Week 3: South Florida

Once the wedding was over, we settled into enjoying South Florida.

We’ve visited Calle Ocho, the cultural and political centre for Miami’s Cuban community. Here we’ve eaten delicious Cuban food, purchased Panama hats and domino sets, and my husband Theo and his best mate enjoyed a cigar.

We went to Miami Beach and dined at Tap Tap, a beautiful Haitian restaurant. We cruised up Ocean Drive and walked along Lincoln Road before going in to see Black Panther, which was great.

We had frozen daiquiris and mojitos and a took a tour of the bay.

View of a bridge from the water.

Miami skyline.

We went to Key West, one of my favourite places in South Florida. We visited the Key West Art & Historical Society and the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum. Hemingway lived in Key West from 1931 to 1939. I’ve been to his house before, but as a writer and fan of his work, it’s like a pilgrimage. I’m happy to visit again and again and I learn something new every time.

Driving to Key West.
Driving to Key West
A collection of Hemingway's items at the Key West Art & Historical Society.
A collection of Hemingways items at the Key West Art Historical Society
A statue of Ernest Hemingway at the Key West Art & Historical Society.
A statue of Ernest Hemingway at the Key West Art Historical Society
Cute houses in Key West.
Cute houses in Key West
The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum.
A busy day at the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum
A couple of sleeping six-toed cats on Hemingway's bed.
A couple of sleeping six toed cats on Hemingways bed
Hemingway's writing studio.
Hemingways writing studio
Hemingway's writing studio.
Hemingways writing studio
The cat cemetery at the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum.
The cat cemetery at the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum
A cat sitting next to an ATM machine at the Hemingway house.
Take your money leave the six toed cat at the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum
A chicken strolling along inside a restaurant.
Roosters and chickens roam freely in Key West
A slice of key lime pie.
Key lime pie

We also went to the Everglades. There are many ways to experience the Florida Everglades. My favourite is via the southern Homestead entrance, which we did last time. This time, I wanted Theo to have a different experience so we went to the Miccosukee Indian Village. We took an airboat ride and ate lunch at a little restaurant owned and operated by the Panther Clan of the Tribe. We drove further into Big Cypress National Preserve and also visited Clyde Butcher’s Gallery.

A young man with an alligator.

Alligators swimming and basking in the sun.

Children's toy carved from wood.

Miccosukee clothing.

An airboat.

An alligator.

Old Singer sewing machines and a turtle shells.

Cypress trees.

A view of the Florida Everglades.

Winter is peak tourist season in South Florida and there is a lot to do such as the Miami International Boat Show, the Coconut Grove Art Festival, the South Beach Wine and Food Festival, and Carnaval Miami. For 40 years, my local Greek church, Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral, has held a Greek festival. It may not be as big and fancy as the other Miami festivals, but it’s a great community event. You can shop and, more importantly, eat, and watch traditional Greek dances performed by children and young people. It draws hundreds, maybe thousands, of people over the three days it runs.

Greek food at the Greek festival.

Young dancers at the Greek festival.

Inside the Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral.

We also went fishing. We went out with the Kelley Fishing Fleet. Reviews are mixed for this company, but we enjoyed the experience.  We went on a weekday, from 9am to 1pm. You can take your own gear, but we used their rod, reel, and tackle. You can also take a cooler with snacks and drinks (including beer). We found the crew friendly and helpful. It’s worth noting that there weren’t a lot of people on our boat. If it had been full, it would’ve been tight and not as pleasant.

It was a beautiful morning and they took us to three sites at 120, 170, and 150 feet deep. I didn’t catch a thing. Most people didn’t. Theo caught two small sharks, which were thrown back into the water, a snapper that was too small to keep by law (so, back into the water), and a moray eel that was also thrown back. One guy caught a number of snapper, most of which were large enough to keep, and another man caught a bluefish that was also large enough to keep.

Even though I didn’t catch anything, I enjoyed the outing and would do it again.

A view of the shore from the boat.

A couple of pelicans in the water by a boat.

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