Day 2 Part 2

Saturday February 27 2016  ~~ Day 2 Part 2

Continued….

With tummies happily full from lunch, we continue our wanderings….I have a general direction of where we’re headed, but we just stop along the way when something interests us.  Which happens quite often!

Pretty little streets…

You can hire a horse carriage for a tour…

Turning around we see this…

Oh yes, I remember reading something about a naval museum but didn’t think it was going to be in a fortress!

We find our way there via Plaza de Armas , the oldest plaza in Havana from 1519.  There is a huge book sale on…I believe they happen each weekend.

In the plaza is the Palacio del Segundo Cabo…we enjoy a short tour…

And another view of the fortress…

Castillo de la Real Fuerza…built during the years 1558-1577.  Tour was 3CUC each…

Those are huge!

Inside are replicas of some of the ships and treasures that flowed from Cuba to Spain.

This is a 4-metre replica of the Santisima Trinidad, built in Havana in 1767-1770 and destroyed at the Battle of Trafalgar…

Climbing the stairs to the open rooftop, we have a perfect view of the very large statue of Jesus Christ across the Bahia de La Habana…

After enjoying the views, we ‘bribe’ an attendant who lets us climb the bell tower…

More views of the surrounding area…

Time to move along again….notice the pile of cobblestones just waiting to trip someone!  The large building is the Hotel Santa Isabel…

In the centre of Plaza de Armas is Parque Céspedes, honouring Manuel de Céspedes, hero of the Ten Years War…

There are many pretty green spaces in Habana Vieja….all well kept, tidy and clean.

We head south towards Plaza de San Francisco de Asis.  The buildings and streets here become more ‘renovated and touristy’….

This is a ‘Cadeca’….a cambio to exchange money…I’ll join the lineup tomorrow…hoping it’s shorter then!

Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco de Asis…built 1719-1730…

Underground aqueducts…

We find ourselves at Plaza Vieja.  In colonial times, the mansions surrounding the plaza would look down on executions and bullfights.  Today, the square is almost completed with renovations and now has boutiques, restaurants and luxury apartments.

As we wander the plaza, we set our gaze upon this…..a woman riding a rooster, holding a fork.  Not quite sure what to make of that!  

But before we can figure it out, we’re approached by a nice young man asking us to come upstairs to a new bar called Azucar.  He points to a balcony overlooking the plaza and we happily follow him.  A few floors of stairs later, we find ourselves in a beautiful modern bar and mange to grab seats right on the balcony.

Ooops, bad photo…yes, that is the camera and Vince’s hand!

The late afternoon sun feels wonderful and it’s a great spot for people viewing…

Vince has a cerveza while I order a strawberry daiquiri.  It looks delicious but it really isn’t.  It was okay, but the view made it all worthwhile!

Big plus….gorgeous bathrooms!  That pink door leads to a bathroom, that has a seat, toilet paper, hand soap and paper towels.  Wow, what a treat!  And free!

We want to stay here forever, but it’s time to head home.  I feel like we’ve been walking in circles today so I’m not even sure how many miles it is to get home!  Leaving Azucar, this is the inner courtyard….

That’s where we were sitting, upstairs on the balcony….

Jumbo kitty cats…

This building is the Edificio Gómez Villa.  Apparently you can take the elevator to the top for views over the plaza.  Next time!

These fellows were practicing capoiera…

Wandering the streets back to our casa, I forget my tired feet and continue to enjoy the wonderful sights.  This little sweetheart looking down from a balcony…

Restoration….back to the beauty it once was…

Restoration, or just holding it up…not sure!

All doorways lead to something…

The roadwork from this morning is complete!

Look inside…a little boy getting his hair cut, and the ever-present photo of Ché…

Work was being done on the roof so they were using a pulley system to haul up the bags of concrete….

Nice car!

And then we’re home to our pretty little square….we’ve been walking for 9 hours!  

Time for some dinner!  We clean up a bit and then head just down the block and around the corner to Habana 61…recommend by Maylú.  It’s a small place, but apparently very popular. 

No tables available for about 20 minutes.  The owner pops out and asks if we would like to see menus.  Yes please!  While we look at them, others arrive so we share the menus and the lineup grows.  The other couple is from Argentina and they say this is one of the top restaurants on Trip Advisor.  Well, that’s great news.  It isn’t long and we are ushered in to a comfy seat in very modern surroundings.  Part of the menu offering both traditional and contemporary dishes…

And mojitos!!!!  Oh yes please!  I’m a happy chica now!  

But I get even happier when this arrives….mini buns fresh from the oven, and butter.  Died and gone to heaven deliciousness!  We’ve been seated next to the young couple from Argentina, Daia and Emmanuel.  Daia and I look at each other after the first bite and both our eyes widen and “oh those are yummy!”.  We should hide them from the boys!

We order an appetizer of Serrano ham with pineapple.  Also delicious!!!  Tummy is doing back flips by now!

I order the Ropa Vieja from the traditional menu…very tender and full of flavour...

Vince has the contemporary red snapper with caper butter…

The meals come with rice and beans and some of the best hand made French fries ever!...

We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner!  The food was excellent, the surroundings very nice, and the staff were very friendly…and all for a great price!  Barely more than our lunch.  $27CUC plus tip.  Very reasonable!  And those mojitos were a bargain!  I should have had another one!

We take the few steps home just after 10 and quickly fall asleep after a long but great day!

.....Tomorrow….museums, more mojitos, music and El Floridita!