We started out at La Punta for the obligatory shots of El Morro and the Malecón. La Punta and El Morro face each other across that magnificent harbor and trailing west from there is the lovely stretch of drive and walkway- the Malecón.
We walked on into the old city, only to chance on an old friend- Mirta, our dancing teacher! She was just back from her marketing and we had a joyous reunion in the streets, with her friends.
Later on we ran into another friend, Sr. Echevarria from the book fair! La Habana is a big city, but one does run into one’s friends!
We walked around the cannons in the streets,
gazing at blue doors (Museo de Arte Colonial).
We were headed for the Plaza with the Catedral de San Cristóbal de la Habana, where Christopher Columbus may have been buried from 1796 to 1898. We had seen the square by night and it was also beautiful by day.
Off on a side street, the Callejon del Chorro, we went into the Taller Experimental de la Gráfica. A lovely pink building, with its CDR noted.
We did have a few goals for the day: finding the four main plazas (we found five!), books, daiquirís and Hemingway haunts. So next we wandered over to the Plaza de Armas. Around the square are the bouquinistes, second-hand book sellers, who soon learned that Suzanne was a Hemingway fan and brought her all their Hemingway editions!
There were other selections as well. I bought a book on Cuban music, of course!
The beautiful garden,
the public library,
and street performers!
But we were soon walking down Calle Obispo towards the Hotel Ambos Mundos, in search of Hemingway’s room. We found it! At the top of the hotel, Hemingway wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls in room 511, staying here from 1932-1939. The guide was thrilled to hear that Suzanne was from Idaho!
The view from the room was lovely. You can see the Plaza de Armas, the bit of greenery.
We ambled back past the square for lunch, past the domino players,
and another Cuban reader!
Then we went back to Obispo to find our Hemingway bar. The guidebook says “Next is El Floridita,” but it was a bit further down the road. But what a road! Calle Obispo is a busy street at noon, filled with shoppers, restaurants, and everywhere the sound of folk and jazz bands.
We did find the bar, though, and had our drinks!
Outside the bar, is a lovely square with a lovely monument. It’s of Francisco de Albear, who did the first topographical study of Habana in 1874 and designed the aqueduct system that brings fresh water into the city.
On our way to square number 3: Plaza de San Francisco, we found another square: Plaza del Cristo, which is yet to be restored, but very spacious. The church is the Parroquial del Santo Cristo del Buen Viaje, but alas it was closed. We did find an open church later and went in.
Square number 4 was Plaza Vieja, a civic square, no church! But a lovely art deco hotel.
The art galleries, the mediopuntos, the colors, the streets, the music, all were wonderful. Trying to get a photo of the stained glass during the day, we wandered into the Casa del Conde Jaruco, to shoot the windows from inside. There we found ourselves in the middle of an art installation! A large room, trying to achieve total darkness with curtains, filled with tiny colored lights hung on strings. It was like being in the middle of a galaxy! And yes, on the other side were the mediopuntos, lit with the gorgeous light of Habana.
We joined the group for dinner at Café del Oriente, on the Plaza de San Francisco, and had a very gracious meal, with goose liver paté and lobster thermidor. Lovely music and champagne, wine, Moscatel, and Crema Catalana added to the beautiful atmosphere.