We enjoyed our mini vacation to Key West. The bus ride down was painless and quicker than our last experience when we went to the flea market on Big Pine Key a few weeks ago. We spent most of our time visiting with another couple and getting a little information from a local woman. The bus stop was only a few blocks from the Knowles House and it was a beautiful day.
The B&B was very quaint and eclectic with every space available filled with something interesting. The house was built in the 1860s and is conveniently located close to the waterfront and historic section of Key West. Christina, who runs the inn, was wonderful and very accommodating. She went out of her way to make our stay amazing. We stayed in the English Cottage room that opened up onto the pool patio. The room was large and very comfortable and we had a small private patio that opened onto the front of the house. The whole experience was amazing and sitting on the patio around the pool was very relaxing. I could have spent the whole day sitting on the patio.
As wonderful as the house was, we did come to see Key West, so we finally ventured out to find something to eat. We spent a few hours walking along the Historic Seaport and down Duval Street. Duval Street is the main street of Key West and it stretches from the Gulf of Mexico on the west to the Atlantic Ocean on the east, about one mile or so, and it is the life of Key West. It’s full of fine restaurants, not so fine restaurants, T-shirt shops, strip club, gay bars, art galleries, cigar shops, T-shirt shops, illegal street performers, T-shirt shops, palm trees, time-share booths (masquerading as information booths), panhandlers, henna tattoo booths, pulsing music venues, Pedi cabs, mopeds, pink taxis, and did I mention T-shirt shops? Every possible square inch, every nook and cranny, whether it’s a crack between two buildings or simply an unused doorway, is filled with some sort of business. It’s the best place in Key West to watch people…and you will definitely see it all on Duval Street.
After a few hours of taking in the sights of Key West we made our way back to the inn to relax and regroup for the evening. Then it was back to the waterfront for happy hour and sunset. Key West puts on a celebration every night at Mallory Square in honor of the sun setting into the beautiful waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Usually it has a circus atmosphere. With street performers that include jugglers, fire eaters, a tightrope walker, musicians, a cat show, a dog show, a pig show, a bird show, a sword swallower and Statue Man. There are also lots of arts and crafts booths and you can even have your future read by palm readers, Tarot card readers and psychics. But this evening’s celebration was a little small since the wind was blowing hard and by Key West standards it was a little cold. Although the human shows were lacking, the sunset was very nice. We finished our day with dinner and a soak in the hot tub.
The B&B's parlor
The back porch
Cool!! Judy
ReplyDeleteLooks wonderful!
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