St Augustine – Red Train Tours (part 2) - Orlando / Florida Guide
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Back on the miniature Red Train again and the driver continues with his narration of all the important historical facts of this wonderful city. Our next stop is Dow Museum of Historical Houses and then onto the Ximenez – Fatio House built by Andres Ximenez in the late 1700’s. Then we are off to see the Oldest House built in the early 1600’s and this is a national historic landmark. It is the oldest surviving Spanish Colonial structure and there are two museums located in it with the various rooms within being restored and furnished in different styles according to the history of the house itself.
We are now on our way to the City Marina and we decide it is time for a spot of lunch. We choose the Santa Maria Restaurant located on the pier next to the Bridge of Lions. To the delight of the children in our party we have a window table which means that we are given a helping of bread to feed the catfish below. You have to open a flap located on the window sill next to your table and drop the bread into the sea where you have hundreds of catfish all trying to grab a tasty morsel. For the adults you can sit and admire the yachts that are moored on the docks and also watch the bridge go up and down as the various boats make their way up and down the Intercoastal waterway.
After our meal we wait for the next Red Train to arrive and we carry on with the rest of our tour. We now make our way down the road named Avenida Menendez but we have to watch out for the horse drawn carriages (another great way to see this city). The next stop is Castillo De San Marcos which is the oldest masonry fort in the USA. Whilst we don’t get off the train we do visit this the next day walking around the walls and going inside the fort itself We then sit and relax in the grounds watching the yachts coming in and out of the Intracoastal waterway.
The next stops on the tour are at Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Mission of Nombre De Dois and the Fountain of Youth then we head back to the Welcome Centre. There is so much to see in St Augustine that it will certainly take you more than one day but the Red Train Tour gives you a great start.
St Augustine historic district only cover 8. 4 sq miles and you can walk from one end to the other in approx 30 minutes but I would suggest that you take a leisurely stroll especially down St George Street which is solely for pedestrians. There is a vast array of little shops with unique souvenirs. There are plenty of art shops, cafes, pubs, restaurants and especially for the ladies there was a least one handbag shop which is well worth a visit.
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