I left my heart in Key West part 2

I recently wrote a post about the food and lodging experiences I had in Key West this summer and this post is an extension of that one, in that I wanted to talk about all the cool things we did while in Key West.

First of all, I know it's toursity and cliche, but on our first night I shamefully admit we had dinner at Sloppy Joe's Bar. The food and drinks were underwhelming and I found it incredibly irksome that they served their drinks out of disposable plastic cups, but it's one of those places you have to go just to say you've been there. Truth be told, I don't know what the fuss was about other than I guess it's just that Hemingway used to hang there.

After Sloppy Joe's, we participated in another tourist tradition, the Mallory Square sunset celebration where the crazy street performers come out and compete for your attention, and your money.

What I found more entertaining than the street performers, however, were the roosters that just run wild all through the island. It's hilarious to see one just walking down the street like they own the place.

One of my favorite things we did while in Key West was take an all-day catamaran trip called the Power Adventure through Sebago water sports. This catamaran trip included snorkeling, kayaking, jet-skiing, banana boat rides, and parasailing. My husband really wanted to go snorkeling while we were in the keys, and I really wanted to go parasailing, so it was perfect that we were able to combine the two (and then some) in one adventure.

This was my first time parasailing and I definitely want to do it again some day!

 I highly recommend Sebago for any sort of water sport or catamaran trip while you're in Key West. They're a well-established company and very professional.

Our last full day in Key West involved riding our rented bikes around the island, with stops at Southermost Point and the Hemingway House. We had to stop off at the Southernmost Point just for the photo op because, really, there's nothing worth doing here but posing for a picture.

But I felt obligated to visit Hemingway House because, well, I'm a bibliophile and a writer so I guess I was supposed to feel some sort of kinship with Heminway, but in reality, I've never really connected with any of his books.

Still, I found the tour of his house extremely worthwhile as he was quite the fascinating figure. The house and grounds were beautiful and the tour was extremely entertaining. If you're ever in Key West, a visit to the Hemingway House is a must-do for the stories alone. So even if you're not a fan of his work, go anyway.

 

Speaking of writers, my favorite story that takes place in Key West is Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm. I listened to the audiobook earlier in the summer and immediately fell in love with the characters. I decided that I needed to find a copy of the book and re-read it while I was in Key West, which I'm glad I did because on our last night there, I realized that we were only a few streets away from where the family in the story lived: Curry Lane. So I had to get my picture taken reading the book in front of the Curry Lane sign. Too bad I couldn't find the Curry family anywhere.

But I think the thing I loved the most about Key West was the beautiful, distinct architecture and laid-back atmosphere. 

I adore the white houses with pastel-painted porch roofs

As a first time visitor, it's definitely a place I could see visiting more than once, and for a traveler like me who desires to see the whole world, visiting a place for a second time feels like an opportunity wasted to travel somewhere new. You won't see my husband and I ever buying a vacation home because we feel like there's too much of the world to see to vacation in one place all the time. Still, Key West is a place I could visit multiple times and not feel cheated out of a new travel experience.

I left my heart in Key West part 1: Food and Lodging

As many of you know, my husband and I road-tripped from Michigan to Key West this summer. As someone who normally prefers to travel out of the country, I at first wasn't the most excited for this trip as I have been for past trips we've taken.

That lack of excitement didn't last long. I fell in love with Key West as soon as we pulled into Old Town and checked into our hotel, Island City House.

When I saw that this was the porch reserved especially for our room, I was in heaven.

The hotel also rents bikes right on site so we never had to use our car the entire three days in Key West.

What I was most surprised about, however, was the amazing culinary experiences we had during our trip. I shamefully admit I had low expectations for the food in Key West. I'm happy to report that my expectations were surpassed.

We had three very memorable meals in those three days. The first one was at a Cuban place off of Mallory Square called El Meson de Pepe. I am very glad I disregarded many of the reviews on Yelp that declared the food overpriced, the waitstaff rude gringos, and the restaurant a tourist trap. I found it nothing of the sort.

Our waiter, Augosto, was an enthusiastic Cuban who explained everything that came to the table and what made it traditional Cuban food. My favorite was the mojo, which is similar to a chimichurri but with less herbs and more citrus. I could've eaten just the bread and mojo for my meal and been happy.

But my dinner was also delicious, consisting of black beans, braised pork, plantains, yellow rice, and yuca.

Needless to say, I was elated that I didn't listen to the negative reviews on Yelp, which is strange because I'm usually quite vigilant about taking reviews into account before dining at a restaurant. For some reason, I just had a feeling that it was going to be a great meal despite what others were saying.

The other great meal we had was lunch at La Creperie that was in a beautiful building full of soothing pastel colors that just make you want to sit there all day and people watch.

 

... but the food wasn't bad either. I ordered this beautiful croque madame and gobbled it all up

 

But our most memorable meal in Key West had more to do with the ambiance than the food. There's this restaurant, right across the street from La Creperie coincidentally enough, called Blue Heaven. The food was good, albeit overpriced, but it was so worth it for the experience. 

  

Blue Heaven has a very shabby chic outdoor patio that is already full of character on its own

but they have something to make it even more unique... chickens running free throughout the entire patio.

I think that rooster is stalking my husband

The dinner itself wasn't anything to write home about but they have THE MOST AMAZING key lime pie I have ever eaten in my life. Instead of whipped cream, they top it with a giant meringue (which I am surprised to admit is way better than whipped cream on a key lime pie). One piece was just about the size of my head:

I have to say that I was extremely pleased with both the food and lodging experiences we had in Key West. I really loved the character of the island and I was worried that it was all just going to be one big tourist trap. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that while full of tourists, it's still a place where people live and work and has a wonderfully relaxed vibe to it.

Coming soon I'll do another Key West post about all of the things we saw and did.