i will be in tampa for a few days--what should i see/do and where to eat? thanks!

If you are an amusement park person Busch Gardens is a really good place to have fun. They have a few coasters and a nice beer tent that give free samples of beer! You can't beat it!

At the suggestion of someone else on this board, I went to the Columbia restaurant in Ybor City recently. It was very good and the building is gorgeous. I understand it is the oldest restaurant in Florida? Built in 1905 I think. Still family run.

I wish I'd been able to do dinner as they also have flamenco shows in the evening. The food was great.

There is aquarium downtown, if that's your thing. Next to it is Channelside, full of shops and restaurants for cruise passengers. There is a trolley that goes from Channelside to Ybor City, where the Columbia restaurant is located. The Flamenco show is really worth attending if you can fit it in. The food, IMO, is good but a little over-priced what with all the cheap Cuban restaurants all over time. But their black bean soup has been consistently good through the years, which is more than I can say for most places that just open a can of beans and pour it over rice. Ybor has lots of bars and raucous nightlife, if that's your thing.

The beaches in St. Pete, Tampa's sister city, are 20-30 minutes away. Ft. DeSoto Park was named the best beach in the US recently. Also in St. Pete is the world-famous Salvador Dali Museum. They have an interesting downtown.

I don't know when you're coming to Tampa but if you're here during Spring Break, traffic gets awful. So best to take that into consideration.

thanks so much for your responses! i will definitely head to ybor city and probably do busch gardens and the aquarium as well as shop!! the flamenco show sounds interesting too!

High-end shopping is at International Plaza. Tampans all shop at Westshore Mall. There is shopping in Hyde Park as well, specialty shop. A very good outlet mall (has an outlet Saks) is south on I-275, the Ellenton Malls I think it's called (anyway it's on I-275 at Ellenton).

I would add that there is a fantastic exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry at Tampa right now through April 2 (I think). It's called Bodies and I really wouldn't miss it. You will be amazed, truly.

thanks again for your help!!

I would recommend Skippers Smokehouse in North Tampa. This is one of our favorite places to eat in Florida!

www.skipperssmokehouse.com