Puerto Rico – April 2013 – Day 7 & End

Our last, full day in Puerto Rico.

Breakfast was actually muffins and a banana we had snuck away at the last breakfast buffet – hooray for in-room mini fridges. But we were still hungry so she shared a bagel and cream cheese from Starbucks. That Starbucks in the lobby sure comes in handy, doesn’t it?

Breakfast on the beach! Déjeuner sur la plage!

Enjoying our last day on the beach. On profite de notre dernière journée sur la plage.

Salem soaking up the sun. Salem se fait bronzer au soleil.

We spent the whole day on the beach, grabbed lunch from Subway (a block away and cheap) and ran back to the beach to eat it. I was able to grab some pictures of some of the fish hanging around at the beach. Hint: they like to hang out underneath the 2 floating platforms. There are so many of them and I love it!

The hotel also has a lookout where there are plenty of fish but you can’t swim there unless you like turbulent water and getting bashed up against rocks and coral. Your only option: look down into the water and do some major fish spotting.

Look! FISH! Yay, des poissons!

More FISH! Il y en a d’autres!

Supper was at Il Giardinieri (a restaurant at the hotel). I had some passion fruit juice and they were out of coconut shrimp so we had the calamari. Salem ordered a steak with plantain chips/gallettes and I ordered lasagna (and they actually confirmed there was only beef in there – woohoo!). The service was good and the price decent for what we had.

Salem had steak and plantain “galettes”. Salem a pris le steak et des galettes aux plantains.

Lasagna, how I have missed you! La lasagne, comme tu m’as manqué!

Later on, we had smoothies and a chocolate treat from Starbucks. And with that, we ended our last full day in Puerto Rico.

Heading on home
There isn’t much to write about concerning our trip home.

Warning: We were actually charged for a few things we never ordered. The clerk at the front desk never checked with Salem, but thankfully Salem looked before leaving. He went back and got a refund. Honestly – always review the bill with your customer!

We got to look like mad people when we had to dig things out of our bags because they were overweight. Thankfully, the staff at the airport were nice about it – I guess they’re used to it. I still felt a bit embarrassed – where did all this stuff come from?

And we had to run, but RUN, to our connecting flight – I think we had 5 minutes to spare before the flight took off. Our arriving flight was late, it takes forever to taxi to the gate (JFK) and then everyone wants to get off immediately. How about letting the people with a connecting flight go first? No, of course not!

Missing luggage: we came back rather empty handed – We ran to the plane but our bags couldn’t. After a lengthy wait to submit the paperwork at Trudeau Airport, we went home (thanks for the ride, Dad) and got our luggage the next day. Alhamdullilah, nothing was missing. 🙂

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Puerto Rico – April 2013 – Day 6

Back to Old San Juan for a day full of fortresses and some shopping!

Morning

Today was our highly anticipated day back to Old San Juan! We were up at 8 (that’s early for us, when on vacation), dressed, out the door and driven to Plaza Colon by 9 am. We decided to try out Café Berlin for breakfast (I had heard good reviews about one of their morning drinks). We sat on the terrace in order to enjoy the nice weather and do some people-watching.

Breakfast: 2 eggs, any style (Caro = sunny-side up, Salem = scrambled) for $2.50. 2 orders of tomato-basil bread ($2.00) – Oh my was this bread ever something to write home about! One coffee, one americano and their famous breakfast juice (zucchini, mint, lemon). The coffee was great, the breakfast juice was amazing. Honestly, we wish we could’ve gone back again to experience breakfast all over again! Great service too, all for less than $20. Woot woot!

On the terrace at Café Berlin. La terrasse au Café Berlin.

Café Berlin’s tasty breakfast drink. Le fameux breuvage-matin au Café Berlin.

Breakfast is served! Le déjeuner est servi!

Salem enjoying his coffee. Salem profite de son café.

Castillo San Cristobal

Our tour started around 10:30 at the Castillo San Cristobal about 100m away. We were lucky – it was some sort of federal park day so entrance was free. Salem’s co-workers had said it would only take an hour to visit. Right… It took us over 2 hours, but then again, we like history and reading the information plaques and taking pictures, etc.

Let me share a bit of history with you: The fortress was originally built in 1634 to defend (Spanish) Puerto Rico and the Americas from attacks by other European powers (ie: English, Dutch, French) as well as other entities in the Caribbean sea.

Drawings on the dungeon wall. Des dessins sur un mur du dongeon.

More dungeon drawings. Un autre dessin dans le dongeon.

Tunnels inside the fortress. Les tunnels de la forteresse.

A Spanish boat. Un navire espagnol.

Salem + musket = happy Salem. Salem + musquet = Salem est très content.

Thankfully, the musket isn’t loaded. Dieu merci, le musquet n’a pas de balles!

Cannon balls – I can’t imagine the weight of these. Des balles de cannon. Je ne peux m’imaginer du poids de celles-ci.

Very nice views of the sea and city are offered and the fortress itself is very well maintained and offers a lot of information. Admission is $3.00 for this fortress alone or you can do a combo of Castillo San Cristobal and Castillo El Morro for $5.00.

On the roof of Castillo San Cristobal. Sur le toît du Castillo San Cristobal.

C&S posing inside the castillo. Below if the way to El Morro. C&S font une pose dans le castillo. An arrière-plan; le chemin pour se rendre à El Morro.

Caro peeking out. Caro regarde par une grosse fenêtre.

Looking east. Apperçu vers l’est.

Salem, Old San Juan and the port below. Salem, le vieux San Juan et le port en arrière-plan.

Up on the rooooooof! Sur le toît.

View from a WWII lookout, towards the east. La vue à partir d’un poste de guet datant de la 2e guerre mondiale. Vue vers l’est.

There’s a shuttle between San Cristobal and El Morro which is included in your entrance fee. Or, you can do like us and walk the 1.5-2 km stretch from one to the other. If you’re going to do the walk along the fortification walls, I would suggest you stay just south of the wall (as many are advised on Trip Advisor forums) otherwise you might end up in La Perla, which is supposed to be a bit of a rougher neighbourhood. it’s a 15 minute walk which felt like longer because we had a backpack, it was hot and the sun was at its zenith. Woops! Thankfully, we had plenty of water, sunscreen and snacks.

On our way to El Morro. En route vers El Morro.

Castillo El Morro

There’s El Morro in the background. El Morro à l’horizon!

We finally made it to the gates of El Morro! Ça y est! Nous sommes arrivés à El Morro!

El Morro is a bit more of a maze and is larger than Castillo San Cristobal and it is also older (construction started in 1529 but expansions continued over the next 400 years). It spans 6 different levels (you start on level 5). We went to the 6th level for some amazing views and went down to the 4th level but we gave up after that because it was so hot (stone fortress + full sun + humidity + not much air circulation in most areas). Either way, it was almost 2 pm and we were getting hungry. This too offers great views of the sea and historical info.

Canon aimed at the beach? Un cannon qui vise la plage?

I guess that explains why it’s pointed at the beach! Ça explique pourquoi il vise la plage!

Salem looking out at El Morro. Salem scrute l’horizon à El Morro.

A look into the center of El Morro. On voit le centre d’El Morro ici.

The fortress walls, coast and the ocean to the east. Les murs de la forteresse, la côte et l’océan vers l’est.

Salem and the northern cost of El Morro. Salem et la côte nord d’El Morro.

Lizards also like tourism. Les lézards aiment aussi les visites touristiques.

Salem posing on the south side of El Morro. LOL! Salem pose du côté sud d’El Morro. LOL!

The 4th level of El Morro – it’s hot here! Le 4e niveau d’El Morro; il fait très chaud ici!

We took the free shuttle back to the more central part of Old San Juan and made our way to Barrachina (104 Calle Fortaleza) as I had heard some good reviews about it. You can either sit indoors or in a “courtyard”. Of course, we picked the courtyard. I ordered the shrimp mofongo in a tomato sauce over cassava, Salem ordered the combo mofongo (chicken, beef, shrimp) in a slightly different tomato sauce over a plantain base. Very tasty. We also had 2 virgin Pina Coladas which were just what we needed! Unfortunately, the only dessert available at the time was rhum cake. 😦 Total was $54 + tip. The service was very friendly so we tipped accordingly.

Pina Colada!

Courtyard at Barrachina. La cour intérieure au Barrachina.

Happy Pina Colada!

Salem’s mofongo combo – beef, chicken, shrimp. Le combo mofongo de Salem: boeuf, poulet et crevettes.

Caro’s shrimp mofongo. Le mofongo aux crevettes de Caro.

Refuelled and ready to go! Rechargés et prêts à continuer!

After refueling, we went souvenir shopping. I’m trying my best to stay away from “junk” souvenir stores in order to support more local artists – and Puerto Rico has lots of artists. Thankfully, Salem was agreed with me given what was available. So, less volume as far as souvenirs go, pay a bit more, but get something authentic and locally-made.

We purchased from the following stores:
– Puerto Rican Arts & Crafts (204 Calle Fortaleza)
– Mundo Taino (Calle San José)
– The Handcraft Store (208 Calle Fortaleza)

Unfortunately, the backpack was getting very heavy and giving Salem problems. So we decided to take a coffee break at Café Cola’o. Can I just repeat how great their coffee is? This must’ve been one of the best cups of coffee I have ever had. That, and the barista made some nice art with the foam – I loved it! PS You can buy coffee beans there!

I love you Café Cola’o! Que je t’aime Café Cola’o!

Caro gets to enjoy her coffee. C’est au tour de Caro de savourer son café.

We took a taxi back in the early evening and just had a quiet night eating supplier-sponsored cheese and crackers on our balcony, enjoying Starbucks coffee from the lobby.

Puerto Rico – April 2013 – Day 5

The day everyone left.

Morning

Our last breakfast buffet with and paid by Salem’s work. People were leaving at various times in the day so we were still running into people until the early afternoon.

A view of the beach from our room. La plage à partir de notre chambre.

We spent most of the day on the beach and, to our surprise, it got rather crowded. My guess: the hotel may be selling day passes to locals on Sundays. I wonder how much that costs! There was a public beach right next door, it had a lot more people and kids but there is a division to keep both beaches apart. I have mixed feelings about the division…

We also had a non-human local come and sun himself with us. Some of the female guests were freaked out – I thought he was pretty cool and rather cute!

This local would like to borrow Salem’s goggles. Ce gars du coin voulait emprunter les lunettes de natation de Salem.

A local tanning. Le gars du coin en train de se faire bronzer.

For lunch, we made our way to the beach grill. I was hoping to get a kosher hot-dog (advertised as so on their menu) – I haven’t had a hot-dog in years! I would love to get a good “steamy” but God knows what is in those things! Thankfully, Salem asked an employee what was in the hot-dog. Their answer a mix of either chicken or beef and pork! How is that kosher? No thanks. Now the big question: is this false advertising on the Hilton’s behalf or a mistake on the employee’s behalf? Either one is not a good thing!

We decided to enjoy the beach a bit longer and go back to our room in the late afternoon. We did a little tour of the hotel grounds and found this cute garden with some resident pets! I wouldn’t suggest you try and pet them though.

Duck and a rooster! Un canard et un coq!

Turkey in mid gobble. Dinde en plein milieu de son glou-glou.

2 swans. 2 cignes.

Supper was at the Pina Colada Club (part of the hotel). We had the same thing as last time – Caro = fish tacos (I had been dreaming about them) Salem = chicken wrap.

Back to the Pina Colada Club! YUM! De retour au Pina Colada Club!

Prepping for our walk! Prête à marcher!

Evening in Condado

After that, we made our way across the bridge to Condado – it’s a nice walk (10 minutes from our hotel) – it seems this is where most American tourists hang out. There are quite a few American restaurants and chains, some stores, green spaces, beach access, etc along Ashford Avenue. Be prepared as it’s rather busy with cars, pedestrians and cyclists. Yes, cyclists – lots of them. But they don’t seem to be psychotic like Montréal cyclists even though you do have to have your wits about you – you do share the sidewalk with them. I also noticed that they seem to have this sense of pride with their bikes – really colourful, new, mostly mountain bikes (or at least with a heavier frame). It was actually kinda nice to see.

On the bridge to Condado. Sur le pont. Destination: Condado!

I love this Miami-style architecture. J’adore l’architecture style Miami.

Beach access! L’accès à la plage.

Condado green space between hotels. Espace vert entre les hôtels à Condado.

Salem along a rocky part of the beach. Salem posé en avant d’une partie rocheuse de la plage.

Upon later discussion, Ashford avenue felt like a bit of a mix between Ste-Catherine and St-Laurent with a bit of beach added to it. Rather nice.

Ashford Avenue in the evening. L’avenue Ashford en soirée.

Bridge on the walk back to the hotel from Condado. Le pont lors de notre retour de notre sortie à Condado.

We grabbed a coffee and slit a piece of chocolate cake at the Starbucks in the lobby. We were tired so bedtime wasn’t too late – I blame it on the sun and fresh, beach air!

Puerto Rico – April 2013 – Day 4

The last full day with the team from my husband’s work.

Morning
After the breakfast buffet and a quick meeting for my husband, many people from the Montréal team decided to get together to go and visit Old San Juan. We commandeered a few taxi vans and headed off there en masse. The 10-15 minute taxi ride for about 5 people cost us $24 USD. We broke up into smaller groups as some people had kids and everyone had their own list of things they wanted to see. We were about 6 people to our group. We were all to meet for lunch at Café Puerto Rico near Plaza Colôn.

Our walk wasn’t very structured and we tended to just go where the wind took us. We started down Calle O’Donnel to Tetuan then onto Fortaleza where there are many arts & crafts stores. Looking for outlet stores? Head to Del Cristo for Guess and Coach stores that offer amazing prices. There are more stores but I think most of my readers, who know me personally, are fully aware that I don’t really care about brand names.

Caro, the damn tourist, is ready! Caro, la maudite touriste, est prête!

Calle O’Donnell.

Salem, the port and a battleship in the distance. Salem, le port et un navire de guerre à quelque distance.

Now, please take note! I do not condone alcohol consumption – I think we all know that. That being said, what others do is their own business. And I’m fully aware of what people like to do when they are on vacation. But please, please – if you are going to drink while on vacation, do it responsibly! Going for a day-long walking tour when it’s sunny and about 30+ degrees C plus humidity? Maybe, just maybe, you might not want to down half that 40oz bottle of rhum by 10:30 am. Perhaps you should consider bringing actual water to drink, rather than more straight-up rhum while on your walking tour. I’m just putting this out there for more health-related reasons. I’m not even going to go into a long spiel about altered behaviour while drinking such quantities of alcohol. I think it’s quite clear how I feel about that! 😉 ‘nough said!

Now, back to the fun at hand! after some shopping, we had to rush back to our starting point in order to make it fashionably late to our lunch meetup. What awesomeness did we encounter along the way? FREE HUGS!! Yes, those people that stand around, in large groups, with t-shirts saying “Free hugs!” and actually dispensing them to anyone who happens to pass by and want one. Of course, I stuck to the women, but I must say, it really is fun and quite contageous. Salem wasn’t too keep on the idea but was still suckered into a few. One of his co-workers went a little berserk and started offering some to complete strangers not even part of the group. It was actually quite funny and I think we could all use a little positivity and hugs in our lives.

Old San Juan and its artistic touches. Le vieux San Juan rajoute ses touches artistiques.

Why so serious, Salem? Pourquoi si sérieux, Salem?

FREE HUGS! Des calins GRATUITS!

Pigeons flying around a boy in a plaza. Des pigeons volent alentours d’un garçon dans une plaza.

It’s lunch time!
Café Puerto Rico is a 2-floor, wooden-furniture adorned restaurant that also has a terrace. Our group of about 12 people was seated upstairs. Having read up on local cuisine before we came, I had Salem and I try the mofongo – a typical Puerto Rican dish. Salem’s dish: a shrimp mofongo in a garlic sauce with a cassava (or yukka) base. I ordered the vegetarian one (broccoli, carrots, cauliflower) also in a garlic sauce with a green/sweet plantain base. Comes with salad and rice. The slightly crispy base is hollowed out a bit to make space for the filling. Mine was very good, but Salem’s was AMAZING! With tax and tip, lunch for the 2 of us was $34 USD.

It’s lunch time! C’est l’heure du dîner!

Shrimp mofongo from Café Puerto Rico – THE BEST! Mofongo aux crevettes du Café Puerto Rico; c’est LE meilleur!

Vegetarian mofongo from Café Puerto Rico. Mofongo végétarien du Café Puerto Rico.

Afternoon
We spent the rest of the afternoon doing a bit more shopping and sight seeing.

I’ll take this opportunity to say a few things about San Juan.
1- Wow!
2- Salem and I could easily move there.
3- It made me feel even worse about things in Cuba.

Why? The buildings are (for the majority) well maintained. Of course, there are a few here and there that are a little worse for wear, but you can see that just about anywhere. The architectural style is so nice, the colours are plentiful. The people are nice, you don’t get harassed, you feel safe. I was out in full-on “tourist” mode with my camera around my neck, snapping pictures all over the place, and not once did anyone even get close to me.

What Caro looked like for most of the day. Caro a passé 80% de sa journée dans une position semblable.

Colourful cobblestone road. Rue en pavé en plusieurs teintes de bleu.

Local cats. Les matous du coin.

Lovely, colourful buildings. De jolis édifices de toutes couleurs.

Details, details. Les détails font la photo!

Old buildings, new cars. Vieux édifices, nouvelles voitures.

An example of colour used to highlight architectural detail. Comment utiliser la couleur pour mettre en valeur l’architecture.

It never ends! Ça ne fini pas!

Can you even find tiling like this anymore? Est-il possible de trouver des tuiles de ce genre de nos jours?

Secret garden. Jardin secret.

Iron work can also be light and dainty. Le fer peut aussi prendre une apparence jolie et délicate.

Just enjoy the picture! Chut!

C&S by a seaside old city wall with one of the many symbols of Puerto Rico. C&S en avant d’un mur de la vieille ville et un des symboles les plus reconnus de Puerto Rico.

Yes, we did see a few downtrodden people, again, you’ll encounter that just about anywhere you go. And yes, I am certain that there are lots of destitute people in Puerto Rico and that poverty exists, it’s just been either relegated to non-touristy areas of the country (or less touristic). But, like I said, I felt safe and no one approached me. And here’s where I’m going to come in with Cuba – Salem and I were both saddened by what we saw when we visited Havana. I think Salem may have interpreted it a bit differently than I did given the places he’s been and lived. In one sentence, I’ll sum up about how I see San Juan (or perhaps Puerto Rico) in comparison to Havana (or Cuba):
“San Juan is what Havana could’ve been”
Now, that being said, I could be totally wrong in comparing the 2 – they do have very different recent histories! But, they did have very similar histories up until a certain point and then they both went in 2 different directions. It all boils down to alliances, politics and opportunities. I won’t get into anything political (although I may have already), but I just cannot help but compare one city to the other given their striking similarities and history, but their completely different realities. And while I felt bad after visiting Havana, I felt even worse about the situation in Cuba after having seen Old San Juan.

Yes, poverty does exist. This man was talking to himself and writing something in the sky. I still wonder what he was writing. Oui, la pauvreté existe. Cet homme se parlait et écrivait quelque chose dans le ciel. Je me demande toujours ce qu’il écrivait.

Now, to move onto brighter things…

Salem and a warship – of course! Salem et un navire de guerre… quoi d’autre?

We topped it off with a visit to a place I hard heard about on Pier #2 – Café Cola’o. 2 double espressos and an iced coffee came out to $8 USD. Let me tell you, Puerto Ricans know coffee! My espresso was so strong that I had to add sugar twice and then a bit of my iced coffee to finish it up. Oh, and the iced coffee – that’s not milk! That’s cream! Real cream! What a treat that was.

Double-espresso that will knock your socks off! Un double-espresso qui fesse en ‘ti pépère!

Café Cola’o – how I miss you! Café Cola’o; que tu me manques!

But we couldn’t stay very late as we had the “Goodbye dinner” to get ready for. On our way back, we shared a cab with the CEO of the company and his wife – very nice people!

Evening
What was going to be a beach party turned out to be indoors given to the so-so weather forecast. That’s ok! We still had lots of fun dancing to the live band and eating from the buffet: mixed salad, tomato and boconccini salad, shrimp & crab salad, cheese platter (you know I love cheese), cold cuts (ix-nay!), asparagus salad, jerk chicken, vegetable and soy fried rice, mahi mahi, etc. Good food! And then there was dessert! Chocolate mousse, chocolate cake, pineapple coconut tarts, vanilla cake.

Foooood! C’est le temps de bouffer!

Salem even had a dance-off with a co-worker and we got to enjoy a performance by a traditional Puerto-Rican group. Unfortunately, the party was shut down at 10 pm – just as I was getting into it – and everyone headed off to the lobby bar to continue the party – or so we were told. I guess to some, party = sit and drink. Boring! WE went for a walk outside and ended up doing a 2-person dabké practice on the very windy beach. We went to bed around 1-2 am.

C&S at the dinner party. C&S prêts à faire la fête.

Our trip to Varadero – Day 5 – Habana!!!! Part 2

Tags

Cuba, habana, havana, travel, varadero

So here is part 2, no worries, it’s a lot shorter than part 1!

Greater Habana tour map. Où nous sommes allés à la Habane.

After our tour of Habana Vieja, our tour took us to a restaurant near the El Morro fortress. The lunch was actually quite good and included in the price of the tour. Thankfully, it was fish with a shrimp-based sauce so we were good. Woohoo! Please remember to tip the nice waitresses!

The view of Habana from the restaurant. Notre vue de la Habane à partir du resto.

We then got back on the bus and were whisked away passing by the monument dedicated to Máximo Gómez y Báez (a military commander in the Cuban war of Independence in the late 1800s), along the Ave Malecón (which had been closed earlier in the day due to violent tides flooding the avenue), around the monument dedicated to Antonio Maceo (the second in-command in the Cuban Army of Independence) and then down to Plaza de la Revolución (Revolution Square and monument to José Marti).

Revolution Square was used as a meeting place for many political rallies and and where political figures addressed Cubans on special occasions. It has a memorial dedicated to José Martí (a Cuban intellectual referred to as the “Apostle of Cuban Independence”) and a 100m tall tower behind the statue. The Plaza has many government ministries around it and this is where you can see 2 buildings with the images and quotes of Che Guevara and Camilio Cienfuegos – 2 major figures in the revolution and very close allies to Fidel Castro.

Che Guevara mural at Plaza de la Revolucion. La murale de Che Guevara à la Plaza de la Revolucion.

See the monument, see the tower, see the touristy husband! Venez voir la tour, le monument et le mari “à la touriste”!

Back on the bus, we got to drive by what I call the non-touristy (or off-the-beaten-path) part of Habana. It’s quite eye opening to see the major tourist hubs and then the regular, every-day reality of the Cubans living in this city, even if just for a few moments, as we a zooming by. I actually wish we could see more of this kind of thing. Travel isn’t just for fun, or to experience the nice things destinations have to offer – I think it should also include a good dose of reality, to open our minds to the lives and experiences of others, make us more aware of what is going on in the world and get out of our bubble. Perhaps next time?

Non-touristic Habana. La partie de la Habane qui n’est souvent pas “destinée” aux touristes.

Look Dad, more cars! Regarde P’pa, d’autres voitures!

El Capitolio is, as you may have guessed it, was the seat of the Cuban government until after the 1959 revolution. It’s no the Cuban Academy of Sciences. Looks familiar? It was actually built by a U.S. firm in the 1920s, and made to resemble the U.S. Capitol building in Washington. We didn’t get to go inside, but we did get to walk around the block for a few minutes.

A note to tourists: Yes, the classic cards are nice and shiny. I must warn you though (as our guide warned us) that there is a picture scam going on. The guys will agree to let you take a picture of their car for 4-5 pesos. Once the picture has been taken, they will often double that amount. When you refuse to pay extra, they call in a “witness” who vouches for the 10 peso price tag – these people are often the actual owners of the cars. You’ve been warned!

Take pictures as your tour bus is pulling in – it costs you nothing! Prenez des photos des belle bagnoles à partir de votre autobus; ça ne vous coûte rien!

More free car pictures! D’autres photos gratuites!

Colourful buildings across the street from El Capitolio. Des édifices de toutes le couleurs de l’autre côté d’El Capitolio.

El Capitolio.

Afterwards, we went off to the craft market – be ready for sensory overload! It’s in a warehouse-type setting crammed with narrow rows of small booths to both sides of you. Vendors make noise, try to talk to you, invite you into their small booth to look at what they are selling. Artwork (get a certificate for paintings – you need this to take the artwork out of the country), crafts, jewelry, food, clothing, etc – it’s a freaking zoo I tell you! After 20 minutes, I started feeling a bit aggressive after 10 minutes. I think the best thing to do: do a first sweep to get an idea of what there is. Then dive in and bargain. Vendors are really nice, eager to get you to try things on, make a sale. To my surprise, some even spoke French!

What did we get? Jewelry, of course! And things in which to put the jewelry! I think we were there for 45 minutes. We were on sensory overload and pooped by the time we got out. This marked the end of our Habana tour.

Tips for the market:

• Get certificates for paintings in order to take them back home with you – they could be ceased if you don’t have this!
• Be polite.
• Breathe.
• Bargain but don’t be too stingy either. You’ll get a feeling as to when you’re low-balling it too much
• Breathe!
• Canadians: do not buy black coral – it’s illegal to import into Canada
• Put your purchases away in your backpack before leaving!

The ride back to the hotel started off well but it got pretty bad a little less than halfway there. Why? Well, while it was beautiful in Habana, this just happened to be the very same day the Hurricane Sandy hit the eastern half of Cuba. Thankfully, we missed the Hurricane but we got a taste of our very first tropical storm. All of a sudden, the skies darkened and it started getting windy and the rain started to fall.

Tropical storm along the countryside. La tempête tropicale!

When we got to the town of Matanzas, it had started flooding (some places had over a foot of water in the streets). I’ve never seen anything like this before. Once back in the hotel section of Varadero, it was dark as night, the rain pelting the tour bus as well as the wind (the road is on the coast) and I was getting really worried at times. Thankfully, the driver was amazing and got us back to our hotel. It was pouring and so windy! We made it to the buffet, somewhat wet and had dinner (we were hungry). The power went out for a few moments twice but, as they say, third time’s the charm! It went out for good. Here we were, sitting at our table, hearing the wind blow, watching the protective blinds of the buffet get batted around like no tomorrow (the buffet is open at the entrance and for a few feel on 2 other sides). We could see the palm trees swaying violently, the rain beating down outside. Once in a while, a water-drenched couple would come in to seek refuge from the conditions. It was quite a sight to see. After a few minutes, we decided to go to the hotel lobby and ask them if this was normal and how long these types of conditions usually last. Their answer – this is normal, things should get better in the morning. The fact that the staff was not panicking was nice, it seemed as though it was business as usual.

After an hour of waiting it out, we figured the rain and wind wouldn’t let up so we might as well make a run for it to our rooms. The walk from our building to the buffet usually takes about 3 minutes. We ran it in about 60. We were completely soaked by the time we made it about 40% of the way. The storm was angry! Salem held onto my hand, we tried to run and stay low all at once. I remember being stopped in my tracks by a huge gust of wind when we got to the basketball court. Its one of those times when you consider throwing yourself to the ground for fear of getting blown away. “Hold onto my hand!” I heard Salem scream at me, and off we were, running again and that’s when I lost it – I started laughing! As crazy as it sounds, running in this crazy wind and rain it made me feel so alive. I was actually enjoying it! Salem, on the other hand did not!

Once in our room, Salem was shouting to take our clothes off or we’ll get sick. Still giddy from the adrenaline, I remarked “I’m already sick!”. He was getting mad at me as I was trying to snap pictures of us, soaked to the bone in our powerless hotel room. This gave me one of my favorite pictures of our trip!

“Take off your wet clothes! You’re going to get sick!”. J’adore cette photo.

We cleaned up and went to bed around midnight to the sound of the wind blowing through the vents. I was fine until the power went back on and our phone emitted this horrible alarm sound. In my half-asleep mind, I thought it was an alarm and that they were evacuating the hotel. Needless to say, my heart was racing and it took me a good 45 minutes to calm down enough to finally drift back off to sleep.

Our trip to Varadero – Day 5 – Habana!!!! Part 1

Tags

Cuba, habana, havana, travel, varadero

This is the day we went to Habana! I will have to break up this day in a few parts simply because of all of my blabbing and all the pictures. Part 1 is based on our departure from our hotel and includes our walking tour of Habana Vieja (Old Havana).

We booked a tour through our rep at Sunwing and opted for the day tour (we left around 7:30 am and got back around 5 or 6 pm). If I recall, the cost was about $90 for a guided tour, transportation and lunch. There were 2 other options for the Habana tour but paying considerably more to go to the Tropicana show didn’t interest us at all. Thankfully, we were able to grab a few things at the buffet before we left (our buddy Yadrian helped us out).

Unfortunately though, I was still very sick – actually, I think this may have been the worst day of my cold. But I took more pain killers, some Gravol and had a whole roll of toilet paper for my mucus-y self. It was bad! I’ve never felt car sick in my life but I was eye-ing the toilet at the back of the bus. Thankfully, I held on and used the washroom at a hotel along the way because, it turns out, the toilet at the back of the bus was locked (I guess no one had the keys?). Thankfully, I started to feel better a little more than halfway to Habana.

I must say that the scenery on the way is actually quite nice – Cuba is very green and has amazing coastal views. They have hills and valleys and it just makes the time pass by quickly while stuck in a vehicle for 2-3 hours. A note to travelers thinking of taking the public bus to Habana: From what we could see of buses we encountered along the way, it’s very crowded in there – sometimes standing-room only, and the trek is longer (I’ve heard closer to 3-3.5 hours). We also went through the town own Matanzas on the way to our final destination. There was a stop but for alcoholic drinks of some kind (Pina coladas? Mojitos?) and a bit of a washroom break – Salem and I simply stretched our legs there.

The coast along the way to Habana. La côte le long de notre trajet.

A few facts about Habana

• You can pronounce it Havana, or do as the locals do and say Habana
• Habana the capital of Cuba
• It has a population of about 2.1 million, making it the most populous city in the Caribbean
• Habana was founded by the Spanish in the 16th century (settling in the area around 1514-1519) and declared a city in 1592
• Originally a trading port, attacks by pirates and other entities active in the region called for the building of fortresses in order to defend the territory and exert more control over trade in the area
• The city attracts over a million tourists each year
• Habana Vieja was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1982

A map of where our tour guide took us. Une carte des endroits dont on nous a apportés.

Our tour of Habana Vieja started in the Plaza de San Francisco. It’s the second-oldest plaza in the city. Main points of interest here are the basilica/convent/monastery/church built in the late 16th century and remodeled around 1730. Also of interest are the old stock exchange building and a few cafés in the area. Buy a cone of peanuts from one of the peanut ladies for 1-2 pesos to enjoy during your walk. Also enjoying the Plaza with you: the local pigeons.

A view of the Plaza and the basilica. La plaza et la basilique.

Another view of the Plaza with cafés and the old stock exchange building. Quelques cafés et l’ancienne bourse.

Finally off the bus! Finalement arrivés!

The pigeons love it here too! Les pigeons aiment aussi jouer aux touristes!

We walked down a few streets to take in the colourful buildings and mixed architectural styles of Habana. Please note that some streets are paved with asphalt or cement while others are made of cobblestones so make sure to wear some comfortable walking shoes – this is, after all, a walking tour!

Our second stop was at the Plaza Vieja which was first emerged in the mid-16th century. Its purpose changed many times from residential to public entertainment to market – it has been the place to go to partake in many things from executions to bullfights to shopping to fiestas. It still contains colonial houses and lots of restorations have taken place here. Honestly, this is one of my favorite plazas which we had the chance to visit during our tour. It’s just a shame we didn’t get to see it at night as it would seem that’s when it comes to life. Maybe next time!

A view all the way through to El Capitolio! Vous avez même une vue du Capitolio.

For some reason, I just loved this little corner. J’ai vraiment aimé ce petit coin isolé.

Colourful laundry hanging on a balcony in the Plaza. Du linge de toutes les couleurs mis à sécher sur le balcon.

We proceeded down a few more streets and took in even more of the mixed flavours of Habana. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Cafés dot the streets here and there. Les rues sont parsemmées de cafés, ici et là.

I actually quite likes Calle Mercaderes – each house is different. J’ai bien aimé la Calle Mercaderes car chaque maison y avait son propre charme.

Unfortunately, architecture no longer includes this kind of amazing detail. Malheureusement, l’architecture de nos jours ne contient auncunement ce genre de détail.

Simply breathtaking. À couper le souffle.

A small green space – perfect for a break. Un petit espace vert; j’aimerais bien m’y installer!

While walking along Calle Mercaderes, the group stopped off at the Armeria 9 de Abril which contains arms donated by Fidel Castro relating to the revolutionary struggle (one of which belonged to Che Guevara). We then continued down the street to reach Obispo and our next destination.

There is no shortage of stray animals in the city. Il y a beaucoup d’animaux sans-abri dans la ville.

Hotel Ambos Mundos is a coral-pink and white building, it’s hard to miss and it’s very nice to look at. So, what’s so special about this building? Well, Ernest Hemingway stayed there for part of his writing career. They even transformed his former room into a mini museum of sorts (which we didn’t get to see). I must admit, the lobby on the ground floor looked amazing! It also contains (from what we were told) the oldest elevator in Habana – there’s even detailing on the iron! The real treat for this place – the rooftop terrace which offers you refreshing beverages and a view of different sectors of the city (some good, some not so good).

Fancy lobby! Très beau salon!

You can see the El Morro fortress in the distance. On y voit la forteresse El Morro à l’horizon.

Salem posing on the rooftop. Salem prêt à faire prendre sa photo sur la terrasse.

I have to get a picture up here too! Moi aussi! Moi aussi!

A few blocks away is Plaza de Armas – no multi-coloured glass building, no China-town, or BMO here! (Sorry, I just had to throw in a bit of a Montréal joke) It’s actually my other favorite Plaza in Habana and one of the oldest. Near the El Templete building is a tree and it’s said this is where the first square of the city was built in the late 16th century – unfortunately, the original tree is no logner there, but another has taken its place. Another important landmark is the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, constructed in the second-half of the 1700s. It has had many incarnations but is now a museum. Fun little factoid: the generals staying in this building complained of the noise created by the hooves (and carriages) going over the cobblestone. The solution – replace the stones with wood! Unfortunately, we did not get to go into this museum.

Of note to fellow bookworms (and I was not aware of this prior to coming back from our trip): it seems this square has an amazing second-hand book market.

If you have the time, do see if you can take a bit of time to relax in this plaza. There’s a green space in the middle, where locals tend to gather to play cards or dominoes. The tour guide did bring us to Casa del Cafe – a cigar store with good prices but the employees are not the nicest (I got mocked by one woman working there for asking a cigar-storage question – sorry for not being an aficionado). Still, we made some good purchases – now put those in your backpack, you’ll soon find out why (check the pictures)! Oh, and don’t buy the contraband cigars sold by the guys just outside of the store – it would seem the quality isn’t all that great.

The Palacio with used books for sale. Le Palacio avec des livres à vendre.

Wooden path in front of the Palacio. Le pavé en bois en face du Palacio.

The cigar shop. Où on peut acheter de bons cigars.

In the Plaza with El Templeto in the background. À la Plaza avec El Templeto en arrière-plan.

Obvious tourist + bags full of purchases = $ One guy from our tour got followed and heckled for 2 blocks by these 2 musicians. Un touriste + des sacs pleins d’achats = $ Ce gars de notre groupe s’est fait suivre et quêté pendant 2 blocs par ces musiciens.

Our last stop on our walking tour had us going to the Plaza de la Catedral. Prepare for a bit of a tourist trap! The square was completed in the late 18th century and contains cafés, terraces and lots of people. While there, a group of locals dressed in colourful clothes, making noise and banging drums came around. If they catch you taking a picture, one of the girls will come and shake a collection plate at you until you give them some money. What are the funds for? Restorations from what I understand. Thankfully, I know the art of taking pictures without looking as though I am taking pictures. One of our fellow tour-mates was not so lucky.

And here I have a little story to share. As previously mentioned, when visiting Cuba, you will often be approached by locals, big smile, eager to start up a conversation, and often offering you some kind of service (check out my artwork, crafts, a special restaurant deal, etc). And that’s all fine and dandy, we all have to make a living. Salem got tired of always being asked this question. He joked a few times about giving them some BS answer. Well, the time finally came where Salem had had enough. Here we are in the plaza, we had wandered maybe 10 feet away from our tour guide (quite a few of us dispersed for a few minutes) when a local comes around and starts trying to chat up Salem. I immediately turn around and start taking pictures of the cathedral, hoping not to have to deal with answering the question. “Where you from, frien’?” Salem replies, in a broken English, “no english”. So the guy asks the same question again, maybe with more gestures, possibly slower. So, Salem turns to him and says “Afghanistan”. At this point, I’m trying not to turn around and look at them and laugh. The guy’s response “Ahhhh! Comrade!” and shakes Salem’s hand! He then went on his merry way. We still laugh about it months later.

This last stop concluded our tour of the old city.

The Plaza, terraces, tourists and locals asking for donations. La Plaza, les terrasses, touristes et les gens du coin qui ramassent des dons.

A few notes to tourists:

• Bring a backpack, water and some snacks. You can put your purchases in your backpack, avoiding harassment from locals – see picture. And you can have a drink when you feel the need for it.
• Locals survive on tourism (yes, I am repeating myself) – be careful who or what you take pictures of – they may seem very friendly but may very well ask for monetary compensation.
• Watch out for sketch artists – one they start sketching you, they will ask you for money to get the sketch. Better to stop them in their tracks or turn away if you’re not interested.
• There are a lot of stray animals – you’ve been warned.
• Be nice, be courteous, smile and enjoy your time in Habana.
• If possible, make it a daylong trip. Guided tours are great for first-timers. If you’re a bit more adventurous but still want a guide, there are a few taxi drivers mentioned on the Trip Advisor site that give custom tours in blocks of 3 hours. I think we might opt for something like this on our next visit – Yes, I would LOVE to do a return visit.

Our trip to Varadero – Day 2

Tags

Cuba, travel, varadero

Breakfast
On the morning of day 2, we met the man who would become our main waiter for most of our meals at the buffet (he works the breakfast and lunch services). His name? Yadrian. So, if you ever go to the Paradisus Princesa del Mar in Varadero, sit in his section, give him a smile, chat him up a bit and you will get some of the best service you have ever gotten! He was always smiling, very attentive, found a good table for us, brought us our coffee and asked how we were. The rest of the ladies on his team were really nice too.

Our morning and lunch Buffet buddies. Unfortunately, one lady is missing! This was actually taken on our last day. Nos amis du buffet pour le déjeuner et le dîner. Malheureusement, il y a une dame qui n’y est pas! Cette photo a été prise la dernière journée de notre voyage.

On a side note: These people work so hard to please you so please reciprocate – show your appreciation with tips and just simply by being polite. I cannot believe how many times I saw people being very grumpy with various wait staff and not leaving any form of tip. Also, how often do we tip 10-15-20% in Montréal (or Canada) for crap service? I know it’s an all-inclusive, but considering that these people go above and beyond in order to serve you… to me what is a peso or two? And they share it amongst their team as well. So please, don’t be stingy, you can afford a trip to some sunny destination, while some of these people have to hold down 2-3 jobs to make ends meet.

What can you expect at the buffet? One station had omelets and eggs; another had pancakes and sauces; another had pastries; another had fresh juice along with yogurts, cereals and fresh fruit; there was a bread table (note: go for the bread you slice yourself, not the already sliced bread – it was a bit stale) and one last station with cheeses, meats and fish (hello smoked salmon!). Expect it to be crowded! Order a caffe con leche, bring your soup spoon to serve yourself form the back of trays if you’re like Salem and I.

After breakfast, we went to beach, applied sunscreen and went into the water for a bit. And here’s where I guess I lost my brain. Thinking I would let myself fry off for 5 minutes, I didn’t reapply my sunscreen. I then fell asleep. What felt like 15 minutes (on the front and another on the back), I later found out was closer to 2-2.5 hours! Yes, you guessed it – hello lobster! To this day (we’re now April 1st), I still have a hint of a tan line! Thankfully, Salem got a bit burnt too, just not as much as I did (he was smart, he was under a bit of shade).

A quieter afternoon and evening
Lunch was at the beach grill! Yummy! I had the chicken and Salem had the shrimp along with some virgin mojitos. This is also where we encountered our new friend – Perro. She’s actually a cute female dog, who’s had at least one litter of pups. I consider her like the resident dog of the resort. You’ll spot her here and there.

We all like virgin mojitos! Nous aimons tous les mojitos; sans alcool bien sûr!

Lunch is always nice after a few hours in the sun. Un bon dîner est toujours apprécié après quelques heures passées au soleil.

Our buddy Perro. Notre amie, Perro.

We made our dinner reservations for the week (please do this early as restos book up quickly) and spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool.

Dinner was at the buffet and we ate a lot less this time around.

My dinner consisted mainly of fish and veggies. Lots of selection though! Mon souper était plutôt basé sur le poisson et les légumes. Très bonne sélection!

Salem opted for more shrimp, fish and veggies. Salem a mangé encore d’autres crevettes, du poisson et des légumes.

No need to worry if you have a sweet tooth, Cuba has you covered! Vous avez la dent sucré? Ne vous en faites pas, les cubains ont aussi la dent sucrée!

A sunburnt Caro… 😦 Caro et coup de soleil…

After dinner was a water show in the pool. The things these people can do in such shallow water is amazing!

Aquatic show. Just… WOW! Le superbe spectacle aquatique.

So many costumes! Lots of thongs though… Des costumes émerveillants mais aussi beaucoup de tangas… euh….

Afterwards, we went off to the lobby lounge for some a late-night espresso and another caffe con leche. These guys are so nice! 1 peso tip and it’s all smiles and amazing service. Fine by me!

Salem in the lobby lounge, a little sunburnt too. Salem dans le lobby, aussi avec son petit coup de soleil.

Mmmmmm caffeine!

La Panthère Verte: I guess this is like a restaurant review…

About a week or so ago, the man and I went out for dinner at La Panthère Verte – it was our second time there. Our first visit was a few months back and I had coupons (woot! woot!). I loved my sandwich so much that time that I ordered the same thing again this time. Yes, I know, that’s not very adventurous but I had been craving it since then!

The place is small-ish but cute, serves up organic food and has really friendly staff. The menu consists mainly of sandwiches, soups, salad and desserts which can be taken individually or as combos and trios. The prices do reflect the fact that this is ORGANIC food! Our 2 trios ended up costing us about $30 for 2 sandwiches, 2 side-salad plates and 2 drinks. While it may seem a bit expensive, I do think it’s worth a detour once in a while.

Il y a environ une semaine de cela, mon mari et moi sommes sortis pour souper à La Panthère Verte; ceci était notre deuxième visite à ce resto. La première visite datait d’il y a quelques mois quand nous avions obtenu des coupons rabais. J’ai tellement aimé mon sandwich la dernière fois que je l’ai commandé à nouveau cette fois ci. Oui, je sais, je n’avais pas le goût de l’aventure mais, plutôt, je rêvais de ce sandwich depuis notre première visite!

Le resto est un peu petit mais très mignon, la bouffe est bio et les employés sont très gentils. Le menu contient des sandwiches, soupes, salades et désserts qui peuvent êtres commandés individuellement, en combo ou en trio. SVP vous rappeler que ceci est de la bouffe bio alors le prix va en conséquence. Nos 2 trios nous ont coûtés $30 pour 2 sandwiches, 2 assiettes salades en accompagnement et 2 breuvages. Le prix peut sembler un peu salé mais ça vaut certainement le détour de temps en temps.

Here’s what we had – voici ce qu’on a mangé (nom, nom, nom!)

My plate: tempeh sandwich with 4 salads: a green salad, marinated tofu, sweet potato fries and quinoa with a tahineh sauce.

Salem’s plate: falafel fusion sandwich with 4 salads: a green salad, marinated tofu, sweet potato fries and quinoa with a tahineh sauce.

La Panthère Verte has 2 locations, but here is the address for the one we went to (since I cannot vouch for their other location). Ce resto a 2 magasins mais voici l’adresse de celui que nous avons visité (je ne peux pas donner mon opinion sur leur autre resto).
2153 Mackay
Montreal
Between – Entre De Maisonneuve and Sherbrooke, Métro Guy-Concordia

Pekarna Pâtisserie et Café – I’ll pass, thanks!

Rare is it that I will review a restaurant. Even rarer will I find a restaurant that I do not like. Unfortunately, such is the case today!
Recently, one of our favorite (even if slightly overpriced) dessert places within walking distance closed down. We just happened, by chance, to go to Calories on their closing night. I was really sad to hear the news as I like the cakes, beverages and I LOVED the atmosphere of the place. Not to mention that they had a small terrasse, perfect for nice outings with friends on a beautiful night. One lady there told me the owners may open up another place sometime in the future, but no timeline, area or more info was made available. Basically, I’m not holding my breath.
Since then, our only later-evening dessert option has become Pekarna – in the old Forum (corner Ste-Catherine and Atwater). When we first started going, about 2 years ago, it was alright. Even though it was a bit dark, the cakes were good, beverages too and the staff was nice. They renovated a few months back and that seems to have been the point where quality started going down the drain. Salem and I have been back a few times in the past couple of months, each time trying a new cake in hopes of finding something that we enjoy… No such luck.
From the “we’re out of iced coffee…. and x, and y, and z… we have regular coffee though”, to staff not knowing their menu, to not being helpful with suggestions for the customers… Not to mention putting the chairs up on the tables when a good third of the restaurant is still full of customers and more are coming in! Lets not forget their unstable hours! We’ve shown up at 9 pm only to see all tables and chairs on the terrasse have been put away. Some of the chairs and tables inside have also been made off limits. I’ve seen this place close at 9:30, 10:00, 10:30 and 11:00. You cannot rely on the hours posted on their website.
Now, apart from these things, lets get to the really important stuff – the food! I haven’t ordered a sandwich from there so I can’t say anything about that. Ditto for the ice cream. Here are my comments about the many, many, many cakes they have. You know the expression “Jack of all trades, master of none”? In this case, it would be “Jack of all cakes, master of none”. Sounds harsh, I know. The cheesecakes: I’ve tried a few and there is just something off about them… is it the texture? Somewhat gelatin-like, maybe a bit crusty or dry along the edges (how long has this been sitting here for?). Regular cakes: the fondant on the cakes is much too thick! I will always remember what my good friend, Michèle, told me years ago after finishing up her studies in pastry school “you can tell a good baker by how thinly they roll out their fondant”. She made our wedding cake, used fondant, and no one even noticed it because it was so thin. Pekarna… keep practicing your fondant-rolling technique or just get rid of the fondant altogether and go for a light buttercream icing. Tiramisu was a soppy mess, the mousse is alright though.
And now we come to last night’s experience – the “other” types of cakes. Salem and I decided to share a piece of cake. Salem requested something with chocolate. Knowing we wanted to stay away from anything with fondant and cheesecake-based, we decided on the brownie cake. The piece is fairly decent in size – maybe 2-3″ wide at the widest point and about 4″ long. While the batter was very much like a very dense brownie, the icing and ganache were over the top! We couldn’t even finish our shared piece and were very happy that we had coffee to wash it down (no sugar added). It was about 30 minutes later, on our way home and through our prayers that I started feeling nauseated. Yes, I felt sick because this cake was so freaking sweet! Thankfully, it passed but I learned my lesson. NO MORE DESSERTS AT PEKARNA!!!!
I’m sorry, but if you call yourself a “Pâtisserie”, you should at least be good at making cakes. I’ve read so many reviews that are similar to mine. Rather than having 20 (or whatever) different cakes that aren’t all that great, then why not reduce the menu to 5-8 great cakes?
So, I am still looking for a good dessert place, within walking distance, which just happens to be open pst 9 pm… In the meantime, unfortunately, I will keep going to Pekarna from time to time but sticking to a plain coffee and maybe a cookie – at least those are good… Or maybe I’ll just go to the Timmy‘s next door and pay half the price for the same thing.
Here is a link to some Urbanspoon reviews: