Enjoying Our Fantastic Holiday at a Great Cuban Resort !

Our resort's private beach is exclusively for guests staying at the hotel

Our Cuban holiday has been going great but it is coming to an end very soon.

We usually have our buffet breakfast at the resort restaurant when we are not taking any package tour somewhere else.

The Bread and Pastry station at our resort

I love the bread container made out of baked bread dough in the shape of a sleigh. How cute is that!













 Our favorite food is all the fresh tropical fruits we could eat at each meal.

The papayas are ripe, delicious and sweet beyond belief!












After breakfast, I checked my emails at one of the two computers available in the hotel's lobby. It cost 2 pesos for an hour and 20 minutes. The speed was slow today but I managed to post some blogs.



There are a few places available for guests to relax at our resort. One of the favourtie places for many guests is by the pool side.













Some prefer to be at the bar which is open most of the day for guests to have a drink and chat with others.

There are plenty to do at our resort. My most favourite activity is the free dance lessons offered twice daily.

I want to learn and practice my Latin dancing as much as possible,.

Free dance lessons at our resort

Therefore every time we stay in at the resort, I jump at the opportunity to take the dance lesson.

I took the lesson at 11am today.






















While I am learning how to salsa, my husband usually enjoys his free drinks by the pool,

The dining hall at our resort

When we are having fun, time just flew by. Before we knew it, it was lunch again.

Great selection of food at our resort!

We like the food offered at our resort.  There are always a good selection of fresh fruits and vegetables,salad, grilled meat, seafood and different kinds of pastas available. We have enjoyed all the meals there.

We are often entertained by musicians during our meals.

There are often a group of musicians serenading us while we are having our meals.

We heard from a few different groups during our stay there at our resort.

After lunch, we still had a few hours, we spent the time around the resort enjoying what it has ti offer.

There are quite few spots where guest at the resort can go to relax and talk with friends or other guests.

Relaxing on the terrace overlooking the swimming pool and the ocean

The terrace outside the dining hall
is a great place for many to rest and socialize.

The terrace overlooks the swimming pool area.

Our favorite secret hiding place at the resrot

Our most favourite place at the resort is the quiet spot tucked behind the outdoor bar serving us free drinks and snacks all day.

This is our favourite place to relax or read a good book at the resort


























Sitting high up in this lovely tree house, we could have a great view of the open ocean and sandy beach.

It is such a relaxing and tranquil place; I could imagine paradise would probably look something like this!

We could just sit here all day and watch the white currents roaring in and retreating back to the ocean while listening to the sounds of the soothing waves.

R.T.
Cuba

An Evening Out at the Buena Vista Social Club, Old Havana. Cuba

Cuba has a strong musical tradition

Cuba is a country with a strong tradition of music. We would have missed a lot if we did not watch a show visiting this country. 

Through the travel agent stationed at our hotel, we purchased two tickets for a dinner show package for the Buena Vista Social Club.  

Since the dinner show wouldn’t start until 8:00 pm, we spent the morning relaxing at our resort.

 In the afternoon around 3 o’clock, we took a taxi from our hotel and agreed on the fare of 15 CUC’s
 (  about Canadian $ 20.00) to Old Havana where we spent a few hours prior to dinner. 

We explored a few famous sites including the popular Obispo Street.

Buena Vista Social Club dinner show was held at  Teatro Rosalia de Castro

We arrived at the Buena Vista Social Club dinner show venue around 8:00 pm. There were a lot of people waiting outside to get in for the dinner at 8:30pm.


The dinner show actually took place at the Teatro Rosalia de Castro.

Going up to the upper floor for the dinner and show

The Buena Vista Social Club was a members' club in Havana that held dancing and musical activities. It became a popular location for musicians to meet and play during the 1940's.  But later on the original club was closed.

Reception area where guests were checked in and assigned their seating

 In the 1990's, it inspired the making of a musical album and a documentary; both of which gained international fame.

The dinner show venue

The hall was a big place with tables set for many who would be here for the dinner and show.

A pre show solo performance by a pianist 

Fortunately, we were glad that we were seated pretty close to the stage with a good view.

However, we were surprised that two other guests were also ushered to seat at our table. It was not an arrangement we had expected.


We made the best of the situation, introduced ourselves to these two strangers at our table. They were a father and daughter team from Mexico.

After serving us our drinks, the waitress took our order from a pre set menu.

My husband chose fish while I ordered beef for dinner.

 The musical show started shortly after 9:30pm.

The place was getting full with more people arriving for the show.





















Apparently, the show assembled a lot of veteran singers in the earlier days and got them together for this show.

The M.C. spoke ins both English and Spanish so that we knew what was going on.

Apparently, the musicians performed songs from the 1950's and 60's.


.














Not being familiar with Spanish hits from that era, we did not know the differences between these Cuban hits from the different ages anywhere.























One thing for sure, there was lots of audience participation and many had fun dancing out there with the performers and musicians.

It was a good experience spending an evening enjoying traditional Cuban food and the 50’s Cuban music and Jazz singing.




R.T.
At the Buena Vista Social Club Dinner Show
Old Havana, Cuba

Exploring Obispo Boulevard at Night, Old Havana, Cuba

 

Exploring the Old Havana streets on our own

Since we are staying at a resort outside of Havana, we usually leave our hotel after breakfast, board the hotel shuttle bus to town and get back to the resort before the end of dinner hour.

After saying good bye to Valentin and Danny at the bar, we wento explore the streets near the neighborhood.



This was our first night in Havana venturing out and exploring the dark streets on our own.

Statutes in a park near Obispo Boulevard

At the square near Obispo Boulevard we saw people sitting on the park bench relaxing and chatting with friends in the evening lights



This familiar scene reminded me of our visit to Italy a few years ago with families and seniors enjoying conversations in the parks.

Obispo Boulevard at night

We walked along Obispo Boulevard which was pretty bright compared to many other dark streets in the city.

We saw a few restaurants, some with outside seating and patio.

Menu princes of one of the restaurants in the area 

The prices of these restaurants seemed very reasonable.

Instead of eating at the dinner show, we could have dinner at one of the numerous restaurants first.

Obispo Boulevard is a  busy and lively street both during the day and at night.



















It is a popular street with tourists and the locals alike.

An Art shop on Obispo Boulevard, Havana, Cuba

The street is full of interesting shops selling various arts and crafts items.

One of numerous eateries on  Obispo Boulevard

 

 It also has numerous cafes and restaurants with musical bands and 
singing groups.

We also passed by a local artists' market with lots of booths selling crafts and artwork from local artists.

A local artisans' market

We were a bit late as the doors to the market were just closed.

Judging at the number or booths there, I could have spent a couple fo hours there looking at all the displays.


We have to remember this place and come back to see it next time we are here.

The Floridita  Club

Though we did not plan to visit this hip place, we did come across the famous Floridita Club with a long history in Havana. 

The Floridita  Club was founded in 1817, exactly a hundred years ago.












 

The Floridita  Club - a lively place with contemporary music

The group was playing really nice contemporary English songs which we recognized 

Inside the Floridita Club

No wonder the place was full of people and music lovers.



There were people lining up at the door trying to get inside as the bouncer would only let in a couple of people at a time.  



















It was a vibrant scene packed with people who seemed to be enjoying the music.


We were able to get inside to take a look.

Obispo Boulevard .at night

Since we already bought tickets for a dinner show which would be starting soon,  we needed to hurry and get back to the theatre.

However, we liked the music at the Floridita Club and will be back in the future to hang out longer and to enjoy it.

R.T.
Old Havana
Cuba