Carnival Freedom 2009 - 6daysoncarnivalfreedom2009

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I was in Key West for a total of 7 hours on February 9th and it made me want to plan a week stay there. Fabulous weather, lots to see, great restaurants, fun bars and unique stores...what more could you ask for? I think Key West gets the reputation for a party fest, which I can't argue with that BUT there is much more one can do in this cozy little town. However, since we only had a few hours we had to make our stops at a few famous bar-hoping spots around Duval; here are my favorites:

Captain Tony's Saloon which is a historical landmark dating back to 1851 and was one of Hemmingway's frequent hangouts. It was originally Sloppy Joe's, which is now next door. The walls inside are covered with history from the area and a history of visitors from all over the world leaving their business cards and bras behind. Josh even left his business card in a bra on the wall...

Hog's Breath had the second best peel and eat shrimp I have ever had (nothing compare's to LuLu's in Gulf Shores). This restaurant/bar had a great open air atmosphere...really got you in the mmod to relax and enjoy a cold beverage. I could have sat there all day

but we moved on to the shops...the negative part of Key West is that EVERYTHING is epensive. Even the little cheap souveneirs. The typical $3 shot glasses were about $8 and Christmas ornaments were around $15...but there were some deals to be found too just had to search for them.

We had a delicious lunch at the local Guy Harvey's and WOW was my Mahi Mahi delicious as well as their special rice side dish...great food, great service and good, casual atmosphere.

The Original Margarittaville. Yes, I am somewhat of a vacationing parrothead.  I like to vist all Margarittaville's that I come anywhere near. So we set out to find the "original" location. As we went block to block with people telling us we were almost there I git skeptical...after buying fake Dolci sunglasses from a street vendor...we walked by a dull pink building (which are everywhere in Key West) but this one was it. Very much ordinary and plain building unlike all the other Margarittaville's I have visited. I bet the food would have been delicious here compared to all the other ones, but at this point we had already eaten twice while in town and had to start walking back toward the ship, so we looked around and then we sat at the small bar and enjoyed a beverage for Jimmy!