The Adventures of Monk's Vineyard - The Great Loop and Beyond: December 9, Day 179

We slept in late this morning and then had a very leisurely breakfast. It felt good to do nothing. We both agreed that we felt much better today and that our minds were somewhat functional.

Having done the Greek part of Tarpon Springs yesterday, we decided that today we would visit the historic downtown part. There was supposedly a trolley you could take, but when we went to check it out, we were told it was no longer running. Just by chance, there was a taxi driver in chatting with the dockmaster and he said he was available, so we jumped in his cab and off we went. It really wasn’t that far … only $4 for the taxi. This part of Tarpon Springs has old historic homes, shops, and many restaurants. It was a very pleasant walk down Tarpon Avenue. We checked at the Railroad museum visitor’s center and while there asked for a lunch recommendation. We were told about a place called Zante’s. www.zantecafe.com This proved to be a very unique place. The owner and chef was a native of New Orleans, but met his Greek wife in California. She was dressing the stars at Ferrichi of Beverly Hills and he was preparing 5 star meals for them at the exclusive French restaurant L’Orangerie. Through a variety of events they ended up in Tarpon Springs where they opened up Zante Cafeneo. They offer Cajun, Greek, Creole, Italian and French cuisine. You sit at antique tables amidst all manner of antiques and more stuff than you can imagine. And to top it off, the food was great. Everything is cooked to order, so it definitely takes time, but we’d recommend it to anyone for a truly unique experience.

Based on more of the maps and information we’d received at the visitor’s center, Gerry charted out a route for us to walk that took us through older neighborhoods, to new condo complexes on the canal systems where we got information and a tour of a model condo (maybe a condo in Tarpon Springs would be a nice winter home) and a walk around Tarpon, Spring and Whitcomb Bayous. It was a very pleasant afternoon.

We ended up back at the boat around sunset. There was a threat of rain, but it never happened. The weather today was delightful … in the low 80’s and a nice breeze. I think we’ve finally found summer.