Lifestyle, places 2 be, travel
Finally back in the sunshine state. Our two-day stay in new york was totally exciting, yet I'm glad to be back in the state of eternal summer. After so much city-life and sightseeing the desire for beach and sea was just too big. We spent the rest of the week at various beaches in fort lauderdale and miami and treated ourselves to a few convertible trips along the coast on the overseas highway towards key west.
Fort lauderdale beach
The florida keys –
A fantastic experience which I will never forget.
The three-hour drive through the florida keys is one of the most picturesque travel routes in the U.S. The route from miami to key west runs over 42 bridges and the further you get away from the mainland, the more the change of the landscape becomes visible. When you reach key west you find yourself in a subtropical vacation destination with clear blue water and white beaches. Whether snorkeling in key largo, sport fishing in islamorada, relaxing in marathon, or enjoying the unspoiled nature in the lower keys, the vacation possibilities in the florida keys are as diverse as the people who live there.
I had also heard of a beautiful beach in islamorada, but it belongs to a luxury hotel called cheeca lodge and is therefore one of many private beaches that are difficult to reach. There should also be the famous palm tree, on which already models for victoria's secret and the magazine sports illustrated were shot. So I wanted to go there. 🙂 no sooner said than done, the cheeca lodge in islamorada is easy to reach with the navigation system. When we arrived there I just asked the security lady at the entrance gate nicely if we could have a look at the great beach, including the famous palm tree. She was very friendly and gave us a visitor pass and we were allowed to spend the whole day at cheeca lodge. It was worth it in any case! The beach is small but beautiful and at the bar you can get super tasty cocktails, like z.B. Enjoying the blueberry mojito. The restaurant also offers delicious dishes, such as ceviche or the very refreshing key lime pie, typical of the keys. It was dreamlike!
Keylargo and marathon are not far behind and offer beautiful beaches, which can also be reached by public transport, colorful houses like out of a picture book and great restaurants at the water, from which you can also rent a jetski or a glass boat tour. Key largo is also very popular and appreciated by divers, snorkelers and underwater enthusiasts. Here is the john pennekamp coral reef state park . At aquarium encounters in marathon you can get very close to the marine life of the florida keys and feed turtles, pet rays and even feed sharks. Marathon is also home to the sea turtle hospital, a hospital dedicated to rescuing injured sea turtles. Here the animals are treated with love and as soon as they are healthy, they are released back into the sea. Great, not true?
I really have to advise you not to go directly to key west in a train but to make some stops beforehand. It is really worth it! There are too many beautiful and interesting places here that some just rush by without exploring them. These all have one thing in common: the water is wonderfully turquoise and clear and the beaches are white and reminiscent of paradise.
Key west is a pretty, cozy and totally crazy little town, reminiscent of a colorful western town with its pastel-colored wooden houses, and somehow surreal. The most famous of the wooden houses is probably the house of the writer ernest hemingway, which can also be visited. The city of key west is located at the west end of the florida keys and thus the southernmost point of the USA on the mainland is located here. Southernmost point is probably the most photographed place in key west.
The most famous street in key west is duval street. Here you can stroll through souvenir stores, eat in nice restaurants with their typical western-style porches and buy a fudge for dessert at kilwins key west chocolates fudge and ice cream. What is actually fudge? Fudge is a creamy, semi-soft candy, not unlike toffee. Fudge is made with oodles of sugar, powdered sugar or sugar syrup as well as butter, cream and flavoring ingredients such as nuts, dried fruit, marshmallows. It is served, cut into small pieces, as a confection, as with us perhaps truffle chocolates. Sounds delicious and should be tried once but BEWARE – it tastes very, very, very sweet.