FLORIDA
TAKE IT EASY Clockwise from top: Old Bay Café, Dunedin; pool, The Hiatus Clearwater Beach
day to visit Honeymoon Island State Park - renowned for shelling, snorkelling and four-miles of sun- drenched white sand. And a final day to visit Caladesi Island. Only accessible by ferry, Caladesi is where to find nature trails, a three-mile kayak route through mangroves, and that castaway feeling of being on a truly pristine beach far away from the crowds. The food throughout our trip, as you’d expect when eating within eye sight of the sea, was fresh and delicious. Try Crabby’s on the beach for fried grouper sandwiches, and lunchtime cocktails. Beachcomber is the place for desert: picture a giant chocolate marshmallow
crossed with a volcano. And our favourite? The rooftop Ocean Seven restaurant at our hotel, The Hiatus Clearwater Beach – best tuna steak I’ve ever had - and even better was the happy hour on its outdoor terrace: champagne and sunsets overlooking the sea (you might want to get a babysitter). On our last day we headed 40 minutes south to downtown St. Pete, and the most surprising highlight of our trip. Located in the heart of the waterfront district, the Dali Museum houses the largest collection of the artist’s works outside of Spain; more than 2,000 pieces in total, showcasing the evolution of his art from sketches as a 14-year-old boy all the way through to the end of his life. I wasn’t sure how the kids would respond, but something in the dreamlike imagination of Dali’s
surrealism captured them immediately. “They’re questioning things,” Beth Bell, the museum’s Chief Marketing Office said. “And that’s what Dali’s artwork asks us to do. He shows you one thing, and then you look at it a second time, and see something else.” Dali was known for his has pushed the boundaries even further. When a selection of his ‘masterworks’ – the largest, and most famous, of his paintings – are viewed through a phone Augmented Reality animates different elements, peeling them back layer-by- layer to reveal their hidden depths: the woman staring out the window dives into pool; a ship sails into the foreground; geometric shapes emerge liberated style, and through new technology the museum
“DUNEDIN HAS MORE OF A HOMETOWN FEEL”
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