Living in a place for a month gives you more time to savor the differences between it and your beloved one degree hometown. Of course, the most obvious is the weather – we’re whining about how cold it is today, only topping out at 63. But it feels colder – there’s wind and clouds. Wahh! There's also the Atlantic ocean and the Gulf of ???, too, which is much harder to see in K.C.
Beyond that, we thought we’d mention some other dissimilarities, as we’ve seen them.
Key West celebrates holidays with much more enthusiasm. Christmas is gaudier, New Year’s is definitely baudier, and St. Valentine begins his residential appearance in early January. We can’t speak for the rest of the year. Click the > to see some examples.
Key West seems less serious about its homes except for the prices. Those are very serious. But the homes themselves, whether they’re the small conch (original) homes or the larger, more stately ones, they often have whimsical touches. Not just the fretwork (not original even though many wood homes were built during Victorian times), and the omnipresent short or obscuring fences, but they also sport architectural frippery and artsy visuals anywhere that might fit.
Signs are generally more entertaining. I have long bemoaned the lack of originality in bathroom signage (another day, perhaps) but we found many here that made us smile, even if not intentionally so. (Be sure to click the >.)
Seafood and key lime pie are the go-to’s here, not barbeque. Food in Key West is often exceptional, but maybe our taste buds have just been lucky. I do know we have sampled many a plate. There is an ongoing key lime pie debate in town where every restaurant claims their’s is the best, with great conviction. Since this concoction is Cute’s favorite, we are becoming highly educated on that delectable subject. The best we’ve had this year was a surprise: first, it had a chocolate crust and second, it was at a place renown for their pizza and well off the proverbial path, White Street Pizza.
The less than obvious, above. That's a whole sea bass. The giant pretzel is a hot app at First Flight, a restaurant in the original Pan Am ticketing office. The bottom middle is the best key lime pie at White Street Pizza and the far right may be Cute's favorite dessert ever, the chocolate mousse bombe at Moondog's.
We have pictures to prove that people walk MUCH more here, including us, that bars seem more fun, art galleries more bountiful, and that Key West has discovered a really good solution for roots upheaving sidewalks, but instead we’ll just stop here. Enough, right?
Comments