1. This is Hemingway's studio. He had it built on the second floor of the carriage house. Originally, there was a catwalk that ran from his studio, over the cookhouse to the veranda outside his bedroom. Hemingway could get up in the morning and walk right to his studio to work. In 1948, a storm destroyed the cookhouse and catwalk.
Notice the Royal typewriter (above) and Cuban cigar-maker's chair. The studio is filled with mementoes Hemingway collected. It was here where Hemingway worked on many of his classics, including "Green Hills of Africa," "To Have And Have Not," and "For Whom The Bell Tolls." He also penned some of his most-famous short stories, such as "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" and "The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber."
2. The house (below) was built in 1851 by Asa Tift, a marine architect and salvage wrecker. Hemingway moved into the home in 1931. The house contains the furniture that the Hemingways used.
3. There are tons of cats around the home and grounds. They are descendants of the cats Hemingway kept while he lived in the house, including many polydactyls, or extra-toed, like the one Hemingway loved.
The cat above lounges on a tiled area outside and the one below at the foot of Hemingway's bed.
I will post more about my trip to Key West in the coming days. Have you ever been to Key West? If so, what was your favorite thing to do or see?
