After touring the Ringling Mansion, we headed over to the Banyon Cafe to have lunch. The food was good, although a bit pricey.
After lunch, we headed over to the Circus Pavilion.
I decided to drive over, and we all squeezed into this car for the short 20 foot trip over to the door.
It's amazing the amount of workmanship that went into the wagons and train cars!
I can't imagine being shot out of this!
It was amazing to read about the massive undertaking it was to pack everything up and transport it for the mostly one day visit to the towns and cities.
The woodwork was beautiful and I liked the small stained glass arch windows above the larger windows.
There was a work area next to the train car that gave us a hint of what was to come next!
Upon entering the display area, billed as the largest miniature circus in the world, you first walked through the train yards where the circus trains were unloaded. Along the displays, photos and narratives explained the process and the organization of how the circus came to town.
The side show . . .
This was interesting . . . the area housing the restrooms . . .
Love this one!
The left side of the big tent.
The center ring.
The right side . . .
Every seven minutes the lights would dim in the display area, and the lights within the setups would come on to give you a nighttime view.
From a second level, you can look down on the displays.
We were all amazed at the scope of the miniature circus display, and it gave us a glimpse into all that was involved in setting up and tearing down, day after day. Incredible!!!
Louie dropped Linda, Ray and Iz off at my place around noon today and we initially headed down to the Dali Museum. The place was crowded, parking lot full, so we headed over to Ybor.
We went to the visitors' center first and watched the short film about the history of Ybor City and then walked along 7th Avenue up to the Columbia restaurant where we had lunch. The place was busy, but the food and service was great! I had the mahi mahi.
We split the flambe dessert.
Headed back to St. Pete with full tummies. We hung around my apartment until Louie came back after spending the afternoon with his cousin Bobby who is visiting St Pete on vacation. Pete and Joe came over we all walked out together. The gang, to head back to Bradenton, and Pete and Joe and I to head over to the Greek Festival at St. Stefanos for some Greek food and then over to Georgie's to meet Steve and hang out.
What a beautiful day to spend in Sarasota and Bradenton! Ray and Iz are down here visiting for a while and are staying with Linda and Louie in Bradenton. Adele was scheduled to meet up with me here in St. Pete last night and we were going to head down this morning. Adele was not feeling well, so decided rest and recuperating were in her best interests, so I flew solo.
Ray took this picture of me before we went on our tour of the home, Cà d'Zan Mansion.
Don't get wise . . . I'm the one in the picture on the right. That's Mr. Ringling on the left. We saw this picture well after I struck the pose.
The mansion and the grounds were beautiful!
This view is from the back of the mansion, on the Gulf side.
The rose garden. I had a difficult time not snapping pictures of the many different varieties. That will be another post.
This was in the museum display area. "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up."
We went to St. Armands Circle for a refreshing beverage.
I ran into a bunch of old cronies there! What a small world!
Circus folk.
Uncle Freddie joined us for a delicious meal prepared by Louie. Louie and Uncle Fred had spent the day golfing.
I took tons of photos of the mansion and in the museum . . . all to be in another post.
A friend on facebook posted this pic of his new puppy. How cute is that?!!!
Went for a nice walk on Monday. Just some random shots from my cell phone.
New sand construction at the North Shore Beach.
Been hoping to try this little cafe, but I never seem to find it open. . .
