Day Trip - Tarpon Springs

 

A REAL RETIRED HOUSEWIFE OF FLORIDA hits the road for a day trip

 

 

Brian and I continued our exploration of Florida by spending a day in Tarpon Springs, a quaint town on the west coast of Florida, north of Tampa.  It is a destination with lots of culture and great food.  This city is known for the sponge industry and a strong Greek community.

 

It's a perfect day trip...less than 2 hours from home.  When we got there, we took a quick drive down Dodecanese Blvd., parked the car and set out on foot to browse the shops and see our options for food.  You can feel the Greek influence in the colors (white and blue), the food and the architecture.

 

After strolling up and down the boulevard, Brian and I had a good idea of what we wanted to buy (sponges) and what we wanted to eat (Greek food).  It was hard to pass up the pastries before lunch...but good thing we were strong.

 

We ate at Mykonos.  Brian got Pastitsio and I got my standby, Gyro.  Pastitsio is ground beef and macaroni with a cream topping.  It is similar to Mousaka, which has eggplant and potato instead of the pasta.  The cream sauce is a bechamel sauce with a hint of nutmeg.  I called it Greek Mac 'n Cheese...delish!  Both meals were great and very plentiful.  We brought half of each home for later.

 

 

Next time I will order the Saganaki, flaming cheese.  It was fun watching the servers ignite the cheese and then douse the flames by squeezing lemon juice over the top.

 

 

Even though we only ate half of our meals, we were too full for dessert right away.  So we cruised through the shops again.  I wanted some natural sponges.  The problem wasn't finding a sponge..it was so many sponges, so many choices.

 

 

We couldn't leave without dessert.  We stopped at Hellas Bakery for some baklava and coffee.  Anyone who knows Brian and me, knows we love our coffee...bold coffee, Starbucks coffee, cappuccino, latte...you name it.  In Key West, we had the best Cafe con Leche...I still dream about it.  So, it caught my attention when I saw "Greek Coffee". 

 

 

Good thing I asked what it was.  It is espresso with the GROUNDS left in.  You let the grounds settle to the bottom and sip the top.   We passed on that one.

 

 

After dessert, we gathered up our packages and headed home.  Another interesting adventure for A REAL RETIRED HOUSEWIFE OF FLORIDA.