Friends, Cigars, and Guns in Tampa

Spent a few days in Tampa, FL with a college friend of Nicole's, and his lovely wife. Lee and Sarah Nelson were more than hospitable. They gave us our own separate rooms in their newly purchased home, drove us around to see the sights, and made us home cooked food. The first night, Lee grilled us up some spicy sausage, thin sliced eggplant, and fresh peppers handpicked from the local farmers' market, but only after introducing us to a local speciality, boiled peanuts. We had been warned previously, by other friends, that we probably wouldn't like them, but that's never stopped us from trying anything! These ones were boiled for 24 hours with green chillies and hot peppers. They were still hot, more like beans than peanuts, and we thought they were delicious.

The second night, Lee drove us into historic Ybor City, explaining the fascinating history along the way:

"Today, a walk down 7th Avenue is truly a walk through the history of Ybor City. Now known as Tampa's National Historic Landmark District, Ybor City in the 1880s was a melting pot of immigrants from Spain, Cuba, Germany and Italy and home to some of the world's most famous cigar factories. In the history of Ybor City, most early Ybor residents made their living from cigar making, while the occupations of many other workers revolved around the cigar trade. Known for its unique collection of mutual-aid societies and multiethnic population, Ybor remained the Cigar Capitol of the World until the 1930s. In 2008, 7th Avenue, the main commercial thoroughfare in Ybor City, was recognized as one of the "10 Great Streets in America" by the American Planning Association."

There is much more worth researching about Ybor City, and it is definitely an awesome place to visit.

Our first stop was dinner and a flamenco show at Columbia Restaurant, an institution in the area since 1905. The food was traditional Latin American, Cuban, and Spanish fare. We had "Ropa Vieja", originally introduced to Cuba by Spanish sailors and meaning "old clothes" because the choice beef is shredded, sauteéd and simmered with onions, green peppers and tomatoes, and also, seafood paella. We shared a bottle of house wine, specifically made for the restaurant. The female flamenco dancers were fantastic, colorful and powerful. The one male dancer of the troupe, not so impressive, but the whole thing was definitely entertaining.

Grabbed a few beers under the Ybor City sign in Muvico Plaza, wandered up and down 7th Ave and then stopped in to Ybor Cigars Plus for Cuban coffee. It's always fun to watch cigars being hand rolled, and we asked Lee to pick us out a good one from the humidor room. (He was just getting over an ear infection and couldn't share it with us!) Nicole had never really smoked a cigar before, but Lee gave some great tips and helped us light it up. The Cuban coffee was strong and robust, and the cigar was mild and sweet. We listened to a Cuban band and watched couples come in from the street to dance salsa. Had a few mojitos before wandering some more and calling it a night. Mary Lou woke up in the morning wondering what the hell that taste was in her mouth, before remembering the cigar.

The next day, Lee took us to the Shoot Straight gun range to try out our shotgun. Yes, our shotgun. Yee-haw!!

Click here for photos!