In February BP needed to travel to Tampa for work. This is one of the few times I actually wanted to accompany him—normally the dairy world often hosts conferences and competitions in exotic locations like the Midwest during the winter season. But Florida? In February?! Sign me up.
I needed to get out of town in the worst way. Between the winter doldrums and grieving, everything felt grey. I needed warmth and the sun on my face and a real burst of color! Tampa provided just that!
[Small side note: because BP flies so much for work, he finally gets perks like airport lounge access and it might be my favorite thing about air travel now! I hate to fly and am normally stressed out sitting at my gate. It’s so nice to have a quiet place to relax and snack and have a little pre-flight libation.]
I’ve never really been to Florida outside of WDW a few times now, and then a trip to the Florida Keys with my Girl Scout Troop way back in the day. I do have a lot of experience just hitting the bricks and exploring a new place, and that is exactly what I did.
During the day, while BP was at his conference, I was on my own. The days were definitely warm and the humidity was at an all time high—early on I had to just make peace with it and accept I was just gonna be damp if I ventured outside.
You know what’s a great way to beat the heat and humidity? A nice cool, air-conditioned museum. Me? I love a museum. Art, history, science, whatever, I have always loved to learn. Art museums are definitely my favorite though. So again, if I’m a new place with time to explore, after securing a proper coffee place, a museum is my next stop.
I managed to get two different museums under my belt—they were both within walking distance of my hotel downtown—and I passed a third but it was a Children’s Museum which is obviously not for me but could be for you!
My first stop was the Tampa Museum of Art. My jaw dropped at the first curated corner. The flying hearts?! Stunning. Then I ascended to the second floor and was bombarded by color and scale and texture everywhere I looked. Each corner held a piece so stunning that it felt like having access to something private and singular and meant only for you. There is great curation at play here.
The second museum? He gleamed from across the river! The Henry B. Plant Museum is an architectural spectacle from the outside and crammed with incredible historical ephemera on the inside. Housed in the former Tampa Bay Hotel, it’s now a part of the University of Tampa’s campus; the museum is open to the public during their listed hours, so you might feel a little awkward just strolling onto campus but you are allowed to be there. Just be cool, Yolanda, be cool.
There’s great eats to be had downtown as well. For coffee? The Nosey Goat. The best Cuban? Cuban Eats. Sal Rosa for the atmosphere and the paella. Peterbrooke for a chocolatey sweet treat.
Tampa’s a fine place to visit for a few days, and I’d happily go back sometime!
A Place For Everything. 