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School Psychology Program -
New Student Guide
THINGS TO DO
WHEN YOU MOVE HERE
Places
to Hang Out
Shopping
Recommended Restaurants
Working Out/Outdoor Activities
Places
to Hang Out
1) The Beach--Clearwater and St. Pete beaches are the closest beaches. Both are about 40 minutes from campus. Tampa itself does not have any beaches. Check out Clearwater if you like a "loud" beach; St. Pete if
you like a "quiet" beach. Also
lots of beaches in between the two: Indian
Rocks, Treasure Island, Madeira Beach, etc. Bring sunscreen and an umbrella if you have one. It gets hot! Also check out
Ft. Desoto Park in South St. Pete
and Sarasota some time.
2) Hyde Park--upscale shopping, restaurants, movies, and bars. Great
date location for dinner and drinks or movies. There are also a few dance
places down there that are a little more upscale.
3) Ybor City--lots of clubs and restaurants and historic museums; can
be dangerous late at night, so plan to bring a companion
. FYI -
the majority of the dance clubs in Ybor allow 18 and over, so the crowds get
pretty rowdy. In Ybor City -there is a section called Centro Ybor that has nicer restaurants, a nicer arcade (similar to Dave and Busters), an Improv comedy club, and some shops such as Urban Outfitters and the Metropolitan
Store.
4) Brandon Town Centre--good casual mall about 20 minutes from campus; Brandon is
a small town right outside of Tampa (might consider living here too)
5) Busch Gardens, Adventure Island--amusement parks (Adventure Island is
actually a water park); Busch Gardens is about $50 per person; Adventure Island
is around $25. Look for reduced
admission coupons at local fast food restaurants or on tourist maps!
6) Florida Aquarium--new aquarium; lots of fish!
Located in Downtown next to Channeside.
7) Lowry Park Zoo--white tigers, alligators; if it's an animal, it's likely
to be here
8) Museum of Science and Industry--right across the street from campus; has
lots of hands-on exhibits and an IMAX Theater (which we don't recommend if you
suffer from motion sickness as it is a dome)
9) Gasparilla and Guavaween--Ask somebody when you get here; too weird to be
described in the New Student Guide. The gist of what they are is Tampa's
version of Mardi Gras - one in the fall and the other in the spring.
10) USF Football Games--if you like cheering for the underdog; most of the
professors and their families attend - it's really quite fun! You can get ticket
information at the USF Sun Dome.
11) International Plaza and Bay Street—New mall and outdoor restaurants in
South Tampa. Mall includes
Nordstrom’s, Neiman Marcus, and other upscale stores. Great place to browse if nothing else. Bay Street is attached to the mall and has a lot of nice outdoor restaurants that offer a variety of
different types of foods in a variety of price ranges. Fun
place to hang out, drink coffee, and people watch.
12) Riverfront
Park-USF—Located approximately 1.5 miles east of the campus,
Riverfront Park offers a range of outdoor activities from canoeing and kayaking,
a challenging ropes course, and excellent picnic facilities. You can actually
get up close to the river wildlife (e.g., alligators, turtles, birds, fish) if
you take out a canoe or kayak.
13) Salvador Dali Museum - Its a great museum
in downtown St. Petersburg. They change their exhibit about once every 2
months, so you can keep going back and see totally different works of art.
You will get in for free with your USF ID. Normal admission is
something like $20. If you go with a friend, they have military and
student discounts (for non-USF students). When you get to the museum, they
give "complimentary" tours all day long that give the history of Dali
and the context of his artwork.
14) Baywalk - Its a shopping/restaurant area
in downtown St. Petersburg. Its a few blocks from St. Petersburg
pier. Here's the website for more details.
15) Channelside - In downtown Tampa next to the aquarium. Has a bunch of restaurants & bars that are a little more touristy. Just to give you some idea: there's Splittsvillve - a martini lounge/bar that has single bowling lanes in it. Not your typical bowling alley, considering you can bowl while drinking martinis and eating sushi. Another fun place to go in Channelside is Howl at the Moon. Its a dueling piano bar where everyone drinks a lot and sings along to songs like Piano Man.
16) The St. Pete Times Forum - Gets good concerts and you can go to Tampa Bay Lightning games (hockey). It's next to Channelside.
17) Going to the movies: if you are in North
Tampa, by USF - there is a really nice theater called Muvico on Bruce B.
Downs. If you're into independent films, there are two places to go that
we're aware of: Madstone Theaters in Old Hyde Park Village
and the Tampa Theater located in downtown.
There is also a Muvico in Ybor City. Channelside has an IMAX
theater. There are also movie theaters in Brandon near the mall, and in South Tampa in the Westshore Plaza mall.
18) Baseball Spring Training: if you're into
baseball, the Yankees train at Legends Field, directly across from Raymond James
Stadium, where the Bucs play football. Its right in Tampa on Dale Mabry
Hwy. Then a ton of other MLB teams train in Clearwater.
There are also more museums in Tampa and St.
Petersburg. In addition, if you like going to the theater, Tampa
Performing Arts center occasionally has ballets, opera, and traveling Broadway
shows.
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Restaurants
We listed restaurants by location.
To make it faster, you can click on one of these links, and
it will take you to the listings in that neighborhood.
Near
School
New
Tampa/Tampa Palms
Hyde
Park/Soho
Downtown/Channelside
MacDill
Ave
Ybor
City
Carrollwood
Brandon
Bay
Street/International Plaza Mall area
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Near School
Just
a note: most of these places are
off of Fowler Ave or 30th Street, which is an extension of Bruce B.
Downs.
Jason’s
Deli: on corner of Fowler and 30th Street. Same strip mall as
Kash-n-Karry. A lot of us go
there for lunch. They have a big
salad bar, good soup selection, and a nice selection of sandwiches and wraps. You can also get a half a sandwich/wrap.
Taj: Indian restaurant on the corner of Fowler and 30th Street in
the Kash-n-Karry strip mall. Has
good lunch buffet.
La
Cocina: casual Cuban food. On the corner of 30th st. & Fowler in the Kash-n-Karry
strip mall.
Panera
Bread: Just
west of campus on 30th St (where it becomes Bruce B. Downs)., Panera
offers a variety of breakfast options such as coffee, pastries, and bagels, as
well as breads, soups, and salads for lunch or dinner.
Shells: On 30th Street south of campus. Low-key,
casual seafood chain restaurant. Its
inexpensive for seafood
Star
of India: 30th Street south of campus. Healthy
Indian dishes. Lots of good
vegetarian choices. Try it sometime
for lunch (nice buffet).
Phoencia: it’s a Middle Eastern
restaurant (hummus, falafel, kabobs, lentil soup, etc.) Its on 30th Street in a strip mall. Inexpensive.
Tokyo
Sushi: Decent casual sushi place
around 56th and Fowler in same strip mall as Applebee’s. Highly recommend the “Frank Roll” Its really good.
Carrabba's: On Fowler and 56th Street, east of campus. Contemporary chain restaurant Italian cuisine.
Vallartas: Busch and 56th St.. Their menu consists of all your Mexican
favorites at inexpensive prices.
Hops: chain restaurant bar and
grill. They have good salads,
sandwiches, ect.
If
you drive up and down Fowler, there are a bunch of chain restaurants. Here’s a few to give you general idea: TGI Friday’s, Perkins, Einstein’s, Starbuck’s, Applebee’s,
Outback (on 56th street), Subway, etc.
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to Restaurant Neighborhood Listings
Ciccio
and Tony’s: California-style cuisine. Lots
of wraps and low-carb entrée options. Fairly
inexpensive. Its in same strip mall
as Publix near Tampa Palms Blvd.
Circles: An interesting menu of Thai and Contemporary Cuisine because the chefs
are a married couple with different backgrounds! Interestingly enough they also
have a great pizza place right next door to the dining room. Meals are on the
high moderate side.
Louis
Pappas Marketplace: Really good Greek food. It’s
a great place to go for a relatively quick meal, and the food is extremely
fresh. They have great soups,
salads, sandwiches, and entrees. The
prices are comparable to Panera Bread’s and they give a USF discount if you
show your ID. Its located in a
strip mall around 42nd Street and Bruce B. Downs. Its relatively
close to campus.
Savino’s: Good Italian with
homemade pasta and lots of fresh seafood. In
same strip mall as Louis Pappas. A
little more expensive, but its worth the non-Americanized food.
Thai
Ruby: Amberly Place strip mall – awesome Thai food. Its next to Lifestyle Family Fitness. They have a
great lunch deal. All meals for
lunch are between $5 - $8. It
includes a vegetarian spring roll, a small bowl of soup, your entrée which is
enough for left-overs, and dessert. Dinner
is a little more pricey. Its
approximately $10 per entrée give or take a few bucks, and it doesn’t include
appetizers. Regardless, the food is
really good and the ambiance is nice too.
Sammy
Frogs: Really cool atmosphere—glass lily pads on the ceiling. If you are interested in an eclectic mix of Pan-Asian and Italian food, try this place. Prices are moderate.
Moe’s: A burrito joint that makes burritos the size of your head. They’re
pretty good and relatively inexpensive. Off
of Bruce B. Downs. If you are going
away from campus, its past I-75, and will be on your left hand side.
There’s
a really good New York Style Pizza place in the same strip mall as Super Target,
which is all the way down Bruce B. Downs in the opposite direction of campus. This place is sandwiched between Super Target and Marshalls.
There
is a handful of chain restaurants on Bruce B. Downs: Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Carabbas, Ruby Tuesdays, Panera, Chili’s,
Leroy Selmon’s Steak House, etc.
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to Restaurant Neighborhood Listings
Hyde
Park/Soho (stands for South Howard Ave.)
This
area is Tampa’s “restaurant row.” Specifically,
South Howard Ave.
Panera
Bread: On
the corner of Howard Ave and Swann Ave.
Café
by the Bay: It’s a whole-in-the-wall on Howard Ave. but has really, really good breakfast food. They have omelets and egg benedict galore (lots of different kinds). In addition, for lunch, they have homemade soups and nice salads. They are also open for dinner and boast having live music in
the evenings.
Ciccio
and Tony’s: On Howard Ave. California-style
cuisine. Lots of wraps and low-carb
entrée options. Fairly
inexpensive.
Water: a new sushi restaurant in
Hyde Park that is attached to Ciccio and Tony’s. They use rice-paper rolled sushi instead of nori. They also
make a number of their dishes without carbs
Sally
O’Neil’s Pizza Hotline: Awesome, awesome pizza. You can eat there or take out, but it's really good. You can also get whole wheat crust, for those of you who try to stay away
from carbs. On Howard Ave.
Bern's
Steak House: A Tampa tradition. Call about a year in advance to get reservations (OK...so we
exaggerated a little)...Its more expensive, but you should have a “Bern’s
Experience” at some point in time while you live here. Their wine list is the size of a phone book, and they will give you a
full tour of their kitchen and wine cellar. They also have dessert rooms. After
your meal, you go to a separate part of the restaurant, and each table gets
their very own room for dessert. Everything
is homemade. They even have their
own farm where they grow their own vegetables. On Howard Ave.
Sideburns: Same owners as Bern’s. Its
Asian fusion cuisine with awesome fish & funky interior….Check out the web
site.
Evos:
Inexpensive healthy food--vegetarian burgers, grilled chicken sandwiches and
wraps, & yummy airfries! Located
on S. Howard Ave. in Hyde Park.
Ho-Ho’s: Your standard casual Chinese restaurant. Casual and less expensive. On Howard Ave.
Sangria's:
Spanish Tapas Bar. Very good food. Great drinks. If you are not familiar with tapas, they are
appetizer-sized portions of food. If
you were a table of two, you might order 4 tapas to start, and then you order
more until you are not hungry anymore. Usually,
4 –5 tapas are good for 2 people. This
is a great food option if you plan on going out for the night after dinner. The location of this restaurant is in the heart of Hyde Park’s
nightlife. Located On S. Howard in
Hyde Park
The
Yellow Door: It’s almost as
though you are in Thailand and Vietnam at the same time! Visit the Yellow Door
for a Pan-Asian experience. The food is quite authentic and a bit pricey. On Howard Ave. next to Sangria’s.
T.C.
Choy’s: Feeling like some NYC and Hong Kong dim sum? Head here on the weekends
for some great Chinese food. Its
not your typical greasy chinese. Its
definitely more high end and also has sushi. Also on Howard Ave.
Ceviche’s: Another Spanish Tapas bar with dim lighting, romantic yet lively
atmosphere. On Howard Ave close to Bayshore Blvd. Another fun fact - on weekends, they’re open until 3 a.m.
and during the week, until midnight
Mangroves: Eclectic, innovative cuisine. The entrees include items
like seared ahi tuna, rack of lamb, jumbo-lump crab cakes, etc. The interior of the restaurant is really hip and so is the drink menu. Located on S. Howard
Samba
Room: Nuevo Latino. Good food, awesome drinks, great music, cool ambiance. Located on the corner of Swann Ave & S. Dakota Ave in Historic Hyde
Park Village.
Antojitos: If you want the real Columbian experience, head to this restaurant. It is in a very ethnic area (corner of Howard and Columbus), so bring
your Spanish speaking skills and appetite for Colombian cuisine. (The waitresses do speak some English).
There
are many more restaurants (and bars), but these are the noteworthy places. Drive up and down Howard Ave. Even
if it looks junky from the outside, the food is probably really good. Property in this area is really expensive, so if the restaurant is there,
it means that it gets a lot of business.
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Downtown/Channelside
FYI:
Tampa’s downtown isn’t really comparable to a downtown of a major city, like
New York or Chicago. Downtown Tampa
is quite small, and the area we would direct you to for first moving here would
be Channelside. It’s its own
section of downtown, and has a handful of restaurants and entertainment. Downtown Tampa is sandwiched in between Hyde Park and Ybor, both of which
are also fun areas to hang out in.
Jackson's
Bistro: Next to the Harbor Island Wyndham Hotel. Best Sunday brunch on the water. It
also has a sushi bar and serves dinner. It's on Harbor Island, which is essentially part of downtown. It’s walking distance from Channelside.
Stumps
Supper Club: Southern food,
and is attached to a place called Howl at the Moon, which is a dueling piano
bar. Its in Channelside
Grille
29: A new restaurant in downtown that has nicer fare – like filet mignon and lobster tail. Prices are rather reasonable for the quality of the food.
The
Signature Room Grille: Just opened in downtown. It’s a upscale restaurant with entrees such as five spice muscovy duck breast and sautéed Pacific red snapper. Prices
are a bit high.
There
are more restaurants in this area, but we wanted to give you a sense of what’s
here.
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MacDill
Ave (in South Tampa parallel to Armenia
Ave.)
Pane
Rustica: Awesome homemade bread!! Also has fabulous
sandwiches, all of which can be made into a salad if you don’t do carbs. If you want a great bakery though, this is the place.
Spartaco: A whole in the wall, but has home-made, authentic Italian food. It is one of the few places in Tampa that is not Americanized. Located in a strip mall on the right hand side of MacDill if
you’re driving south.
Yoko’s: Casual Japanese. The sushi is really fresh.. Located right next to Spartico
Koba’s
Japanese Restaurant: Casual Japanese. Fresh sushi. It’s a free standing restaurant on MacDill Ave.
The
Bruchery: Good casual breakfast. Has a little bit of
everything.
The
Thai House: Probably one of the most authentic Thai restaurants in Tampa. Its
located on Bay to Bay, which is perpendicular to MacDill Ave.
Louis
Pappas Marketplace: Located on Bay to Bay in a strip mall. There is also one on Bruce B Downs Boulevard. Has good Greek food that is more on the casual side.
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Ybor
City
Samurai
Blue: At Centro Ybor on the 2nd level, next to Urban Outfitters. Really good sushi and Japanese food at moderate prices. Definitely the top sushi in Tampa.
Dish: Also located at Centro Ybor on the 2nd level. You
can customize entire meals down to the veggies you want with what preparation
and sauce. Moderate Prices.
Tampa
Bay Brewing Company: Great beer and great food. What more could one want? Featured on the Food Network as one of the nation’s four best microbreweries. It's off of 7th ave.
Bernini: Wood Burning Oven - Italian food,
but a little on the pricey side. A good way to save money is to order a salad
and split a pizza. Located on 7th Ave. in Ybor City.
The
Colombia: Spanish restaurant. One of
the oldest restaurants in Tampa. Good
food and a little pricey. They have flamenco shows every night (traditional Spanish dancers). On 7th ave and 21st St.
If
you drive up and down 7th Ave, you’ll see a bunch of restaurants. These are just the ones that stood out as worthwhile to mention. http://www.ybortimes.com/yborspots.cfm
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Jasmine
Thai: If you like Thai food, this place is it. It's over in Carrollwood (Fletcher and Dale Mabry in the same strip mall
as Steinmart). Go for lunch on a weekend. Inexpensive and very friendly service.
Crazy
Buffet: If you love sushi,
hibachi, stir-fry or any of the above you have to make it down to the
“Craziest” and “Classiest” Buffet in town! Fresh food, chic atmosphere,
and right off of Dale Mabry and 275. Much more reasonable prices for lunch than dinner.
The
Melting Pot: It’s a fondue restaurant in the same strip mall as Steinmart (around the corner of Fletcher Ave and Dale Mabry Highway).
Kobe
Japanese Steakhouse: This is your stereotypical hibachi style restaurant (where they cook on the table). It's fun to go in groups.
Dale
Mabry Highway runs all the way from the southern most tip of Tampa to the most
Northern part of Tampa. On it,
you’ll find all the major chain stores and restaurants. Here’s a few just to
give you an idea: Hop’s,
Chili’s, TGI Fridays, Macaroni Grille, Bucca di Beppo, Red Lobster, etc. There are also a ton of strip malls that have mom-n-pop
restaurants.
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The
American Cafe: In Brandon Town Centre. Eclectic
moderately priced and casual.
Panera
Bread: Panera
offers a variety of breakfast options such as coffee, pastries, and bagels, as
well as breads, soups, and salads for lunch or dinner.
Latin
Café: Casual Cuban food.
Shell’s: Casual seafood place, chain restaurant
Buca
di Beppo: Family style Italian, meaning you pick an entree to share with everyone. Chain
restaurant
Estella's: Authentic Mexican food. Casual atmosphere. On Brandon Blvd/Hwy 60.
Moe’s: A burrito joint that makes burrito’s the size of your head. They’re
pretty good and relatively inexpensive
Brandon
has a bunch of new strip malls with a lot of restaurants. The two main roads to drive up and down are Lumsden Rd and Brandon Blvd.
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Bay
Street is attached to the International Plaza mall and has a bunch of
restaurants. In addition, there are
some good restaurants across the street from International Plaza mall. The easiest way to get there is to take 275 S, exit Lois Ave. Stay towards the right on the exit ramp, and go straight. This will take you directly to the mall/bay street.
Here’s
a list of the restaurants at Bay Street with a very short description
The
Bamboo Club: Asian food. A little more upscale.
Bar
Louie: Martini bar and restaurant with moderately priced food.
Blue
Martini: Is a restaurant, but people go there more to drink. As
indicated in the name, it’s known for its martini’s… and “high roller”
crowd on the weekends.
Chammps
Restaurant & Bar: Think sports pub with food.
The
Cheesecake Factory: Really good chain restaurant with a gargantuan menu. In case you haven’t been there before, the portions are enormous, so inquire about the half-orders.
Gallery
Eclectic Bistro: The name pretty much gives it away. It's an eclectic bistro. The food is good
and reasonably priced for what they give you.
Profusion: East meets west restaurant. Has
sushi, and pan-Asian dishes. Overall
consensus is that it’s overpriced for what you get. The food is good though.
TooJay’s
Deli: Awesome Jewish deli. By far the best matzoh ball soup in all of Tampa. They also have breakfast. The
menu is quite extensive, so check out the web site.
Kahunaville: Casual Pacific rim restaurant.
In
the actual mall, there are the following restaurants:
California
Pizza Kitchen: It’s a chain pizza restaurant that also has salads and regular entrees.
Todai
Restaurant: All you can eat Japanese buffet. You can get a free meal on your birthday.
Across
the street from the mall, there are the following restaurants
Roy’s
Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine: It’s a Pacific rim steak house with lots of seafood options.
Lee Roy Selmon’s: Barbeque place next to Roy’s and Flemings. Also located on Bruce B Downs Boulevard just north of I-75.
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Shopping
Hyde
Park— Outdoor
area. Shops include: William-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Godiva, Restoration Hardware, Brooks Brothers, Ann Taylor, Anthropologie, just to name a few. There are a number of good restaurants and really cute cafes interspersed
between the stores. A hidden find
there is Color Me Mine – a place where you can pick out pottery and paint it
your self. There is also a farmers market on Saturdays in the fall.
Brandon
Town Centre-- Five years new. Lots of
stores. Also has a very large (20
screen) movie theatre with very comfortable seats. Southeast of campus off of I-75 in Brandon.
In
addition to the mall, a number of stores and restaurants are in the same complex
including: Bed, Bath, & Beyond, Barnes and Nobles, Thomasville
Furniture, Target, and Macaroni Grille.
Westshore
Mall--South of campus off of I-275 close to the airport. Older mall with lots of updating. Saks Fifth Avenue just opened here a few years ago. There is also an Old Navy. Restaurants at that mall include: PF
Changs, Maggiano's, The Palm, and Steak
and Ale.
University
Mall--Close to campus. Good place to go to pick
up last-minute gifts, otherwise, we don't go there. Pretty safe
during the day, but we don't recommend going alone after dark. Also has 16 screen movie theatre, but we wouldn't recommend going to it
because there are better places to go.
Citrus
Park Town Center-- Sort of a Disney World of malls. Very
high ceilings and make-believe storefronts above the real stores. Neat restaurants, including Cino’s. Located on the west side of town at Gunn Highway and the
Veteran’s Expressway.
Ellenton
Outlet Mall--If
you drive south on I-75 for about an hour, you can't miss it. It sounds far, but
it's well worth the trek! It offers such stores as The Gap and DKNY.
International
Plaza—The
newest and most upscale mall in Tampa. Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom's, extremely high end stores, but also affordable stores. There are also a number of good restaurants there including the
Cheesecake Factory and other places you might not have heard of.
Orlando has TONS of GREAT shopping!!! The Mall at Millenia is for when you have a lot of money to spend. Its a beautiful mall with stores like Bloomingdale's and Jimmy Choo. There is also an outlet mall there that is amazing.
Better than the outlets in Ellenton. It takes about an hour to get
to.
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USF Gym: Try to go in the morning if you can. Quite busy between 4 and 7pm. Free with your student ID!!
In addition, there are a number of
free fitness classes that you can take.
Lifestyles
Gym: Membership is expensive, but you would get 3 complimentary
sessions with a personal trainer, and they have really new, really nice
equipment.
Curves:
This is a gym for woman only, and it does a circuit training program. You
need to pay for membership.
Also,
most apartment complexes have workout rooms which typically have different types
of nautilus equipment, treadmills, exercise bikes, etc.
Bayshore
Boulevard: World's longest uninterrupted sidewalk (more than 5 miles one
way!) In Hyde Park right along the
bay. Great for walking, running,
biking, roller blading...
Amberly
Drive: In Tampa Palms (where Live Oaks Apartments are located). Long sidewalk in residential neighborhood with lots of trees. Run, walk, roller blade, bike...a quiet, serene place to gather your
thoughts.
Flatwoods
Park:
Located off of Bruce B. Downs, it's great for roller blading, bike riding, and
catching some rays!
Namaste Yoga Studio: A new studio in the New Tampa area off of Bruce B. Downs. Come enjoy the beautiful bamboo-floor studio—a great place to either
have a nice calm evening or a powerful workout. Try it out…your first class is
free! And our own Stephanie Mihalas teaches there.
There
are also lots of parks in Tampa, including Lettuce Lake Park and
Riverfront Park (both on Fletcher). You can rent
canoes at Riverfront Park (which is part of USF).
If
you are into biking, rollerblading, or jogging, you might also want to check out
the Pinellas Trail.
Its a bike path that is a 38 miles long spanning from St. Petersburg to Tarpon
Springs. A central place to park is in a town along the trail called Dunedin,
which also happens to have really cute cafes and stores. 344 Main Street
(Pinellas Trail), Dunedin, FL 34698-5732 is where you want to park your
car. There is also a bicycle rental shop nearby on 357 Scotland St.
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