St Augustine - Fountain of Youth and the Cathedral - Orlando / Florida Guide
Florida Guide > Travelling
We seem to have got “the bug” for St Augustine the same as we did for Orlando over 20 years ago. No matter how many times we visit we always find new places to explore in depth as well as new restaurants to eat at.
On a recent visit we decided to enjoy a day visiting the Fountain of Youth and the Cathedral of St Augustine. As ever on our travels around the city we used our 3 day trolley bus pass which enables us to hop on and hop off the bus at our leisure.
We had stopped of for drinks and a snack before at the Fountain of Youth which has a nice outdoor café by the Trolley stop however you have to be prepared to feed the local visitors – the squirrels and peacocks! Keeping guard here is a historic Spanish soldier.
The Fountain of Youth is a 15 acre historical site where Pedro Menéndez de Aviles founded the oldest European settlement in 1565. Florida had been discovered by the Spanish although Indians had been settled here for several thousand years before.
When you arrive before you enter the park through the garden entrance you will see a plaque giving you the history of the Park as well as a banner explaining what you can see, walk through and how you can drink from the Fountain of Youth which is supposed to keep you eternally youthful!
If you do go to St Augustine be sure to visit the Fountain of Youth you will learn so much about the city and be sure not to miss the live cannon firing.
When our visit to the Fountain of Youth had finished after a cold drink in the café we hopped back on the bus to go to the Cathedral.
We are not really religious people but we found the cathedral to be so inspiring. It was founded in the 1500s but like many other buildings it suffered at the hands of many invaders including Sir Frances Drake. However its parishioners were steadfast with mass continuing to be celebrated in their homes or even in the hospital.
No matter what adversities it suffered the locals always seemed to manage to resurrect their church with it undergoing its latest refurbishment in 1965 and in the 70s it was named as a National Historic Landmark.
The Cathedral is really beautiful so much to see and appreciate inside and so very peaceful. If you do go to visit it be sure to look in at the cathedral shop before you leave.
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