Key West: Daytime

With all the driving we did in freezing temperatures, we wanted to treat ourselves to some tropical weather.  Such a shame Ft. Lauderdale was a chilly 70 degrees.  We decided to take the nearly 5-hour trip to balmy and beautiful Key West.

Food: Savory, Spicy and Sweet

It was lunchtime when we arrived in Key West.  We went to Garbo’s Grille, a one-woman operated food cart that sells some pretty awesome fish tacos.  Heidi, the owner, gave us some helpful sightseeing suggestions for tourists our age.  I added the age qualifier, as most of the winter-time visitors were retirees stopping by on cruise ships.

Garbo's hours of operation.  This is livin'.

Lunch al fresco.

Heidi Garbo, owner and chef and refugee from cold Connecticut.

Fish taco burrito made with mahi mahi.

The best part about Garbo’s Grille?  Location, location location.  Directly across the street is Peppers of Key West, a hot sauce store that will let you sample different hot sauces on your yummy fish taco burrito.  They feature some sauces made in house, but they have a wider variety of sauces from other companies.

As much as we love hot sauce, we needed to cool down our mouths with the island’s famous Key Lime Pie.  Here it’s served frozen on a stick and dipped in chocolate, unlike the slices on a plate I’ve had on the mainland.  Sadly, most of the pie-on-a-stick businesses have closed.  The Key West Key Lime Pie Factory, the only one that’s still open, seems to have a bit of a monopoly on the island.  Nevertheless, it was still delicious, but could’ve had a touch more lime.

Sightseeing

Apparently the best way to see the island is to rent a bike.  Embarrassing confession: I only learned how to ride a bike at the ripe age of 20 and I haven’t gotten back on a bike since.  Yes, laugh all you want, but at least I don't have gruesome scars from falling on asphalt.  Feeling rather dubious of my skills, we decided to drive around instead.

 The Southernmost Point in the Continental US.  I felt the need to clarify since I unwittingly covered most of the buoy.

90 miles to Cuba (not pictured).

I guess we could have seen the island this way. 

The beginning of US Route 1

Feral chickens run rampant on the island.  One of our servers told us that if you kick a chicken, they'll put you in jail; if you hit a homeless person with your car, you'll get a fine.   He was exaggerating, clearly, but I wouldn't put that logic past most vegetarians.

Apparently the only way to deal with the wild chickens is to get a cat -- preferably not a lazy one like this.

New Orleans: Brunch, Market and Bourbon Street

A festive house in the Garden District

Croquette

The friend who told us to go to Jacques Imo’s also recommended brunch at the Commander’s Palace in the Garden District.  We should’ve known better than to go without making a reservation on a Saturday, but thankfully the maitre d’ suggested another restaurant close by for brunch:  Croquette.  We got the three-course brunch option that was a little pricey, but still absolutely delicious.

Bloody Mary with pickled okra and a Hannah Montana –- lemonade with blueberry juice.  Salvia not included.

Scrumptious salad with pig ears, which is just a crunchier bacon.  Ayk wasn't a fan of the pig's ear hair still on there.  Meh.  Adds to the crunchiness.

Creole classic shrimp and grits.  This was our favorite dish at brunch.

Veal meatballs with black truffle grits.  The grits were phenomenal, but the veal was too heavy and greasy.

Blood orange panne cotta.  I LOVE blood orange, and this did not disappoint.

Beignets with chocolate mousse and caramel sauces.  Fancier doesn't necessarily mean better, and that was true when compared to Café Du Monde's beignets.

French Market

After brunch we went to the French Market, jam-packed vendors selling oodles of jewelry and Mardi Gras trinkets.  We even saw a few gator heads.  I regret not getting one for my dad to match the crocodile skin in his house.

A friend recommended getting some cheap sunglasses there.  Not a bad idea, considering we were headed to the Sunshine State next.

Bourbon Street

We walked up to Bourbon Street after perusing the French Market.  Bourbon Street was not actually signed on the intersection we came upon, but we somehow knew we had arrived due to the sudden increase in public drinking.  Once we started walking down Rue Bourbon, there was no mistaking it thanks to the cacophony of loud music and revelers.

I guess Chinese New Year decorations can double as Mardi Gras decorations, too.

New Orleans is FABULOUS!

Less than a month before Mardi Gras, Bourbon Street was crawling with party-goers.

New Orleans: French Quarter

New Orleans:  Home to the Superdome, the Super Bowl champs of 2010, and a super streak of bad luck.

French Quarter
Our beloved Baltimore claims to be Charm City, but it has nothing on the enchanting French Quarter in the Big Easy. A stroll around this historic neighborhood with vivid Mardi Gras beads strewn about made us giddy and delighted. It’s a shame we came too early for the Mardi Gras festivities. Thankfully, New Orleanians are just as enthusiastic about decorating early for Fat Tuesday as most Americans are for Christmas. Initially, I thought Mardi Gras was just some depraved drunk-fest where girls trade their self-respect for beads. Despite Bourbon Street’s sleazy bastardization of Fat Tuesday, the locals are truly proud of their world-famous celebration. Beads, banners and flags adorned the wrought-iron porches of houses - not just in the French Quarter, but all across the city.

Every street performer here is talented.  They wouldn't last if they sucked.

Café Du Monde

We fueled up with some café au lait and beignets at Café Du Monde in the French Quarter.  The famous café was jam packed with customers and pigeons flitting about.  I’m no coffee drinker and Ayk is a recovering coffee-holic, but it was worth breaking our abstinence, just this once.

Chicory café au lait with beignets. Translation: fancy coffee and donuts.

Beignets -- better than crack!

Tweaked on powdered sugar and caffeine

Chicago: Part 2 (Wednesday Day)

 Wrigley Field

On my first trip to Chicago, I made a point to go to every site featured in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – one of my all time favorite movies.  I made it to all of the sites except Wrigley Field.  It was too far away by subway.  With a car, it was a quick drive.

Hey, batta, batta, batta!

 

Harry Carey: the patron saint of hot dogs

Athenaeum

We wanted to see an architecture museum, and found the Athenaeum on Google.  Turns out it wasn’t an architecture museum, but an old theater.

In the end, I think this was a better than any museum.

Water Tower

The Water Tower is one of the few buildings downtown that survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

Inside this historic landmark, we got a friendly tour from Mike.  Ayk was more interested in the mechanics involved; I was more interested in the aesthetics.  Hence why I have pictures and no recollection of how the operation actually works.

Cultural Center

This building boasts the largest Tiffany window dome alongside intricate mosaic walls. 

Here we watched a classical cellist and pianist perform.  For free.  This is why Chicago rocks.

The Bean

Yes, it is as cool as it looks.

Art Institute

When I went in March, I spent 5 hours here.  I saw every exhibit.  This time, we only spent 1 to 2 hours there.  Initially, we weren’t going to go until we found out that weekdays at the Art Institute are free in January and February.  We got to see priceless works of art.  For free.  This is why Chicago rocks.