charmed by St. Auggie........from P

Pop quiz: What is the oldest city in the U.S.? The city with the oldest Catholic Parish in the U.S.? The city with the only military fort never conquered even after 5 full assaults and numerous sieges? The city with the most pubs per square mile? I already gave away the answer - St. Augustine of course. This is our new favorite city. It is impossible to walk more than a block without stopping and reading a historical marker. The place was first settled by the Spanish conquistadores in 1565 - that's 42 years prior to the Godspeed, Susan Constant and Discovery setting sail. The big brick pavers you stroll on were actually used for ship ballast on the trips over from Spain. The town is now one big living museum packed with people strolling the decorated streets and frequenting the quirky shops. The combination of narrow alley-streets, gas torch lights, odd buildings (we had a beer in a pub built up in the boughs of a live oak tree), and remnants of ancient fortifications all give the feeling of a haunted party town. We looked in the brochure for guided tours and quickly decided on the guided Pub Crawl. Great decision! Our guide described the city as having many layers - literally and figuratively. Each construction project turns up an old grave or some 17th century artifact. Each conversation turns up another connection to the past. We attended mass at the oldest parish in the country (Cathedral-Basilica of St. Augustine) and, like our ancestors, took a moment to give thanks that we stopped here!

Let's check out this street

Old marketplace

The Castillo de San Marcos

This respectable looking place was the old speakeasy for the local officials during prohibition

Guarding the shop. He must have gone on the pub crawl.