After another delicious breakfast we headed off to hail another Collectivo taxi and head back to Havana Vieja. Our plan for the day was to stay in the area of Plaza de Armas. This seems to us a pretty good way to organize our days touring Havana: select on of the squares and then use it as the day's base of operation: have lunch, visit the important spots near the square, have a refreshment, people watch, etc.
As we walked down Obispo Street toward our destination we found that we were pointing out stores and architectural elements that we had totally missed when we walked down the same street just yesterday.
Before reaching our destination we stopped for a lemonade at the the Hotel Ambros Mundos. Hemingway stayed here frequently from 1932 to 1939 and began writing For Whom the Bell Tolls in room 511. Not feeling that we were about to write a great novel we settled for listening to the pianist and clarinetist in the lobby and sipping frozen lemonade. Delicious.
With our thirst temporarily quenched we decided to visit the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales which houses the Museo de la Cuidad (City Museum). The building was begun in 1776 and completed in 1791. It is described in the guidebooks as Cuban Baroque which in this case means stone construction, lots of arches, columns, and balconies around a central courtyard. Housed within are paintings and artifacts of the cities past along with some beautifully furnished 19th century salons.
Needing to sit for a while, we chose a shaded sidewalk cafe on the Plaza for lunch. Thus situated we could eat, drink, listen to music and watch the passing sea of humanity.
After lunch we walked the streets around the square admiring the building facades, the small parks with their bubbling fountains and works of art.
Harry then went to the Hotel Florida for his one hour of daily WiFi connection and I continued walking through the side streets around the square. One shop keeper took one look at me and said "Americano?" When I answered affirmatively he queried, "Boston", I again said "Si", he then said "Big Papi - Red Sox, I love America" and handed me one of his refrigerator magnets of a Havana scene and said "no charge - I love Boston". On Calle de la Obra Pia there were a series of houses with magnificent doorways including one from the 17th century that was sculpted in Spain. Near the waterfront was the Castillo de la Real Fuerza. Built (1558-77) to protect the city from pirates. It has all the components you would expect - a moat, a drawbridge, a multitude of cannons, and thick stone walls. Alas, they built it too far inside the bay so it did not serve it's purpose. Today it is marvelous to look at and just steps from a major Plaza.
After collecting Harry we headed back to the Vedado and are enjoying our leftovers from last nights dinner on the porch while I write and Harry sketches.
Observations:
As we walked down Obispo Street toward our destination we found that we were pointing out stores and architectural elements that we had totally missed when we walked down the same street just yesterday.
Before reaching our destination we stopped for a lemonade at the the Hotel Ambros Mundos. Hemingway stayed here frequently from 1932 to 1939 and began writing For Whom the Bell Tolls in room 511. Not feeling that we were about to write a great novel we settled for listening to the pianist and clarinetist in the lobby and sipping frozen lemonade. Delicious.
With our thirst temporarily quenched we decided to visit the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales which houses the Museo de la Cuidad (City Museum). The building was begun in 1776 and completed in 1791. It is described in the guidebooks as Cuban Baroque which in this case means stone construction, lots of arches, columns, and balconies around a central courtyard. Housed within are paintings and artifacts of the cities past along with some beautifully furnished 19th century salons.
Needing to sit for a while, we chose a shaded sidewalk cafe on the Plaza for lunch. Thus situated we could eat, drink, listen to music and watch the passing sea of humanity.
After lunch we walked the streets around the square admiring the building facades, the small parks with their bubbling fountains and works of art.
Harry then went to the Hotel Florida for his one hour of daily WiFi connection and I continued walking through the side streets around the square. One shop keeper took one look at me and said "Americano?" When I answered affirmatively he queried, "Boston", I again said "Si", he then said "Big Papi - Red Sox, I love America" and handed me one of his refrigerator magnets of a Havana scene and said "no charge - I love Boston". On Calle de la Obra Pia there were a series of houses with magnificent doorways including one from the 17th century that was sculpted in Spain. Near the waterfront was the Castillo de la Real Fuerza. Built (1558-77) to protect the city from pirates. It has all the components you would expect - a moat, a drawbridge, a multitude of cannons, and thick stone walls. Alas, they built it too far inside the bay so it did not serve it's purpose. Today it is marvelous to look at and just steps from a major Plaza.
After collecting Harry we headed back to the Vedado and are enjoying our leftovers from last nights dinner on the porch while I write and Harry sketches.
Observations:
- The cuban food in Miami and elsewhere is much better than that in Havana. This is probably due to the lack of access to quality ingredients.
- There are stray dogs and cats everywhere you go. Could this be because the people cannot afford to keep them as pets?
- Speaking of dogs. In the tourist areas there are dogs dressed up by their owners to entice the passing tourist to stop and want to have their photograph taken and then pay the owner for the privilege. One day we came upon a man with two dachshunds. He had trained one of them to look at you lovingly when he said "Obama" and fittingly to bare it's teeth and snarl when he said "Trump".