TRAVEL & CULTURE
you can pose with a mustache
sculpture or sit on an oozing green
bench that looks like it came straight
out of a Dalí painting.
International Flavors
“The Dalí has made us a destination
for people from around the world,”
Gammage says. Have dinner at Tryst
Gastro Lounge on Beach Drive, and you
might hear Spanish, French, or Italian
accents coming from nearby tables.
Enjoy the ambience as well as
Tryst’s frequently changing menu that
promises fresh surprises every time
you visit. Order a cocktail, and join
couples lounging beneath umbrellas
at sidewalk tables. (Try the Tryst: Deep
Eddy vodka, muddled strawberry,
raspberry, lemon, and elderflower
liquor.) Relax under the indoor
twinkling light strands. They comple-
ment the illuminated facade of the
Museum of Fine Arts, located just
across the street, where banners
highlight the current exhibit.
It’s a happening spot. Clusters
of diners bustle by to meet friends
at Tryst and other eateries, such as
Red Mesa Cantina just a few blocks
away; locals take their dogs out for
nightly walks; and places like Ocean
Blue Galleries stay open late into the
evening. St. Petersburg seems less like
a typical resort town and more like a
bayside neighborhood where visitors
can take up residence and feel at home,
if only for the weekend.Beautiful Beaches
Despite the city’s charms, the sand
and surf of St. Pete Beach will eventu-
ally lure you away. The flamingo-hued
Don CeSar hotel, known as the Pink
Palace, has been welcoming guests to
this barrier island since the 1920s.
On a perfect day—temps in the low
80s, no humidity, fluttering palms—
it can be tough to find a parking spot
on Gulf Way, which runs along the
beachfront in the historic Pass-a-Grille
neighborhood. The powder-soft white
sand and turquoise-streaked water
are worth enduring a momentary
traffic jam. Across from Eighth and
Ninth Avenues, a happy, banana yellow
hole-in-the-wall called Paradise Grille
serves sunbathers from breakfast untilMORE FLAVORS. SAME SIDES.