Just ordinarily, I went in January and it was hot. It’s gotta be ferocious in Jul/Aug.
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Hemingway Museum, Harry Truman House, some of the forts are cool (Zachary Taylor Park also has a nice beach with good snorkeling), Dry Tortugas Natl Park, there were a couple of waterside restaurants that were excellent for sunset drinks and dining (can’t remember the names), cabaret show at La Te Da Hotel, Hogfish Bar & Grill, Caroline’s, Little Room Jazz Bar, Green Parrot Bar, walk around Duvall Street, Sloppy Joe’s and Capt Tony’s are touristy as hell, but worth a drink and a look around (“Hemingway’s favorite bar”, they both claim)
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I have always wanted to and plan on going to Dry Tortugas National Park if I ever go back to Key West. My one visit to Key West was rushed and non-descript. I can’t remember the names of where we ate. We did go to a cool art gallery but I forget its name as well.
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If you get thirsty, Hemingway himself offered some advice:
“Pour one jigger absinthe into a Champagne glass. Add iced Champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink three to five of these slowly.”
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Read “92 in the Shade” by Tom McGuane for a glimpse into what things were like in the Keys in the 70s.
Spoiler alert: they were nuts.
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It looks like relief from Houston with forecasted highs in the high eighties.
Thanks! To prepare I’ve read To Have and Have Not and am saving The Old Man and the Sea for the plane ride. I will definitely be checking out the Hemingway Museum and any place that claims to be Hemingway’s favorite bar or serves any of his (or anyone else’s) preferred drinks.
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You’re welcome.
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I’ll have to add that to my list!
Just found this:
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OutSTANding recommendation.
About six years ago when I still visited places like Florida I visited Florida and we drove down to Islamorada to eat at a place I like and then we carried on to Marathon so that Daniel could play on what passes for a beach down there and once we finished with that and got Daniel hosed off and whatnot I thought What the hell, let’s keep going so we did.
We spent a couple of hours in Key West, wandering up and down Duval Street, walking past Ernesto’s house, seeing the cats, just sort of messing around. I had a Cuban coffee, sadly no absinthe or anything else more interesting than a Cuban coffee, which is interesting enough I always thought. On the way out of town we went into a K-Mart for some reason I can no longer remember where my wife bought a soft blanket that Daniel uses to this day. That K-Mart is now closed, of course.
In short, I liked it and one day I would like to return. John Pennekamp State Park offers the best snorkeling I have ever experienced, anywhere, and I can’t imagine the snorkeling gets worse the farther down the highway you go. So I would probably look into that. Plus, you’ll only have so many more chances before the reefs all die.
It just occurred to me that I read and enjoyed a book called Beautiful Exiles, which centers on Margaret Gellhorn, who was one of Hemingway’s wives and a right interesting broad in her own right. A lot of it takes place in Key West. I have no idea what possessed me to read this other than my general interest in Hemingway and Key West and books set in Florida (hello Peter Matthiessen) but I’m glad I did and can recommend it.
When I was coming up with my reading list I saw a reference to Beautiful Exiles but didn’t pull the trigger. I should pick it up when I get back.
The Tim Dorsey series featuring Serge A. Storms, a serial killer obsessed with Florida history and trivia, is one of my favorites. He doesn’t feature Key West much, but I did read Mermaid Confidential which took place mostly in the keys.
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In a roundabout way through Matthiessen I found out about Randy Wayne White who has written a series of books about a sort of crime solving marine biologist. They’re usually set in Ty’s neck of the woods, Sanibel, specifically, emphasis on neck, and they are, I think, generally superior to any other sort of disposable book that exists in the genre. There’s usually some greater theme, but the bottom line is they’re fun.
We will be there Friday, if you are at the game let me know, as soon as its done we will be heading back to SF.
Hyperbole? It’s at 91.8ºF right now, which is very warm (4ºF above average right now). And, for those of you who don’t like clicking around real-time data presentation systems, here’s a pretty pic from the real-time GIS system:
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My only issue with LHR is I have heard clearing customs can be really long. As long as the layover is ~2 hours you will be fine.
My trip to Italy next month we are trying something new. Flying back thru Munich, which we have done the last couple times, United has direct on a 767 that the economy is 2-4-2 So wife and I can sit in the 2 and not worry about getting stuck next to someone.
Usually, we have to get up at 5AM to catch a flight then connect thru Munich for their 11 am flight. This time we are leaving Rome at 7PM the night beofre, landing in MUC at 830PM There is a cool Hilton at the airport, with a bar and restaurant and Biergarten. It is also 2 minute walk to check in in the morning.
A guy I work with (who pitched for team Great Brittan at the WBC) just got back from doing this, said it was great.
I am not a part of this thread, but I just posted to say I love Munich and Berchtesgaden even better.
Out of curiosity, why would I have to clear customs in London, if I’m connecting? Or did you mean immigration? Or do I still have to clear both? My only time passing through the UK was in Manchester and only had to do the latter.
My last trip to Europe was a year ago, and the passport control took forever. The rest was quick.
I’ve never flown through LHR, but we’ll have about 5 hours connection. As long as we don’t arrive too late. One option only had an hour connection, but no way would I want to cut it that close.