Day 25 - A bug's life!

I slept really well last night - I think possibly the Martinis had something to do with it!  Luckily no banging headache, but we thought we'd play it safe and lounge around the pool for a few hours - after all, it being around 102 degrees here today, we should stay within jumping distance if a swimming pool!

Not sure where everyone else was this morning - they certainly weren't hanging around the pool, so yet again we had it to ourselves.  Not sure if it's something I said or if we smell but whatever's keeping the other guests away from the pool is all right by me!  After the raucousness of the drag bar last night it was nice to have the peace and quiet so we could really chill out.

At around 2.30pm a couple of other guests sat around the pool.  We got chatting to them for a bit but around 3pm we decided to leave (not that they smelled or anything!) because we were off to visit the Butterfly Conservatory.

With Oli's zoom lens in hand we walked the short five blocks to get there.  Now I don't know about you but I've never been to a butterfly conservatory before and I didn't really know what to expect!  I was picturing farmers running around with nets.  I couldn't have been more wrong if I'd tried!

Once we paid our entrance fee (handily located in the gift shop!) we went through a set of double doors and I thought I had entered the set of Jurassic Park mixed with the Garden of Eden.  

There were literally hundreds of multi-coloured butterflies freely flying about everywhere before our very eyes - with no farmers in sight!

The place was like a giant greenhouse with a really, really high ceiling and the environment an enchanted forest complete with winding path, pond, water fountain and even a gazebo!

Just before entering the conservatory we were told to watch our step - crossing the path was an array of tiny birds running in and out of the bushes, as well as ones flying and chirping in and out of the trees.

Along the path were beautiful butterfly-shaped chairs for you to sit and marvel at your surroundings.  I sat there for what seemed like a few seconds soaking in the atmosphere.  I can't explain it very well, but it was almost as if time had stood still - it was so calming and relaxing, I could have sat there for hours.

At first I thought wearing the grass-coloured green dress was the wrong choice as the butterflies immediately mistook me for foliage and landed on me - usually I would run a mile if "bugs" landed on me, but these butterflies were so beautiful and colourful that it was a real joy to have them land on me, if only for a few seconds.

Oli was in his element playing with his camera and long lens - he must have taken around 200 pictures – choosing shots for this blog was v difficult! 

While I was staring off in a trance a lady tapped me on the shoulder and said they were closing in five minutes - five minutes?  How long had we been in there???

We went back to the hotel after and bathed and changed for dinner, we opted for casual, me wearing a pink vest I just purchased here in Key West.  Luckily we didn’t dress up as the togs we were wearing were still smarter than anyone in the restaurant.  The restaurant was called Duffy’s, again this had come highly recommended by a local, and once again we weren’t disappointed. 

Although the dress code was casual and the diners took this to the extreme the food was of a very high standard indeed.  We both went for the lobster tail and steak, me a filet mignon and Oli a ribeye, mine was definitely more flavoursome and cooked medium to perfection – I would go so far as to say this steak was cooked and tasted better and had a much better quality and cut than the ever so expensive one I had in the posh restaurant in Caesar’s Palace two weeks ago – and this was a quarter of the price!

After restraining ourselves from dessert last night we had to make up for it tonight, so where better than a restaurant specialising in Desserts!  It was called “Better than Sex”, at first I had to make sure Oli wasn’t taking me to a “naughty” bar but sure enough it was a restaurant!  This popular place is hidden yet again just off Duval St but is always fully booked, luckily we managed to get two stalls at the bar. 

On entering from the brightly lit street outside we were shown into a dimly lit place, once my eyes had adjusted I looked around to see a plush furnished place with chandeliers, red velvet curtains and elegant nude paintings on the walls.  The soft lights weren’t enough to see the menu so each party is given a tiny torch to read with – how fun I thoughtJ  This naughty worded menu was very tongue in cheek, options of desserts were things like “naughty nookie cookie” and “between the red velvet sheets”. 

We spent ages reading all the options, partly for fun as they were described so wittily and partly because they all looked so tempting it was hard to make a decision.  I chose a “peanut butter perversion” and Oli “better than sex” – a chocolate brownie type cake with lots of other yummy ingredients.  We were practically on a sugar high and there was no way I could finish my gorgeous peanut butter pie – luckily Oli was on hand to help me out – sometimes I don’t know what I’d do without that boy!

Afterwards we took a gentle stroll hand in hand back to our hotel chatting about our trip so far and happily reminiscing, this is our last night in Key West and what a fab time we’ve had here.  It’s definitely been the best food we’ve had in one place more than any other state so far, as there just seems to be so much variety here, from Spanish, Italian, Thai, Japanese, Cuban, Caribbean and of course American all along one single street.

J&O

Ps passed a shop window yesterday and Oli said to me look in the window, to my utter amazement there were 10 puppies fighting for attention from passers by.  

Not only were they all adorable but they were also all different breeds ranging from toy Pomeranian, toy French bulldog, toy poodle, toy “Lassie” dog, a baby bulldog, miniature sausage dog, chihuahua, and a couple of other adorable types.  I stood watching them for ages, and quickly went there again today to say goodbye to my new little friendsL - brings a reality to that song “how much is that doggie in the window” – it’s about $2,200 for the British bulldog!