Don't walk -glide-in St. Petersburg

By Georgina Cruz

"Lean back -lean baaaack!" our guide, Alan Dobreziniecki had signaled me to slow down and stop -and the way to do that, he was reminding me, was to lean back -as if I was about to fall backwards.

I was seeing the sights of St. Petersburg, across the bay from Tampa, on an hour-long tour on a Segway Human Transporter (those electric vehicles on which you stand, hang on to the two handles and glide along on your way). It was certainly a futuristic -and very cool-way to get around!

The tour, which departs from the St. Petersburg Museum of History, 335 Second Avenue Northeast, begins with an orientation session during which you get fitted with a bike helmet and learn how to make your Segway go (you advance by leaning forward and you lean back to go backwards). There is no brake -you slow down by leaning back until you come to a stop, and you make turns by turning one of the vehicles handles. It takes a few moments, but you get used to it -and you feel as if you've really stepped into the 21 st century.

Once everyone -groups are limited to seven participants-is comfortable with the operation of their Segway, we are off, following Alan in single file. The tour goes along the waterfront, exploring some of the city's parks. Along the way, we passed pedestrians, who often looked at us enviously and commented they'd rather be on a Segway than on foot.

We passed the Renaissance Vinoy Resort, a five-star hotel, and Alan told us that Chicago gangster Al Capone had stayed there during his visits to St. Petersburg decades ago. "His room cost $15 a night," Alan said. "Now he'd have to pay $300."

Near the Vinoy, we spotted a pair of dolphins playing in the bay -always an exciting sight. "Sometimes we see manatees, birds and other wildlife," Alan said. And sure enough, we spotted several herons, egrets and an anhinga, plus a squadron of pelicans flying overhead.

Alan also pointed out banyan trees and a huge kapok tree, made recommendations for restaurants and above all, kept a watchful eye on us. "Sometimes I have a group made up of 14 year olds and 90 year olds," he said, laughing. "Imagine that!"

"I bet it was the 90 year olds going wild," joked one of the participants in the tour.

All too soon, the tour came to an end back at the Museum of History. Cost is $35 for one hour, $50 for an hour and a half. For information, visit www.gyroglides.com or call 727-894-1052.

While the Segway tour was the highlight of a visit to St. Petersburg for the Labor Day Weekend, there was plenty more to keep us entertained. Situated on a beautiful peninsula, across the bay from Tampa, St. Petersburg boasts 35 miles of idyllic beaches with sugar-white sands and warm turquoise waters -notable among them, Fort DeSoto Park. And, according to the Visitor's Bureau, there are 360 days of sun per year to enjoy them in. But, though nicknamed "Florida's Beach," St. Petersburg offers cultural treasures and excellent restaurants too for the perfect getaway.

One of the top ones is the Salvador Dal Museum, with the largest collection in the U.S. -1,400 pieces, valued at more than $125 million-of the Surrealist's works. Dal is best known for his dreamy, often nightmarish, canvases that sometimes have double images, and he is particularly famous for his depictions of melting clocks and for his flamboyant dress and long, pencil-thin mustaches. The museum, which attracts 220,000 visitors each year, has just unveiled "Dal by the Decades," an exhibit that takes up five galleries and features master works executed by Dal throughout his life. There are paintings from his formative years (he was born in Figueres, Spain in 1904) up until the last two decades of his life, 1971-1989. Among the not-to-be-missed works are a "lobster phone" (with the receiver being a crustacean: your ear goes on the level of the lobster's head, your mouth on the level of its sexual organs) and "Gala Contemplating The Mediterranean Sea Which at Twenty Meters Becomes A Portrait of Abraham Lincoln" -a painting that exemplifies Dal's penchant for double images within one painting (in this case, a depiction of his wife Gala within a portrait of Abraham Lincoln). Free docent-led tours are available several times a day.

"I love the juicy details," said Mary Coleman of Tampa, as she listened to a docent tell us about Dal's life: the death of a brother, his need for attention from his parents who had idolized his brother, his feuding with his sister, his friendship with homosexual Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca, his marriage to Gala, a woman who had been married to another artist when Dal met her and who left her husband and their daughter for Dal.

The Dal Museum is located at 1000 Third Street South. Admission is

$15 for adults; $10 for students (10 to 17 years old); $4 for children (5 to 9 years old). For information, visit www.salvadordalimuseum.org or call 800-442-3254.

Other attractions worth a visit include the Museum of Fine Arts, 255 Beach Drive Northeast (visit www.fine-arts.org or call 727-896-2667). Among the artists represented are Cezanne, Gauguin, Monet, Renoir and Rodin. Admission is $8 for adults, $4 for students, ages 6 and under are admitted free of charge.

The Florida Holocaust Museum, 55 Fifth Street South ( www.flholocaustmuseum.org or call 727-820-0100; admission is $8 for adults, $4 for students). Exhibits introduce survivors of the Nazi persecution of Jews from 1933 to 1945, as well as people who tried to help them and liberators.

If museum-hopping makes you hungry, there are some wonderful restaurants to satisfy your appetite. Try the Columbia Restaurant, at The Pier, with great views of the bay for a delicious lunch. We ordered a Cuban sandwich (smoked ham, pork, Genoa salami, Swiss cheese, dill pickle and mustard on hot Cuban bread -yum!) with a cup of black bean soup (both for $8.95). The Pier is located at 2 nd Avenue Northeast & Bayshore Drive in downtown St. Petersburg. While there, pop into The Pier Aquarium, rent a surrey bike, fish or shop for souvenirs at a variety of specialty shops. Visit www.stpetepier.com.

Enjoy the Spanish ritual of "tapas" (appetizers) at the Ceviche Tapas Bar & Restaurant, on Central Avenue and Beach Drive. This classic tavern serves up 45 different hot and cold "tapas" -everything from olives ($3), deviled eggs ($3.50) and "bocaditos" (salmon, hummus, tomato, anchovies) to "croquetas" (croquettes, $4), "ceviche de la casa" (shrimp, scallops and squid marinated in lime, $7.50) and avocado and shrimp ($6). Stay for dinner and order the heavenly "paella valenciana" (yellow rice, seafood, chicken, $24). The Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Len, who came to this area in 1521 looking for the fountain of youth, would have felt right at home at the Ceviche Tapas Bar & Restaurant.

For gourmet fare in an upscale bistro, try Redwoods featuring the New American cuisine of owner-chef Emanuel Roux. Try the seared Maine scallops appetizer ($12) and the grilled Atlantic salmon with lemon tabouleh, white asparagus and cippoline butter ($22). Redwoods is at 247 Central Avenue. Call 727-896-5118. Or try The Garden, three doors down, at 217 Central Avenue, for steamed mussels ($13). The Garden presents live entertainment including jazz, a Latin night and more Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Call 727-896-3800.

Don't leave St. Petersburg without dropping by Schakolad Chocolate Factory, 401 Central Avenue, to treat yourself to some scrumptious, handmade European-style chocolates (yum-yum!). A half-pound box of assorted chocolates is $14. They also have chocolate drinks and espresso coffee.

IF YOU GO - We stayed at the Radisson on 12600 Roosevelt Blvd., taking advantage of a $99 per night weekend rate. The hotel is about 15 minutes from Downtown St. Petersburg. Weekday rates start at $179. Visit www.radisson.com. One of the best-known hotels in the area is the Don CeSar, known as the "Pink Palace" on the beach since 1928. Rates start at $199 in the fall. Check if there are packages or promotions available when you plan to visit. For more information on St. Petersburg, visit www.FloridasBeach.com.