Voyaging: To the Gulf!

Man, what a month April has been already. I just got back from my trip down to Sarasota, FL, and what a cool time we had. The trip was primarily meant for my grandmother to see the college I will be attending in fall, and so that I could attend Accepted Students Day.

We went down by train, which was, as it always is, an adventure. I travel pretty well; pack me up with my laptop/ipod, camera, simple sketch set, a magazine, and some snacks and I'll sit tight for quite a long time. Even still, just about 30 hours of traveling later and I can get a little anxious to get to our destination. Our train was about 2hrs late, and then we had to take a bus to Sarasota. All the while frigid air conditioning made me feel like I was in the arctic.

Then we had to walk 1.1 miles to our hotel, which would not have been bad if we weren't all exhausted from not sleeping much and lugging around all our luggage. Still, we made it to the Best Western, threw down our luggage, and changed into Florida attire. Then we were off to the supermarket across the street for snacks and then dinner.

Our hotel wasn't too bad; it was reasonably priced, had a free breakfast with drinkable coffee, and was clean with a pool. We swam I think three times total because we were out and about so much.

There is something so cool about just being plopped into a city and having to figure out things. We didn't plan on getting a car because mum wanted to see how I'd get on with public transportation, and it wasn't bad at all. In fact, everyone was so helpful. We got bus routes/times, tips on how to save money, and what routes were best to take for where.

While down there we went to two beaches (Lido and Siesta), Mote Marine Laboratory, and the Ringling Museum. We also walked (a lot! I think this is the first vacation where I trimmed up) around Sarasota, Siesta Key, and Lido Key. While doing so my brother and I did a little scavenger hunt for cars, and I was absolutely amazed by how many of the vehicles I had looked at only in magazine and online there were. Here's a bit of a list of the ones I remember (in no particular order of coolness).

Ferrari - We saw both the F12 and the 458 (my favorite Ferrari). The F12 casually pulled up next to our bus at a light and the 458 I glimpsed in someone's driveway.
Tesla - My brother saw this first, and then I saw it again the next day.
Bentley - We saw two, one being an older model I didn't know and the other being the Continental.
Rolls Royce - There were actually a couple of these around, including a newer Phantom and a few early 00s. 
Lamborghini - This was the first wicked car we saw down there, up close and personal. I stepped off the curb (not thinking mind you, I come from a town of less than 300 people) to read a sign and my brother and I were almost victim of a Gallardo Spyder. I also spotted a Murcielago from the train headed home.
Mustang - Okay, these were all over the place. The two neatest were a '65 (my favorite model), and a Boss 302.
Camaro/Challenger/Charger - Again, these were very common down there.
Aston Martin - My brother saw more of these than I was able to spot, but walking to the bus stop a nice DB9 Volante Convertible did a spiffy parking maneuver in front of us.
Porsche - I was actually surprised at how many of these were on the streets! A wide group of models could be seen, including the Cayenne, Cayman, Carrera, and GT3.
Mercedes - Naturally, Mercedes is a bit more common than some of the above list, however I got to see an SLS AMG, which is my hands down favorite Merc. Who doesn't like gullwing doors?
Maserati - The Quattroporte was a nice sight to spot.
Jaguar - Again, in ample supply. I didn't find the F type, but there were plenty of spiffy models.
Lotus - A handful of these could be spotted in St. Armands Circle and were rather neat.


Like I mentioned earlier, we went to the Mote Marine Laboratory and the Ringling Museum. Both were exceptional places that I could have easily spent longer in.

The Mote does a lot of conservation and research for local marine life and ocean health. They recycle most of the water for their aquariums and work locally.

The Mote was a lot of fun; we stopped in for milkshakes at the cafe there and they were great. Something that struck me profoundly was the tank of sharks in their shark lagoon. It was entirely impressive watching the huge animals swimming just beneath my feet. I think more people should learn about how magnificent sharks are and work to conserve these important creatures.

The Ringling Museum is something that can't be done in one day. The first thing we did was visit Mable Ringling's Rose Garden while waiting for our tour of the Cà d'Zan, and it was quite beautiful. There isn't much like the scent of roses and the garden was full of that sweet perfume.

However beautiful the Rose Garden was, I was completely blown away by the sheer elegance and richness of the Cà d'Zan. Being in the Venetian Gothic style, it was like a little slice of Europe perched on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico. I can't even begin to fully capture the experience; all I wanted to do was walk barefoot in the place to feel the cool marbles and stones, and even imagining a day living there was an intoxicating thought.

The history of the place (and the Ringlings) is also a very interesting story; if you ever get the chance just do a little research on them.

This chandelier used to hang in the Empire State Building. How neat!

There simply are not words to describe the grandeur of the place, and I could have spent hours in there just marveling. The Ringlings really gave a gift to Florida by creating this place, and the art museum across the property.

I didn't take any photos in the art museum because I was too much in awe of the mastery of the old painters, however a lot of the paintings were in the Baroque period, and very large scale. My favorite piece was the Blue Madonna by Carlo Dolci. We didn't even see another side of the museum because we started getting tired, but the entire thing was magnificent.

This trip was really awesome and I am looking forwards more than ever to starting school and moving down there! Sarasota is a beautiful place, and if you ever are in the area, shoot me a comment or email and I can let you in on some great foodie places!