildings. Instead, we found a peaceful and uncrowded place to relax while Tom toured the Dali Museum.
A local Mirror Lake resident.
A pied-billed grebe.
These ducklings must have been just a day or two old.
The mom and dad were busy finding small items to feed their new ducklings.
More bicycles!
On the grounds of the Dali Museum.
We kept driving over the Sunshine Bridge. It became a major focus of photographic planning!! More on that next time.