We got up quite early as I had a two hour or so drive from Naples to Sarasota. After breakfast we checked out and were soon on the road.

The journey was uneventful, apart from a couple of hold ups with roadworks, and we arrived in Sarasota before lunch.

We parked up outside the hotel and left the car with the valet. A lady came up to us and said that she was leaving to go to the airport. She had a bottle of champagne in a bag and said that she couldn’t take it with her on the plane, and offered it to us. We obviously accepted this random act of kindness.

Even though Art Ovation hotel has a 4pm check in, we were given access to our room, which was a bonus. After sorting our luggage out, we headed out for something to eat.

https://www.artovationhotel.com

Our hotel is in downtown Sarasota, where there are theatres and restaurants, as well as being close to the Marina. We soon found a restaurant called Clásico Italian Chophouse – a restaurant with a long bar, booths and high tops for eating at. The menu had plenty of choices, such as pasta, pizza and burgers, but I had to go for grouper tacos which were lovely. The restaurant was busy and the staff were really helpful and wanted us to be happy.

https://www.clasicosrq.com

Once we’d eaten, we headed towards Sarasota Bayfront. This is a park and marina which is great for walking around. We walked towards Marina Jack Yacht Basin, where there are lots of beautiful yachts and boats. Further down is a restaurant where lots of people were sat eating lunch. I think this would be a great setting for a view of the sunset.

https://www.visitsarasota.com/weddings/bayfront-park

https://www.marinajacks.com/marina/marina-docking-information.html

We headed back to the grassed and paved area, which I learned is called Unconditional Surrender Plaza. Here we saw the iconic statue officially entitled “The Unconditional Surrender” which was created by sculptor Seward Johnson. The inspiration came from the photograph of a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square, New York, on 14th August 1945. This was following the surrendering of Japan that ended World War 2. There are replicas of this statue in other places in the world, such as Normandy in France. We have seen another replica when we visited San Diego in 2022.

We walked further down the edge of Sarasota Bayfront and saw a tour boat which was about to disembark. JC immediately asked if I’d like to go on it, something that I found unusual as he’s not a fan of going on boats. However, we paid and got on the boat just as it was about to leave.

https://lebargetropicalcruises.com/cruises/sightseeing-cruise/

We were on the sightseeing and nature cruise and a young lady called Molly, who has a degree in marine biology, gave us a running commentary of everything that we could see. We passed by Siesta Key, Edward’s Rookery Island, Lido, St Armand and Bird Key to name a few. Some of the properties that we saw were amazing, averaging $15-20 million dollars. These properties are owned by CEOs of big companies such as Exxon and Tropicana. Also, other big stars such as Brian Johnson of AC/DC reside there, and he has a guitar shaped swimming pool.

We found out that he’s made a substantial donation to Sarasota Memorial Hospital for a music therapy center.

https://www.yourobserver.com/news/2014/nov/13/smh-partners-acdc-singer-brian-johnson/

Some of the islands were subject to conservation orders and couldn’t be built on. We saw plenty of different types of bird including osprey, pelicans and buzzards. Sadly it wasn’t a day for seeing dolphins, they were hiding, nor manatees as it’s still too cold for them.

After the two hour cruise we went back to the hotel to make use of the rooftop bar.

There is also a pool up there and it was busy with people sunbathing, swimming or sitting at the bar. We enjoyed the afternoon sunshine and then had to get ready for our meal.

We caught an Uber to the restaurant called Indigenous. This was recommended to us and certainly didn’t disappoint. The menu changes every week so it keeps things interesting. I went for a wild mushroom bisque for a starter, then Uncle’s burger for main. Everything was deliciously cooked. We were offered dessert but I was absolutely stuffed.

We headed back to the hotel where some jazz musicians were playing in the foyer. There was one particular woman who was really busting some moves with her dog. I think she was trying to attract someone’s attention…. Each to their own I suppose! Time for bed.