Key West Touring

As the weather outside grows colder, and Jake's classes come to an end, we try to find a southern location for a week of soaking up warmth before the Christmas holidays.  This year we picked Key West since it was relatively easy to get to, had been recommended by friends, and neither of us had been there before.  Jake found an apartment in the middle of Duval Street in the middle of a building (as we had heard Duval St. could be rather rowdy) with a shared patio/jacuzzi area out back.  We flew into Miami and rented a car since we also thought it would be fun to drive the length of the Keys.  We arrived just in time for the Key West Christmas Parade featuring sunglass wearing Santas and lighted palm trees.  We decided that although we had fun in Key West (it is sort of a cross between New Orleans, Rehoboth Beach and Cape May), that we would probably look for someplace more peaceful next time. Below is a quick summary of some our favorite sights and restaurants from the week.  We spent an evening in Little Havana in Miami our last day.  That was different than we expected too, more spread out and not as concentrated a shopping area as I had expected.  We did go to see an old Catherine Denueve movie at the lovely Tower Theatre though and had dinner next door at Exquisito.

Sightseeing:
Ft. Zachary State Park - deeper water than most of the other beaches, and the beaches have lots of coral pieces (wear shoes).  Also an historic Civil War fort.  Most peaceful place in town to watch the sunset from!

Hemingway House - can't go to Key West and not visit the house and its 6-toed cat population!

Key West Botanical Garden - just on the other side of the bridge coming into Key West, this partly wild garden has a focus on native plants.

mangrove kayak tour - we went with Blue Planet kayak tours, the guide found great sea critters and Jake got squirted with purple ink from a huge sea slug!

Coast guard ship Ingham - privately owned Coast Guard ship that has an amazing history and they let you just walk all around spending as much time as you like in different parts of the ship.

Eco-Discovery Center - good overview of the Key's ecosystems.

Mallory Square - where huge crowds gather to watch the sun set.  Better for people-watching than for watching the sun set.

Bike rental - best way to see the island!

Restaurants:
Eaton Fish Market - for fresh fish and shellfish and they'll make a fish sandwich for you from any fish in the case.
Croissant de France - right next to our apartment, this place had excellent croissants and other pastries and good coffee.
Santiago's Bodega - Spanish tapas in a cozy bar/restaurant atmosphere
El Siboney - Cuban restaurant, less upscale than the other places but good, large plates of food.
Pepe's Cafe - in the historic waterfront area, good sandwiches and lots of historic photos and memorabilia.
Blue Heaven - truly a beautiful patio with huge trees.  Excellent food with a Caribbean flair.  Provencal scallops were amazing.
Seven Fish - seafood oriented, fish with Thai yellow curry for example, informal atmosphere but open and light feeling restaurant.
Better than Sex - a Dessert Restaurant - fun place if just for the names and descriptions of the desserts and the bordello-like atmosphere.  We shared a dessert that was really just a dressed-up chocolate pudding cake like the recipe I use from the Betty Crocker cookbook, but it was still delicious.  And who knew that a glass of cabernet could taste so good when drunk out of a wine glass coated with dark chocolate sauce!