The plan was that this blog post would be a review of our vacation rental in 2016 "South Street Serenity", but when I started into it and uploading photos, it morphed into a review of the property/trip report of Key West 2016.
The house is exactly as described on the internet, and comfortably fit our extended family of 7. There are plenty of lovely areas for sitting and socialising, with lots of other nooks and crannies if you wanted to get away!!!
The outdoor showers were phenomenal! There is nothing better than a shower outdoor in Paradise and it will be one of my abiding memories from this years trip.
Katie and Lydee in the nice big cooking area - a big dining area is hidden in the foreground
We did have some iguana visitors, which freaked us all out a little at the beginning but we got used to it. Hey, this IS a tropical island after all.
The pool was perfect. A good size, and good sunbathing area.
How pretty are the next three photos...
We had some people over before Trivia (more later about Trivia) and this house was PERFECT for socialising. This would be my dream home at home here in Ireland :-)
A morning ritual to sit outside drink coffee and read The Citizen. This has always been a Key West tradition for us, but made all the more special now as we know some great folk who work there and get this fine publication out every day. Small island, the "crime report" is pretty funny!!! :-)
Location of the house!
Like everywhere in Key West we were in a convenient location, but there were some particularly nice places beside us...
The butterfly conservatory was just around the corner from us. See here for my review of the conservatory.
A very short walk to the fabulous Southernmost Beach.
Ok so I think that is all the house stuff. Time for a few pics and words about what else we got up to on this trip!
Cycling!
I love biking around the island, it's the only way to get around (I find it way too hot for walking!!!) and as it was very sunny this year - almost too hot to sunbathe - I got most of my tan from cycling.
The bars. The bands.
We really enjoyed The Spectrelles in The Bull & Whistle, and The Bubba System Band in Grunts bar (met some lovely folk from California in Grunts - hi Terri, Seth & Gene!). Didn't get to see Patrick & The Swayzees, next time!
The food!
We went to all our usual favourite haunts - Alonzos, Kelly's etc. But we also ate a couple of times in La Concha. Their fillet mignon and fish tacos were SUPERB!!!
Something new!
Mam, Dad & I met with Sheila and Chris on the USCG Ingham for sunset.
Waiting on the sun to go down...
We normally go to Mallory Square for sunset celebrations, and that is pretty special (a festive atmosphere) but the sunset here on the Ingham was more a meditative experience. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Other new stuff:
We visited the oldest house on Duval (highly recommend), did a tour of the Hellings home (The Womens Club), visited the giant conch out by the high school :-)
Another Key West tradition, Enid and I in our twin shirts.
Trivia!
See here for Enid's full blog post about Trivia. It's different from our Table Quiz's at home - but just as much fun, and we met some wonderful people through Trivia. *waves to Sheila, Chris, David, Bob & Scott*
Judy Blume! We met Judy Blume. And she was incredible.
What an island where you can meet your childhood/teenage hero.
The best airport bar in the whole world. Key West airport has a beach.
I will finish up by posting a status from my facebook on the day I left the island (on the 3pm flight), kind of summarises "my life" in Key West for that short wonderful time I get to spend there every now and again...
This morning:
Packed suitcase. Weighed suitcase. Unpacked suitcase, repacked suitcase.
Cycled to yard sales with mam. Cycled down Duval and got last minute souvenirs. Sold a bike via Facebook. Did an hour on the beach - sunbathed, swam in the sea, got sand between my toes and saltwater in my hair.
Phew!
And now I'm at the best airport bar/beach in the world ...
Key West you've been wonderful. Met up with great old friends, and met some great new friends. Until the next time.
Can't wait to return in 2018 hopefully!
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