The Splendour of Cuba

The Iberostar Grand Parque and the first days in Havana.
Cox and King's Splendour of Cuba

First breakfast. A truly first rate display of all things breakfasty! Juices, coffee and teas, varieties of breads, fresh fruit, yogurts, omelettes cooked to order, bacon, sausages, fish and salad, pastries and croissants and the rest I have forgotten! A more thorough investigation on Day 2 revealed Brussels sprouts. This is a first for me and is completely OTT.
The walking tour of Havana was tough! 2 mojitos, 1 daiquiri and a beer with a rum tasting thrown in! We had several stops including one for the mojito at Hemingways bar, La Bodequita de Medio, at 10am. The earliest a Cox and Kings group had started drinking. Nice to be a record holder!
We are a group of 13 plus Osvaldo, our guide. He is good and is very anxious to help in terms of what we buy, that it should be good value and Cuban.

We saw lots of buildings!
Some beautifully restored and other looking about to collapse. These two categories can be at opposite ends of the same block. Viewing the City from the tower that houses the Camera Obscura, made it look like a bombed out city!
The pedestrians we saw were mostly tourists like ourselves. A few extravagantly dressed Cubans to elicit a few coins from photographers.
A lot of music is being played in the bars that we visited and this gave a unique and joyous feeling to the day. I regret not spending more time in these bars in the evening as it feels so pulsating and exciting.
Lunch was included (plus mojito and beer) but was a bit ordinary. A seafood soup, then a plate of possible seafood (very difficult to be certain) and a salad before our main course of shredded meat, rice, optional beans and some diced veg. Then a sort of dark custard tart.
Then came the tour of the rum factory followed by a ride in vintage American cars. 4 cars and 3 stops so we all had a go in all the cars. More like being on a boat than in a car! It seems a lot of turning of the steering wheel for the car to go in a straight line.
Then into another of Hemingways bars, the Floridita, for a free daiquiri. Back for a shower and a change of clothes.
Dinner was on a roof top so that we could hear the cannon that is fired every day at 9.30pm (the only thing in Cuba that is on time). It was perfect in that respect, the lights were turned off for a second, there was an enormous bang and those looking in the right direction (not me) would have seen the flash. Pity about the food! It was ordinary! Chicken or fish cooked in the least imaginative way with rice and some vegetables cooked to destruction!
Food is not a strong point in Cuba. We did get one good meal, at La Paella restaurant in the Hotel Valencia, of a tasty steak.