The collapsing banana...

At home in England we feed our birds on a daily basis and sometimes we put out scraps of bread for them. Here, in Florida, we also put out scraps of bread, but this time it's for the turtles and the fish! Keith and I spent a great half hour feeding two turtles and a shoal of fish who gobbled up the bread, watched by a long legged wading bird, who no doubt had designs on the fish himself!

It was a beautiful morning, with not a single cloud in the sky.

We spent the day around the pool relaxing, acutely aware that the time is flying by and we only have four days left here in this paradise.

Lunch was leftover pizza, and there was a lot of it! Needless to say the crusts that weren't eaten were shared with the turtles and the fish!

We'd decided to go out at 4pm and visit Tin City in Naples, a riverfront area of shops and restaurants as we were looking for somewhere new to eat in the evening.

Getting into the car which had been standing in the sun all day was torture! I dread to think what the temperature was inside! We drove into Naples along a different road, the Golden Gate Parkway, and came across a crime scene with several police cars and even a Fox News reporter! We later found out that a man had been discovered dead in a pick-up truck on the road so that was very intriguing.

After we turned onto the 41 from the Golden Gate Parkway, we saw a Cheesecake Factory restaurant, somewhere I've always wanted to eat, being a huge fan of cheesecake! It's always a good idea to explore new roads as you never know what you're going to find and we were a bit tired of constantly travelling on Airport-Pulling Road!

We parked some distance from Tin City and walked over to the waterfront complex. It reminded me a bit of Weedon, a small collection of shops we go to at home, but on steroids! There was a cafe called M&M's where Mike and Sophie had an ice-cream and lots of places selling touristy tat, including shells, soaps and clothes. We went into one tee-shirt shop as Sophie wanted a Naples top and we had a great chat with the owner who told us how busy the town can be between Christmas and Easter. Apparently, there's a 30 day wait for a restaurant table!

You can take boat trips from here, as well as shop and dine in the restaurants.

We checked out both restaurants in Tin City - Riverwalk and Pinchers Crab Shack - but we didn't fancy either of them. They were also open air and the heat was still very oppressive, even at 6pm. We decided to drive to 3rd Street South and eat at The Old Naples Pub again, before heading for the pier to watch the sunset.

We were quite early for dinner, by our standards, but one of the servers warned us that the restaurant would fill up, so we took a table inside (lovely and cool!) and ordered drinks. A man was playing the piano in the background and it was all very relaxed and chilled out! Sophie and I ate coconut shrimp served with chicken, rice and sauteed vegetables, Keith enjoyed fish and chips while Mike had a huge plate of nachos. With drinks, the bill came to a very reasonable $92. Sophie really enjoyed her shrimp and I thought the meal was lovely and certainly as good as Tommy Bahama's!

We made the mistake of deciding to drive to the pier, even though it was only a short distance away, and therefore gave away our parking space. It became very obvious that hundreds of people had the same idea as us as the sky was cloud-free (unlike last night!) and there was no space to be had at all in the car parks near the pier. We had no option to return to the parking lot near the restaurants and try and find another space. Which, luckily, we did!

We walked back to the pier with the crowds and shuffled along to the mid-point where there is a small cafe. Sophie had suggested we have a frozen banana for dessert but both Mike and Keith declined so it was just the two of us who chose one each covered with peanuts.

As soon as I took mine out of the wrapper the lolly stick came away and it collapsed! Sophie took mine and I had hers, but whether the banana wasn't completely frozen or the heat got to it very quickly I don't know, but mine collapsed again and I soon realised that Mike and Keith were very wise to miss out on this particular treat! I ended up with banana, peanuts and chocolate all over my face and down my favourite top, which caused my family great hilarity! I also had chocolate all over my hands and was a right mess. The breeze from the sea had blown my hair in my face and I was hot and sweaty...not the best of feelings! And I don't even like bananas!

I managed to clean myself up and we carried on down to the end of the pier where a great crowd had gathered to watch the sinking of the sun into the Gulf of Mexico.

It was a beautiful evening but the absence of lots of interesting clouds on the horizon meant that it wasn't as gorgeous as the other night. There was, however, a huge bank of clouds behind us which was spectacular.

So far, we hadn't heard any thunder but looking at the formations in the sky I don't think a storm was far away. There were still people swimming in the sea and playing volley-ball on the beach and there was a great atmosphere as the sun set.

As soon as it was over we walked back to the car with hordes of people, our progress impeded by some who would stop dead and take a photo of the sky or friends and family.

We got back to the car and on the way home called into Publix to get some beer and Fever Tree tonic for me. I also bought a hat as I find it much more comfortable sitting out by the pool with something on my head! On the way back to the villa we saw some fork lightening but we didn't get any rain.

The last dregs of the day were spent having a drink outside and then watching a little television before bed. We enjoyed a half hour long advert for 70s, 80s and 90s music that had us all singing along and dancing around the living room!

Nature's entertainment!

Keith and I went to Aldi this morning to get a few bits we needed...it's just like being at home! Just before we left the maintenance man arrived to fix the door so we left Sophie and Mike at the villa.
We did our shopping - almost a whole trolley came to just $60 - and headed back to the villa to find the maintenance man had sorted out the door and left.

As soon as all the shopping was put away we jumped into the pool and cooled off. The skies tend to be full of innocuous little white fluffy clouds in the morning but these tend to gang up in the afternoon to form the towering storm clouds that unleash their fury every evening! We lazed about in the sunshine and then the pool man arrived. He was originally from Manchester and has been in Naples for 27 years so we had a good chat. He said that us Brits are the only ones in town at the moment, but we haven't heard any other English voices for ages! He added some chlorine to our pool and advised us to stay out of it for an hour...the longest hour of the holiday! Keith and I sat and sunbathed and the sweat just poured off us!

Keith made a lovely lunch today of Caesar salad, bread and cheese and Sophie and I washed it down with a glass of the Romanian Pinot Grigio, which I really liked. I don't think I'll be taking any wine home this year though. There's a good choice of Californian reds at home and Sophie and I have fallen in love with New Zealand Pinot Grigios!

By 4pm we had all had enough of the sun and I tuned into the Weather Channel to see how a couple of potential storms were doing out in the Atlantic. One of them is causing a bit of worry and may coincide with the other momentous event next week, the Solar Eclipse. This is due to happen here on Monday and I learned that you can't get any eclipse glasses for love nor money! Tropical Storm Harvey is raging at the moment but is much further south, in the Caribbean, and they think it may develop into a hurricane when it approaches Central America.

However, we had an almighty storm of our own tonight. Keith, Sophie and I went to get a Papa John's pizza at about 7pm and the thunder and lightening started as we waited for our pizzas to be cooked. The sky went very dark and by the time we got back to our villa half an hour later, it had started in earnest.

After we'd eaten we went outside and the whole sky was constantly being lit up by lightening. It was spectacular to watch! The storm lasted more than two hours and we saw fork lightening develop as well - it was horizontal and stretched right across the sky. I went outside the front of the house to watch and with the palm trees illuminated with the lightening I really felt very, very far from home!

A spot of shopping

This morning we decided to go to the Miromar Outlet Shopping Mall a few miles up the I75. Sophie was keen to buy some Vans and a Levi's jacket and both shops were there so off we went. We called into the management office first, and amazingly someone was there! We told them about the door into Sophie's bedroom that had come off the runner and they promised to send someone out to fix it.

We also went into a small shop selling European foods and wines and Keith bought Sophie and I a bottle of Romanian Pinot Grigio. I don't normally buy wines from other countries when I'm in the US, but we've found it hard to buy a decent American Pinot Grigio and have had to resort to Italian bottles!

We found the shopping mall easily and Sophie bought the Vans shoes she had had her eye on. They are all white and look lovely with her tanned legs. She also bought a men's Levi's denim jacket and I treated Mike to three pairs of Calvin Klein briefs that were far cheaper in the Saks 5th Avenue shop than in the Calvin Klein shop itself!

Keith was getting a little fed up and it was very warm (104f when we came out) so we left and headed back to Naples on the 41. Mike and Sophie wanted to experience a Taco Bell so we looked out for a restaurant and just before we reached Naples we found one.

I would never go back! Sophie and I ordered a chicken quesadilla each with a side of nachos and cheese while Mike went for a Nachos Bellgrande. When the food arrived I jumped up to help Sophie as I thought our order would be quite large but it was just two trays and the food looked very insipid indeed! Our quesadillas were completely flat, like folded over pancakes, and Mike's nachos seemed to be a very small portion. Admittedly, we only paid $17 but I think all of us were very disappointed. Our side of nachos came in a tiny bag with a small pot of plasticky cheese. Ugh! The restaurant itself was small and depressing so I am fairly certain that we won't be trying that particular fast food chain again!

On the way back to the villa we called into a Target and bought some shopping and then it was back to the villa for an afternoon of sun-bathing and swimming. It clouded over again towards the evening and we heard several rumbles of thunder but we didn't see any rain.

Our dinner venue for the evening was 3rd Street South again as we'd spotted an Italian restaurant called Barbatella that looked promising. The weather was looking very iffy and we'd heard more thunder and seen flashes of lightening since leaving the villa. Despite there being lots of tables free at the Italian restaurant we were told we'd have to share a long bench with other diners, which put us off.

We wandered off up the street and looked at the Ridgeway Bar and Grill but the mains were all over $30, which was far more than we wanted to pay. We then remembered Tommy Bahama's and had a look at the menu posted outside. Again, the dishes weren't cheap but there were quite a few priced from $24-28 so we asked if they had a table. There was live music which was very loud but the front of house woman said she had a table free at the back of the restaurant, which was good news.

There was a great atmosphere with most of the tables full and people sitting at the bar enjoying cocktails. Sophie and I had a glass of white wine to start while Keith had a beer. The server bought us some bread and butter while we looked at the menu.

We skipped starters and we ordered Parmesan crusted Sanibel chicken (me), a chicken dish for Sophie off the specials menu, grilled fillet of Snapper for Keith and a Miso soup for Mike, which I thought was a strange choice for him, but he said he picked it because of the shrimp and belly pork. My meal was delicious and was served with mashed potato and broccoli and a gorgeous red pepper cream sauce. It was the best meal I'd had of the holiday so far. Keith liked his fish but said his asparagus was tasteless. Sophie enjoyed her meal as well, but Mike was disappointed with his dinner. He was definitely in the market for a dessert!

Our server was very friendly and efficient and when he asked if we wanted pudding he brought a tray of them to show us, which I thought was a great idea. Sophie and I went for a lovely pineapple creme brulee that was served in a thick slice of pineapple. Mike went for the biggest dessert on the menu, the Malted Chocolate pie and polished it off easily!

The bill came to an almighty $197, the most expensive of any meal we've eaten as a family! It beat the Sandbar restaurant on Anna Maria island last time! We were slightly shocked but it was right and we noticed that the drinks alone came to over $50 (three beers, three wines, a rootbeer). Phew! Time to rein it in again tomorrow!

A little rain must fall...

Today has been a very lazy day spent by the pool with the intention of staying put. Yesterday we bought two cooked chickens, a Caesar salad and some potatoes to make a meal at the villa, to try and recoup some of the money that we spent in the Keys!

We have certainly found things a lot more expensive this holiday. It could well be down to the exchange rate, but we have been astonished at how dear things are in the supermarket. I've already mentioned shampoo, but the packs of beer than Keith buys are about $10 for six small bottles and they can disappear pretty quickly!

In the afternoon, the sky clouded over and we could see that a storm was heading our way. Mike had found an inflatable dolphin/whale? in the garage and everyone had been jumping on it all afternoon and causing much hilarity.

Before it got really bad...

Of course, Mike (being Mike) stayed in the pool while the lightening and thunder were raging until it really was time to get out. We all retreated to the sheltered part of the terrace and watched nature in all her fury! The rain came down in torrents and some of the thunderclaps were unbelievably loud and violent. The rain was so heavy we couldn't see the houses on the other side of the lake! Little, tiny frogs came up from the row of drainage holes that run along the length of the terrace and they hopped about like mad!

Eventually it died away but we all agreed it rivalled the last storm we witnessed in Bradenton. Afterwards, everything felt really clammy and damp and it certainly hadn't cleared the air like we thought it would.

We had a very enjoyable dinner in the evening and then we were treated to a gorgeous sunset of pinks, mauves and reds. Stunning!

Some pics...

I suddenly remembered last night that my camera has a memory card and Sophie's laptop has a memory card slot, so I was able to transfer the photos I've taken so far on the holiday. Here are a few:

Islands of Adventure

Universal:

The bus from Harry Potter

Diagon Alley

Naples Pier:

Key West:

Back to Naples...

Last night we made the unanimous decision to return to our villa in Naples a day early as we all missed the peace and quiet, space and privacy. Today (if we'd stayed in Marathon) was supposed to be a relaxing day spent by the hotel pool but after yesterday and the crowds of people, we changed our minds. It's also our 25th Wedding Anniversary today, and we decided to have a Chinese take-away and have a much-needed night in!

I know we've probably missed a lot that the Keys have to offer and I'll no doubt look back and wish we'd explored a bit more, but we all love the villa and just being able to relax and have our own pool is wonderful, and we're very lucky to have that, so why not make the most of it?

Mike refused to eat breakfast this morning (he did have a banana) and I was half way through a turkey patty when I found some gristle, so the rest of the stuff on my plate went into the bin. We loaded all our bags into the car, checked out and we were on our way!

We had a great journey through the Keys and we kept looking out for a McDonald's for Mike, and amazingly didn't see one! In the end we stopped at the Subway on the 997 again and I satisfied my craving for a bar of chocolate, Mike had a meatball sub while Sophie had a Snickers ice-cream.

Driving on the 41 was lovely and I was doing a steady 70mph until we came across a large truck that slowed all the traffic down. I'm always a bit wary of overtaking in a car that I don't know that well, so I stayed behind him and as soon as the road widened out into two lanes I sped past! It made me realise how lucky I'd been that the two journeys had (mostly) been nice and fast!

Before we went back to the villa we called into Publix and did some shopping, which included a bottle of Chandon, a Californian sparkling wine, to drink tonight. I also treated myself to another bottle of Vodka as the plan was to stay in for the next couple of nights and just relax at the villa.

As soon as we got back we unloaded the car and unpacked all our bags before opening our anniversary cards, some of which we'd bought from home.

It was then time to relax by the pool and do very little! The sky was blue, the sun was shining and it was peaceful and quiet. Bliss!

In the evening we popped out to the Dragon Palace and ordered our meals. We all decided on sweet and sour chicken with pork fried rice and egg rolls. The wine was delicious and I could easily have enjoyed more. Luckily I can buy this in the wine shop I worked at!

After our meal Sophie and I watched a documentary on Scientology presented by Leah Remini and it was perfect ending to a great day!

The Day of the Iguana...

My worst fears about our room were realised last night, as at 11pm I could hear a baby crying next door and the stamper was back above us. The hotel itself just sounded really noisy so I had a bad night's sleep and woke this morning feeling a bit groggy!

We met up at 9am for breakfast and we were lucky to grab a table in the dining room. I'm sure it wasn't as busy as this the last time we were here! Breakfast is free at the hotel, but it's really nothing to write home about - some pork patties with plastic cheese omelettes, a range of pastries, cakes and fruit and a machine that makes pancakes. The coffee is very good, though!

Our plan for today was to drive down to Key West and do some exploring as I felt we really hadn't spent enough time there when we visited three years ago. The weather was glorious and it was wonderful driving over the bridges (including the Seven Mile Bridge) and seeing the sea glittering in the sunshine. The Keys are stunning, there's no doubt about that!

It took us about an hour to make the drive and this time I took the left hand fork to get to the very tip of the island. We drove past the airport and then along the sea front with gorgeous views, and then entered the main tourist area. Unfortunately I became stuck behind four people on mopeds who really weren't concentrating on what they were doing and to make it worse, they were trying not to get separated. None of them were wearing helmets and they were all dressed in shorts so I dread to think what would have happened if they had come off their machines.

Just before we reached the Southernmost Point I overtook two of them, much to their annoyance. I'm not sure whether the pathetic beeps came from them or the motorbike approaching me! We were dismayed to see a long queue of people waiting to have their photo taken at the Southernmost Point...all ideas of stopping and having a wander about were quickly changed! Here's one I did not take:

I suppose the good thing is, we saw it!

We carried on further into Key West and driving became really difficult because a lot of tourists were meandering about with no thought for the traffic and there was a multitude of mopeds dashing about! Luckily we found somewhere safe and legal to park which cost us $20.

We strolled down Whitehead Street and found a bar called The Hog's Breath Saloon. I hadn't really wanted a beer as I'd had a fantasy of enjoying a Cuban coffee in a cute little cafe but I think Keith wanted to get out of the heat for a while. We ordered some drinks and took a table in the dining part of the bar, which immediately infuriated one of the staff who kept looking at us in annoyance! Is it me or are the people here a lot less friendly than in Naples?

After we'd had a drink Sophie bought a tee-shirt in the shop adjoining the bar and we ventured back out into the heat. The heart of Key West is Duvall street which is lined with shops, bars and restaurants. It was very busy (and yes, OK, a little tacky) and I wondered where Ernest Hemingway's house was as I wanted to visit. I'm sorry to say that Keith was not at all impressed and the highlight of our visit was going into a CVS and choosing some really naff nicknacks for Sophie's friends back home! I  bought some Key West playing cards and a bottle opener!

We made our way to the Sunset Pier and Mallory Square and noticed a huge cruise ship in residence.

The heat was unbelievable and we dashed from shop to shop in a vain effort to stay cool. We all decided we'd had enough so we returned to the car where the temperature was registering 106f (41c). No wonder we felt so hot!

Our lunch plans were to go to the Hogfish Bar and Grill on Stock Island where we'd eaten dinner three years ago, so we retraced our route (they were still queuing at the Southernmost Point) and we found it pretty easily as we had an excellent road map of Key West that we'd picked up free in the hotel.

We sat inside with the ceiling fans going but the heat was really beginning to get to us all. We all knew it was going to be boiling in August but you tend to forget how much it affects you and how humid it is! I think we were all a bit fed-up with constantly being bathed in sweat!

Our lunch was lovely and Sophie and I tried Conch (pronounced "conk") fritters to start. I had Hogfish and chips to follow, Sophie had a fried Hogfish sandwich, Keith had pork while Mike had a burger that he said was "truly American"! The food was delicious, but too much, and if we'd been back at the villa I would have taken mine home with me!

After we'd eaten we made our way back to Marathon and before we went to the hotel we called in at a Walgreen's to buy some shampoo and cleansing wipes. I was astonished at the price of shampoo and conditioner - around $5 each! I bought a card for Keith and some wipes and the two items came to $14! Yikes!!

Back at the hotel we decided to take a dip in the pool to cool off. However, the pool was heated! Yes...it was bloomin' warm so it was like taking a bath! We spoke to a woman from Indiana who told us that a man had been out euthanising the Iguanas that hang out by the pool. She was very vocal in her condemnation and carried on talking about it to anyone who would listen for the whole time we were there. I agreed it wasn't right as they weren't doing any harm and it would have been better for them to have been caught and released elsewhere.

There were still plenty of them about, though:

One of them took a liking to our beach towel and licked it!

The pool started to fill up with people, some of whom were very loud, so we retreated to our rooms. Our plan for the evening was to go to the Tarpon Bar and have a drink and snack. We were lucky enough to be able to get the same four seats overlooking the marina and had a very enjoyable evening over drinks and snacks. Sophie and I shared a bottle of Italian Pinot Grigio ($31) while Keith stuck to beer. Mike looked really fed up so Keith did a naughty thing...he bought him a bottle of non-alcoholic beer and once that was finished Mike sloped back off to his room to replenish it with the real beer we'd bought earlier in the day and which was keeping cool in the fridge!

Half way through the evening we heard excited shouts and the staff said there was a baby manatee in the marina. Sophie and I rushed down to look and caught a glimpse of it around the boats. At one point we saw its little nostrils poking above the water! I was really pleased as I'd wanted to see one last time and hadn't.

The Tarpon Bar and Grill.

We enjoyed our evening and dined on pizza and fries (Soph and Mike) and hummus served with veggies for me. Back at the room I read a magazine on what to do if a hurricane strikes...run!