Christmas in Key West

It's a wrap! 

We had a fantastic Christmas in Key West.....here's all the details

We flew with United from Dublin to Newark and then on to Key west. I rate this flight highly.  It took us about 13 hours (close to the fastest it can be done with connections etc) total to get to Key West with excellent crews on both flights along with really nice new planes.  One item I noticed was that there was no blinds on the windows in the plane. Instead there was a button below the window which allowed you dim the light and stop you seeing out (the cabin crew presumably could also control them and could open all the windows for landing). All very fancy indeed!

Below you can read all about where we stayed, where we ate out and what we got up to:

The Saint - A Marriott Autograph Hotel
What can I say about The Saint that you may not have seen in any of the reviews if you google it. Excellent staff, top notch bedroom, superb location just off Duval on Eaton, awesome bar with a brilliant happy hour along with the roof top bar Halo where we enjoyed some really nice cocktails and good entertainment. 
But my favourite thing was to chill by the pool with a glass of bubbles!
If you are looking for a cool hip hotel in Key West - look no further than The Saint.

 

 

Trolley Tour
It rained and rained for the first two days in Key West so we took in a few different things that we may not have done if the weather was better. One of the things we did was the trolley tour with Amy.  It was a bit of fun and our ticket then gave us free entry in to the Rum Distillery which was a great day out.

Amy and I were twinning in our Christmas reindeer jumpers - we had a lot of people remark on them ("Nice sweater") and then ask the usual "Are you twins?!"

"A beautiful day in the neighborhood" at the Tropic Cinema
Happy to have got to see this film as it may not come to Ireland due to it being all about "Mr Rogers" a very unique and brilliant man known by all of a particular age in the USA but perhaps not so widely known in Ireland.  Going to the Tropic Movie Theatre was a rainy day activity and I loved it!

Papa's Pilar Rum Distillery by the Hemingway Rum Company
A fun little tour with a taste of rum afterwards - sure why not?!

Sarabeths
Sunday nights mean fried chicken in Sarabeths!!  I had the Mahi Mahi which was very good too. We had a really lovely quiet night here and I had a nice glass of malbec with dinner.

Christmas Dinner in The Saint with Key Lime Martini's in Martins afterwards....

We had an awesome table in The Saint for Christmas dinner and really enjoyed the set menu with some great wine and company!

We followed up with an after dinner cocktail in Martins - altogether a lot of fun.

Fishing on the Gulfstream
Look at the haul!
We had a super day on the water with Amy's other half Patrick and caught enough for Amy and Patrick to put some fish in their freezer for a fish dinner or two.
It was a little choppy at times so I had a little moment down the back of the boat at one point, but I got through it and went straight back fishing afterwards!

Santiago's Bodega
This is a spot that we ALWAYS go to in Key West. The food is always excellent and it was no different this time.....the service was a little disinterested on this visit and I missed seeing some of the old staff that used to work in Santiago's.

First Flight 
Amy and I dropped in to what will always be Kelly's to us(!) on Whitehead Street. Home of the first Pan Am office in the USA it is also home to fresh lime margaritas and great food bites at the bar.  We love it - and it was also good to have a natter and great catch up with Amy.

Sunset on the Ingham
Oh my what a stunning sunset on our last night in KW. It was also a lot of fun meeting up with friends on the Ingham Coast Guard ship - great to see them all and hopefully see them again very soon.

Origami
Our last night was spent in Origami which is our favourite sushi restaurant in Key West.  We got a spot at the bar and didn't even look at the menu and instead we just asked the chef to make us some different selections and keep them coming!  Such a great night and really excellent sushi.  

Phew!  I think I've got it all in there!

Another great trip to Key West and I can't wait to return hopefully very soon.

Today's the day!

I had one plan today which was to buy a frame in order to frame a shell that it was given to me by the lovely Jean T. as a gift for my 40th Birthday. The shell is so special - it was picked off the ocean floor by Jean when she was diving the Atocha wreck a few years ago with Mel Fisher off the Florida Keys.

 Amy, Alice and myself all received a shell which we were all beyond delighted with. What a thoughtful birthday present!

Well here is, the final result of what it looks like, now that I finally got round to framing it.

I had planned to put a Key West postcard in the frame but couldn't lay my hands on the one that I had bought specially for this project. Luckily, I had been clearing my bookshelves and had made the decision to throw away all of my travel guides as they are all about 15 years old and way out of date (if any of my Librarian friends saw them on my shelves they would be shocked!). Lol!

So I made the decision to frame a map of Florida from an old USA travel guide.  It looks perfect I think!

On the back I stuck a little paragraph of info about the Mel Fisher Museum.

I am considering buying stickers to add to the picture frame and perhaps writing out the famous Mel Fisher saying "Today's the Day!". But for now I am happy with how it looks.

A big thanks to Jean for this present and what is now a piece of artwork in my house.

And above is what Amy did with her shell. Fabulous!

Edit!!
I found the Key West postcards and switched it out.  Here is my shell pic now:

Stay safe my Key West friends......get out of Irma's way!

Five years ago I wrote this post about Isaac.

Today I write about Hurricane Irma which looks like it is heading to the Florida Keys.

It looks like it is going to be a big one and I hope that all of my Key West friends who are planning on not evacuating are safe. Hopefully many who are planning to stay will have a rethink over the next 24 hours if Irma continues on course.

I visited Key West a year after Wilma. There were many new cars on the island because they had all been flooded in the storm surge. I could see water lines on the houses to where the water had risen and then some of the roofs were covered in tarps and wood because there was a serious shortage of repair men. And I also saw signs on houses saying "FEMA won't pay my claim" - some of these were the houses with tarps on the roof.  

I return to Key West this October. I hope I won't see anything like I saw after Wilma.

Weather is great in Florida - and not too bad in Ireland either!!!

We are currently on holiday in Key West, Florida. Unfortunately for Ciaran, even being in a different country doesn't mean he can't stop being involved in the build.   The following three photos were texted to Ciaran this morning and within minutes he was on the phone to the builder to reiterate certain building details that he needed done.  We are now in the Key West Library where he is sketching up some details which he will then send back to the builders so that they are fully up to speed with what needs to be done.

                          The new extension walls are being built up.                                                    

                                    Check out that blue sky!!!
                 December in Ireland and it is nearly as warm as Florida!

 The old brick wall will make a great contrast to the new extension!

If you are ever travelling to Key West we recommend that you stay with www.historichideaways.com.  They have great little cottages many with private decks and hot tubs, located really well - our place was a short stroll to the Southernmost Point in the USA.