It was the first time I have been to Key West, I had heard of it before but had never paid attention to it. It turns out Key West is a really really cool place, It is a Island off the coast of the US and is joined by a bridge that is the only way to get there besides boat.

I think the thing that sums up why Key West is such a cool place is the story of their mayer water skiing the 90 miles across to Cuba, how cool is that! apparently he was drunk and then was stopped by Cuban gun boats.

Tram in Key West

After we dispatched tours I went on a city tour, I would have kicked my self if I just went to the beach or something like that so I decided to do the Key West city tour. It was a narrated tour in a open air tram sort of thing. The guide was very informative and had a lot of info about the sites and Key West in general.

On the tour we got to go past the Hemmingways family home where he spent a lot of his time writing, from the sounds of things he also spent a lot of time drinking. I had a beer in the bar he used to drink in called sloppy joes, It has now been turned into a tourist hotspot but what can you do.

Hemmingways Wall / House

Also there is a red wall (above) around the Hemmingway home which we were told was made out of street (road) bricks from around Key West, apparently Hemmingway and his drinking friends would get drunk and then go and dig up the street around his house and build more of the wall until it was complete.

I also got to see the most southern point of the USA, there is just a marker there, what is more interesting is that it is only 90 miles to Cuba from there.

most southern point of the USA

After the tour I walked around the city a bit, there were many shops and bars in the main strip. It is a very rich community and has a strong arts background, the bars are a very…..vibrant scene.

some gates to something

So after looking around myself and some others retired to Kelly’s Irish Bar, where we had a few drinks. They had a musician on who was one of the funniest acts i have ever seen. He would rip people as they walked past, some of the people sitting at the table next to us were saying that he was the main reason they come back to Key West for holidays.

Did I mention I was there on a Saturday……All the Bars in town were full by 3pm, it was great. I definitely plan on going back to Key West at some point in the future for a holiday and a bit longer that 7 hours.

You can see all the photos here, or on flickr.

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