'Fernando's Footsteps': the Tampa Bay Hotel

Fernando's first sight of Tampa is the exotic Tampa Bay Hotel.

Approximately 40 minutes had passed since leaving Port Tampa. As the train rounded a slight curve, Fernando noticed that the stark landscape had given way to the trappings of a modest, but growing, small city. As the train proceeded, more and more buildings came into view. Shortly before crossing a river, he noticed, to his right, the morning light reflecting off of a series of silver metal minarets. These most unusual looking structures were atop a sprawling red brick building equally exotic.

"Zapato, que coño es eso?"

Fernando, pointing to the strange building, had asked Ignacio was it was.

"Un hotel, para norteños ricos que quieren escapar la nieve y frío del norte".

Zapato told him it was a hotel for rich northerners wanting to escape the snow and cold of northern winters. Fernando was intrigued by both the building and the idea of the wealth that would sustain it.
(Tony Carreño, Chapter 7)

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401 W. Kennedy Blvd. Tampa, Fl