Tampa: From the Air and On the Ground
Two of the things I love to do when I visit a new city or town, is to one: see that town from air. And two: if the city has a local winery, I like to take a tour and enjoy the tastings. The “seeing the city from the air” thing, I think has to do with the fact that I love to know just where I am. I like to see the whole of the city, so I can picture it in my head while I am on the ground. I guess it makes me feel not so lost. And the winery fascination stems from many years of working in the restaurant industry, and learning about wines from all over the world.
So when we first pulled into Tampa, Florida I set about to find those two things. I asked the front desk clerk at the smaller beach hotel we checked into, for his suggestion on getting into the sky. Sometimes, that view is provided by flying into the city. Other times it has been helicopter tours, or simply the view from the top of a very tall building or mountain…like the Empire State building in Manhattan or the view of Los Angeles from the Getty Museum.
He suggestion a company that gives hot air balloon rides, Celebration Aviation. That was cool, as I had yet to be up in a balloon. We booked a “flight” for the next day. The view of the city and the coastline of Tampa was amazing. It was a bit scary to be in the small basket, but it was worth it. It is a great way to get some aerial photographs, and was the perfect way to get my bearings once we were back on the ground.
The next day we took a drive to the Florida Estates Winery. The atmosphere was very casual and they had a wide selection of wines, from the less expensive to the finer wines it was all so very beautiful. The tables were set outside in a grove of Oak trees, overlooking the large working plantation. Both the balloon ride and the winery were extremely peaceful ways to learn just a little bit more about the city and the people of Tampa Bay, Florida.
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