As this pandemic worsens, we still plan not to travel for the foreseeable future, but try to visit places near us, as long as we can avoid the crowds.

Recently, to follow my advice, my husband decided on a whim to take us to Tarpon Springs, which is a little over 30 minutes away by car. It has been recommended to us by our local friends, and I also had it saved on my list to visit when the weather is more bearable.

If you’ve never heard of it, Tarpon Springs is a city on Florida’s West Coast, along the Gulf of Mexico, just above the Tampa Bay area. It’s famous for its Greek population, said to have the highest number of Greek Americans than anywhere else in the US. It is where they immigrated and settled in the early 1900s as they became sea sponge divers.

The city is, in fact, famous for sea sponges; to this day, the sea sponge industry is still active here, though it is not as large as it used to be. You can find sea sponges in just about every shop, especially on Dodecanese Boulevard, the main street in The Sponge District, which is packed with Greek shops and restaurants by the water and is a gorgeous place for strolling.

We arrived there midday, and didn’t have a lot of time to explore, but managed to visit the charming downtown (Tarpon Avenue) that is full of antique shops, and where The Tarpon Springs Historic Train Depot is located. The Train Depot is free of charge to visit, however, we skipped it for obvious reasons, and added it to the list for a future visit.

Just around the corner is Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral, the first and original Greek Orthodox Christian Parish in the Tampa Bay area. The interior is gorgeous, however, the church is closed on Saturday, and so, we were unable to see it ourselves. The building is massive, and we plan on returning to visit it at a later time.

We also managed to visit Craig Park, located aside from Spring Bayou, which houses a gorgeous bronze mermaid statue - Ama of Tarpon Springs. After strolling for a few minutes, admiring the mansions lined across the bayou, and amusing ourselves by watching dogs chasing squirrels, we headed towards the Sponge Docks.

The weather was divine, and we strolled leisurely along the water, admiring the Christmas tree and decorations.

We were tempted by the restaurants (Greek food is one of our very favorites), but decided against it, as we don’t feel safe eating out, and didn’t have time to wait for takeout. Either way, towards the afternoon and early evening when we decided to leave, the street and restaurants were hopping.

We did not pay attention to the restaurants however, noticed that stores required face masks upon entry, many displaying “no entry without a mask” signs. Tarpon Springs is part of Pinellas County which currently has a mask mandate for public indoor spaces.

Overall, we decided that Tarpon Springs was worthy of visiting, and will definitely go back often to explore more of it, especially since it’s close to us. There are several museums we want to visit, not to mention indulging in authentic Greek restaurants, once we feel safe to do so.

Have you ever visited this city?

Until next time.

xoxo,

Em