Old Havana

Old Havana is great, it's a crumbling beauty for sure. I really enjoyed the city, it's not overcrowded and you can get around on foot really quickly. Here are some things you should know.

If you think having 2ply toilet paper is important (see post below), you may also need a TOILET SEAT, we ate at a nice boulevard style restaurant and there wasn't a toilet seat to be found in the washrooms, this includes the WOMEN'S WASHROOM. So ladies, do your stretches.

"Good Cuban cuisine " means, "Okay food", "Highly Reccomended" might just mean, "Passable" I didn't find the food in the city to really be that great, I'd reccomend keeping your expectations low.

If you are young or even look young, you will have people UP YOUR ASS all the time, "Hey, where you from ?" means, "I am going to get close to you and annoy you." I had to just keep walking so I wouldn't freak out on anyone, that's why I look like this in these photos (see above). If you are old or look old, you won't get hassled as much. I've never enjoyed being rude as much as I enjoyed being rude in Old Havana.

You can also walk around and not be hassled, folks mainly approach you outside your hotel, but after you are clear, you're alright to head out without being bothered.

The National Gallery is a great way to kill an hour and a half, really enjoyed alot of the work I saw there, next trip I'll check theInternarional Collection, which is a separate building, I just wanted to see some Cuban art that wasn't a painting of an old wrinkly guy holding a cigar or Che Guevara or Castro.

If you see some musicians playing STOP and check them out, it is impossible to find a bad live band in Old Havana, stop and check out every band you see. I don't know about buying cd's, the live sound of Old Havana is probably hard to capture in a studio.

The air in Old Havana is polluted, it's not horrible, but you may not be used to poor air quality so don't exert yourself too much, take breaks from walking, especially from walking in the sun after breathing the air. Yes, we love taking pictures of the old cars, but it comes at a price.

You can totally crash the mini bar in a Cuban Hotel, it's that cheap, you can also buy beer in vending machines.

I would go back to Cuba next year for a vacation, no problem. It was great.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Super Club Breezes, Jibacoa, Cuba

 Have just gotten back into town from a much needed vacation with my best girl, we went to Cuba for a week and stayed at a small all inclusive (see title of this post). I think the youngest you can be to be allowed to stay there is fourteen, it may be sixteen, I can't remember.

Before we left Toronto I was about an inch away from quitting painting full time. I've been hustling nonstop since November and it's really taken it's toll, I am not kidding, I was just about finished with this artist and social networking bullshit, so getting out of town was a must. Unfortunately I am a task oriented guy and it took me at least two and half days to get used to not doing anything at all but reading and lying about.

Here are some quick impressions of our Hotel which I highly reccomend if you are childless (or have sent your children off to school/ camp/ relatives/ prison, etc.) and just want to chill.

Go BEFORE or AFTER March Break, our hotel never felt like it was at full capacity. I'm sure it was much different there this week.

If you like 2ply or even 1 ply toilet paper (whatever a ply is) bring your own, the toilet paper in Cuba is functional NOT comfortable.
Get an "Ocean View" room, this means you have a patch of green to walk out on and don't face another building, can't reccomend this enough, but you can't have room 1208, that's my room.
Cubans have yet to master Italian cooking or get close to figuring it out, we reserved at one of the restaurants at our hotel and ate possibly the worst meal we both have ever had, seriously, I'd rather eat the food prepared on "Just Like Mom" than ever touch Italian food at this resort.
Bring a travel coffee mug, the big silver kind, for your drinks, it will keep them cold in the sun, everyone there was doing it, the drinks you are served are the size of the old orange juices you'd get for breakfast at McDonalds.
The food at the buffet is REALLY GOOD you do not have to put salt on it, I don't know what's up with people and salt. I watched a guy salt his food for a minute and he was eating sausages. You don't have to do it.
Bring home lots of booze and coffee for your friends, there really is not much to buy in Cuba and it's cheap.
Make your peace with Papaya, Pineapple, Guava and fibrous Oranges, you will be eating alot of them and no other fruit. I ate five whole pineapples in a week and was awarded a pineapple for my efforts.
If you don't want to mingle, you don't have to, most couples just kept to themselves and read and swam and had drinks, there is no pressure.
All in all, we really enjoyed it, next post OLD HAVANA!
p.s Our inflight movie on Sun Wing air on the way over was "Secretariat" which, near as I can tell is about a woman who abandons her family to go talk to a horse. It was crazy stupid.