24 Hours in Tampa

24 hours with Anna is never enough.  But we certainly know how to make the most of it!  Anna picked me up at the airport, and we headed for brunch at Cask Social Kitchen.  I was famished from the trip, so it was the perfect place to refuel.

I heart Anna!

We did enjoy some adult beverages, because brunch...  Anna had an amazing-looking Bloody Mary, while I had the Tito's Lemonade.  Yum!  We also enjoyed some fresh fruit with our meal, because it was just so gorgeous.

I had breakfast tacos for my main dish, and they were tasty too.  I think that breakfast wraps/tacos are pretty much perfection most of the time though.  I wish the cheese had melted a little more, but the pico de gallo was excellent.  Bacon was crispy too!

After brunch, we headed back to Anna's to change for the beach at St. Petersburg.  I was like, "The beach, in October?!  Yes yes yes."  Floridians do get to appreciate the beach a lot.  We even saw a bunch of dolphins!  Seriously, a bunch!  So close!

Does it get any better than this, when you know it's chilly and rainy back home and you're in a swimsuit at the beach?

We enjoyed ourselves sunning and chatting, then headed home to change for dinner.  As you may have read in an earlier post, Anna arranged a dinner for us at Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City.  In anticipation of the big meal, we made sure to walk the entire Ybor City main drag before dinner for a little exercise.

The murals in Ybor City are gorgeous!  It's a historic neighborhood, founded in the 1880s by cigar manufacturers.  It has always been a diverse area, populated by thousands of immigrants, mainly from Cuba, Spain, and Italy while its cigar factories rolled cigars in the millions for years.

Remember that bread pudding we ate at Columbia Restaurant?  We ran it off the next morning!  We went on a 4-mile bayside run, watching the sun come up.  It was the most scenic run I'd had in ages, and being along the water was so nice.

There was a pirate ship too... a running selfie was a must at that point!  Sorry not sorry.

After the run, we grabbed miss Ellie (Anna's dog) and walked to Piquant for breakfast outside.  I can't say no to French (or French-inspired) eats.  And if you're sitting outside, there's a "pooch" menu for your pups!

Knowing this was my last meal with Anna before I headed back to the business trip grind, I had some delicious ham and Gruyere crepes with bechamel sauce.  I had them add a fried egg on top, because it was breakfast.  They did a really great job, and I would love to come back for more French fare.

And Ellie loved her hard-boiled egg!  Love a restaurant that allows you to bring your dog along for the fun.

I had the most incredible 24 hours with Anna!  I can't believe everything that we saw, ate, drank, and just overall ENJOYED when we were together.  It's so nice to be able to travel, but it's even nicer to be able to see good friends along the way too. (P.S.  Sorry about the left and center justification inconsistency.  I tried multiple times to fix the alignment, but Blogger was spiteful so I just gave up!)