This past weekend Alex & I celebrated our "valentine's day" which is really just our Dating Anniversary. Which makes it a lot more fun than plain ole v-day. This year Alex surprised me with a two day getaway to the historic city that he proposed to me in: St. Augustine. He managed to keep hotel a secret from me too. So when we arrived in St. Augustine Sunday afternoon, and pulled up to the Casa Monica Hotel, I was completely surprised. It definitely set the tone for our two year dating anniversary trip. Especially because it was across from the hotel that he proposed in 2016.
Alex booked us a suite on the top floor of the hotel, which resulted in a stunning view of the historic downtown district of St. Augustine. We had the best sangrias ever at the hotel bar, made a quick jaunt (in the rain) over to Kookaburra Coffee Co., explored "tourists row" and had a few more drinks while we waited for our room. I can't even begin to explain how awesome our room #504 was. If you look at the photo above, the top three windows on the left side is where our suite was. Which resulted in an incredible view from inside our suite. The hotel was absolutely beautiful. Like every part of it, the concierge's desk, the bar, the suite, the view. Everything.
A little while after we were settled in there was a knock on the door and we were given a sweet congratulations card from the hotel staff and a bottle of Prosecco champagne. That really was the icing on the cake for me. Especially because that was exactly what I wanted. I mean, what is an anniversary without champagne?
Afterwards we headed to Costa Brava for the most epic meat & cheese board we have ever eaten. We went to the historic Fort Mantanzas and walked around the whole thing before stopping by Ancient City Brewing to try on of their flights. It was pretty overcast even though it had just rained, but it was perfect for walking around. But not for taking photos. Then we had a late dinner at The Ice Plant where we had another cheese board and shared a burger. Afterwards we crossed over the Bridge of Lions and took in an evening view of the St. Augustine Lighthouse.
The next morning we had breakfast in the hotel, because we're the type of people who don't say no to an unexpected free buffet. Afterwards we walked around downtown a little bit more and checked out Flagler College and some other old buildings like the Memorial Presbyterian Church. The church was inspired by St. Mark's Basilica in Venice and is incredible. Then we headed back up to our room to relax for an hour before checkout. Once we checked out we went to some antique shops and then to Cousteau's Waffle Bar where I had the most delicious waffles and coconut ice cream. If you're ever in St. Augustine and go to Cousteau's I got the Life On Mars waffles. Then we headed next door to Thai House & Sushi bar so Alex could enjoy so much desired sushi.
Then we headed to Vilano Beach to enjoy the beach resort that Alex purchased for us with the room. Now Alex & I aren't beach goers. In fact we've only been to the beach once together, but nonetheless it felt almost necessary for this trip. We lounged around the pool and then made our way to the beach. Right after we decided to leave there was some thunder so we booked it back to our car and headed back downtown to checkout ToneVendor, a local record store. Where Alex found a used copy of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath on vinyl at an awesome price.
There's a part of me that wishes we were still in St. Augustine celebrating our two year dating anniversary. Alex made our trip so incredibly special. We were talking about how it felt like a continuation of our honeymoon. We had so much fun, ate incredible food and enjoyed taking in all the St. Augustine has to offer.
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Have you ever been to St. Augustine? Let me know where you went in the comments below.
