A bridge is a structure built to span a gorge, valley, road, river or body of water, for the purpose of providing a passage over the obstacle. Designs of bridges will vary depending on the function of the bridge and the nature of the terrain where the bridge is constructed.
Bridges... the facts.
Bridges in the Keys; the most boring in the whole wide world.
If you're an architect and given the opportunity to build a bridge in probably one of the most beautiful parts of the world, surrounded by crystal waters, stunning views and enough traffic for your pride and joy to be seen by 1000s of people per week you'd think they'd make it a touch more exciting than a block of concrete. Especially as there's blooming hundreds of the things!
Unfortunately not. It's a bit of a let down to be fair and an insult to natures successes around it. Shame on you Floridian architects!
Key West was about 50 miles on from Marathon so we set off about 9.30am to head down for the day there. It was one day before the biggest Halloween festival "Fantasy Fest" came to town so there was no way on earth we were getting a hotel in a 100 miles radius of it so had no choice but to get there early enough to see everything.
The Americans call Key West an historic town. In English terms this is a little bit of a farce as it only really dates back to the late 19th century. Before that there was very little here and only used as a fishing port for the native Indians and Spanish in some parts of the year. So don't expect to see anything resembling Stonehenge but more Millennium dome.
There have been many fist fights over the ownership of the Keys over the years but the people that most left their mark were the Cubans. You can look up the history yourself if you want to delve deeper, it is pretty interesting! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/key_west
It's extremely popular for its size, an estimated 18,000 people pass through it every day! And seeing as only 25,000 live there that's a tad intrusive haha.
The buildings are beautiful and if you didn't know any better you wouldn't think you were in America, it's very unlike everywhere else. We stopped into the museum of art and history for a stroll round and they've added some really nice touches to it. As you go up stairs to each gallery the walls are lined with pictures of prominent(past and present) citizens. Those who have left their mark and done something for the good of the town. People given the honour include a shoe cobbler, a governor, President Truman, a local Key Lime Pie cook and Ernest Hemingway.
Mario Sanchez is one of the exhibits that stay in the Museum. He's this sweet little Cuban who carves street scenes into wood and then paints in the textures and colours with oils. No mean feat either as most of the figures are tiny! www.keywesthistory.org/artmariosanchez.html
Another exhibit was by J. Seward Johnson who creates life like bronze statues of iconic figures, some of which have a slight twist! http://www.sewardjohnson.com. His "Beyond the frame" series takes famous portraits by artists such as Da Vinci, Picasso etc and then makes them 3D adding in things that might have been just out of shot. Very provocative art!
Quite a novel thing about Key West - chickens, everywhere. They roam the streets where ever they please, chicks in tow. Aimlessly weaving in and out of restaurants with no one taking a blind bit of notice, not even the local cats!
As it really is a tourist hot spot you will be greeted by a sea of bum bags and gaudy T-shirts at every corner so this is not the place for the fashion conscious but it oozes individuality and charm.
There is plenty to see and do in Key West, 100s of gift shops, cafes and restaurants so you're best to turn up with an empty stomach and a bulging wallet!
After a few hours dodging the cruise ship occupants had become tiresome so we ducked back in the car and headed north to Key Largo!
We decided to stop there for the evening as the next stop was Miami and after the endurance testing road trip the day previously I feared a nervous brake down if I had spent another day in the car.
There's not a whole lot in Key Largo, beautiful views of the ocean and I enjoyed a delightful sunset but other than that there really isn't a lot I can mention.
We stayed in the Marriott which was of the usual standard you would expect from this chain. The restaurant staff were excellent though, extremely friend and great fun!
Ended up going to bed pissed as a fart, I do love the beach bars here!!
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