Discussion
The Boy Lard said:
Will be off to Cuba in a few weeks time... Anybody been?
Staying in Havana and at a Beach Resort. 3 days in Havana. I've heard Hemmingways Bar is good anything else that is a must?
Been a couple of times , too bad you are doing a beach resort thing IMHO , Havana old town is great , go to Cafe Paris , the Floridita (Hemmingways place) is a cool bar and an ok restaurant , also check out Marina Hemmingway about $7 in a taxi nice place for a day in the sun ,who are you going with ?
You will have a blast
The Boy Lard said:
Marki,
My better half (I can't call her Mrs Lard) and I are heading off. Looking at itenerary we have a day in Havana at the end too.
OK then you dont need to know about the more wild nightlife
Watch out for "Jockeys" basically Cubas who will try to latch onto you as a guide the Tropicarna Caberet is a must see great show but a bit pricey but you could just imagine you are back in the 50´s sitting with Haiman Roth watching it well worth going to see
Like i said Havana old town is really good .
i went there twice in 2002 , went the first time for 8 days , came back and booked 2 weeks straight away.
When i was there it was safe no problems at all
La Floridita (Hemmingway's bar where they invented the daiquiri) is touristy but worth a look. Better is La Bodeguita del Medio, which was his other favourite and where they invented the Mojito. It's much more of a cuban bar and still has Hemingway's grafitti above the bar.
Another must is a tour of the main cigar factory. It's incredible and a good place to pick up cheap cohibas. Do not buy cigars from people off the streets, they are often rolled banana leafs.
Another must is a tour of the main cigar factory. It's incredible and a good place to pick up cheap cohibas. Do not buy cigars from people off the streets, they are often rolled banana leafs.
When your at the 'beach resort', they do a 'James Bond' day this involves hooning around narrow inlets in a mangrove swamp on jet skis, and then out into the sea at full chat, proper fun ! Oh, and take a camera for all the old yank tanks pootling around Havana. There's also a grave yard in the City as well that's well worth a look as it has some fantastic marble crypts. They know now to mix a drink mmmmmmm mojito's & cuba libra mmmm
I was there a few months back for my Bro's wedding. Nice place... We were at a place called varadero, which was ok, but nothing much there. Havanna was great. Exactly how you would picture it. We hired 2 scooter things and did aboput a 1000 miles on them. Went all over the place. We also hired 2 jeep things, and went on a tour. Road signs are non existent, and thus we got lost, and visited motre of the island than we anticipated!
Some usefull phrases... No idea on proper spelling, so will be phonetic!)
"Dos Bucaneero, pour fa vour" 2 Bucanneero please..Bucaneero is VERY nice beer
and
"Dos mas buccaneero, pour fa vour" 2 more bucaneeros, please!
>> Edited by andy mac on Thursday 27th October 12:02
Some usefull phrases... No idea on proper spelling, so will be phonetic!)
"Dos Bucaneero, pour fa vour" 2 Bucanneero please..Bucaneero is VERY nice beer
and
"Dos mas buccaneero, pour fa vour" 2 more bucaneeros, please!
>> Edited by andy mac on Thursday 27th October 12:02
Nightlife is great, and every club is called la bamba, la rhumba or similar. See if you can find a jetski adventure, which will take you through the jungle like rivers and out onto the ocean, and enjoy the feast of topless ladies 
And drink lots of zombies, but order your drink 15 minutes before you need it, they're pretty lethargic and laid back, and seem to do everything in their own time.
And drink lots of zombies, but order your drink 15 minutes before you need it, they're pretty lethargic and laid back, and seem to do everything in their own time. A real shame you'll be mostly sitting on a beach - you can do that anywhere and you'll be missing out on the rest of the country. Awesome place. Go again, anc check out places such as Santa Clara, Trinidad and Baracoa.
I picked up some cigars from a dubious source but they turned out to be the real mcoy Cohiba Esplendidos. $65 for a box of 25 (in London they're £40 per cigar)
Floridita and Bodegita have already been mentioned, but there are plenty of bars on and around a road through the old town called Obispo. Also the road you'll be most likely to encounter friendly locals who want to sell you something, give you a guided tour followed by a spiel about needing money to buy shoes for their kids, or take you to a restaurant (they get kickbacks) or simply wanting you to buy them and their mates some drinks!
Revolution square isn't worth bothering with really unless you go into the museum there. Hanging out on the Malecon is fun, watching people fishing from an inflated inner tube floating about in the sea. Finally, check out the museum of the revolution where they show off their captured american military hardware, and where the guards (Cuban soldiers) are so friendly they'll take photos for you and then invite you out for beers.
I picked up some cigars from a dubious source but they turned out to be the real mcoy Cohiba Esplendidos. $65 for a box of 25 (in London they're £40 per cigar)
Floridita and Bodegita have already been mentioned, but there are plenty of bars on and around a road through the old town called Obispo. Also the road you'll be most likely to encounter friendly locals who want to sell you something, give you a guided tour followed by a spiel about needing money to buy shoes for their kids, or take you to a restaurant (they get kickbacks) or simply wanting you to buy them and their mates some drinks!
Revolution square isn't worth bothering with really unless you go into the museum there. Hanging out on the Malecon is fun, watching people fishing from an inflated inner tube floating about in the sea. Finally, check out the museum of the revolution where they show off their captured american military hardware, and where the guards (Cuban soldiers) are so friendly they'll take photos for you and then invite you out for beers.
. Is that the museum where they have Che's boat on show ?, I couldn't get near the place at the time, but things were a tad sensative when I was there, we had to wait a good two hours before we were let into Havana.
There is a monument in the cemetry to several firemen who died in a fire some years ago, and I feel a right pleb for not remembering the story behind it. I'm a trifle uncultured when it comes to this kind of thing, but at the top there is an angel taking a fireman up to heaven, his face and hands are twisted in agony, chilling stuff.
Also in Havana is a square where the men go to discuss baseball, and they take it VERY seriously. Four corners for four teams, every once in a while they'll converge in the middle for a more animated discussion, v. amusing.
There is a monument in the cemetry to several firemen who died in a fire some years ago, and I feel a right pleb for not remembering the story behind it. I'm a trifle uncultured when it comes to this kind of thing, but at the top there is an angel taking a fireman up to heaven, his face and hands are twisted in agony, chilling stuff.
Also in Havana is a square where the men go to discuss baseball, and they take it VERY seriously. Four corners for four teams, every once in a while they'll converge in the middle for a more animated discussion, v. amusing.
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