This morning I felt a little better but I still had a cough and obviously I'm still sunburnt.
We went to the Museo de la Revolucion today. It's a building that used to be the Presidential Palace so there's a mix of things from the time of Fulgencio Batista and artifacts from Che, Camilo Cienfuegos and the Castros. It's interesting that there are still bullet holes in the wall of the building from gunfire during the Revolution--there are more than 300! They also had busts of Jose Marti, Simon Bolivar, Benito Juarez, and Abraham Lincoln. There were caricatures of the US presidents Ronald Reagan and the two George Bush's with another of Fulgencio Batista. Outside of the museum there's the Granma Memorial with the yacht in which Che and Fidel arrived in Cuba, planes and other vehicles from the Revolution, and an eternal flame for the martyrs.
We went to the Museo de la Revolucion today. It's a building that used to be the Presidential Palace so there's a mix of things from the time of Fulgencio Batista and artifacts from Che, Camilo Cienfuegos and the Castros. It's interesting that there are still bullet holes in the wall of the building from gunfire during the Revolution--there are more than 300! They also had busts of Jose Marti, Simon Bolivar, Benito Juarez, and Abraham Lincoln. There were caricatures of the US presidents Ronald Reagan and the two George Bush's with another of Fulgencio Batista. Outside of the museum there's the Granma Memorial with the yacht in which Che and Fidel arrived in Cuba, planes and other vehicles from the Revolution, and an eternal flame for the martyrs.
Before we went into one of the rooms Sarai told me that it was the best part of the museum--it was a memorial room for Che and Camilo. I think that she was right. The room had life-size figures of Che and Camilo and their hats and guns. I like Sarai a lot. She's cute, funny and really friendly! She is the one who organizes the conferencias and the tours we are taking.
After leaving the museum, we went to a Cadeca to change money and then Madison and I separated from the group. We ate lunch at a restaurant called Lluvia de Oro. I ate fish, drank rum (Havana Club reserva) with an ice cube, and had ice cream for dessert. I think that the rum helped my throat a little. I don't really recommend that restaurant though, because they tried to rip off Madison and I and we had to argue with them to get the bill down to where it was supposed to be!
Our next stop was Habana 1791, an old perfume store. They make perfume the old-fashioned way, using essential oils and such, so it's a pretty fun place for souvenirs. The inside of the store is really beautiful, with stained glass and pastel perfumes in decorative bottles. I bought 12CUC (each) bottles of lilac and "mariposa" (which means butterfly, and I read that it's the national scent), but I went back in and also bought a bottle of the melon scent so I can use it while in Cuba. Unfortunately I dropped the perfume I had brought to Cuba and it broke, but at least now I have one to replace it with!
We sat for a little bit in a pretty park outside of the store with a fountain and mosaic art. Madison left because her sunburnt skin was really hurting her and she was tired. I continued to Plaza de San Francisco (the only one I hadn't visited) to take pictures of the lion fountain. Then I walked to the Capitol, enjoying the peace of that area of Old Havana.
I really miss Ryan and Tink today, so I went to Hotel Havana Libre to send a message to Ryan. I also remembered that a year ago today, I was returning from my honeymoon and my grandma passed away. So I was sad today... I still miss her.
I wanted to rest a little, so I took a maquina to Paseo, where I took pictures of the lions in front of the Casa de la Amistad before returning to my house. I took a nap and have just been writing since then, with short breaks to shower and eat dinner. Tonight we are going to a club called 1830 to salsa dance. I am a horrible dancer but maybe it will be fun.
Until tomorrow -
xoxo, xenophile
After leaving the museum, we went to a Cadeca to change money and then Madison and I separated from the group. We ate lunch at a restaurant called Lluvia de Oro. I ate fish, drank rum (Havana Club reserva) with an ice cube, and had ice cream for dessert. I think that the rum helped my throat a little. I don't really recommend that restaurant though, because they tried to rip off Madison and I and we had to argue with them to get the bill down to where it was supposed to be!
Our next stop was Habana 1791, an old perfume store. They make perfume the old-fashioned way, using essential oils and such, so it's a pretty fun place for souvenirs. The inside of the store is really beautiful, with stained glass and pastel perfumes in decorative bottles. I bought 12CUC (each) bottles of lilac and "mariposa" (which means butterfly, and I read that it's the national scent), but I went back in and also bought a bottle of the melon scent so I can use it while in Cuba. Unfortunately I dropped the perfume I had brought to Cuba and it broke, but at least now I have one to replace it with!
We sat for a little bit in a pretty park outside of the store with a fountain and mosaic art. Madison left because her sunburnt skin was really hurting her and she was tired. I continued to Plaza de San Francisco (the only one I hadn't visited) to take pictures of the lion fountain. Then I walked to the Capitol, enjoying the peace of that area of Old Havana.
I really miss Ryan and Tink today, so I went to Hotel Havana Libre to send a message to Ryan. I also remembered that a year ago today, I was returning from my honeymoon and my grandma passed away. So I was sad today... I still miss her.
I wanted to rest a little, so I took a maquina to Paseo, where I took pictures of the lions in front of the Casa de la Amistad before returning to my house. I took a nap and have just been writing since then, with short breaks to shower and eat dinner. Tonight we are going to a club called 1830 to salsa dance. I am a horrible dancer but maybe it will be fun.
Until tomorrow -
xoxo, xenophile