So the last evening, in plenty of time, we took a meandering walk through shady residential streets - heading purposefully west. The streets away from Duval and Truman are so quiet - lined by larger Victorian houses with their inviting shady porches and tree-filled front yards mixed up with the narrow, brightly painted conch houses.

You know the sort of conversation you start having - "We could work from home . . . easily. I could do some bar work. It would be great - we could live here!!" (We later saw some real estate magazines. There goes that dream).

Anyhow, despite succumbing to the odd tempting cold beer and margarita around the harbour, we made it to Mallory Square with half an hour to spare. This is why the rest of the town is so quiet! So there's the guys selling overpriced paintings, the interesting jewellery . . . (hey, if lots of tourists are gathered in one place sell 'em stuff)- some of it even looked OK. The street theatre is distracting - the performers we saw were very amusing or it might just be me who finds beagles doing tricks that funny.

And then the sun starts to plummet from the sky. Either I don't watch many sunsets (and I guess I don't) but when the sun gets close to the horizon it really seems to speed up!! We had a great spot sat on the water's edge - you're surrounded by hundreds of people doing the same thing but it seemed curiously peaceful for those few minutes as the orange glow spreads across the water. I liked it.

We got some freshly prepared guacamole and sat down at the water’s edge and watched the sun set into the Gulf of Mexico. Everyone was just hanging around having a peaceful time listening to the sounds of the street performers. Several sunset cruises were sailing in the harbor as well and the crowd on the pier would wave at the passengers on the boats. After a while we moved on and saw an escape artist wrap himself in a straight jacket, get wrapped in chains and get hung upside down escape. At the end of the pier, we watched a group of trained house cats do tricks under the direction of a crazy French man.

Driving to Key West, one of the most obvious places to catch a truly stupendous sunset is Seven Mile Bridge at MM 45, the longest of the 40+ bridges that link the Keys to the mainland. On the north side of the bridge lie the remnants of the original Seven Mile Bridge built in the early 1900s. If you park on the northern side of the bridge, you can walk along a 2 ¼ mile stretch of the old bridge to pick your viewing spot (as seen in ‘True Lies’), towards Pigeon Key National Historic District (Visitor centre at MM 53.5), a restored railroad work camp from 1908. There is a museum here about Henry Flagler and the railroad. You can also swim and picnic here, as well as staying at some historic guesthouses perhaps after watching the sunset.

In Key West itself, Mallory Square at the northern end of Duval St. is the site of the town’s famous sunset celebrations, where you can gaze out westwards to see the sun bid farewell for the day as it gradually slips beneath the exotic waters of the Caribbean. This spot tends to get a little crowded as this is where the pre ‘Duval Crawl’ crowd get geared up for a night on the town, to the accompaniment of music and entertainment.

Another great way to see a Key West sunset is out on the water. In many ways this is the perfect way, as you can either watch it with others as you return from a day out snorkeling at the reefs, or as part of a sunset dining experience. The ship’s captain will make certain that from wherever you watch the spectacle, it will be from a grandstand location unhindered by obstacles! There is definitely something very special about swaying in the breeze, hearing the sound of the water gently lapping against the sides of the boat in the company of friends...

If you can afford to ‘push the boat out,'' nothing would beat the romance of just the two of you enjoying the sunset together!

There were entertainers and groups of people gathered around them, street vendors selling everything from candles to pina coladas to hot dogs. There was even a karaoke booth, where you could sing and get a free t-shirt. One entertainer that caught our eye was the Cat Guy in front of the Holiday Inn. He was either CRAZY or on drugs, but very entertaining. I don't think anyone really knew what to think of him, but everyone seemed entranced. The cats do some pretty neat tricks also. There is a another cat guy on the pier next to the hotel. He's a little more normal and has a few more cats that you can go pet if you like. We liked the cats named "Lisa" and "Batman". :)

Mallory Square itself is located in between/in front of some of the grandest hotels on the island and there's a nearby marina. It was neat to see all the boats out for a sunset sail.

We finally found a spot on a bridge with a big pole in our line of sight, but it was the best we could find. When the sun finally set, it slipped behind a cloud at the last minute, preventing it from fully reflecting off the water. There were no other clouds in the sky, so it was a little dissapointing.

It was definitely something you should do once on your visit, but there are better places on the island to watch the sunset. It's a free, entertaining, vacation-type event to do.

It is a sunset you will remember forever as visitors and locals alike join together to watch the sun as it slowly descends into the western sky.

Accompanying the celebration are a variety of musicians, entertainers and vendors.

While the celebration is free the entertainers do pass the hat.

The sunset celebration is such a big part of Key West life that the town passed a law saying cruise ships had to depart the docks an hour before sundown so as to not block the view.

The party atmosphere was fun. People were just there for a good time. The art work and crafts for sale varied in quality as did the routines of the street performers. After sunset the crowd wanders up Duval street in search of liquid rewards for their arduous labor.