I don’t know when exactly I fell in love with the concept of Bed & Breakfasts, but I can recall at least a couple fond memories of beds and breakfasts past.  The first was on my tour de colleges all around the southeast.  My recollection of that stay, being more than 10 years ago, is limited to a delicious Mocha Muffin Recipe.  My next experience found me actually in college and staying with my parents and Grandmother in a nearby residence in Winston Salem for Easter.   We had both the western style basement suite and a Victorian room upstairs.  B&Bs tend to gravitate towards themed rooms; a trait I find quite endearing.  Since then I lived next to a very pretty B&B on Piedmont Road in Atlanta.  It actually went up for sale, but after several attempts that at least I thought were quite compelling to convince my parents to purchase the beautiful house for Mom to redecorate and me to manage, I was denied. 

This trip found me on a tour de Florida and in the lovely town of St. Petersburg where we stayed at the Larelle House on a lazy cobblestone street lined with droopy moss, yet bright with history.  The house dated to way back before I was around and was constructed by a hardware salesman for his bride to be!  I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect place.  Walking up the gated entrance you immediately feel relaxed surrounded by the lush green yard soon to spot the big front porch swing that you just can’t wait to plop down on!  But wait, your host Larry is about to welcome you in and give you a tour of his home, beautifully decorated with a myriad of antiques by his wife.  When you think it can’t get better, you catch a glimpse of the backyard where they have bicycles for the guests aka yours truly to enjoy and the most elegant underground  hot tub surrounded by a flowery gazebo in case you need to relax after a hard day’s vacation.  Grabbing a homemade cookie on the way upstairs, the four rooms, themed of course, are just as delightful.  I stayed in the Longley room named after the original owner, which sported very luxurious fabrics, a giant fantasy sized bed, and the courtesy bottle of sherry that comes with all the rooms.  Since there were only two couples staying at the time I was able to peek into the Hemingway room, which was more studious, but with a dash of fun courtesy of the leopard accents.  The Victorian room was also quite nice and just as rosy pink as you would imagine it to be. 


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