A most disappointing ice cream trip Day 3---Havana

After our delectable breakfast, we set out to explore the streets of Havana.  Our first stop was the

Museum of the Revolution.  We'd walked past it a couple times looking for dinner and stuff so it was easy to navigate.

The museum was interesting.  We'd soon find that the user design of Cuban museums is specifically for Spanish speakers.  About half of the exhibitions had English translations (badly) and there were no signs telling you where to go, only docents that yammered on in Spanish.

We were particularly interested in all the mentions of American aggression and contributions to the success of the revolution.  Take for example a mural of American presidents, one depicting George W. with a Nazi hat. It's always interesting to see history told from a different perspective, similar to when I went to the War Museum in Vietnam or Jeff went to the Atomic Bomb Museum in Nagasaki.

While we were going through the museum, we noticed some people gathering in the courtyard outside, including military men/women in dress uniforms.  So we found a window to hang out of (yes, no a/c in the museums, just windows) and watch the spectacle below.  From what we could gather, it was some sort of awards ceremony for workers.  We couldn't understand any of the Spanish but got a glimpse at a few of the awards given out.  You can see most of the event with a military ceremony, singing, and awards giving at the end of the blog.

After the museum, we walked over to the cathedral. We'd been outside the cathedral a few times, but it was always locked.  Luckily this time it was open.  I was VERY pleased that there were wraps that people were given if their shorts were too short.  The cathedral also emphasized the prayerful nature of being in church.

That being said, it was a gorgeous church.  The chandelier over the altar gave a regal sense to the altar, a reminder that Jesus, Lord of All, is present there at Mass.  The art in the church and statues, like the church we went into on Day 1 was also beautiful.

               

And then we walked some more.  The plan was to go to a boat ferry and take it over to the castle on the other side of the bay.  We got distracted though by another church.  Jeff's learning the wanderer nature and said we should peak in.  Turns out, it's no longer a Catholic Church, but the museum of religious art---and by religious, they meant Catholic.

I can't tell you how weird it was to walk through an old Franciscan church and see Catholic items as
memories of days gone by.  I've been to museums that had a few pieces or a section of church-stuff but it was really weird to be in an old church, which is now used for concerts and shows.

That being said...I sure am glad I took a few years of Spanish.  It came in so useful during our trip.  Without signs pointing you places, you have to ask for help a lot.  The docents at this museum kept saying it wasn't over and we could go up.  Finally she showed me the door cause I didn't get much further with the Spanish language.  And up we went.  Up and up and up.  I have never been so high in a bell tower before and the views were perfect.  It also had a LOT more breeze than the museum did so I didn't want to go down the stairs for a bit.

         
We had noticed on our map a Mother Theresa garden by the church, so I asked someone and they told us to walk outside.  I just misunderstood the direction and so we went the loooooong way.  Which turned out to be fine because next to the church, there's a tiny chapel.  We ducked inside and were surprised to find it was an Orthodox church, still in operation. When we went back outside, we noticed the sign that said Castro gave the church to the Greek Orthodox Church as a sign of good will.


We did find the Mother Theresa garden.  It was just a simple little statue near the entrance of the Orthodox church.  Id didn't realize she had come to Cuba and spoken with Castro and convinced him to allow the Missionaries of Charity to operate in Cuba.

It was starting to look like rain (again) and I was hungry (surprise) so we ducked into a restaurant for a snack and water (lots of water).  While we were there it did rain, but it cleared up pretty quick.  Since the weather still looked spotty, we nixed the boat ride and castle and decided to stay on foot, near restaurants and stuff. and we set back out again.  Next stop: The Rum Museum!


And so we set out again, winding our way through Havana.  And at the end of the street, on the right, we find...a church.  Surprise!  This is not the rum museum.  But what the heck, we'll see what it looks like...and surprise, it's another Orthodox church, this one Russian Orthodox.

We finally make it to the Rum Museum and get there about 30 minutes before the next English tour.  So we spent some time in the store looking at rum, but mostly enjoying the very cold air conditioning---our first taste of cool air all day.

The tour was good and our tour guide spoke the best English we heard the whole trip.  Learning about
the history of slavery in Cuba was very interesting.  Most of the tour focused on the process of rum making.

After the museum, we went back to the casa and took a nap.  Havana is very walkable, but we'd already walked at least 3 miles and we were staring down a 2 mile round trip walk for our dinner plans in Vedado.

We planned to walk down the Malecon to Vedado and head towards the ice cream park, Coppelia.  I

knew it was a more residential area, but we had some trouble finding a restaurant.  And then it rained---a lot---so we took cover at a bus stop with lots of other pedestrians.   We ended up eating at a paladar called Don Quinote, turned out to be one of the best paladars in the neighborhood.   We both got chicken, but one fried and one grilled and split it.  So delicious.

 View from the paladar   

So Coppelia.  We were expecting lines.  We were expecting lots of ice cream flavors (although every

board we saw walking up had different lists of available flavors.  What we didn't expect was only being allowed to use CUC in a bunker-type room with only chocolate and vanilla available.  The guy wouldn't even let us get two scoops---only one for Jeff and I to share.  Apparently only people with pesos get to eat upstairs in the pavillion where it seemed lots of fun.

On the positive side, we met a couple from Boston who had just arrived that day.  They were up for a little more exploration so we walked over the the

National Hotel and enjoyed some cocktails on the porch serenaded by much mellower Cuban music than yesterday.  Around 9:30, we decided to head over to the Jazz Club.  It's well-known in Havana for stellar shows and we were all interested in good seats.  For 10 CUC, you get in and get 2 free drinks.  After that the drinks were super cheap.  And the music was incredible. It was well worth a cover to get in.  Our only qualm was it was SO cold.

We took a really long walk back to the casa...and called it a night.


The ceremony outside the Museum of the Revolution: