Al Capone. Winston Churchill. Meyer Lansky. Fidel Castro. Ernest Hemingway. Mitch Garvis. These are just a few of the famous, infamous, and unknown people from the past century who have sat on the patio of the Hotel Nacional, ordered a drink (mojito for some, whisky for others, a cerveza Cristal for me), and lit up… Continue reading Hotel Nacional de Cuba: A paradisic patio
Category: Havana
La Grande Dame de Los Puros: Juanita
For years my friends who come to Havana often have spoken of the lovely Juanita, the in-house cigar roller at the Melià Cohiba hotel in Vedado, but I had never gotten down to meet her... until this trip. I walked into the LCDH at the Melià, only to find out she had been transferred. I… Continue reading La Grande Dame de Los Puros: Juanita
Why I love being a Partagas VIP
A little over a year ago, my friend Greg and I were taken by our buddy Jiolys to the Partagas Store in Habana Viejo (not to be mistaken with the Partagas factory, some three kilometres away). The back yard neighbour of El Capitolo, at the right time of day the store's awning will find itself… Continue reading Why I love being a Partagas VIP
Bienvenido a la Habana!
I started this blog a couple of months ago, and have been busy and stressed almost the whole time, waiting, anticipating, today. At 8:05am this morning I boarded an Air Canada Rouge flight from Toronto to sunny, gorgeous, welcoming Havana, Cuba. By 1:15pm I had kissed my girlfriend, dropped off my valise, and we made… Continue reading Bienvenido a la Habana!