San Sebastian Winery- St. Augustine, Fl

So it has been a while since I updated and I apologize for that but I have been working a lot.

My last post on St. Augustine will be about a wine tasting. Just outside the historic district is a distillery. It is free for a tour and wine tasting, given that you are of age, of course. They had periodic tours and a movie about the distilling process is first shown and then a mini tour of the location with the final stop being the tasting. We tasted about 10 different wines, port and sherry. I can see why it is a free tour because after the tasting you want to buy at least half the flavours. My mom and I ended up buying 2 bottles of port, a sherry and a red wine. All were the most delicious of all the samples.

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St. Augustine - Fountain of Youth Part 2

Since the site is an archaeological site important to both European and Native American history, there is a mix of the two in the park. The front of the site is dedicated to the 'Fountain of Youth' and the lifestyle of the Timucuan Indians at the time of the Spaniards initial landing. Towards the back of the site, there is evidence of the excavation and the location of where the Spaniards had set up camp.

A canoe

The Timucuan village.

 Excavations of the area showed evidence about the lifestyles of the inhabitants. Archaeologists were able to tell which wood was used in the making of the huts, and how far apart they were by the stains left behind.

 This area is a reproduction of the original site.

This is the location of where the Spaniards had set up camp. Not too far from the Timucuan village.

The original location of  the mission of Nombre de Dios. This, of course, is a reproduction.

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St. Augustine - Fountain of Youth Part1

No trip to St. Augustine is complete without a visit to the Fountain of Youth. One of the main reasons Ponce de Leon first came to Florida, to search for this legendary spring that has been recounted in many legends for thousands of years. I first visited the site when I was 14, and I drank a cup of the 'miraculous' spring waters.  I no longer look adolescent -Thank the Lord - it is safe to say that the mythical Fountain of Youth is still undiscovered.

Anyways, the site is where the Spanish first landed in Florida, and where they came in contact with the Timucuan tribe. The site has been subject to archaeological excavations, these excavations found positive evidence that the park is the location of the 1565 Spanish settlement -St. Augustine. The Europeans came to find the fabled Fountain of Youth, and they never left. 

Peacocks roam free in these lands.

A look into the past

The excavations artifacts

Inside that little cup was a parchment written in Old Spanish. This is a photograph of said parchment. It says: "Sepase por esto que yo, Alonzo Soriano, vecino y residente del Brillar subscribo y certifico que estuve presente al principio de la fundacion, la cual es la religion, y es con la salida y la puesta del Sol. Por orden de la Real Corona de Aragon hizo su descripcion al Manantial el cual es bueno y dulce al gusto. Era en el ano 1513"

The 'miraculous' spring- it was salty. The the employee said something about sulfur. I am not too sure anymore. I wrote it down but cannot find that paper. 

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St. Augustine, Fl: Our Lady de La Leche at El Nombre de Dios Mission

There is no charge to visit this site but you can leave a donation. It is a shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary and this site is the birthplace of Christianity in the New World. The location of the shrine is known as 'the sacred acre'. Many expectant and hopeful mothers make the pilgrimage to this site to ask for the blessings of Mother Mary to conceive or to bless their unborn child. A prominent feature is the Great Cross that was erected to proclaim that this site is indeed where Christianity came to the New World; there is portion on site where there is a rustic altar built to show where the first mass in the New World took place (according to archaeological finds). On site there is also devotional statues to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the Seven Sorrows of Mary, and the Stations of the Cross.

The Great Cross

This is a memorial dedicates to Father Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales (what a mouthful). He was the chaplain on Pedro Menendez's expedition and the founding pastor of the St. Augustine parish. He celebrated the first Mass in this new colony on September 8, 1565. (A paraphrasing of the sign on the left.)

One of the many shrines on site

The sign says: 

"Following the civil war, the Sisters of St. Joseph came to St. Augustine to teach the liberated slaves. Interred in this holy ground are 6 members of their congregation".

The chapel to Our Lady de La Leche

The Rustic Altar where the first mass was held

The believed remains of a religious monument dates to the mid-1800's. Was discovered in 2009

The coffin of Menendez

What a strapping lad this Menendez was back in the day.

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Castillo De San Marcos Parte 2! I try to be funny and snarky- hashtag edition

Some of the more glamorous shots I took of the fort.

The Spanish crest on a cannon, go Spain. Putting your crest on everything is like monogramming it. Good for you. #southern #preppy #spanishcrest

It's a doorway that was cemented up. So sad, perhaps it was another entrance into Narnia.

So 4 people slept in this bunk bed and everything they owned was put on the hooks and in that drawer space. #cuddlebuddy #bros4life #militarylife

El Necesario. The Necessary. The Bathroom. The Restroom. 

Call it whatever suits your fancy but this is where the occupants of the fort went to empty their bladders and bowels.

Looking out into the bay #gorgeous #nofilter

An inside look at the fort, so spacious and I love the inner yard

Looking out into the bay. I love the sky #blue #ocean #travel

A shot looking out from the second story of the fort looking into Historic St. Augustine. #florida #sunny #st.augustine #cannon

This was taken outside of the fort, a photo of the moat area and you can also see historic St. Augustine in this shot.

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