Yesterday a friend and I went to St. Augustine. I love historical places and always wanted to go there. The city was founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers. We went to see several historical places in the city. Because St. Augustine claims to be the oldest city in the U.S., there are several oldest structures in the city. The Castillo de San Marcos - the oldest masonry fort in the U.S. , the oldest Catholic parish and the church, the oldest street in the country, the oldest house and the oldest wooden schoolhouse in the country are among them.
We avoided highways as much as possible, and chose scenic routes. It added more than an hour each way, but there was no traffic and we enjoyed the scenery. I packed breakfast, snacks and water, so we didn't have to stop to buy food. We were there by 8.45 am and first stopped by the information center. There are trolley tours that you can get on and off, but we decided to walk. We got a map and walked to the Castillo de San Marcos. We first walked around the fort, as it was a beautiful morning with cool ocean breeze.
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| Castillo de San Marcos |
Then we bought tickets and went inside. According to the National Park Service website, "The Castillo is one of only two fortifications in the world built out of a semi-rare form of limestone called coquina" The walls are so thick and there are places where you can still see graffiti done by soldiers who occupied the fort hundreds years ago.
We also visited the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine . It's congregation is the oldest Christian congregation in the U.S.
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| The Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine . |
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| The oldest street in the country. |
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| The oldest house. |
After visiting several places, we bought fish and chips for lunch. Our last stop was the oldest school house.
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| The oldest wooden schoolhouse. The teacher lived upstairs. |
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| Inside the schoolhouse. |
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As you can see from 1872 Rules for Teachers, the life of a teacher back then was not easy. They were supposed to clean chimneys, fill lamps and fetch coal. According to these rules "Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting purposes, or two evenings a week if they go to church regularly" while "Women teachers who marry or engage in unseemly conduct will be dismissed". And according to rule 8, they were not supposed to get shaved in a barber shop, because it would give good reason to suspect his worth, intention, integrity and honesty. 😄
I love history, but I sure am glad that I don't live in that era. Not that I think my conduct is unseemly, ha ha.
There were many places we couldn't visit because we were not planning to stay overnight. We spent a little over $90 for everything, including gas, parking, lunch and admission fees. I'd like to go there again, because it is a beautiful city with a lot of history.
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Nil
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Nil
What fun! I love historical places too 😊
ReplyDeleteIt was fun. I always like to picture how people must have lived back then in those buildings. :)
DeleteOh, St. Augustine is such a beautiful city. I love the little schoolhouse and the teacher's rules to live by. So glad you were able to go, Nil.
ReplyDeleteThe school house was one of my favorites too. These are from 1872, and I wonder how strict the rules must have been before that time. There's a sensible one regarding saving money for the old age.
DeleteI love the dunce cap! Such a lovely painting. It looks like a charming place. You certainly did it frugally. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThose were wax figures, Stephanie. There is also a small kitchen next to the school house. Perhaps students were given a meal during school hours.
DeleteHow fascinating, Nil. I love historical places. My mum was a teacher in the 1930s and she couldn't continue teaching when she married. Same with nursing I believe. Times have changed.
ReplyDeleteWow, I wonder when that rule changed. I've read that until 1970s women couldn't get credit cards without husband's permission.
DeleteThe old schoolhouse is fascinating, I'm not so sure about those rules though! X
ReplyDeleteHaha I know. I wonder why weren't they allowed to go to barbershops. That's a funny one.
DeleteI lived in Florida for a very short time back in the late 70s and drove past the fort, once, but didn't stop for a visit. My mother, who had been a teacher, would have loved to have seen that set of rules! LOL. Thank you for sharing your tour with us.
ReplyDeleteIt's beautiful place. The city has preserved most historical places and maintains them well.
DeleteThere are several very strange rules on that list. :)
Gosh, I wonder what was so terrible about going to a barbershop. It sure is a lovely place. If the two of you spent 90 dollars on your day trip and saw all that, then that's a pretty good deal!
ReplyDeleteWe were able to avoid many tourist traps. Though I did buy a fridge magnet for $5. 😊
ReplyDeleteI had a good chuckle at those rules! I am a teacher (I just do relief teaching at present) and very glad I'm not cleaning chimneys. I do think that one about putting a little aside from each pay is good advice though:) Meg
ReplyDeleteYes, the rule about saving money makes sense. :)
DeleteMe too like to visit many places. Beautiful to see the historical place. The old school house looks amazing!
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