St Augustine to see the lights

Larry and Linda invited us to go to St Augustine to see the Christmas lights, so of course we said yes! We left on Wednesday around 10 am, which we figured would give us a chance to get lunch on the road. We stop in the little town of Polatka at the Magnolia Cafe. And what a good choice that was! I got a Cuban and Randy had a salad, and we all agreed we should come back here for more. 

Next door is the Urban Farmhouse, for a little post-lunch shopping. Then back on the road to St. Augustine. We got their in good time to check into the condo,  settle our stuff, and buy tickets for the Christmas Light trolley ride before  Larry drove us over to the trolley station. We were a little early so we walked around a bit, seeing things like this huge marker for the Old Spanish Trail.

Then it was time to board the trolley. They hand out paper 3-D glasses which, when you put them on, make all the lights look like big, bright snowflakes! This was awesome! I couldn't get a good pic of them through the glasses, but I did try. 

The trolley ran through the tourist section of town, where lots of buildings were decorated. We oohed and aahed over them all! The downtown Hilton was probably the most decorated. The 3-D glasses made all of these look like stars, too, but they were beautiful even with out that.  

Our trolley driver played lively Christmas music for us, and sang along with most of them. When he wasnt' singing, he told us bits and pieces about the place. For example, he pointed out that all the lights were white. According to him, that's a tradition that goes back to the Spanish days when people decorated by putting candles in windows. After the ride we got a sugar cookie from Peppermint the Elf, to go along with the warm cider. 

 

Cookies and cider are all very well, but we needed something more substantial. We walked through much of the town before deciding to go into the Colombian. Another excellent choice! There would have been a long wait for a table so we found places at the bar and ordered from there. They start by serving a half-loaf of Cuban bread to everyone which is really good. Apparently they get this bread delivered daily from Tampa, and have for over 90 years (we found out later there is another Colombian restaurant in Tampa). Randy asked the folks next to him what they ordered and they recommended the 1905 salad. Looked good, so that's what we did. It was big enough to share and really good. I had thought we might need more to eat so I ordered the artichoke dip. We didn't need more, but we ate that, too, anyway. Stuffed, happy, and tired, we walked back to the car and returned to the condo for the night.