My third day began at Moondog, this place would become my favorite place to eat and I just came across it spontaneously, it wasn't even on my list of places to try. This fun and funky eatery was kitty corner from my hotel, so I would pass by it while walking to and from my different activities. I glanced at a menu one night and thought it would be a fun place to try. Turns out their food is AMAZING, I actually ate here twice in one day.
They had a dessert case in the front full of brightly colored, culinary creations decorated with edible glitter, shaved chocolate and powdered sugar. I resisted their sweet temptations during breakfast, but gave in when I came back for dinner and I am so glad I did, it was one of the best pastries I have ever had, more on that in the next post...
The ambiance is full of whimsical, brightly colored, creative mural masterpieces, it is an enchanting place.
I got to sit in such a fun, little corner of their backyard patio. I got to sit right next to moondog himself!
I got the Caprese Benedict and it was heavenly, best benedict on the island. (ok I only tried two benedicts so I don't know for sure if it's the best on the island, but it was pretty darn delicious)
Grilled tomato, house pesto, fresh mozzarella, poached eggs, homemade croissant & classic hollandaise
After breakfast, I walked across the street to the Hemingway house, which is also directly across the street from my hotel and the lighthouse. I loved my little neighborhood so much, there were so many amazing places to eat and visit all within a 1-3 minute walk from my hotel room.
The Hemingway home was built in 1851 in the Spanish Colonial style and was constructed of native rock hewn from the grounds. The home was in great disrepair when the Hemingways took ownership, but both Ernest and Pauline could see beyond the rubble and ruin and appreciated the grand architecture and stateliness of the home. The massive restoration and remodeling they undertook in the early 1930s turned the home into a National Historical Landmark.
Visiting the Hemingway House had been the number one thing I was most excited to do, not only because of the beautiful architecture and history but because of the CATS!
The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum is home to approximately 60 polydactyl (six-toed) cats. Cats normally have five front toes and four back toes. About half of the cats at the museum have the physical polydactyl trait but they all carry the polydactyl gene in their DNA, which means that the ones that have 4 and 5 toes can still mother or father six-toed kittens. Most cats have extra toes on their front feet and sometimes on their back feet as well. Sometimes it looks as if they are wearing mittens because they appear to have a thumb on their paw.
Before touring through the home, I spent a long time wandering through the gardens trying to see how many cats I could find.
They were everywhere! I didn't even try and count how many I saw. Most of them were lazily lounging in the shade. Most of them were very friendly and calm and enjoyed getting pets.
Ernest Hemingway was given a white six-toed cat by a ship’s captain and some of the cats who live on the museum grounds are descendants of that original cat, named Snow White. Key West is a small island and it is possible that many of the cats on the island are related. The polydactyl cats are not a particular breed. The trait can appear in any breed, Calicos, Tabbies, Tortoise Shell, White, Black, etc. They vary in shapes, sizes, colors and personalities.
This beautiful kitty was my favorite. He had just gotten a handsome lion cut to help keep him cool. His eyes were the most unique color of aquamarine, I haven't ever seen a cat with that color of eye before. Even though he looks kind of grumpy, he was actually very sweet and loved attention.
These cute little kitty houses were tucked into the foliage all around the property.
Baby kittens aren't allowed to free roam the property, so there is a special area where visitors can meet the newest additions.
Hemingway named all of his cats after famous people and they still follow that same tradition today.
The kittens were super playful, the especially loved playing with my camera strap.
After spending a significant time in the gardens with all the adorable kitties, I finally made my way inside Hemingway's home.
From 1931 to 1939, the house was inhabited by Hemingway and his wife Pauline Pfeiffer. They restored the decaying property and made several additions. During his time at the home, Hemingway wrote some of his best received works, including the non-fiction work Green Hills of Africa (1935), the 1936 short stories "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" and "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber", and the novels To Have And Have Not (1937) and Islands in the Stream (1970),
The cats have free roam of the house and museum as well. It was so fun to unexpectedly come across a sleeping kitty in different places throughout the home.
Returning to Key West from an African safari in 1934, Ernest Hemingway stopped off in New York to take a few meetings. At one with the editor of Esquire, Arnold Gingrich, Hemingway was given a $3300 advance for some short stories. He promptly took himself out to Coney Island to the Wheeler Shipyard and used the cash as a down payment on a customized yacht.
The finished yacht cost $7500 and was brought to Key West and christened Pilar. (Not only the name of the heroine in For Whom the Bell Tolls, but Pilar is also the nickname for then-wife Pauline.) Through Key West-friend and hardware store owner, Charles Thompson, Hemingway gained permission to dock her at the Navy Yard (the Navy was barely using it at the time.) This put the ship at dock only a few blocks from Hemingway’s home on Whitehead Street.
There were fun kitty details all around the property. These cat lace drapes were my favorite.
There were lots of different pieces of art by varying artists depicting different interpretations of the Hemingway House, they were really fun to see.
The Hemingways’ personal touches still abound throughout the house. Many of the unique furnishings are European antiques collected during their stay on the continent. The trophy mounts and skins were souvenirs of the Hemingways’ African safaris and numerous hunting expeditions in the American west.
Like all cats, Hemingways cats love to congregate and sleep on the cozy bed.
This sleepy tabby had the best, most visible examples of the polydactyl trait on both his front and back paws.
Another fun artistic depiction of this famous Key West landmark.
After touring through the whole house, I headed out back to get a good look at the beautiful pool. A unique and extraordinary feature of the grounds is the pool, built in 1937-38, at the staggering cost of $20,000. It was the first in-ground pool in Key West, and the only pool within 100 miles. The exorbitant construction costs once prompted Hemingway to take a penny from his pocket, press it into the wet cement of the surrounding patio, and announce jokingly, “Here, take the last penny I’ve got!” Tourists are invited to look for the penny, still embedded between flagstones at the north end of the pool. (I didn't know this story while I was visiting, so I don't have a picture of the infamous penny. Something to look for next time!)
I took a quick peek inside the book/gift shop. There were some cute things, but nothing I needed.
In my opinion, the best gift shop is this artist who sets up here workshop everyday in front of the Hemingway House. I had been curious about her work since I had seen it several times from across the street when coming and going from my hotel. I absolutely loved her style.
She had a series where she incorporated kitties and roosters, Key Wests most famous inhabitants, into famous works of art. She had several of Hemingway and his cats as well as a lot of portraits of one of my favorite women from history, Frida Khalo.
This is her info.
In the end I couldn't pass up getting a couple of her pieces. I chose one with a kitty and one with a rooster, which is VERY Key West. One of my girl Frida, and one of my favorites from her series of famous works of art with a cute kitty added in. I love them so much!
She likes to take pictures of all the people that purchase her art and post them on her instagram account. I'm thrilled to have been added to the list!
