Category: Oceania Riviera “Mayan Mystique” Cruise
Hemingway’s Wedding Area
Hemingways Cats and “Cat Houses”!
Elizabeth Taylor wears a gem around her neck and poses on a chunk of wood, whenever people approach the home. Olivia protects Hemingway’s photographs in the book store, and many other leading ladies and men roam Hemingway’s grounds.
The legacy of Hemingway’s love for his cats carries on and the generation of cats remaining have a permanent home here in Key West. Their accommodations visible throughout the estate are built with obvious love and respect for their independent mentality.
Hemingway’s Writing Studio–my personal favorite!
A Farewell to Arms; The Old Man and the Sea; For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Sun Also Rises are amongst his better-known creations.
His writing studio was unique and tropical–an upper room adorned with natural light from windows in every direction. His black typewriter still sits on a round table at the center of his room. Guides repeatedly emphasized “his life as he lived it” and not his untimely death.
Lush Grounds Surrounding Hemingway’s Abode
The Parrot Bar
Thirst came upon us following our walk back from Hemingway’s Home, so we stopped at the Parrot Bar for a refresher. There wasn’t any more room at the main bar, so we created our own space at the back of the room, sitting on some old bar stools. We refreshed our thirst, while entertaining ourselves reading all of the wall paraphernalia—a large part of the history of The Green Parrot Bar! Terry enjoyed the Chicago Bear plaques, in particular, and readily pointed them out to her Minnesota Viking friend, Keith!

(Keith was particularly fond of this plaque, being from Minnesota)









Earnest Hemingway’s Home in Key West
Day #1: Key West
Key West was a quaint, “touristy” count, containing a few rare gems, such as Ernest Hemingway’s house and the Truman White House. A majority of the houses were two-story with quaint southern porches and white picket or wrought iron fences. All of the homes were engulfed in lush, tropical vegetation.















BG to wondering folks: “I own this company”



Day #1: Disembarking Oceania for our first port: Key West
Exploring the Riviera
Muster Time
Shortly after you board the ship, every passenger must participate in going to his/her assigned muster place on the ship with life jacket in hand, in order to listen to emergency procedures, in case of disaster. As you can see, our Veranda Stateroom was quite large with a nicely-sized balcony for viewing sunrises/sunsets, approaching islands, sea life, pilot boats, anchoring crews, beautiful beaches, etc.
Ships for Anderson
Farewell to the Miami Skyline
Oceania Terrace Restaurant
Oceania Riviera-our first voyage
Disembarking from Riviera to our first port: Key West





(the Celebrities)


Our Adventure Begins
On our way to the Best Western North in Dallas, prior to our flight to Miami at 5:45 the next morning, we stopped at the New York Cafe in Thurber to enjoy a St. Patrick’s Day lunch. Keith was the only one wearing a green shirt and the only one who ate the St. Patrick’s Day brisket, sausage and cabbage special. Throughout our trip, Mary was quite jovial about Keith’s antics.