Sunken Gardens, St. Pete, Fla.

While in Florida, Chris and I made a trip to St. Petersburg to see the Salvador Dali Museum, the downtown district and Sunken Gardens.

Since the Dali Museum is only $5 on Thursday evenings, we decided to head to St. Pete later in the day. (Regular admission is $17.) Taking advantage of the discount, however, meant we were joined by a bunch of other cheapskates, so it was loud and crowded. Not the best viewing atmosphere, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

My favorite Dali pieces were the jewelry and silverware. I thought I'd enjoy the paintings more, but fell in love with his other work. The exhibit was "Dali: Gems" and featured pieces selected by "celebrated friends of the Dali," a.k.a. famous celebrities such as Susan Sarandon and Alice Cooper.

There was also an "Alice in Wonderland" exhibit of water colors. I wondered if it was on display because of the new Tim Burton movie, but nothing indicated that it was.

I picked up a set of salt and pepper shakers in the shape of the melting clock in "The Persistence of Memory" as a gift for my grandma. Chris didn't think she'd know what it was — and she didn't. She thought it was a shoe. But who else will ever go to the Dali Museum and bring her back a new set for her collection? (Note: To be fair, I also got her a more conventional set in Savannah.)

I was tempted to buy one of the silk scarves that have various Dali paintings on them, but resisted.

Before stopping by the museum, we walked around downtown and grabbed a bite to eat. The streets weren't busy while we were in the city, though it was a workday afternoon. I was amazed there wasn't more traffic. In fact, I wondered where everybody was.

It also sounded like a drag race was happening near downtown too. It appears, following a link from the city's website, the Honda Grand Prix was held the day after we were there. I guess drivers were practicing?

Chris wanted to check out Sunken Gardens, a botanical garden created by a plumber in the1920s in the middle of the city. St. Pete now owns and operates it. So we headed there after supper and before visiting the Dali.

I loved walking around trying to memorize the different types of palm trees throughout the walled garden, checking out the koi fish and birds (including flamingos and parrots), and checking out the tropical plants, flowers and bromeliads.

My favorite palm is the triangle palm:

Here's an overview shot of the garden. Pretty, huh?

And, here's some shots of flowers. The last is a powder puff tree bloom: