Havana, Cuba - Sunday

Sister Sarah and I did a day trip to Havana today ... it's about a two hour drive.

Our bus was supposed to pick us up at 7:45am but didn't arrive to 8:15am.  Oh well!

Nelson was our host.  He was very knowledgeable and friendly.

Along the way, we stopped at a piña colada bar ... this would have been about 10am!

You get the piña colada and then you add the rum and cinnamon yourself.  Interesting way to start the day!  They were tasty!

Sister Sarah got hers in a pineapple.

Here is Sister Sarah with Nelson.

Once we got to Havana, we drove around getting a tour.  We stopped at Plaza de la Revolución for a few minutes.

There are lots of old cars in Havana.  These were parked next to the Plaza.  If you take a picture of a car, you must pay the driver about five pesos ($6).  I was sneaky when I took mine.

The architecture around Havana is awesome!

 We walked around Castillo de los Tres Reyes Magos del Morro a bit.

Nelson explained the differences between cigars.

There is a small flea market outside the walls.

We had lunch at La Divina Pastroa La Tasca (it was included in the tour package) ... it is just down the hill from the castle.

 The server gave us welcome drinks and Nelson made a toast.

Here are me and Sister Sarah.

 There were lots of kitties hanging on the terrace.

 We were entertained while we eat.

Then we were driven back to the downtown area and went on a walking tour.

This is a sacred tree.  You are supposed to walk around it three times, make a wish and put some $$ next to it ... and I did.

 We toured the Spanish palace ... if you take pictures inside, you must pay five pesos.

 Some of the buildings we walked by ...

 This is a bar where Ernest Hemingway used to hang out ... alas, we didn't stop in; we just walked by.

 The jail ... so behave!

The last stop was a huge flea market where you could get everything from teeshirts to jewelry to purses to paintings.

I walked around a bit but didn't buy anything.

Then we headed back to the bus and back to Varadero.

It was a long day but a good tour.  We didn't get back 'til 6:30pm.  Havana is so different from Toronto!