Stepping off the shuttle bus at Turtle Kraal, we walked into the Gallery on
Greene where the helpful curator gave us two wonderful brochures for Key
West. One was "Key West's Finest Off Duval" guide, which was
our favorite. It divided Key West into neighborhoods and listed all the
finer points of interest in those districts. The districts are: Seaport, Historic
Downtown, Hemingway, and Truman. Duval Street is Key West's most popular
attraction. For example, shopkeepers on Duval stand in the
store entrances trying to entice you in by giving you free samples. I fell for
it once when we passed what we thought was a shop that sells handmade soap.
We took the free soap samples, and then were enticed to try a facial product
that was guaranteed to take away the bags and dark circles under
your eyes. Ok, I must admit, I was tempted. I sat down and the
sales lady removed my eye cream, then applied a serum under my eyes. As
it dried, I felt tightening all the way down to my toes! I could blink
but only with the upper eyelids. While sitting there, wide-eyed to the world,
the sales lady said that it was only $1000 for a year's supply and that I could
get it today for only $500! Since I couldn't open my eyes any wider, we
politely said we would think about it as we hurried out the door to wipe off the magic lotion. Therefore, we wanted to avoid the trappings of
Duval and visit the local shops on the paths less traveled.
On our next stop, we had lunch at Pepe's, the oldest restaurant in
town. We dined outdoors, enjoying a cool sea breeze where leashed dogs
were given a little bowl of water while their owners wait on their order.
Pepe's
Pepe's
The next stop was Art @830.
Commotion is a lady's boutique. I'm on a quest for a backpack purse so when I get in the dinghy I won't drop my purse in the water.
Commotion Boutique
Stopped here but moved on
This was an interesting little antique store. The wagons out front hold used books for $2.00. Looked for used Hemingway books but couldn't find one.
This is "Island Love Story!" It has beautiful island influenced furnishings, decor and gifts.
This gallery had a lot of Peter Vey paintings. His work is brightly colored island landscapes.
Free samples at Key West Rum Distillery
George with the artist Andreas Franke. They are standing in front of one of Andreas' pieces. Andreas is a photographer and a scuba diver. His artwork begins with a photograph of submerged ships combined with studio photos representing people in scenes in everyday life. The photos are covered with plexiglass then carefully hung back on the actual shipwrecks for scuba divers to enjoy. They are on exhibit underwater for 3 months and marine life randomly grows on each one. They are then removed and sold in the art gallery, If you look at the art behind George and Andreas, you can see the result.
The art store dog and what's left of a shoe. All he cares about is trying to get the shoe from me. There are eyes under there somewhere! Maybe he should try some of that magic lotion.
Give me that shoe!
Pretty streets
One way to travel
Looks better in real life
Moving on down the street
Lovely path to walk
We have to read a Hemingway book while we're here. Neither of us remember reading any Hemingway books, but as I'm reading Old Man and the Sea, I think I have read this and I'm thinking it doesn't have a happy ending. We'll see.
Banana Heaven from Blue Heaven restaurant
Houses like this lined both sides of the street in the Truman District on the way to the little white house.
Part of the Harbor Walk in the Seaport District
Sunset picture on what's left of Mallory Pier
I just had to have this cute bracelet with the longitude and latitude of Key West stamped into it.
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