Friday, April 21, 2017:
Our time in La Habana was coming to a way too rapid close, so we had to get in as much as possible on our last full day in Cuba.
CUBAN FACT OF THE DAY: On November 27, 1492, Christopher Columbus first stepped on Cuban soil near today's city of Gibara on the northeast tip of the island in the province of Holguin.
We were all out of La Casa Azul fairly early as we wanted to explore more of the capital city.
Fidel Castro, 1926-2016
Gone but definitely not forgotten
Coppelia for ice cream
The six of us ordered two large bowls with five scoops each. Each of the five scoops was also a different flavor.
I liked the orange best but the vanilla was rich in flavor too.
José was our outstanding
server at Coppelia
The start of the Universidad de la
Habana's outer wall
One more photo op at my Dad's
Alma Mater
Speaking of Dr. Jorge Contreras, M.D.'s
Alma Mater . . .
An old Ford and some colorful
buildings in La Habana
Who would have guessed that we'd see these today?
She is 95 years young, full of
energy but I helped cross the busy
street anyway
Great young people from
the city of Camagüey
Hey, my Dad was from Camagüey!
I wonder if we're cousins?
They helped guide us to our next stop, El Callejón de Hamel.
The Callejón de Hamel
is an artsy alleyway
This T-Bird is nice but it's
even better when you see . . .
. . . the wooden, hand carved
dash, WOW!
Colorful and a bit surreal
Ring me up
You can even get a haircut
on Callejón de Hamel
Callejón de Hamel
What a place!
We then took a taxi to the beginning
of lively Calle Obispo
Music, revelers and shoppers
were all over Calle Obispo
Calle Obispo sounds
Again, you'll need Google Chrome to see the videos on this blogpost.
Colorful characters are
part of the fabric of La Habana
Narrow stairwells make
great souvenir shops
I just liked his face
I am still amazed that I did not
buy one of these desserts
As I said, Calle Obispo is colorful
The music drew us into this bar
for a much needed cerveza Cristal
This dancer was EXCELLENT
So were his shoes
Let's see them trip the
light fantastic again
There we are in the mirror
about to enjoy our cold Cristals
Meanwhile our bartender
was a non-stop mojito making
MACHINE!
They danced MUCH better
on stilts than I ever will on
my own two left feet
See what I mean?
Laurie found a fan store
Just as amazing as my not buying a dessert earlier, she didn't buy a fan either.
Calle Obispo was ALIVE!
With El Caballero de Paris
This statue is dedicated to José María López Lledin, a Spaniard who came to La Habana at the age of 13 in 1912.
Apparently he was wrongly imprisoned in the late 1920s, a fact which mentally unhinged him.
For the next five decades, the now lovable tramp roamed the city's streets under his new name, El Caballero de Paris.
He never begged but did offer poems and compliments to the ladies and pens and pencils to the children.
My Mother told me that she clearly remembers his offering her compliments back in the day on more than one occasion.
El Caballero de Paris passed away in 1985.
After lunch at the Hotel Ambos Mundos again, everyone but me wanted to continue shopping, so we split up.
Colorful ladies on the
Plaza de la Cathedral
Dry docked boats
near the harbor
The inside of the Cathedral
San Cristobal de la Habana
Entrance to the Castillo de la
Real Fuerza
Green is grandson Jacob's
favorite color
NEVER run with these
in your hand!
Commies
Nice, random mural
The Huskies are purple and gold
The Museo de la Revolución
José Martí
Part of the old Cuban Air Force
El Capitolio in the distance
Great place to walk to
beat the heat or the rain
AN OLD CAR!
Sloppy Joe's Bar has a GREAT
restroom for only 50 centavos
El Capitol getting closer
Locals shopping
Dare you to drive to the hole
Señora enjoying the afternoon
El Comandante
La Habana Vieja hubbub
Open air fruit stand
Son is a form of Cuban
dance music
Inside they were teaching how
to dance to the Son beat
Nice Chevy
Interesting Caballero
Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra
My three favorite Cubans of all-time
I didn't bring home one of these
Getting her fortune read by a Santera
I'm not sure which lady is more colorful.
Speaking of colorful
Back at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba
Wedding Day Limo
Mark met a Cuban wrestler at the
California Café
Mark, having been a wrestler in high school and college, as well as a highly respected international wrestling referee, instantly took a liking to this young man.
How many old cars are there in
La Habana?
Dinner again next door to
La Casa Azul at El Rincocito
Mark loves his ice cream 24/7
Me? I love flan!
The incredible staff at El Rinconcito
From left to right: waiter/host Alejandro, our two chefs, owner Ernesto and super waitress Lili
The food was fabulous and plentiful. We all highly recommend it if you are in La Habana's El Vedado district!
We thought that Lili was
the best part of the
El Rinconcito experience
The ladies said we were wrong,
Alejandro was the true
Numero Uno
It was yet another GREAT
day in Cuba!
No comments:
Post a Comment