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Irish Mirror

Lifestyle

Larissa Nolan

From Dublin to Miami, Irish newlyweds embark on honeymoon still wearing wedding attire

British Airways Dublin Miami Key West (Location) Key Largo (Location) Keys Ernest Hemingway the Florida Keys Fish Florida Keys

I’m at the airport on the way to Miami, still in my wedding dress.

Married less than 24 hours, we’re about to jet off on honeymoon to the tropical islands of the Florida Keys.

This is not a dream.

But waltzing around Dublin’s departures lounge as a bride and groom is as surreal as one.

The plan is for a week of newly-wedded bliss, travelling through the string of coral cays stretching 200km along the southern tip of the state.

It’ll be a road-trip honeymoon; our first holiday as husband and wife.

Actually, our first holiday, ever - considering we only set eyes on each other six months before - but that’s another story.

We’ll stay in three of the archipelago’s islands - Key West, Key Largo and Islamorada.

The term “key” comes from the Spanish word “cayo” which translates as “small island.”

It’s all palm trees and tiki huts, cocktails and sunsets and sandy beaches.

Even the Overseas Highway - the US 1 route which links all the islands - is a marvel; spanning the teal-coloured waters of the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Gulf of Mexico to the west.

The two main islands - Key Largo and Key West - have seeped into the cultural consciousness.

They lie 100 miles (160km) apart, with the beautiful cays of Islamorada and Marathon in between.

Key Largo - made famous in the Bogart and Bacall movie of the same name - is smaller, more regional.

Key West is where America’s most wealthy go - Ernest Hemingway lived here; his home and museum now an attraction. Comedy legend Billy Connolly currently lives here.

The Keys' location lends them an American blend of western and Caribbean culture, while their closeness to Cuba - 90 miles (145km) - adds to the fusion.

All this we learned, by the time we got to Heathrow and made our connection to the British Airways flight to Miami.

We arrived in Miami International Airport, to the biggest queue I have ever seen. If you travel from Ireland, you go through US Pre Clearance in Dublin. But from Heathrow, you face immigration on the other side.

I’m assured this experience was an unlucky aberration. Also - once we were there, it was all worth it.

We’d left freezing cold Ireland - it was minus 2 the day we got married - and arrived to a balmy Miami night. March temperatures here are in the high 20s.

We picked up the Hertz hire car - a nippy Hyundai Kona with a "Sunshine State" reg plate - and headed off to our first stop, Baker’s Cay resort in Key Largo.

Baker’s Cay is a dream - a 200-room, stylish Ocean-front resort, perfect for honeymooners.

It’s all high ceilings, low, wide beds, sliding wooden doors and balconies with views on to the lush grounds and the Florida Bay.

Outside, the beach is heavenly, the water warm enough to walk into. It felt like the Bahamas, only a few hundred kilometres away.

A winding nature trail dotted with trees and hammocks is perfect for privacy, while the waterfall grotto swimming pool is romantic. There’s a beachside bar for cocktails as the sun goes down.

We ate in the resort’s Calusa, an indoor/outdoor restaurant with a menu that puts a Creole-Caribbean spin on American dishes.

Unsurprisingly, fish dominates in the Keys, and Calusa has the local favourites of lobster, snapper, and mahi.

We both had filets of Angus steak with chimichurri, which were melt in-the-mouth tender.

The waiter told us the rum chicken was the house speciality, and we had to come back for it next time. I'm still thinking of it now.

It’s expensive in the Keys, even by Irish standards, with - for example - steaks averaging about $50 (€45), before service charges and tips.

Key Largo is a lazy sprawl, and it was fun just driving around on the huge American roads, marvelling at the super-truck vehicles everyone drives and dropping into Walmart or the ubiquitous Sandal Factory

Country music plays in every shop and there’s a proud patriotism in evidence.

We hopped on board the African Queen the next day - the original boat from the John Huston film starring Katherine Hepburn.

It travels Key Largo’s shore waters and canals, past houses built on storm-resistant stilts, with marinas instead of driveways.

On our last day here, we take the glass-bottomed boat tour on the Key Largo Princess, where passengers get a glimpse into the undersea world of the coral reef.

Then it was onto lunch in the unique Key Largo Fisheries, a waterfront restaurant with locally sourced seafood, soups and salads.

Here we had the best meal of the holiday - blackened mahi fish with sweet potato fries, fish ceviche, and a tropical salad with mango and almonds. Fresh, tasty and unforgettable.

We arrived at Key West to a very different part of the Florida Keys. It’s a busy city, a glittering party town, a yachting playground for the rich. It’s unique and independent - and has the laid-back attitude of the area. It’s called the Conch Republic - after the large sea snail that lives in its waters, with its people known as “conches”. They’re friendly, cool, and cavalier about time.

The Perry Hotel and Marina is boutique luxury - both modern and classic with the influence of old Key West.

Helpful host Hannah ensures we want for nothing during our stay. The rooms are expansive and airy, with oversized ceiling fans and views of the swimming pool below - with parasols and private cabanas - and the marina beyond.

The Salty Oyster Dockside bar and grill that sits poolside serves coastal comfort food like tenderloin sliders and tuna poke bowls, and delivers craft cocktails.

Everyone is impressed by our dinner reservation at Latitudes restaurant, on the exclusive island of Sunset Key, reachable by ferry. Apparently, there’s a long waiting list for this elegant beachfront restaurant, with views of the Gulf of Mexico.

Pan-seared yellow-tailed snapper is delicious, as is the steak with cauliflower gratin, but the fine dining is only one part of the palm-treed magic of Latitudes, which is like a restaurant from a romantic novel, with its outdoor white-clothed, candlelit tables and warm breezes.

Lunch the following day is at Blue Heaven, an authentic Key West favourite.

This is al fresco dining, The Keys’ style, with canopies of tropical foliage and cats roaming around, and a sail strung between trees for shade.

A Sunday brunch of avocado omelette with ginger and black bean sauce was like nothing I’ve ever tasted before.

Later on, the wind and wine sail with Danger Charters was an indulgence - two hours on a schooner being served fine wines and hors d’oeuvres.

It’s for lovebirds, honeymooners and the newly-engaged, judging by our fellow passengers, who all seemed loaded, gorgeous and young.

For something more our scene, we went bar-hopping one of the nights - out on Duval Street, home of the famous Sloppy Joe's, where Hemingway hung out. There's lots of "clothing optional" bars, such as the Garden of Eden, which piqued my attention enough to drop in.

We hit the Green Parrot, the Celtic Conch Irish bar, and the excellent Bull music bar, with a live band playing a mix of American rock classics and originals. You can see why this place is a favourite for Spring-breaker college students looking to party. It's kitschy, subtropical city fun.

We left Key West for another resort, in Islamorada - Amara Cay. Different from the other hotels, it suited the last leg of the journey. It’s ideal for those travelling with older kids or young teenagers.

It was exciting and lively, with tiki bars and table-tennis, open fires, shallow pools and all-night beaches. I’d bring my 13 year-olds the next time, where they could free-range it, while us adults could enjoy some alone time.

We went to Chef Michaels, a roadside restaurant, about ten minutes away. Here, we finally sampled the region’s famous Key Lime Pie, which is a light and lovely dessert of custard, lime juice and meringue.

Too soon, it was time for the return trip. On the way back to Miami, we stopped off at the eclectic Robbie’s Marina, a mix of outdoor shops, restaurants and water activities, such as feeding the tarpons, fish native to The Keys.

The Mahi salad here was excellent, in Robbie’s restaurant The Hungry Tarpon, a down-home spot with its walls covered in dollar bills - an old tradition - and where you can cook your own catch.

The novelty cocktail on the menu was the Trailer Trash Bloody Mary, a drink for those of strong constitution, with blue cheese, pickle, a crispy bacon strip and a meat straw.

We felt the presence of the crocs and gators on the drive past swamps and rivers. A hoped-for last minute snorkel was scuppered by their possible appearance, as we got closer to Miami.

The parting was made easier by the sweet American Airlines staff, who upgraded us on the flight back, when they heard we were returning from honeymoon.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime holiday, the perfect post-wedding place for those with an adventurous streak. Driving on five-lane highways out of and into the city and across the Keys’ famed Seven-Mile-Bridge was a rollercoaster thrill in itself.

I’m already planning a return trip, for our first anniversary.

I’m coming back to the Conch Republic.