Get Off The Ship - we are running out of towel animals! Update 10/25 Day 31

[dizneeat]

Somehow the part I had cut out was posted anyway. So stay tuned for reading it again - this time with photos.

Wow, you have picked up speed again with this trip report!! Loved reading about your day in Key West! Sounds like a perfect combination of sightseeing and good food!

Guess I need to make a move on if I want to start Tom's birthday trip soon. And being home with more or less nothing to do, does help.
We had an awesome sunset and I have all the pics to prove it. I hope to be able to post it lateron. Hope photobucket cooperates - it has been hard to handle today.

What a great day in Key West. The food sounds amazing as does the sunset!

Jill in CO

It really was a beautiful day - stay tuned for food and sunset - somehow the written part that I thought I had cut out was posted as well. Going to try posting it again. This time with photos.

 

[jedijill]

I hope you are feeling better.

Jill in CO

 

[dizneeat]

​

Day 24, August 30​

A sunset to remember - Part 4



We had to wait for a few minutes until they changed over to dinner, but soon we were able to order and brought a

basket full of freshly baked bread and some

butter. We chose to share the

Calamari sauteed in marinara as our starter. They came out quickly and we were very happy to have decided to share instead of ordering two appetizers as the serving was quite big. We had some of the bread with it and dipped it in the sauce as it was so good. Once we had finished the calamari it took a few minutes for our main courses to come out.

Again, they were huge portions and very good. Tom had chosen the

Homemade lasagna, which was so tasty, while I had ordered the

Pasta carbonara with cream, black pepper, parmesan, peas & pancetta and shrimp. It was so good, but such a huge portion we both were not able to finish it. There was no way to fit in dessert, so after we had paid our bill we wobbled to our car and headed back to our room for a little rest.

It was wonderful to just sit there and enjoy the view and the beautiful day, but we had one more thing planned for that day.

To be continued ............​

 

[dizneeat]

I hope you are feeling better.

Jill in CO

Thank you, yes, even though I am still coughing like mad I am slowly creeping back to feeling like normal human being again.

 

[jedijill]

The food looks as amazing as it sounded!

Jill in CO

 

[dizneeat]

The food looks as amazing as it sounded!

Jill in CO

Thanks! I knew a few photos would help to boost the yummyness of the food.

Stay tuned for the sunset - it was stunning.

 

[dizneeat]

​

Day 24, August 30​

A sunset to remember - Part 5


It was wonderful to just sit there and enjoy the view and the beautiful day, but we had one more thing planned for that day. So after some rest we headed back out again and drove to Mallory Square again.
We were a bit early for what we wanted to see, so it was still pretty easy to find a space to park our car. Then we strolled around the area, and finally when dusk started to roll in we headed to the pier to watch what a lot of other people had now come to see, the sunset.

People were lining the pier and we started to find a space where we would be able to see the sunset. And when we headed up a little bridge we found a space where we could stand in second row. And after about 10 minutes in row 2 we got extra lucky as the people in front of us, who were from Germany didn’t want to stay any longer and told us to take their space. Winner! So we stayed and watched the sun slowly going down while sailing ships and motorboats were gliding by.

It took quite some time, but it was so worth going there as it was really a spectacle to see this sunset. When the sun had finally set

and it had gotten darker we realized that there was still a lot going on at the plaza.

We stopped and had a look at some of the things that were sold there before we strolled down Duval Street again.

We did some extensive window shopping and Tom picked up a cigar or two on the way as well. It was around 10pm when we got back to the car and headed back to our hotel. We were both tired and watched a little TV from our bed with a drink or two

before we finally drifted off to sleep.

To be continued ............​

 

[jedijill]

That sunset was stunning!

Jill in CO

 

[dizneeat]

That sunset was stunning!

Jill in CO

It was so worth heading to Mallory Square again.

 

[Flossbolna]

Beautiful pictures!!

Unfortunately I never owned a camera that takes good sunset pictures. Mine always come out far too "white" and get rid of all the orange and red tones. I remember that during our 2010 trip, we used Katharina's camera a few times just of these type of light conditions as hers was better at them. Not sure what it is, but I guess that's what you get for only having a point and shoot camera...

And I forgot to comment on your plans for the summer. The Italy trip sounds wonderful! I am not a huge fan of Italy (more for bad memories associated with the two trips I had there than for any real sensible reason), but this is an area that I really want to visit as well. And, yes, Nuremberg is beautiful! But we need to coordinate dates as I will be spending part of the summer in California and celebrate the birthday park!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Wow! Nice sunset pics. I'm glad it was worth the trip for you.

 

[dizneeat]

Unfortunately I never owned a camera that takes good sunset pictures. Mine always come out far too "white" and get rid of all the orange and red tones. I remember that during our 2010 trip, we used Katharina's camera a few times just of these type of light conditions as hers was better at them. Not sure what it is, but I guess that's what you get for only having a point and shoot camera...

Can you change any of the settings on your point and shoot? Funnily enough some of those were taken with my point and shoot camera too and I am proud to say that some of them came out better than the ones Tom took with his DSLR.

I am not a huge fan of Italy (more for bad memories associated with the two trips I had there than for any real sensible reason), but this is an area that I really want to visit as well. And, yes, Nuremberg is beautiful! But we need to coordinate dates as I will be spending part of the summer in California and celebrate the birthday park!

We never were that fond of Italy either. Especially since we had to go there every summer, as my father just loved sitting on the beach. We both hated those vacations. Same city, same apartment, same routine every year. I remember vowing never to go back to Italy EVER.
Then, Tom got a new car and we wanted to try it out and Italy seemed like a great idea. Fell in love with it, as our vacation style is VERY different.
And the Cinque Terre area we fell in love with last summer while visiting during the Magic cruise. Umberto was a great guide and we were sure to return, just didn't know it would be so soon.

We definitely need to coordinate dates, but so far I am not really sure when we will be able to go. Can you PM me your California dates? (colour me green with envy!! )

Wow! Nice sunset pics. I'm glad it was worth the trip for you.

We have always been to lazy to head to Mallory Square for the sunset as we can see part of it from our hotel's balcony, but we were really happy we went and watched it that day.

 

[dizneeat]

​

Day 25, August 31​

And another beautiful day … - Part 1

We slept in a bit and only got up around 8am. It took us about an hour to get ready and then we headed over to the Southernmost Café on the beach only to find that they were pretty full and we would have to wait for 25 minutes for a table.
We gave it a thought but then decided to try somewhere else. There was one place just down the street which we had read good things about and this was just the right time. So we headed that way, hoping we would get a table there.

[/URL][/IMG]
When we walked inside our hopes sank. Lots of people waiting! But they told us that it would only be a few minutes, so we stayed and were looking forward to breakfast at Camille’s. And really, after about 10 minutes we were led to a table in the middle of the dining room and handed a menu.
It was the week of Beer Fest, so they even offered special breakfast beers and Tom, after a lot of thought, decided to try one, the

Banana Bread Beer. We laughed about it, but he was more than pleasantly surprised with it. I on the other side, was not that adventurous and opted for the trusted Diet Coke. It did not take long and we were served our breakfast. As always I tried another version of my favourite vacation breakfast,

Michael’s Best Traditional Eggs Benedict Ever, which came with a side of breakfast potatoes. Tom ordered the

Special Omelet, Key West Lobster poached in MM Zero Blonde Ale and Cherry Hardwood smoked bacon with asparagus, onions, sundried tomatoes, herbs and Brie Cheese, which also came with a side of breakfast potatoes and toast. And both dishes tasted as wonderful as they had sounded on the menu. We cleaned our plates and when we were heading out the door

we knew that we wanted to come back. But for the moment we were just taking it easy and strolling over to Duval Street

and up to Mallory Square.

There were a lot of shops we needed to check out

and even found a few fun things to purchase. In about half an hour we made it to Mallory Square and since it was pretty hot, we decided to get a drink at one of the stands there. Tom had some kind of

slushy, while I went with

Key Limeade, which was cold and tart and hit the spot. We sat for a while and people watched, then went out to the pier again for more people watching. We picked up a few things here and there and then finally turned around and walked all the way back

to our stateroom, but not without a stop at Kermit’s

for a

Key Lime Pie on a stick and a Diet Coke for Tom. There were also a lot of things for tasting and the nice guy behind the counter urged us to try as much as we could. We did end up buying some Key Lime products in the end. So, good point on the seller’s end. It was now midday and it was hot and we were both getting tired and happy when we reached our hotel and were back in our room.
To be continued ............​

 

[RGirl]

Our Europe plans are coming together nicely though. I am currently on sickleave (bronchitis), my second week already and I am still coughing like mad. So, since I don't have anything else to do, I am playing around with hotels an routes and we have come up with quite the nice tour for the summer. Not to forget that we leave for Italy on Friday next week for a 4 day trip.

Oh, Karin, I hope you are feeling better soon!

You ARE going to write TRs for Italy and all the other European destinations, right?????? PLEASE!!!!!

It was pretty interesting to explore and read about the history of the fort. There were lots of different rooms to see, some of them partly roped off because of the age of the fort.

Loved all the pictures here. Willow is at an age now where she really enjoys stuff like this - it's so fun to visit historical places and learn things together.

Just beautiful pictures, Karin. I feel transported!

We walked along the paths for a bit, then returned to our car and drove around with the car top down for a bit.

Nice!!!!!

a table right at the open window with a great view of the beach.

Uh, yeah, that is one heck of a view! I wish I could look out at that view whenever I dined!

Pasta carbonara with cream, black pepper, parmesan, peas & pancetta and shrimp.

I would have chosen what you chose - Mmmmmmmm.

And why, after all this time, have I not learned that it's a mistake to read your TRs when I'm super-hungry???????

Then we strolled around the area, and finally when dusk started to roll in we headed to the pier to watch what a lot of other people had now come to see, the sunset.

I knew that's what you were there for - I would have been too! I am obsessed with sunsets over the ocean (as you will discover if I ever get a mini-TR for our Spring Break trip posted on my DLR TR. Watching the sun set over the ocean is just the most peaceful, awe-inspiring experience. It's one of the many reasons that I would choose not to go on a cruise if I couldn't have a verandah.

Perfection!!! You got some amazing shots, Karin! I am so impressed.

So gorgeous!

It was the week of Beer Fest, so they even offered special breakfast beers and Tom, after a lot of thought, decided to try one, the

Banana Bread Beer.

This made me actually laugh out loud - first, breakfast beer!!! Then BANANA BREAD BEER!!!! HILARIOUS!!!

Special Omelet, Key West Lobster poached in MM Zero Blonde Ale and Cherry Hardwood smoked bacon with asparagus, onions, sundried tomatoes, herbs and Brie Cheese, which also came with a side of breakfast potatoes and toast.

I go with Tom's choice here - this looks amazing!

 

[dizneeat]

I started the new TR!!!

Please come on over and join us.

Think of all the joy you'll find .........​

 

[scottny]

Sorry you had to cancel the cruises till next year. Wish I was going to Italy for a week. I miss it.


Nice pics of the fort.


Love restaurants that are right next to the beach.


The meal looked good.


GORGEOUS sunset pics.


Banana bread beer sounds interesting.


I have always wanted to try the frozen key lime pie dipped in chocolate on a stick. One day.

 

[jenseib]

Wow That sunset is gorgeous. I didn't know they had an area set up where people came to just watch it. How neat!

 

[boardwalkbride729]

just now starting to read! have only read first post and wow! can you adopt me? thats incredible that you took such a long/amazing vacation!

 

[jedijill]

I have got to go to Key West some of these days. Beautiful!

Jill in CO

 

[JKSWonder]

Gorgeous sunset pics! Love it.