A day well spent in downtown Tampa.

Beau and I decided to take a day off and head to downtown Tampa with the specific goal of grabbing breakfast at the Oxford Exchange and we ended up checking out Ybor City as well!

The Oxford Exchange (OE)

If you don't know what the Oxford Exchange is, its basically a mix of a bookstore and restaurant and it is super cool! We were terrible at taking pictures of anything other then our food, so I will link a descriptive website here so you can check out just how beautiful the OE is! The architecture/design made me think of an old London library from the late 1800s, very beautiful!

The Oxford Exchange's food was absolutely divine! We went for a late breakfast and decided to split 2 breakfast items- the smoked salmon bagel and the cinnamon roll. The salmon bagel was unlike anything I have ever tried, the flavors fit together so well and every bite just practically melted in my mouth! The smoked salmon was on an everything bagel topped with a chive crème, pickled red onions, and fennel salad. The cinnamon roll had a warm cream cheese glaze, topped with fresh strawberries and paired very well with the Cortado (A traditional Spanish coffee drink of espresso cut with warm milk). Overall it was a great experience and the atmosphere of the OE was incredible! As I mentioned before, it was very busy, so plan accordingly and make a reservation if you ever decide to check it out!

Some of the delicious food we tried:

The Smoked Salmon Bagel

The Cinnamon Roll topped with fresh strawberries

The Cortado

Ybor City

After breakfast at the OE, we decided to head over to Ybor City, which is a historical district known for its heavy Cuban influence and cigar factories. We checked out the J.C. Newman cigar factory which was pretty sweet. It has a free self guided tour and you can even see people hand rolling cigars just like they did back in the day!

After the cigar factory we walked around 7th avenue which has a ton of cool local shops and businesses and we got to hit up The Blind Tiger to try some of their Cuban coffee, which did not disappoint! Then we walked around the Centennial Park and got to see a bunch of free range chickens that are protected by the City of Ybor. Seeing those chickens walking around on the streets really makes you feel like you're in Cuba or Key West!

7th Ave with a Cuban Coffee from The Blind Tiger

A rooster strutting around the Centennial Park in Ybor City

Overall, this day was pretty amazing and it was cool to play tourist in a city that is in our backyard! Beau and I are definitely trying to get out to explore more places and cities near us, instead of always wishing to travel to other states and countries! We are so lucky to live where we do and we never want to take it for granted!

Thanks for reading and we hope that this post encouraged you to get out and explore your hometown!