Day 2

We all slept great and had decided the night before to eat breakfast at 9 AM at our house. I was actually not feeling well. Pretty sure it was not the ice maybe the the liquids around the ice ha ha! Anyway everyone else enjoyed a great breakfast of bread, eggs, fruit, and juices. Finally we headed out about 10:30. We decided that we would visit Hemingway's house. We walked down to the Habana Libre and Julie negotiated a cab to take us there. It was about 30 minutes away. We were in another  50's car. A very loud 50's car. Tim sat up front and was unable to hear anything that we were saying in the back seat. The reason it was so loud is that the engine had been replaced with a diesel engine. It is very common for these beautiful cars to have replacement parts that have nothing to do with the original cars. They have managed to keep these cars going for almost 60 years with almost no access to original replacement parts. After driving through many neighborhoods we finally arrived at Hemingway's house. Julie worked it out for our driver to wait on us while we toured the house. We walked up a long drive to the house and then toured the house. It was beautiful and really looked like it had been left in the exact condition that Hemingway left it in. We toured the grounds and then had our first coke at the gift shop. Tim and I were having Diet Coke withdrawals so this Coke would have to do. Apparently there are only two countries that Coke does not sell their products. (Cuba and North Korea.) This Coke was made in Mexico and imported from there. We walked back down the drive and our driver was waiting on us.

Hemingway's House

Hemingway's House

Hemingway's House

Hemingway's House

Hemingway's House

Hemingway's Boat

Hemingway's House

We had the driver take us back to Old Town and drop us off at the Capital. There were a lot of beautiful cars there wanting to give you a tour of the city. It was great just to walk through the cars and see all of these great classics. We decided to head back to Sloppy Joe's and have lunch. Tim and I had Sloppy Joe's famous sandwich and a beer. After skipping breakfast I was starving! After walking around for a bit we headed back to the Habana Libre and walked to park that had an ice-cream shop called Coppelia. After a quick rest in our room. We headed just a block away in search of a WiFi card. There was a 24 hour coffee shop at the bottom of a small hotel just a block away that we had heard sold them. We arrived to find out that they had WiFi but did not sell the cards needed to log-on. We decided to have a beer and just relax and watch life going by. While sitting there we met a woman named Lisa. She was from Ireland. Her kids had given her a trip to Cuba as a present. She was actually leaving the next day to go on a 5 day bike tour through the countryside of Cuba. She was actually waiting to meet the other group members at this coffee shop. We told her that we were all going to Nana's later that night and she should bring her cycling friends and join us. At about 6 we headed back to our rooms and got ready for dinner. Tim had heard about a good restaurant from a couple that was staying in our same building and was having one of Marisela's great meals. The name of the place was La Moraleja. It was just a few blocks away. When we arrived we were taken down the driveway behind the house to a beautiful restaurant! It was a set menu that was all inclusive for about $15 CUC each. At the end of the meal they brought everyone a shot of Cuban rum followed by a free cigar! After enjoying a causal dinner we decided to go to Nana's and see if our new found friends were there. When we got there our friends were there but there was no way to join them as they had seats very close to the band and the place was packed. In fact there were no seats or tables anywhere. We talked to the owner and next thing we knew there was a guy from two buildings down bringing us our very own table followed by 4 heavy chairs. We ordered a few drinks and started to enjoy the band. After awhile Lisa and her cycling friends joined us. These friends were from three other countries and Lisa had just met them this afternoon. We had a great time hanging out and enjoyed the music and company well into the night! Finally it was time to go home and get some sleep.

Hemingway Parking Lot

Hemingway Parking Lot

Old Town Havana

Old Town Havana

Nana's With The Biking Group

Dad & Julie