Fun with Friends

Our friends from Nashville, Micki and Michelle, are spending a long weekend at the Hilton on Longboat Key, Florida to celebrate Michelle’s birthday, and we decided to join them for a couple of days. Hanging with them always means good food, fine wine, and lots of laughs.

On Saturday, we went into Sarasota and toured Ca’ d’Zan, a Venetian mansion which was the winter home of the American circus owner, developer and art collector John Ringling and his wife Mable. It was quite amazing.

Also on the grounds, is the Ringling Circus Museum. I’m not really a fan of the circus, but I did find the artifacts and history of the circus in America to be fascinating.  We didn’t have time to visit the art museum, in which the most celebrated items are 16th-20th-century European paintings, including a world-renowned collection of Peter Paul Rubens paintings. We will have to return next year.

Last night the four of us drove a short distance to Siesta Key to visit Micki’s cousin and his wife. We had a fabulous dinner with them at Miguel's Restaurant . The waiter made the Caesar salad tableside, and it was to die for! To celebrate Michele’s birthday, we shared a giant…and I mean giant…snifter of Licor 43. What fun!

As our friends are getting ready to go back to Nashville, we are lucky enough to continue our Florida trip in Indian Rocks Beach, where we will spend time in a beachfront home we’ve rented. Let the merriment continue!