tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56575365512158642572024-02-21T12:32:15.573-05:00News-Herald Food and TravelFood and travel captivate Janet Podolak, who chronicles both for The News-Herald. Get the back story of her three decades of stories here. Guest bloggers and fellow News-Herald staffers also periodically share details of their trips.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13562954860499431356noreply@blogger.comBlogger365125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-28519570602169536262015-02-06T14:56:00.000-05:002015-02-06T15:02:18.461-05:00Portugal adventure includes Chapel of Bones, Night Sky stargazing spot<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Chapel of Bones in tucked away inside an ancient church in Evora.</td></tr>
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Portugal is one of the least visited of European countries, but its attractions are simply amazing. Some of them are <a href="http://bit.ly/1v2uJtw">chronicled</a> in the Feb. 8 Travel section, including the <br />
Chapel of Bones in Evora. Click on the contrasting print to read the whole story.<br />
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The Chapel of Bones was built in the 1500s by Franciscan monks who disinterred the remains from a dozen cemeteries around Evora. The town, begun centuries before that by the Romans, needed to expand.<br />
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That small city, capital of the inland Alentejo region, an area of vast plains about a 90-minute drive from Lisbon, was one of the treasures uncovered for me during my November motorcoach tour with Insight Vacations. Our spacious Mercedes Benz coach had been reconfigured to seat just 40 travelers, all with extra legroom. There were just 29 of us on my trip so we all were able to spread out.<br />
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Excellent guides joined us at every stop, giving us a bit of history and a walking tour to help us become oriented for forays on our own.<br />
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In exploring the coastal towns around Lisbon we made a stop en route to Estoril where we got off the coach to stroll near to the Atlantic, which whipped its spray into a frenzy that drove several of us back into the bus. In the distance we could see Cabo de Roca, the westernmost point of continental Europe. It was easy to imagine that Vasco de Gama and other early explorers believed sea monsters lived beyond the horizon.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poseidon astride a sea monster is depicted in marble near the monument to the explorers. </td></tr>
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Some of those monsters are depicted on a giant marble map carrying Posiedon. It which lies in front of the seaside Padrao dos Descobrimentos, a huge stone monument dedicated to the many explorers who departed on their voyages of discovery from Lisbon.<br />
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I especially want to return to Lake Aqueva, a 97-square mile artificial lake created in 2010 by the damming of a river. It spans Portugal's border with Spain and has become a major destination for dark sky tourism, so called because of the area's record number of clear days and lack of light pollution. Telescopes are available at several guest houses in the region and astronomy experts are on hand to show amateur stargazers the celestial sites.<br />
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I hope you enjoy this latest story from my Iberian adventure with Insight. Learn more about the company's upcoming adventures at 800-582-8380; www.insightvacations.com.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-63686500355318675352015-02-05T15:58:00.000-05:002015-02-06T09:54:30.428-05:00Previewing Pastina, Mentor newest restaurant<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My smoked salmon chips were a delightful combination of chile cream cheese, capers, chives and pickled onion served on top of huge potato chips </td></tr>
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The hottest new tables around are at Pastina, which opens Monday Feb. 9 in a stunning new space at 9354 Mentor Ave. I was among those invited for a soft opening preview - a time to fine tune both service and food - and both my friend and I were super impressed.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meet Tina Greci, affable proprietor at Pastina, Mentor's newest restaurant.</td></tr>
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The 200 seat restaurant is the latest in the offerings from the Longo family with its Longo's just west on Mentor Avenue and and Joey's Italian Grille locations in Chardon and Madison Township.<br />
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However, this place is Tina's as in Tina Greci, Joe's sister, and it has her touch in everything from the amber like jewel tone chandeliers to the layout. Her husband, Ray Greci, oversees the making of the pizza crusts, the breads and the light and delicate homemade pastas. But everything here is made from scratch.<br />
The whole family was on hand to welcome invited guests who filled booths big enough to accommodate eight smaller people and six with more ample proportions. Tables also are available but folks seemed to prefer the cushy booths.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The shrimp and polenta small plate has an interesting and quite delicious combo of flavors. </td></tr>
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The bar, which has 100 more seats for dining, also were filled. This place has 6,000 square feet and is served by a large kitchen.<br />
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My friend and I ordered from the small plates part of the menu and then split a margherita pizza ($10).<br />
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She ordered the shrimp and polenta, priced at $11, while I went with the smoked salmon chips at $9. Her shrimp were huge and wonderful tasting atop a lovely cake of polenta, napped by a lemon butter fondue. It was served in a pretty squarish half plate, half bowl. My house smoked salmon had chile cream cheese, capers, chives and pickled onion set atop homemade potato chips made from large Idaho potatoes and set on a board. I was surprised to discover it was cold but there were six of those really large chips.<br />
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We both agreed those so-called small plates were enough for a meal and when the pizza came we couldnt finish it. But the pizza had waht is perhaps the lightest crust I'd ever had and was simpoly prepared with tomato sauce house-made mozzarella and fresh basil.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-26843996715483122152015-01-23T16:14:00.001-05:002015-01-23T16:55:15.911-05:00Media viral vortex: shelf life of a storyMy work has been sucked into a media viral vortex.<br />
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When I met Lee Wachstetter aboard the Crystal Serenity in 2012 I was captivated with<a href="http://bit.ly/1uszFNI"> her story.</a> She loves to dance, and since her husband died she's lived aboard the ship so she could dance every evening.<br />
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I met her through Emery Lendvay, a Madison Township man who was an Ambassador Host for Crystal. He danced the evenings away with women like Mama Lee, the affectionate nickname given Wachstetter by the ship's staff His courtly European manners and smooth dancing style made him a favorite. So, of course, I also <a href="http://bit.ly/1BkAOGm">wrote about</a> him.<br />
Not long after those stories appeared, I got an email from Dave Ashley who played trombone with the ship's Galaxy Orchestra. He was home in Lexington, Kentucky on a break between sailings and had found my stories online. He asked if I had any photos of the orchestra. I told him I'd look, and later I <a href="http://bit.ly/1D09KvZ">blogged </a>about how he found the earlier stories online.<br />
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Fast forward to January 2015. Someone else wrote about Mama Lee. I heard it was USA Today but things have moved so quickly since then I haven't been able to check.<br />
Soon the story had gone viral. It was picked up by other newspapers and TV stations and everyone was looking for another angle. The ship was at sea so calling Mama Lee was not an option. <br />
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Sharp reporters searched with Google and found my earlier stories and soon I was being contacted by other news outlets. First it was London's Daily Mail and then it was a German television network, both asking to use my video. I gave permission as long as they linked back to The News-Herald. Newspapers these days live by hits, It's something they can take to the bank in terms of ad revenue.<br />
<a href="http://dailym.ai/15mXj1O">The Daily Mail</a>, with its one million circulation, credited me, Janet Podolak but at the Miami Herald. I asked for a correction, which they made. And we got plenty of hits.<br />
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I haven't yet seen what the German TV network is doing but now when I Google "Mama Lee" I find my story and its video have been put up on many other newspaper websites. But you can click on the words in contrasting print for the original stories in this saga.<br />
Simply amazing!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-66190879056030609982015-01-17T17:09:00.002-05:002015-01-20T11:20:42.955-05:00Seafood extravaganza a motorcoach tour's Lisbon treat <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rainy night in Lisbon found us in a great seafood spot in a working class neighborhood. </td></tr>
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I'd never been to Portugal but knew the Atlantic defined its western coast and the country was one of Europe's wealthiest during the Age of Discovery. Early in our Iberian adventure our <a href="http://www.news-herald.com/lifestyle/20150106/easy-to-become-acquainted-on-portugalspain-motorcoach-tour">Insight tour </a>took us to a Lisbon monument marking the place where Vasco de Gama and Magellan set out to explore the world. </div>
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I was looking forward to eating some great seafood, but concerned that motorcoach tour dining would be less than stellar. It's got to be a challenge in planning such a trip to find restaurants to handle 28 people at one time. Food on my earlier motorcoach tours usually ranged from adequate to ordinary so I didn't have high expectations. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Platters filled with seafood kept coming.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Extraordinary clams, unlike any I'd seen before, were succulent and delicious.</td></tr>
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Most meals on the Insight itinerary were included but several times we were free to arrange our own dining. On our second evening in Lisbon I'd intended to go to a newly opened market boasting food stations staffed by a rotating group of local chefs. t sounded like a good story, but it was pouring rain. I didn't want to take a cab, and lacked confidence in negotiating the streetcar to the waterfront,.<br />
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So when Insight president John Boulding asked us if we wanted to join him for seafood, I jumped at the chance. </div>
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Several writers had other plans so our group numbered about a dozen.,</div>
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John told us we'd be taking the ferry across the Tagus River to dine in a working class neighborhood far from the tourist haunts<br />
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Our coach took us to the ferry where we all got umbrellas and queued up to board the boat, which ran every few minutes.<br />
We were urged to stay together and used tickets handed us by Toni, guide/conceirge extraordinaire.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whole shrimp, with eyes still in place, required us to bite of the heads before consuming them.</td></tr>
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The restaurant Marisqueira Val de Rio was just a half block from the ferry landing, but it was pouring by then. We raised our umbrellas and leaned into the deluge to follow John to dinner, while Toni brought up the rear. Keeping travel writers on the straight and narrow is something like herding cats. We're curious types who are easily distracted. But the rain probably helped.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'd hoped for octopus and got it</td></tr>
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Once inside the restaurant we relinquished umbrellas and were shown to a trio of tables.<br />
I eyed a blackboard menu promising octopus and planned to order it. After orders for beer and wine were filled platters filled with all kinds of seafood kept coming our way . It proved to be an extravaganza of clams, crab, lobster and other shellfish and crustaceans and included the octopus I'd eyed. </div>
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The place was not fancy but the food was extraordinary. My concerns about dining quality were quickly put to rest. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Toothsome crab claws had a side of bread stuffing on the plate.</td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-8753530489544304242014-12-17T15:31:00.000-05:002014-12-18T16:12:46.112-05:00Time capsule Cuba ending soon? Sometimes you need to step away from the everyday to really examine life and how it's being lived.<br />
That's one of the most compelling things about travel as far as I'm concerned, and last spring's visit to Cuba trumped that thought in every way.<br />
Now that Cuba is about to open up and its 53-year embargo ended, that time capsule I visited is about to end. The 90 miles from Key West to Cuba will surely shrink and soon, I fear, Cubans will be just like us.<br />
I wrote about what I found and the words here in contrasting print will allow you to revisit the stories published in recent months.. Just click and you will go there.<br />
Time spent without <a href="http://bit.ly/1rcV0rK">credit cards</a>, cellphone and internet was an eyeopener. I met hero <a href="http://bit.ly/1iAaTPT">Jose Marti</a>, rode in cars from the<a href="http://bit.ly/1iCjO97"> 1950s</a>, tasted <a href="http://bit.ly/1jVY0QL">forbidden</a> cigars and rum, got some traditional <a href="http://bit.ly/1xK408J">recipes</a>, heard music that brough<a href="http://bit.ly/1pBRGFl">t tears</a>, met <a href="http://bit.ly/1kPGzSF">artists</a>, toured a botanical <a href="http://bit.ly/1rRUtZJ">garden,</a> and did a little<a href="http://bit.ly/1nDMbnK"> birding</a>. I discovered people who were very literate and <a href="http://bit.ly/UDEuCu">loved to read</a>,, found out how to best stay <a href="http://bit.ly/1lJecti">hydrated</a>, learned about how the<a href="http://bit.ly/1qoNuJ1"> money works</a>, walked through a beautifully restored old <a href="http://bit.ly/1l9cCf3">neighborhood</a>, and learned about the <a href="http://bit.ly/XfMAmv">legacy of the mob</a> in Havana.<br />
I did a series of three stories for the paper that ran last July, August and September and tried to articulate stepping through a <a href="http://bit.ly/1wlDA9Q">window in time</a>, that <a href="http://bit.ly/1sgu629">shook my perceptions</a> and reintroduced me to <a href="http://bit.ly/1lTGbZt">Ernest Hemingway</a>. <br />
My week-long visit to Cuba was a trip like no other. I will never forget it and I want to go back.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-57880425072131140992014-12-08T16:17:00.001-05:002014-12-08T16:17:23.601-05:00Find favorite nativities at annual exhibit in Kirtland<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the week before it opened, artist Norbert Koehn constructs an Italian nativity near the entrance to the Historic Kirtland Visitors Center.</td></tr>
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Walking among the many<a href="http://bit.ly/1s55w5Z"> nativities </a>showcased each holiday season is always an interesting experience. It's the same Christmas story told in hundreds of different ways.<br />
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Almost everyone has a favorite. When I heard about it, I fully expected the Native American nativity featuring bear totems to be my favorite, but it turned out the one I liked best was the one constructed by artist Norbert Koehn just inside the entrance the to the visitor center.<br />
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Koehn and his wife live in South Euclid and are artists of great stature. They've contributed nativities many years, but last year their work was missing from the exhibit.<br />
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One of the things I liked best about his nativity this year is that he sourced his figured from Spain. I'm pretty sure he got them in Seville, where an annual street market showcases everything nativity, from lush and detailed figures to fruits and vegetables and even cartoonish characters. When I saw that street market during my visit to Seville last month I thought of Historic Kirtland and its annual exhibit of loaned nativities. I knew that I would be writing about it upon my return to Ohio so as I walked around the nativity market in Seville I carefully checked out the various vendors and what they were selling.<br />
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Imagine my delight to meet the very figures I discovered in Seville at the nativity exhibit not far from my own backyard. Catch the exhibit in Kirtland if you can. It's open every day but Christmas. Before you go browse the gallery of photos posted by News-Herald photo chief Duncan Scott. You may find your favorite among the photos. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-62890758286073286582014-12-04T13:04:00.002-05:002014-12-04T13:04:37.389-05:00United to end nonstops to popular Florida citiesPerhaps it's the arrival of Frontier Airlines in Cleveland that has partially caused it, but United has announced it will end its popular nonstops to Fort Myers, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale on April 7 and nonstops to Dallas/Fort Worth will end March 5.<br />
Frontier Airlines flights to the popular Florida cities are about $100 cheaper than United's but when you add the $30 fee each way for carryon bags, the difference is much less. I've never flown Frontier and consider myself a loyal United flyer, but if I visit my daughter in Tampa this spring I'll certainly learn more.<br />
Spirit Airlines, another low cost carrier with extra fees for carryon, also will begin flights from Cleveland to Tampa on Jan. 15.<br />
Frontier, meanwhile, has dropped flights to Seattle and more recently announced it will soon end its nonstops to New York's LaGuardia, Washington-Dulles and Trenton Mercer in New Jersey.<br />
I've fine tuned my packing skills to travel with a carryon almost everywhere and for any amount of time, so now I don't know what I will do.<br />
Near the airport on Maui there's a great secondhand clothing store where you can buy what you need when you arrive and donate it back when you leave. Maybe it's an idea other areas could adopt. And perhaps a rent-a-coat-and boots concession would be well received in places where winter needs to be considered.<br />
I'm not going to stop traveling and I'll mourn the loss of United flights to Florida but obviously some more new flying tactics need to be developed.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-69728896633743993802014-11-21T03:51:00.000-05:002014-11-21T03:51:13.217-05:00Portugal passage to SpainStorks hi in their nests, long white necks stretched as if they're curious.Black pigs snuffling beneath oaks that haven't changed color. Old cork trees, their bark harvested to make a wide array of commodities fare beyond bottle stoppers. These are the sights as our motor coach makes its way from Portugal to Seville. This Insight Vacation is a far cry from the last coach tour I 'd taken with huge amounts of legroom, wifi on board, charging stations, bottled water, and fellow passengers from far flung Singapore, South Africa, Australia, Italy, England and. Ireland. Half the fun is hearing their varied perceptions of the experiences we share..We,be spent two nights in each hotel and now are concluding the Portugal portion of our journey together.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-78131275201171104162014-11-11T12:55:00.002-05:002014-11-11T12:55:24.413-05:00Car sharing - idea whose time has comeCar sharing is an idea whose time has come, especially for the museum dense University Circle neighborhood where parking and walking - especially in winter - can be problematic.<br />
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Car sharing arrives there with the Nov. 12 debut of Zipcar — a 24/7 transportation option for students and the local community. Two vehicles will be at University Circle Inc., 10831 Magnolia Drive, and two will be parked at the Ford Road Garage, 1980 Ford Road. Rates, which start at $7.50 an hour and $69 a day, include gas, insurance and 180 miles a day.<br />
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Sounds great for dropping the gang off for an exhibit or show, zipping downtown for an errand, then whipping back to pick them all up at the appointed time<br />
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Memberships, available to university students and local businesses and nonprofits, permit reserving online or with a Smartphone. Details: www.zipcar.com/cleveland.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-2273036011215589992014-11-09T12:16:00.004-05:002014-11-10T10:16:11.468-05:00Headed to Portugal and SpainA week from now I'll be on my way to Lisbon to explore the southern part of that country before crossing over into Spain where I'll visit Seville and Cordoba before going on to an overnight in Madrid and then heading home. It's all part of an #InsightVacations motorcoach trip - the first of that type of trip I've taken in many years. But that's a segment of travel I've long wanted to write about since it's the choice of so many readers.<br />
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Insight is a top notch tour operator with expert guides, lots of seat and leg room, and itineraries with special experiences such as winery visits with tastings, a lake cruise, and seeing how free range pigs feast on acorns to become the cherished Iberico hams. We'll spend two nights in a single hotel three times during our trip and all are centrally located and within easy walking distance of many attractions for our free time.<br />
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Our expert guide has already introduced himself by mail and I've received a duplicate list of hotels with addresses and phone numbers so I can leave a copy behind. That's not always the case on organized tours but it's that kind of attention to detail I've experienced so far with Insight. Check our the website at www.insightvacations.com.<br />
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I'm doing my homework on the places we'll visit so I don't have to waste time asking a lot of questions I can have answers for before I leave. That will leave me time to meet the people, absorb my surroundings, shoot good photos and capture the videos I'll share with readers early in 2015.<br />
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I also have fairly liberal amounts of free time, so am seeking input from others who have been to Lisbon, Evora, Monsaraz, Lake Alquva and the Andulsian region. Tell me, please, what to eat, what to drink. what to buy, who to find, and where to take it all in. <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-16284026804285880392014-11-08T13:33:00.001-05:002014-11-08T13:33:39.769-05:00Long haul flying strategies<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAeYLbvrOJsUxuBAj6nWJwnoSLvUmPWtQgD48HJiOQXUihv-y6aZ11yIuv99XdhdYHtUfMSYfDVZb0KrafIiFo7UNkFp0pZpSF8E2VHZ2JtLrschfKf914bP6nRC9Qjyssov3lSM4YYEc/s1600/backpackblog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAeYLbvrOJsUxuBAj6nWJwnoSLvUmPWtQgD48HJiOQXUihv-y6aZ11yIuv99XdhdYHtUfMSYfDVZb0KrafIiFo7UNkFp0pZpSF8E2VHZ2JtLrschfKf914bP6nRC9Qjyssov3lSM4YYEc/s1600/backpackblog.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My backpack, sleep mask and earplugs are basics for every trip. These neoprene shoes, a bottle water that folds flat when empty also help make a long flight more comfortable. See what else helps me sleep and arrive refreshed even on long haul overnight flights.</td></tr>
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Long haul flying strategies detailed in <a href="http://bit.ly/13WGhaW">my Nov. 9 column</a> in the Travel section depend on being properly equipped. </div>
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My most recent long trip was 30-some hours en route to Oahu with an outbornd layover in San Francisco and a return layover in Houston. The five hour time difference gives, in effect, give an extra half day. But sleep between here and there is essential if you're going to be able to take advantage of it since it's five hours earlier.</div>
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My next long trip will also be five hours' time difference, but I'm headed for Lisbon so it will be that much later than at home. When I arrive it will be morning but my internal time will be the middle of the night. </div>
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That's part of what jet all is all about, but I can't say which is more difficult - eastbound or westbound.</div>
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But sleep is essential and I always try to get on local time as soon as I arrive. Getting outdoors and going for a brisk walk in the sunlight helps.</div>
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Here are some of the specifics Ive discovered through the years or being on the road for The News-Herald's Travel section.</div>
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My North Face backpack is critical because it becomes a footrest once I recline my seat for sleep. Neoprene Nufoot slippers go over my socks to keep me warm, provide traction and help me make the trek to the washroom. I brush my teeth using one-time use disposable brush picks with toothpaste embedded. A collapsible plastic water bottle the folds flat when empty is attached to the pack by a carbiner along with Purell handcleaner. Both are easy to clip off the pack and onto my belt when I explore my destination. </div>
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The water bottle, purchased at the AAA office in Mentor, was the envy of everyone in during my visit last spring to Cuba where hydration is important but bottled water is not widely found. </div>
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My sleep mask and foam earplugs are travel essentials since I need darkness and silence to sleep on flights and at my destinations. They're rolled and packed in a ziplock bag along with meds I need to take on the flight. I usually travel with a sleep aide, although I don't always use it. Prescription Ambien is my choice. </div>
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Inside my pack are my electronics and chargers padded by a light rain jacket that packs into its own pocket. That pocket has become a pillow when one isn't provided on the flight. I also have an inflatable neck pillow </div>
and I always take a cozy pashmina, which can serve as a blanket or be rolled for low back support during long flight.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-14890549959609875522014-10-14T14:11:00.000-04:002015-02-05T10:56:25.465-05:00Blast from past<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">
<span style="color: red;"> I'm writing about a new book, "The Best Place to Be Today" for the December travel section. It lists great places to be every day of the year and, if you're like me, you'll look up your birthday to find a great place to celebrate it. I did just that and found Fallas in Valencia Spain, where I celebrated my March 19 birthday in 2006. But I couldn't find a link to the story I wrote, so I am reprinting it here. </span></div>
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Nothing appears to escape public derision during Fallas, the weeklong festival celebrating St. Joseph’s Day in <span style="color: red;">Valencia</span>, Spain.<br />
During the week culminating <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1215133241" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">March 19</span></span>, more than 300 public squares in this city not much larger than Cleveland fill with building-sized sculptures called ninots. The ninots make fun of the past year’s events in Spain and around the world.<br />
At the end of the week they’re blown up and ignited, turning the entire city into one giant inferno.<br />
It’s Fallas (say FIE-yus), a festival originating in the 1700s, and the hottest street party scene in all of Spain. Historians believe the wild bash resulted when Catholicism merged with pagan rites celebrating the start of spring.<br />
It’s not a week for the noise-sensitive, and it’s certainly no place to catch up on sleep. But go once and you’ll never forget it.<br />
I thought Fallas would be a great way to celebrate my mid-March birthday and I joined another Pisces birthday girl there.<br />
This palmy city in the middle of Spain’s Mediterranean coast closes schools and businesses during Fallas so night owls can feast, explode fireworks and become involved in a citywide extravaganza of parades and festivities.<br />
We saw ninots in which the airlines were derided for their sometimes arcane cost-cutting and security practices. We saw George W. Bush lampooned as a destroyer of the environment and as best buddies with Osama bin Laden. We saw the public dislike of new anti-smoking laws that prohibit public smoking in a country historically committed to nicotine.<br />
But despite the then-ongoing worldwide Muslim brouhaha over a Scandinavian magazine’s cartoon depiction of Mohammed, there was absolutely no reference to that controversy.<br />
I thought that strange, given Spain’s nearly five centuries of Muslim culture and rule. Ever the cynic, I figured censorship but would be proved wrong.<br />
Arab lands are just an hour or so by ferry from the tip of Spain, and entire neighborhoods in many Spanish cities are populated with adherents to Islam. The Muslim culture continues to influence everything from architecture to cuisine throughout the country.<br />
“Why does Islam seem exempt from the fun?” I asked Nacho, our guide and interpreter who was helping us non-Spanish speakers with context for our <span style="color: red;">Valencia</span>n adventure.<br />
“I’ll ask our driver,” Nacho said. “He’s Muslim.”<br />
The eye-opening translation revealed that our driver, Ahmed, believes that no one’s religion is a suitable subject for humor or public ridicule.<br />
Coexistence is key in this predominantly Catholic country.<br />
“I can’t speak for everyone,” Nacho conceded. “But perhaps the lack of those ninots for Fallas is a sign of respect.”<br />
Despite the no-holds-barred artistic expression and loud blasts of fireworks from every corner during Fallas, respect seems to run deeply through Spanish life.<br />
The giant sculptures, created by close-knit community groups, are ignited at <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1215133242" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">midnight</span></span> on St. Joseph’s Day. Nearby buildings are shuttered, and fire departments come from around the world to join Spain’s fire experts in preventing the fires from spreading.<br />
Orange glows brighten the darkened sky over different neighborhoods as black clouds spiral skyward while throngs of spectators stroll from one furious bonfire to another.<br />
Earlier that evening, we were hard-pressed to choose the parade we wanted to attend. As a journalist, I was curious about the Muslim influences surrounding us, so voted for a neighborhood known for its Moroccan population, people also known as Moors. In modern usage, the term Moor has come to mean anyone Muslim but it originally signified the mixed Arab, Spanish and Berber people who settled in North Africa and southern Spain between the 11th and 17th centuries.<br />
The Moorish neighborhood, two dozen blocks from our hotel in the city’s historic center, was a challenging walk, especially amid Fallas throngs. Although <span style="color: red;">Valencia</span> has a well-developed system of buses and a Metro subway, when public celebrations are everywhere, walking is most rewarding.<br />
The parade of our choice, an extravaganza of Muslim, Spanish and African costumes and music, portrayed <span style="color: red;">Valencia</span>’s rich history with sword presentations, pageantry and even camels. Lavish costumes included garb made entirely of feathers, shells and faux animal skins that must have required hundreds of hours for their construction and cost dearly. Although a tradition for just 30 years, the 700-person Moors parade has evolved into one of the city’s most spectacular events.<br />
During Fallas, <span style="color: red;">Valencia</span>ns’ passion for traditional costumes is played out all over the city, but nowhere more intensely than in the flower offering to the Virgen de los Desamparados, patron saint of <span style="color: red;">Valencia</span>.<br />
A cavalcade of more than 140,000 ornately clad women, girls and even babies in strollers carry bouquets of flowers to dress the Virgin. This sedate parade, its pace set by neighborhood bands marching between groups, continues day and night for two full days. Some of the youngest musicians play the sweet-sounding flute called a dolgaina, an oboe-like instrument.<br />
The two-story statue begins as a 40-foot wooden framework of scaffolding topped by the head and crown of the Virgin holding a baby Jesus. Outdoors in the cathedral square, it’s sheltered from the elements by a huge awning.<br />
Over the hours, volunteers catch carnation bouquets tossed to them after being solemnly presented to the Virgin by the gowned females. Alternating colors, the agile volunteers insert the flowers, mostly carnations, into the framework until the Virgin’s flower gown appears. More than 40 tons of flowers are used for this fragrant and colorful ritual.<br />
The traditional costumes worn by the women are ornate and expensive creations of silk, taffeta, damask and brocade, some taking six workers 700 hours to create, according to one Fallas publication. Although gowns usually are passed down through the generations, the price tag for one dress produced today can reach nearly 6,000 euros, or $9,000.<br />
In contrast to the boisterous, sometimes ribald fun of other Fallas revelry, the procession to the Virgin is laden with emotion. Not a few tears are seen as the women present the bouquets they’ve carried from their neighborhoods to present to Our Lady of the Forsaken.<br />
Spain’s night-loving culture holds true even in the mid-March Fallas season, when it can be chilly along the palm-lined streets of <span style="color: red;">Valencia</span>. The dry heat of Spanish summers originated the custom of a midday siesta, when most shops close for a couple of hours and employees enjoy a two- to three-hour lunch.<br />
It was quite an adjustment for me, an early-to-bed-early-to-rise type, to sit down to dinner at <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1215133243" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">10 p.m.</span></span><br />
Nothing gets moving in <span style="color: red;">Valencia</span> until mid-morning, especially during Fallas, when late-night parties hosted by neighborhood groups pop up all over town in barricaded streets and beneath tents.<br />
The mascleta, a midday fireworks tradition of Fallas, shakes late sleepers wide awake at <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1215133244" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">1 p.m.</span></span> each day. It takes place in the Plaza Ayuntamiento, or city hall square, where different sound artists take charge of each day’s multiple blasts.<br />
These aren’t the colorful nighttime fireworks that bloom like flowers in the sky, but an ear-shattering arrangement of thousands of firecrackers that each day result in a different, almost musical, harmony played out in gunpowder.<br />
Crowds gather in the square for the 11-minute display that, to my ear, initially sounded like castanets, then merged into a staccato dance of rhythm. When it ends, the almost vacuum-like silence is shattered by the screaming of car alarms set off by the extreme noise.<br />
It was in <span style="color: red;">Valencia</span> that I learned ear-splitting is not an overstatement.<br />
Travelers’ checks<br />
The Web site www.turis<span style="color: red;">valencia</span>.es has all the resources and information you might need for planning a trip to <span style="color: red;">Valencia</span>. I flew there from New York on Iberia, Spain’s national airline, which also has flights from Chicago. A one- to three-day <span style="color: red;">Valencia</span> Card ($7 to $19) provides free transport and free admission to a number of great museums and discounts at others. Order it at www.<span style="color: red;">valencia</span><a href="http://card.es/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">card.es</a>.<br />
Fallas 2007 will be observed <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1215133245" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">March 11-19</span></span> in <span style="color: red;">Valencia</span>, with festivities peaking the final three days. Hotels will be filled to capacity so if you hope to go, make your plans soon. Get insight to the festival with a visit to the Fallas Museum, which preserves ninots chosen to be saved from the fires of each year’s event. They vividly portray history through the Franco years, the hippie era, and to the present.<br />
Next May, <span style="color: red;">Valencia</span> also plays host to the 32nd America’s Cup sailing race, so you’ll soon be hearing a lot about this 800,000-person city on Spain’s middle Mediterranean coast.<br />
I stayed at the well-located and beautifully appointed Hotel Astoria Palace, at the edge of the city’s picturesque historic old town district (<a href="http://www.hotelastoriapalace.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">www.hotelastoriapalace.com</a>).<br />
That part of town is up against the Turia riverbed, which was dried out and made the sunken location for gardens, museums and recreation after serious floods in centuries past. The curving expanse of park lands is framed by bridges to embrace the city and provide easy reference points for getting around.<br />
Get information about Spain, including <span style="color: red;">Valencia</span>, from the tourist office in Chicago at 845 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611; 312-642-1992; www.Spain.info. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com0Valencia, Valencia, Spain39.4699075 -0.3762881000000106739.2736095 -0.69901160000001061 39.6662055 -0.053564600000010676tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-31312535397299287552014-08-13T16:25:00.000-04:002014-08-13T16:25:25.276-04:00Coincidences from other side of the world<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Some days I just LOVE the internet!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">My Wednesday began with an email from a former Willoughby guy living in Malaysia who read<span id="goog_26616944"></span> <a href="http://bit.ly/1B8Uy0e">my Monday story</a><span id="goog_26616945"></span> online about Carl Roberts who died in the final days of World War I. Roberts was buried in Flanders Field and a Belgian man who pledged to take care of his grave had reached out to find any descendants.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"> The Malaysia emailer wrote to tell me of several amazing coincidences: He lived on Wilson Avenue in Willoughby ('61 to '</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">75) near where Carl Roberts' family lived in the early days of the last century. His dad was business manager of WE Schools & lived there until 1983; he delivered the News-Herald on that same street & played football with sports writer Jim Ingraham; a fraternity brother Lt. Col John McCrae wrote "In Flanders Fields" mentioned in the story. </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Furthermore, Willoughby Mayor Dave Anderson played lead guitar for Changing Tymes, the band for which the emailer played keyboards in junior high. E-mail writer Howard Fries has lived in Asia since 1995. His email included photos of his neighbors - a herd of elephants. Today he lives in the Terengganu Province of Malaysia - the same place where I visited the Tajong Jara resort in 2001. He says his heart remains in Willoughby.</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"> How's that for a small world?.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-43036482841908854582014-08-08T09:59:00.000-04:002014-08-10T09:11:24.632-04:00Searching for Commies in wrong Cuban places<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiSnL8TKRRV0ZASqrlu2GsJFPubgIl5lcEDwYEk4IMS3ezcJFYfLkeiUCHVu1aeGco9vJ6QBfANu388EkSN6i4GCMihhW6Q8D2hdOUSP9Ujk_NprDRClb6AVucLOLCxoR2BKZdkhE4yBQ/s1600/cuba+2+Las+Terazzas.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiSnL8TKRRV0ZASqrlu2GsJFPubgIl5lcEDwYEk4IMS3ezcJFYfLkeiUCHVu1aeGco9vJ6QBfANu388EkSN6i4GCMihhW6Q8D2hdOUSP9Ujk_NprDRClb6AVucLOLCxoR2BKZdkhE4yBQ/s1600/cuba+2+Las+Terazzas.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The terraced hillsides of Las Terrazas, west of Havana, began as a reforestation effort but now are an artist colony.</td></tr>
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"Searching for Commies in all the wrong places" was my suggested headline for the second story in the Cuba series, which goes to readers on Aug. 10.<br />
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Either that was just too edgy or the paper's layout folks figured younger readers might not connect with the word "Commie" since it's not one in much use now. Many of the actions by Communists, who were in Cuba from the early 1960s until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, caused today's restrictions on Cuba for Americans. <br />
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So instead the story is headlined<a href="http://bit.ly/1sgu629"> "Visit to Cuba has power to shake perception" </a>which is certainly quite accurate.<br />
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Click on the contrasted print and you will be able to see the story itself along with pictures of one of the prettiest places I've ever been - Las Terrazas in the lovely Sierra de Rosario mountains west of Havana .<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHGPXFi1JxJO0JfZzwFAWgz5yPWi8h2oK8oNhKbAXp0K2ZbYGlVlN5Lp3S7s2zBnHLUDYxi6tfF4SR9imHSIYIlU1fVpSywzs1eI6OKEjU3TdClBSud5u394qWDoPRdWkWK_3WygMa39M/s1600/cuba+2++hut.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHGPXFi1JxJO0JfZzwFAWgz5yPWi8h2oK8oNhKbAXp0K2ZbYGlVlN5Lp3S7s2zBnHLUDYxi6tfF4SR9imHSIYIlU1fVpSywzs1eI6OKEjU3TdClBSud5u394qWDoPRdWkWK_3WygMa39M/s1600/cuba+2++hut.JPG" height="320" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thatch roof cottages on stilts provide rustic overnight lodging to visitors.<br />
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Whether by accident or intent this project initiated by the Russians and Fidel Castro has become a model of ecotourism - drawing visitors and Cubans alike to its cool forests, its art colony and to its Banos, a series of waterfalls and deep pools in the San Juan River where people come to play, picnic and stay overnight in thatched cottages on stilts.<br />
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Birds, wildlife and exotic trees and plant species abound. It was begun as a reforestation project on hillsides denuded of trees by people to make charcoal - the same activity that has made much of Haiti an ecological wasteland prone to erosion.<br />
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In the reforestation effort, which also provided wide employment, the slopes were terraced and mahogany, teak and other trees planted to end the erosion.<br />
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In the 40 years since then, it's become a lush oasis and a prime destination for a day or more away from the city. Hiking trails thread through the mountainsides, there's good dining, and a 1800s French run coffee plantation has been restored for interpretation. There's a small hotel with a huge tree growing through its roof.<br />
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Houses originally built for workers now have become a focus for an artist colony, many of whom open their homes and studios to visitors. Those who practice the arts always seem drawn to places of great beauty, which they make more beautiful by their own work.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo26aDm4vnQt1TwGzUxbJxjHOsAlHQTV1Zz1LBATibe_8vVDyLayMDjGGIUDFrzfQ7MKJSjNZA2_-BfZpHgVb5IXGzEIt22qEcFtLYhjlacuX3au6tIz-0cvlEnVct9mTPy4p-qWcUY9A/s1600/cuba+2+parakeet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo26aDm4vnQt1TwGzUxbJxjHOsAlHQTV1Zz1LBATibe_8vVDyLayMDjGGIUDFrzfQ7MKJSjNZA2_-BfZpHgVb5IXGzEIt22qEcFtLYhjlacuX3au6tIz-0cvlEnVct9mTPy4p-qWcUY9A/s1600/cuba+2+parakeet.jpg" height="144" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cuba still has several species of wild parrots, although the birds are endangered since many have been captured as pets. </td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com0Sierra del Rosario, Cuba22.8 -83.25-25.257932999999998 -165.8671875 70.857933 -0.6328125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-46239842405746828332014-08-06T12:42:00.001-04:002014-08-06T12:43:48.453-04:00Ontario countryside an extraordinary road trip My weekend girlfriends getaway with friend Judy from Toronto was a lot of fun. We headed east of her city to <a href="http://bit.ly/1qWWWVN">Prince Edward County</a>, a drive-to island tucked next to the north shore of Lake Ontario. The point was attending the Great Canadian Cheese Festival - a food for which we both have a great fondness. But we also had a great time meandering among wineries, a brewery or two, artisan galleries and stopping for photos of wildflowers and lots more. The story goes to print subscribers of The News-Herald on Sunday but it's up online now.Take a look and consider a visit. There's a great lineup of fall events there and plenty of nice places to stay, including the Waring House Inn, which we both enjoyed. Click on the contrasted words above to read more.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com0Prince Edward, ON, Canada44.0005049 -77.25058849999999243.2695689 -78.541481999999988 44.7314409 -75.959695tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-10603095850608057982014-08-01T11:33:00.000-04:002014-08-01T12:46:08.363-04:00Walleye (pickerel) fishing and feasting in Ontario<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD43pv3bjBXdxgqLosKK8P16p283q_wvKrReGyu9itF9VNGvIWYeDMA6I8aBanZB6dC_RxELgA14j4mAHuPUvxCqq-LLao7oZvxqNd0L7NM1pLeAIgMOmf2n1F43G51MGWXoydTjxTGWo/s1600/victorian+view.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD43pv3bjBXdxgqLosKK8P16p283q_wvKrReGyu9itF9VNGvIWYeDMA6I8aBanZB6dC_RxELgA14j4mAHuPUvxCqq-LLao7oZvxqNd0L7NM1pLeAIgMOmf2n1F43G51MGWXoydTjxTGWo/s1600/victorian+view.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rice Lake is seen from a guest room window in the Victorian Inn. Just east of Toronto, the lake is a popular vacation destination for Northeast Ohioans </td></tr>
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It was early on a perfect summer day when my friend Judy and I aimed our rental car toward Rice Lake, a 23-mile long lake on the Trent-Severn waterway. Just an hour or so east of Toronto, it’s the darling of anglers from Ohio and a lot of other places. <br />
“Ohioans have been coming for several generations,” said Donna Cane, innkeeper at the Victorian Inn at Gore’s Landing,<br />
Everything’s from another era here — no Marriotts or Holiday Inns at all.<br />
“People stay here and at some of the cottages around the lake,” she said.<br />
She’d arranged for me to go out fishing on Rice Lake with Mike McNaught, a local guide who grew up on the lake and has achieved a sought after skill for tracking down its pan fish, walleye, bass and muskies. His passion, however, is fly-fishing for salmon and steelhead on the Ganaraska River and he also leads anglers on those trips.<br />
My dad was an avid fisherman and our family would head north to Ontario’s Thousands Islands for several weeks each summer. Sometimes Dad would allow me to join him and the guide for an early morning trip trolling for muskies and Northerns. Nostalgic for those times, I’d asked if it would be possible for me to see if Canadian fishing had changed.<br />
Donna was planning our lunch around Mike’s catch from earlier that morning when mists still shrouded the late. It was 10 a.m. and clear as can be when as I stepped into his boat secured to the Victorian Inn dock.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl4CNY6l5sgibRfvefWiDDmRKLgzGgrxwMNFxyVJsQ1UaCmLD3mmN1fjAwGdyN6rqYgdYPOb1MeUTCpYIuz35rAfzJ8gK1KQ-uSuObnwWnuBZyrqUmLNxp6-RCgTueje_oY_MINeHOhV4/s1600/lures.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl4CNY6l5sgibRfvefWiDDmRKLgzGgrxwMNFxyVJsQ1UaCmLD3mmN1fjAwGdyN6rqYgdYPOb1MeUTCpYIuz35rAfzJ8gK1KQ-uSuObnwWnuBZyrqUmLNxp6-RCgTueje_oY_MINeHOhV4/s1600/lures.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fishing guide Mike McNaught shows me a lure used to catch certain fish. </td></tr>
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I watched carefully as Mike selected the lures and rods we would use. He motored slowly toward our first fishing hole, in the lee of one of the rocky islets on the lake. A radar-like fish finder helped him scan the lake bottom to find the schools of fish we sought.<br />
There was nothing like that when I was a girl, but that was a really long time ago.<br />
“They like to hang out in the weeds,” Mike said.<br />
As we cruised slowly out onto Rice Lake, he pointed out cottages on various islands, “That one has a couple of sheep to mow the grass,” he said. “And over there is an ancient First Nations burial ground.”<br />
Our Indians are called First Nation people here, usually followed by a tribe name among the Canadians. Many of them still live along Rice Lake, which was named for the wild rice they cultivated at one time near the shallow shore waters.<br />
“In winter we have a regular village of ice fishermen out here,” Mike said. “We can even call up for pizza on our cellphones and get it delivered. In summer we can usually get pizza delivered to one of the docks when we’re hungry.”<br />
There are several places around Rice Lake that rent boats and help folks get fishing licenses, he added.<br />
He activated his trolling motor, a small motor that allows the boat to go very slowly as he fished. That’s something my Dad would have loved.<br />
Mike is apparently locally well-known for the flies he ties, and to tie effective ones he not only must study the habits and appetites of fish, but that of the insects and other creatures they feast on. “Walleye, for instance, love worms,” he said.<br />
I could tell he was accustomed to speaking to Americans because most Ontario folks use the word “pickerel” for walleye. .<br />
“A good fisherman never stops learning,” he said.<br />
He promised to show us his hand tied lures after lunch at the Victorian Inn.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpp9Y1VIUm6Xu_ki62Haa8P1RJqTeZmit4KJknvoPeSdWgp8TJbK8NuM7Agse3XMk609Gd_K8MPCax_Nyv8TM3mJ7xzHT7RPYrbMVQXxPvB-7yrmrVuL70AZdpbOFJFIgaZcaDaydRAP4/s1600/walleye+lunch.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpp9Y1VIUm6Xu_ki62Haa8P1RJqTeZmit4KJknvoPeSdWgp8TJbK8NuM7Agse3XMk609Gd_K8MPCax_Nyv8TM3mJ7xzHT7RPYrbMVQXxPvB-7yrmrVuL70AZdpbOFJFIgaZcaDaydRAP4/s1600/walleye+lunch.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The walleye lunch from Mike's catch, cooked and served at the Victorian Inn, was delicious. </td></tr>
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We feasted on walleye (pickerel) that was, for me the best fish I’d ever tasted. It was just a few hours from the depths of Rice Lake. <br />
Learn more about the area at www.northumberlandtourism.com; 866-401-3278. Meet Mike McNaught at http://michaelmcnaught.wordpress.com/about/<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-81001433816466381532014-07-31T13:13:00.000-04:002014-08-03T12:28:11.290-04:00Everyone reads in Cuba, literacy rate exceeds ours <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHpoP3QuPf6RRKeFN5EOoz-ZeeGBt7zbJrGXYvO-3aukSkhBLlmN_Rg2dECyMImvBeNt-KdaHAIXuIuK15mKAIpgyu5ChCSS9pkRrQLPl_Vg_YuuZAGqqaEaDtRD7kml5t5XJ9cvrT3LM/s1600/armas2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHpoP3QuPf6RRKeFN5EOoz-ZeeGBt7zbJrGXYvO-3aukSkhBLlmN_Rg2dECyMImvBeNt-KdaHAIXuIuK15mKAIpgyu5ChCSS9pkRrQLPl_Vg_YuuZAGqqaEaDtRD7kml5t5XJ9cvrT3LM/s1600/armas2.JPG" height="162" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vendors of periodicals, postcards and other printed materials flank the entrance to a leafy Havana park. </td></tr>
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It was quickly apparent in Cuba that its people are avid readers. Even though the press is state controlled, papers are hawked on the streets and people are seen in coffee shops and public places reading newspapers. News is not something found widely online, so googling for information and other changes technology has brought to our world haven't yet come to Cuba.<br />
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Literacy in Cuba exceeds 99 percent according to data from <a href="http://bit.ly/1jZuNtY">UNESCO </a>. That’s higher than any other Latin American country and even exceeds the U.S. literacy rate of 96 percent for the United States.<br />
Since internet access is problematic, to say the least, e-books also have not yet become a part of life. Like cell phones, they are rare.<br />
We saw paper boys (usually men) hawking<a href="http://www.granma.cu/"> Granma, </a>the official government newspaper and a few others, but the media in Cuba is entirely state controlled so the idea of a free press is foreign to Cubans. It's surprising to see a digital version, because internet access is pretty limited in Cuba itself. Have a look by clicking its name above if you speak Spanish or read a translation into English. Don't expect anything flattering about America.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI4dweBIukmCjHVHa5BtZJozYj6iCgwb1BWjvSUe57TefTVAbVeXQuzh-BtSmDH-S82KDcHbDOEW6zy1QQwtvlZRuCdrDdYRWElvCgbMI2oT2heCaBYfnfxy_TdCD_c3ZIKk-xCodyydk/s1600/armas3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI4dweBIukmCjHVHa5BtZJozYj6iCgwb1BWjvSUe57TefTVAbVeXQuzh-BtSmDH-S82KDcHbDOEW6zy1QQwtvlZRuCdrDdYRWElvCgbMI2oT2heCaBYfnfxy_TdCD_c3ZIKk-xCodyydk/s1600/armas3.JPG" height="200" width="194" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The oldest and most important of four plazas in old Havana is marked by a ceramic sign.</td></tr>
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A visit to Plaza De Armas, the oldest and most important of the four major plazas in old Havana,<br />
underscores the popularity of the written word. Just opposite the Palace of the Captain Generals, bookstalls flank the entry to the leafy green and palmy Parque Cespedes. Containing magazines, books, posters and postcards, new and used and all in Spanish the stalls reminded me of those along the the left bank of the Seine opposite Notre Dame in Paris.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Palace dominating Armas Plaza was built in 1791. </td></tr>
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Look down to notice the street surface in front of the Palace, which was built in 1791. It’s made of wooden bricks, laid instead of cobblestones to soften the sound of horse drawn carriages so as not to disturb the governor’s sleep.<br />
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The stately palace was home for 65 governors of Cuba until 1898 when it became the U.S. governor’s residence during America’s occupation Cuba. In 1902 it became the seat of the Cuba government until 1920 when it became Havana’s city hall. Today it is a museum.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Carlos Manuel de Cespedes is honored with a white marble statue</span> </td></tr>
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Carlos Manuel de Cespedes (1819 to 1874), considered the father of Cuba. After fleeing his sugar plantation’s slaves in 1868, he organized them into an army and declared an open revolt against Spain. He was cut down by a hail of bullets in in 1874. That white marble statue of Cespedes in the middle of the park surrounded by Armas Plaza is often surrounded by those sitting on park benches reading what they’ve purchased.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com0havana, cuba North America23.402764905407935 -82.17773437516.172048405407935 -92.504882874999993 30.633481405407935 -71.850585875000007tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-31358987785073138742014-07-30T10:45:00.000-04:002014-07-30T13:19:30.334-04:00Hotel a legacy of the Mob in Havana <br />
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This lavish show at Cabaret Parisien was a throwback to the past.<br />
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Havana’s Hotel Nacional, alleged Cuba headquarters for the Mob during the 1950s when Americans flocked to the island to gamble and play, was restored to its 1930s glamour a few years ago. Its terraced palm shaded lawns overlook the seaside Malecon — an appropriate place for our small group to gather for cocktails on the last evening of our visit to Cuba. Cigars and mojitos were the order of the evening.<br />
The miles-long Malecon is a dramatic seawall stretching along the Atlantic shoreline where people gather day and night. It’s a great microcosm of the city with lovers, teenagers, peddlers, bicyclists, dog walkers and anglers — great people watching up close or from a distance.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note the yellow 3-wheeled cocotaxi in the driveway of the storied Hotel Nacional in Havana.</td></tr>
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U.S. gangsters had taken over the hotels and casinos, including this one, during the pre-Revolution days of the '40s and '50s when Batista was in power and a tourism boom ensued. Those times now are recalled at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas — a town also run by the Mob in its earlier days.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This logo was projected in lights on the dark floor at the entrance to Cabaret Parisien</td></tr>
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A wall of photos at the far end of the Nacional’s lobby pays tribute to its many guests, which included actors and writers to sports heroes including Frank Sinatra, John Wayne, Marlon Brando, Errol Flynn, Marlene Dietrich, Rocky Marciano, Mickey Mantle and Ernest Hemingway. Royalty and heads of state stayed here including Winston Churchill and the Prince of Wales. A 1946 Mob summit, called to divvy up Havana, was dramatically recalled by Francis Ford Coppola in The Godfather II.<br />
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That night we attended a lavish and high energy show at the Nacional’s Cabaret Parisien, similar to what visitors in the 1950s saw. The dancers were great, costumes were lavish and the drinks were good. I( heard that the show at the Tropicana was even better buts its tickiets were more expensive. But I was glad I’d brought a sweater because the air conditioning seemed aimed at keeping the dancers from overheating.<br />
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We took cute little yellow coco-taxis back to our rooms in the suburbs.<br />
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You can see one in the driveway of the hotel in the photo here. When I saw these three-wheeled, three-passenger vehicles my first day in Cuba, I commented on how unsafe they appeared. “Not on your life,” I’d said. But we all survived, despite the driver getting lost and losing power en route..Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-14733419631675402322014-07-25T15:39:00.002-04:002014-10-11T14:03:51.447-04:00Cuba's Botanical Garden a tropical treat<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I saw the most beautiful flower at Cuba's Botanical Garden but couldn't identify it until I got home.</td></tr>
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Greenhouses at Cuba’s Jardin Botanica Nacional are designed to keep plants shaded and catching breezes, unlike those in our own more northerly latitudes. I was delighted to have a visit there on our group’s itinerary because I wanted to know more about the unusual flowers and plants I’d been seeing.<br />
The garden was en route to Hemingway’s Finca Vigia, which is now restored and welcomes visitors. Follow my newspaper series on Cuba and you’ll find out more about Hemingway soon.<br />
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A guide is included for touring the 1,400 acre botanical gardens which is laced with more than 20 miles of roads. Our guide came aboard the small bus which transported us everywhere except on our walking tours of Havana. His English was quite good and his botanical knowledge was impressive, but I still needed to turn to my friends at the Holden Arboretum and Cleveland Botanical Garden to identify many of the plants I saw there and photographed. That’s probably because our guide’s heavy Cuban accent on plants’ Latin names totally befuddled me and the plants themselves were quite unlike those seen at home.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">One can understand why palm with the furry trunk is called an Old Man Palm.</span></td></tr>
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The botanical garden not only showcases Cuban ecosytems and their plants but also has areas of other plants found in tropical countries. Its center has palm trees from around the world and I had no idea there were so many varieties of them., including the rare cork palm, otherwise found only in western Cuba.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our guide retrieves a fallen palm leaf</td></tr>
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Our guide showed us how palm leaves have many uses, such as thatch for roofs and even for fashioning into easy biodegradable trash cans.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This trash can was fashioned from a palm leaf.</td></tr>
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The botanical garden was established in 1968 and opened to the public in 1984. A highlight is the Japanese garden which is laid out with tiered cascades and a small lake filled with koi fish. The huge greenhouse has areas for ferns, cactuses, epiphytes and tropical mountain plants. Just like our own Cleveland Botanical Garden it has an area dedicated to the plants of Madagascar, which includes a baobob tree — which looks like it has its roots in the air which, there as here, inspires the nickname “upside down tree”.<br />
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Other nicknames names are easy to guess, such as the sausage tree, native to South Africa and identified by the Holden Arboretum as genus Kigelia. In South Africa its large oblong sausage shaped gourds are used to make containers.The hanging "sausages" were at least as long as my forearm.<br />
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Cuba’s national flower is the lovely white bloom Cubans call the mariposa — Spanish for butterfly. This sweetly fragrant bloom became a symbol of rebellion and purity in Cuba. Ann McCulloh, curator of plant collections for the Cleveland Botanical Garden identifies it as Hedychium coronarium or Butterfly Ginger .<br />
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We saw begonias, bougainvillea, anthuriums, and poinsettia beyond number and I was proud to be able to identify the purple flowered jacaranda -which I first encountered in Los Angeles.<br />
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But the flower I loved the best was the large brilliant orange bloom as large as my fist with strangely shaped almost tenacle-like blossoms. I sent my photo to McCulloh who identified it as a Brownea grandiceps also known as a Rose of Venezuela, or Scarlet Flame Bean. She said its’s a small tropical tree from South America, that will not take temperatures below 55 degrees.<br />
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Although she said the Butterfly Ginger can sometimes be grown as a houseplant, I guess there’s no large orange Scarlet Flame Bean flower in my future.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I never did learn why the bark on this had many colors but I thought it was pretty so photographed it. </td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-46277783575524054742014-07-22T10:45:00.000-04:002014-07-22T10:50:36.041-04:00Meet some Cuban artists, see their work <br />
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Music in Havana is everywhere - from balconies on decaying houses from which laundry lines are strung, at dinner and over drinks on breezy rooftops, in immaculate and beautifully restored public squares, and among street vendors hawking peanuts.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje-Xd-RNG9vBotGllEwaRT1z1g9pipPTH0qoqtz-8FY4x-HLLrsDHB9nvCecp2ZSkg-8m2AbM9eMWolgdaq9puj00rqSAYfIUu-T4mol2am9BusGYgVo57sQUh-VVcthja9Lx2R2-VOAw/s1600/blog+st+art.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje-Xd-RNG9vBotGllEwaRT1z1g9pipPTH0qoqtz-8FY4x-HLLrsDHB9nvCecp2ZSkg-8m2AbM9eMWolgdaq9puj00rqSAYfIUu-T4mol2am9BusGYgVo57sQUh-VVcthja9Lx2R2-VOAw/s1600/blog+st+art.JPG" height="275" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Street art in Havana includes this fish and others hung along a pedestrian street</td></tr>
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But others arts in Cuba also are just as public .<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4htkiC-uaSf_ftrg4qlVUacg2qnpIsxAwxSMbsnSbSZJDa2iUS9gCJEtkT91d__0vlusOzhJPDvRcxAMkfqae1Rqd-tepju6mdJGZgjKAuVNdgYegYhiDc06mg_3Yw0eB0Zc6n_qdJBk/s1600/blog+fuster.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4htkiC-uaSf_ftrg4qlVUacg2qnpIsxAwxSMbsnSbSZJDa2iUS9gCJEtkT91d__0vlusOzhJPDvRcxAMkfqae1Rqd-tepju6mdJGZgjKAuVNdgYegYhiDc06mg_3Yw0eB0Zc6n_qdJBk/s1600/blog+fuster.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fuster's work is reminiscent of Gaudi</td></tr>
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Ceramicist Jose R. Fuster, who lives in the suburbs near the off-limits compound where Fidel Castro resides, has transformed his home and the entire neighborhood surrounding it .<br />
It’s reminiscent of Gaudi, the over-the top Spanish artist known for his work in Barcelona. Fuster welcomes folks to the open-air workshop in his home. His surreal world of ceramics has spread to benches, entryways, facades and roofs of nearby houses.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj08WjNX0dYyGIopFDFoS-GoNGHawS_OxeZtLDJtgGyrSPE1GIHQYKyams9n7Bv2oGrAhGp2uzz3_Qthh6YkCLTLciHP4SbXyVpF9FbLOn__LYR-tO5EKQQ_1QgNpjtFyoEPVBNMyVzK-s/s1600/blogmural.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj08WjNX0dYyGIopFDFoS-GoNGHawS_OxeZtLDJtgGyrSPE1GIHQYKyams9n7Bv2oGrAhGp2uzz3_Qthh6YkCLTLciHP4SbXyVpF9FbLOn__LYR-tO5EKQQ_1QgNpjtFyoEPVBNMyVzK-s/s1600/blogmural.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><br />
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Back in Old Havana, a street mural along a cobbled pedestrian walkway near the handsome Plaza des Armas chronicles much of the city’s history and its people, who are carefully drawn and attired in the garments of their time. It's a popular meeting place.<br />
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Nearby is a shady pocket of a park dedicated to Hans Christian Anderson.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkLhj6M02JueehwuSSLz-kkQpoq1uL7VO_5Afbok-jfhyphenhyphensEZqOrBWCg0wMppifVbCAwZl2uHlxngfA2pSlUZliYij0GqQ3FijAkBasVgCrxvqP9SRNaMZjnhgHOOqUj_p7dzt4kYoTAj8/s1600/blog+salvador+gonzalez.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkLhj6M02JueehwuSSLz-kkQpoq1uL7VO_5Afbok-jfhyphenhyphensEZqOrBWCg0wMppifVbCAwZl2uHlxngfA2pSlUZliYij0GqQ3FijAkBasVgCrxvqP9SRNaMZjnhgHOOqUj_p7dzt4kYoTAj8/s1600/blog+salvador+gonzalez.JPG" height="400" width="301" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salvador Gonzalez </td></tr>
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Step into an Havana alleyway transformed by painter Salvador Gonzalez into statements about the African influence in Cuba, including obscure references to voodoo-like santeria beliefs evolving from the slave years. The saint worship called santeria, entrenched for 300 years in Cuban culture, is a fusion of Catholicism with that of African Yoruba tribes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8bIBr1T9rLQtpVn4vv9QHUeXIsvHRw8VZR6CX8Vz_N6X-Dr_W3aAC4hrtjWGUAyZSC1XKK0ENnjVcPrFkRWYl4imuXIeZeTqzSVF6k4WnoPCepGiLFNkrwxpLbmVLnAnzbXrjKzzwrXo/s1600/blog+Terrazas+art.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8bIBr1T9rLQtpVn4vv9QHUeXIsvHRw8VZR6CX8Vz_N6X-Dr_W3aAC4hrtjWGUAyZSC1XKK0ENnjVcPrFkRWYl4imuXIeZeTqzSVF6k4WnoPCepGiLFNkrwxpLbmVLnAnzbXrjKzzwrXo/s1600/blog+Terrazas+art.JPG" height="320" width="219" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Henry Aloma talks about his work.</td></tr>
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When we visit Henry Aloma in his studio perched on a hillside in Las Terrazas about an hour outside the city it’s immediately clear that he is a fine artist.<br />
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Lovely Las Terrazas is an artists community in a valley centered by a lake and guarded over by giant mahogany and teak trees planted in a long ago reforestation effort.<br />
We meet Aloma's pretty daughter when we step into his studio to look at his works in progress. Later we also meet his wife.<br />
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He explains that his work comes from his unconscious without any preconceived ideas or objectivity. “Every idea is an island,” he tells us.<br />
Visit his Las Terrazas community in the Aug. 10 travel section.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-1923944397298082052014-07-15T12:07:00.000-04:002014-10-11T14:08:05.514-04:00Tocororo reveals Cuba as a birding paradise<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh36QK8nKzWka0YLeCkQjp0wBxS2X7Ox42Tt7ybzdRgrTG9rvNTZKyP0L45LNN16WvvqiOGNfw0ignCcOrmiTxE1sZwbGVtER8ovlkjTevID-HgH-DwLaI5mI5nExbbmlinPZ3PsTUnUHQ/s1600/P1017100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh36QK8nKzWka0YLeCkQjp0wBxS2X7Ox42Tt7ybzdRgrTG9rvNTZKyP0L45LNN16WvvqiOGNfw0ignCcOrmiTxE1sZwbGVtER8ovlkjTevID-HgH-DwLaI5mI5nExbbmlinPZ3PsTUnUHQ/s1600/P1017100.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The brilliant blue white and red tocororo is Cuba's national bird.</td></tr>
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I've been stopped in the street, at the grocery store, library and at wine tastings by those asking about my recent trip to Cuba. The<a href="http://bit.ly/1wlDA9Q"> story</a> ran on July 13, and by the response I've had I know that many folks still are reading the print editions of The News-Herald.<br />
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Most are surprised to learn this was not a journalist- only visit, but a trip that anyone can take. I not only paid for it out of my own pocket but took some vacation time from my job to join Bob Older's <a href="http://www.creativetravelinc.com/">Creative Travel </a>group.<br />
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Bob is a Delaware- based travel agent who secured a license from the US. Treasury Dept. to put together legal trips to Cuba. Licensed companies must develop and stick to an itinerary framed around people to people contacts in Cuba, usually based around a specific subject. Travelers are issued visas, which are presented at every overnight, so both Cuban and American governments can check to see that the itinerary is followed.<br />
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Bob speaks only a little Spanish but has developed many valuable contacts in Cuba during the course of leading several trips a year to this previously forbidden island nation. They are able to interpret for his guests. Older once worked as a chef and has done TV cooking shows so has a special interest in food. That's why the trip I joined had a culinary focus.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv1z4K4xFs1_nB0tsq2yI0LyZeIMXJjDRD5np0P-5pBsrOqtEZE2SmUiAMsh07ZB30Fq8rYOFOmSjPDAt5etDYQWgdSiFAT2JttKorzvSknWdz8zOPAPLfiqHdZ3mC7xfayH8iWKOl05M/s1600/IMGP5292.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv1z4K4xFs1_nB0tsq2yI0LyZeIMXJjDRD5np0P-5pBsrOqtEZE2SmUiAMsh07ZB30Fq8rYOFOmSjPDAt5etDYQWgdSiFAT2JttKorzvSknWdz8zOPAPLfiqHdZ3mC7xfayH8iWKOl05M/s1600/IMGP5292.JPG" height="337" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob Older of Creative Travel hopes to put together a photography and birding trip to Cuba. </td></tr>
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Like many folks, he follows his own passions in developing trips. As an an avid amateur photographer he wants to host a photo based trip. During our visit to Las Terrazas, in the lush Sierra del Rosario mountains, about 45 minutes west of Havana, we were greeted by birdsong and butterflies.<br />
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Our six-person group joined a walking and driving tour to learn more about this pristine place, while Bob held back to take photos. Birds that have largely disappeared in other parts of the Caribbean find safety here in Las Terrazas, and Cuba has more than 350 species of birds. Hearing the call co'-co co'-co co' co, Bob knew that the tocororo, Cuba's national bird, was around. He also identified the trill of the Cuban green woodpecker and haunting song of the endemic Cuban solitaire.<br />
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It's no surprise to learn that a birding trip is on his wish list for Creative Travel, although dates have not yet been set. He needs six like-minded travelers to begin the official planning process.<br />
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I loved La Terrazas so much I knew I could live there. Find out more about this very special place in the Aug. 10 Travel section. Click on the underlined words above to read my recent story and learn more about Creative Travel<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgrsq8ZZ6s6RT7kB_t3-MrNS2gfOT0Q1zEJkeyiT5rjBSenDMj9shkcMBJ2LlnX1AN8ZmQPwR0iIFDMM5shJCLUayHIvEJt6T1h70jhwXFS_M3-uSYxBLPJ4_ca38oxRidcgTrmfQ5WpY/s1600/P1017133.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgrsq8ZZ6s6RT7kB_t3-MrNS2gfOT0Q1zEJkeyiT5rjBSenDMj9shkcMBJ2LlnX1AN8ZmQPwR0iIFDMM5shJCLUayHIvEJt6T1h70jhwXFS_M3-uSYxBLPJ4_ca38oxRidcgTrmfQ5WpY/s1600/P1017133.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a yellow-bellied flycatcher</td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-61462779541443408482014-06-29T16:21:00.000-04:002014-10-11T14:11:05.383-04:00A guide to staying hydrated in Cuba <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijpqsbAy3LXMcb_js86Bis9be4avgtDJxkQP7TmojV7NYNxrseLfqzFt3X590FiHmYTJUPNNTiFwh92LNDKyvisFxQOnk_L_A24RLskc1crT4Mdbxa6UViGULbjqjG9yYRZV00wqkhyphenhyphentc/s1600/squeezecane.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijpqsbAy3LXMcb_js86Bis9be4avgtDJxkQP7TmojV7NYNxrseLfqzFt3X590FiHmYTJUPNNTiFwh92LNDKyvisFxQOnk_L_A24RLskc1crT4Mdbxa6UViGULbjqjG9yYRZV00wqkhyphenhyphentc/s1600/squeezecane.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guarapo- fresh squeezed sugar cane - is made for a nearby guaraperia where a Hemingway-inspired drink that also uses fresh squeezed pineapple is served. </td></tr>
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It's important to stay hydrated in tropical Cuba and the natives do it in style, notably with mojitos and daiquiris, good local beer and guarapo. The latter is freshly squeezed sugarcane juice sold at roadside guaraperias, often served with rum but quite thirst-quenching, if sweet, served straight up..<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkl6aiQw-XJagpRf1uaKa9n98fFrpq046-lLf_asaNNv0MA1wxiDTuRVaKu1OT0RckdCRGBdlryRalFCzOnnUWSXmuXqof-kg1ALqAdtpfqb4fGiCLiQPxhwyXaOqXdWqvzQ8CMBSsk0/s1600/hemingw+pineapple.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkl6aiQw-XJagpRf1uaKa9n98fFrpq046-lLf_asaNNv0MA1wxiDTuRVaKu1OT0RckdCRGBdlryRalFCzOnnUWSXmuXqof-kg1ALqAdtpfqb4fGiCLiQPxhwyXaOqXdWqvzQ8CMBSsk0/s1600/hemingw+pineapple.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><br />
I first saw it being squeezed at a stand near Hemingway's Vinca Vigia, the home he bought with his first royalty check from "For Whom the Bell Tolls." The author, who loved Cuba and lived there 20 years, has achieved cult status among Cubans and fans from all over the world make Hemingway pilgrimages there.<br />
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I'll have more about our visit to that 20-acre hilltop estate soon.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLWsEx_YDqyxusGVZPWbOItJ396shiWQBYNF2cVjjI_q88cCWCn-jzz8bv9kTz6yjK5XQXibw0R18ePLEk9X7EaDF4IPgGKJ4MZ4Df7x8-OkonlBM6b_J8FygwYkYynSnmw4-c-91CAVQ/s1600/cubacoke.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLWsEx_YDqyxusGVZPWbOItJ396shiWQBYNF2cVjjI_q88cCWCn-jzz8bv9kTz6yjK5XQXibw0R18ePLEk9X7EaDF4IPgGKJ4MZ4Df7x8-OkonlBM6b_J8FygwYkYynSnmw4-c-91CAVQ/s1600/cubacoke.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a>Havana Club is the rum used in almost every drink. The rum and coke called the Cuba Libre is probably the simplest drink though I didn't see any Coca Cola (or any other brand name) during my visit to Cuba. <br />
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People seem perfectly content using TuCola, a knock-off of sorts.<br />
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El Floridita, one of the downtown Havana bars regularly frequented by Hemingway, today carries his signature on its marquee and inside a lifesized size bronze statue of the author leans with an elbow on the bar.<br />
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Hemingway wrote about the daiquiris served at El Floridita and today they still are sold there but are said to be overpriced.<br />
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The sugarcane being squeezed below Vinca Vigia was near a sign boasting that Hemingway tasted his first pineapple there and a pineapple drink is made and sold in his honor.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR4cgxz78XNWXyGNBsjlOHNcVctZEQI6XYwS9vEHVJcpDzqYEEEO6l5CF6muvcrtfpJLRdq95IkCk7XHG2nBZVbgdg91niDdwA4kJl7yePmbPg5M6PnPecASDUDXR87_CFdEFVd1_yWKU/s1600/pinepple+drink.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR4cgxz78XNWXyGNBsjlOHNcVctZEQI6XYwS9vEHVJcpDzqYEEEO6l5CF6muvcrtfpJLRdq95IkCk7XHG2nBZVbgdg91niDdwA4kJl7yePmbPg5M6PnPecASDUDXR87_CFdEFVd1_yWKU/s1600/pinepple+drink.JPG" height="232" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the pineapple juice, lemon juice, sugar cane juice and rum drink offered near Hemingway's Cuban home. Note the sugar cane stalk, pineapple slice and lime used as a garnish.</td></tr>
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Bartenders using Cuban rum to top off a multiple variety of drinks often look to the imbiber to "say when"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijWvAJF6Uu00evGXNUa3AlxpvqW4TvBU9zcSGKd9o66oDhz-WzKfeGExHJmotrjMF6f7YRZTRUF98bSh6zddvCncsRfGsfGwiANqody8FCXsQessbozcssgp_iclWwNX-oSrmU3m7qGBk/s1600/cristal.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijWvAJF6Uu00evGXNUa3AlxpvqW4TvBU9zcSGKd9o66oDhz-WzKfeGExHJmotrjMF6f7YRZTRUF98bSh6zddvCncsRfGsfGwiANqody8FCXsQessbozcssgp_iclWwNX-oSrmU3m7qGBk/s1600/cristal.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>One of the best beers I drank in Cuba was Bucaneros, a heavy bodied lager with good flavor. Cristal, which is more commonly available, is a lighter beer.</div>
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I'd heard that Hatuey was a good beer, but I couldn't find it. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn9siHK7qRA2TpHgeuOT92o7S9bdhcizt5xyY0ZJFbD6KZFqHxphivNExd4d3f4UyAxCw36Ec1dmY1WiCjT0lTQvt468_NJCm5BbY2bRZtFScqDSbnkoqbtJYwpWnCIJYRn7bwqxORdO4/s1600/IMGP4900.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn9siHK7qRA2TpHgeuOT92o7S9bdhcizt5xyY0ZJFbD6KZFqHxphivNExd4d3f4UyAxCw36Ec1dmY1WiCjT0lTQvt468_NJCm5BbY2bRZtFScqDSbnkoqbtJYwpWnCIJYRn7bwqxORdO4/s1600/IMGP4900.JPG" height="200" width="156" /></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-83667021935876703462014-06-27T13:55:00.003-04:002014-10-11T14:13:44.437-04:00Rum, cigars the forbidden fruits of Havana<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiacekBxp9n-u1OTOyxU8SXTjC3NqjknQHTd2Qe1Ej4CfAwrhskF_jurpR09KFD3fC0a2mihgXvWN6t_j9n7LYPDT_ML9VC6u-W0YtlHvPzihBQEYhpxlVnAkYuqYlRy5twEnEH8uKFOyY/s1600/IMGP5113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiacekBxp9n-u1OTOyxU8SXTjC3NqjknQHTd2Qe1Ej4CfAwrhskF_jurpR09KFD3fC0a2mihgXvWN6t_j9n7LYPDT_ML9VC6u-W0YtlHvPzihBQEYhpxlVnAkYuqYlRy5twEnEH8uKFOyY/s1600/IMGP5113.JPG" height="321" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Partagas, one of the oldest cigars in Cuba, were begun in 1843 by an immigrant from Spain. The Trinidad is made exclusively for Fidel to present to dignitaries and diplomats. </td></tr>
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Cigars and rum are the forbidden fruit of Cuba, at least when it comes to bringing them home. But both can be enjoyed during a visit to this island nation and some visitors sample both every day. In Havana you can also tour a museum that showcases the making of rum and visit one of several cigars factories where workers sort the tobacco leaves and roll the cigars.<br />
The cigar process is fascinating but unfortunately no photography is permitted and note taking is likewise not allowed.<br />
Our small group arrived early to see the cigar process which turned out to be good, because by late morning lectors step up to their stand at the head of the rolling room to read to the workers. The custom was begun long ago to relieve workers of the tedium of rolling one cigar after another and to educate them in the process. The day begins with the news, read in Spanish of course, and changes each hour. By mid afternoon the lectors are reading from romance novels, finishing a chapter or two at a time.<br />
The workers are paid $12 a month plus four cigars a day our guide told us. The cigars given to employees all have been rejected in the quality control process. The H. Upmann factory, which we visited in Havana, has 400 employees and turns out 18,000 cigars a day, most of which are exported. Cigars are tested by official smokers and carefully aged before being sold.<br />
A shop next to the cigar factory sells all kinds of cigars, including many not produced there. A walk-in humidor controls temperatures and humidity to keep them at their best.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP7EzLtfGuH8elb7gsux6V4rgSOQU-_ED-Oj1NUfUMf_i8E1SCPxGKVXGWnmwPGvY_m3feJ2ePCS2AaHytoz7CxP3uz9QWUdspzvUm_JXmcOh1MT9mjWyl9RMWebrYLQ04Fci1wzOz7bg/s1600/havana+club.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP7EzLtfGuH8elb7gsux6V4rgSOQU-_ED-Oj1NUfUMf_i8E1SCPxGKVXGWnmwPGvY_m3feJ2ePCS2AaHytoz7CxP3uz9QWUdspzvUm_JXmcOh1MT9mjWyl9RMWebrYLQ04Fci1wzOz7bg/s1600/havana+club.JPG" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Young rums like this 3 year old one are best used in drinks such as mojitos. Older rums are sipped straight like a cognac.</td></tr>
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The Museo de Ron is in an old mansion near the Plaza de San Francisco where sugar cane presses, sugar boiling pots and barrel making are showcased. Bubbling vats and copper stills are part of a mini-distillery to show the process of making rum. A highlight, especially for model train buffs, is an elevated platform from which an early 20th century sugar plantation is showcased, complete with working scale model steam locomotives. Some of those old steam locomotives now are displayed near the waterfront arts and crafts market.<br />
Our rum museum tour ended in the adjacent Bar Havana Club where we drank mojitos and listened to a great band.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvP_JAwGFQQ4Ee3Sa_kZ1eR7aWP3HuHR9Qs0XmhtxyruAx7kAdI9ix0hF-oONJ4zc0xe8MtVEztU-ejc40TJ4-boag7WGzQ3No8ditfWoAg0eN9SWETcSbEFfvmmop4htAssDgxaaGgZc/s1600/cuban+cigars.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvP_JAwGFQQ4Ee3Sa_kZ1eR7aWP3HuHR9Qs0XmhtxyruAx7kAdI9ix0hF-oONJ4zc0xe8MtVEztU-ejc40TJ4-boag7WGzQ3No8ditfWoAg0eN9SWETcSbEFfvmmop4htAssDgxaaGgZc/s1600/cuban+cigars.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A walk-in humidor at the cigar store next to the factory keeps fine cigars at the perfect humidity to preserve them</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-58634086393929047462014-06-24T14:00:00.001-04:002014-10-11T14:16:14.982-04:00Old cars of Cuba have a few surprises<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKyCGAYFLwkMP9cqGVokH3t3zdVaZGmNWLcKG512IBWxIQ1_2agE9jHVxHAEGRUM5KU2PC1Smh_4zkZGcogLaGFfNzn93VD_96AGwGbnDZLnzZw3WoHj1OGWDHVPSUUTcY1C_srqHHRkg/s1600/mix.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKyCGAYFLwkMP9cqGVokH3t3zdVaZGmNWLcKG512IBWxIQ1_2agE9jHVxHAEGRUM5KU2PC1Smh_4zkZGcogLaGFfNzn93VD_96AGwGbnDZLnzZw3WoHj1OGWDHVPSUUTcY1C_srqHHRkg/s1600/mix.JPG" height="215" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a typical Havana traffic scene with a mixture of cars old and new</td></tr>
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The cars of Cuba were one of the biggest surprises during my recent visit.<br />
I expected to see many old 1950s cars, American cars remaining after their owners left Cuba during the Revolution, when Batista left the island and Castro took over.<br />
But I’d thought they would be the only cars I’d see.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QUkVcdH9O5xt9vIA0NMsbpqTtIhw0Cfn7nD975BC1jLv-WTN2FckVnhlIw-6daSsGeYxWOt1F71RNZ3EnMciTQ_CvjpIbaw4yPhsUqzTK_zNaFPK26lWztwZwwBAurL89pKVpGReuCs/s1600/traffic.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QUkVcdH9O5xt9vIA0NMsbpqTtIhw0Cfn7nD975BC1jLv-WTN2FckVnhlIw-6daSsGeYxWOt1F71RNZ3EnMciTQ_CvjpIbaw4yPhsUqzTK_zNaFPK26lWztwZwwBAurL89pKVpGReuCs/s1600/traffic.JPG" height="169" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The traffic light here counts off the seconds until it will change.</td></tr>
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At the airport I saw many late model Japanese cars, much like my own Toyota, mixed among the older 50s cars. There also were models I didn’t recognize, such as 12-year old Russian Ladas. The Russians also left their cars behind after the fall of the Soviet Union. Near the airport was the only traffic congestion I saw during my week in and around Havana. Trucks, old cars and newer cars were among them.<br />
I quickly realized that not everyone in Cuba has a car. Jam packed buses ply regular routes, but don’t pick up tourists. You’ll often see locals waving a fistful of cash as they stand beside the highway, hitching possible rides<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhufgYWMxb-MBnLQxkCk-3Vz9xVn50Zpm05im7dJ63yoI5ZKl_Lh96KrDIcACh8AEcSPG8j8NnV4UqL2NCbkZMS5Lf7fridtgvypHEQzUzknCq-RFk-XYz3GNnpopdqpG74vNJr3TDnrwM/s1600/me+&+cars.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhufgYWMxb-MBnLQxkCk-3Vz9xVn50Zpm05im7dJ63yoI5ZKl_Lh96KrDIcACh8AEcSPG8j8NnV4UqL2NCbkZMS5Lf7fridtgvypHEQzUzknCq-RFk-XYz3GNnpopdqpG74vNJr3TDnrwM/s1600/me+&+cars.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here I am trying to choose if I'll ride in Lola or Nadine</td></tr>
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One evening our tour arranged rides for us in a pair of meticulously restored 1965 Chevys operated by Nostagicars, a group of restored vehicles organized by Julio Alvarez and his wife, who is an American.<br />
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Lola was the pink car and Nadine was the blue one and soon we headed from our home stay accommodations in Miramar for dinner in Old Havana.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNLh8bAs2P_fm9dd5vtbuUJ1-dRuOHiXm_iw2yWdzzKRfzih1naOO_E74KmNXTV-4KO0i2JPSvU2wq5QcYklo3oaVoYRNotR6qtV37qWWpwq4_yZSwrZCONEBbka8VoTIV7ah3P2uFU4/s1600/nadine.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNLh8bAs2P_fm9dd5vtbuUJ1-dRuOHiXm_iw2yWdzzKRfzih1naOO_E74KmNXTV-4KO0i2JPSvU2wq5QcYklo3oaVoYRNotR6qtV37qWWpwq4_yZSwrZCONEBbka8VoTIV7ah3P2uFU4/s1600/nadine.JPG" height="234" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I chose Nadine because blue is my favorite color</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXkeNN2J48bTDu87qpRF8jI-x_XN7u9242j6CBbTuOzNLRw6-xZrybmjifBJpyPQBqLEgrhaBNylOO2ZJHdmm4Zcq9Y75mQCWsHk4g1UXrx31lPIt5VNVYsUh9s6iKYwupFchcPcTbc94/s1600/lola.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXkeNN2J48bTDu87qpRF8jI-x_XN7u9242j6CBbTuOzNLRw6-xZrybmjifBJpyPQBqLEgrhaBNylOO2ZJHdmm4Zcq9Y75mQCWsHk4g1UXrx31lPIt5VNVYsUh9s6iKYwupFchcPcTbc94/s1600/lola.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But Lola was just as gorgeous</td></tr>
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Recognizing that visitors want to experience the old cars, the Alvarezes have organized a handful of their friends with restored cars dating from 1950 to 1959 to provide transportation for folks like us, airport transfers, island or city tours and weddings.<br />
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Most have been converted to diesel, since diesel fuel is less expensive in Cuba.<br />
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They’ve also passed a rigorous annual government safety inspection.<br />
To restore the cars the owners create parts by machine when they cannot import what they need, so a close inspection reveals these cars are somewhat different than the originals.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOfsxo4jojMkbYqtAqTcMq7ZiZfUhD4seCfKbzSKbb8ELXP3mx6Na6pYNj1lUcJaEmZh8VAjrOjIjVDh4xoD1AOqUTl5D_Kro7-glMb3RfwI9GfFmj6TY2b743dLyxzPfjFL99uICZ43c/s1600/nostaligcar.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOfsxo4jojMkbYqtAqTcMq7ZiZfUhD4seCfKbzSKbb8ELXP3mx6Na6pYNj1lUcJaEmZh8VAjrOjIjVDh4xoD1AOqUTl5D_Kro7-glMb3RfwI9GfFmj6TY2b743dLyxzPfjFL99uICZ43c/s1600/nostaligcar.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><br />
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Member cars carry a Nostagicars decal on a window. Their <a href="http://www.nostalgicarcuba.com/">website</a> shows some of the one to two-day tours they offer which visit places I didn’t get to on this trip. It’s www.nostalgicarcuba.com.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657536551215864257.post-29390771695056800962014-06-17T11:52:00.004-04:002014-10-11T14:19:02.766-04:00Cuban money and legal purchases in Cuba<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4q6YV0aNCBd1-2ZVVpm3Me07kV6gdl5kpuzQF5uInoq-My4t7ZTpi1iyjKJpoxlrCgwtMvf8sSAm2KujQmPDIj5kf02JjZvzwDXvZajC92PZoBnQwl3XVjV496yikJH3lPJ_3-708qM/s1600/cuban+money.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4q6YV0aNCBd1-2ZVVpm3Me07kV6gdl5kpuzQF5uInoq-My4t7ZTpi1iyjKJpoxlrCgwtMvf8sSAm2KujQmPDIj5kf02JjZvzwDXvZajC92PZoBnQwl3XVjV496yikJH3lPJ_3-708qM/s1600/cuban+money.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Five CUC and three CUC convertible peso notes are shown with a souvenir Cuban flag. The CUC currency, designed to be exchanged for other currencies brought to Cuba by visitors, isn't used by Cubans</td></tr>
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Cuban money is confusing to say the least. You'll exchange your U.S. dollars, probably at your hotel, since if ATM machines exist, I didn't see any. You'll get convertible pesos, worth about 25 times more than the national peso used by Cubans. Convertible pesos are called CUCs, pronounced Kooks. If you have euros or Canadian dollars to exchange for CUCs when you get to Cuba you'll get a slightly better deal. That's because there's a 10 percent penalty for exchanging American dollars, something that's most likely part of the ongoing political posturing surrounding the five-decade-long U.S.embargo of all things Cuban. It's more recently been fueled by the fact that the U.S. has imprisoned a trio of Cubans now in prison in this country, popularly known as the Cuban Five, even though two of them have been released. Their actions resulted in us calling Cuba a terrorist nation, something at which the peaceful Cubans take great offense.<br />
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Since I always save some money from a trip I had a stash of euros and a couple of Canadian 20s with Queen Elizabeth's picture on them. Elizabeth ages on the Canadian 20 and on the ones I had she was obviously quite young. So those 20s had been hanging around long enough in my stash box to occasion comment when I exchanged them. Plenty of Canadians visit Cuba and they have for years, so Canadian money is familiar to those who exchange it for CUCs.They'd probably never seen such a youthful Elizabeth.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ZU3_IB_3FVuijdJvQagLST9ZJ8fnhUewlqO0MkoOWwzxKq_FVn-zdNt0HZhP_8utROLeiPW9n_Yjsnw1_NzBIISmzvtn68dSILsQZVBVknzjEnHwThAAuyviU63of_zt7eVoXBRT39k/s1600/7-13+travel+cubafood5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ZU3_IB_3FVuijdJvQagLST9ZJ8fnhUewlqO0MkoOWwzxKq_FVn-zdNt0HZhP_8utROLeiPW9n_Yjsnw1_NzBIISmzvtn68dSILsQZVBVknzjEnHwThAAuyviU63of_zt7eVoXBRT39k/s1600/7-13+travel+cubafood5.JPG" height="320" width="222" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These peppers for sale in a Cuban farmers market will cost a native something less than 20 cents each. Their price is shown in CUPS, the Cuban peso that fluctuates between 23 and 25 per dollar.</td></tr>
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Shops that deal only with Cubans deal in Cuban pesos, also called CUP. You likely won't have occasion to buy a bag of rice, bananas on the street or peppers from a farmers market as shown here. You'll see they are priced at 5.00 CUPs, which translates to something under 20 cents each<br />
As I understand it, it was the U.S. embargo against Cuban sugar that caused the Cubans to look to Russia for economic help in 1960. Before that their money was pegged to U.S. dollars and after that it was pegged to the Soviet ruple. When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991 the peso lost much of its value and fell to a rate of 125 pesos to the U.S. dollar, throwing most into poverty. Nowadays it fluctuates between 23 and 25 pesos to the U.S. dollar. But you don't really need to know any of that, since you'll be dealing in CUCs.<br />
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I wanted to bring a Cuban flag home but was told it was technically illegal since as a U.S. citizen I was only permitted to purchase art works and a few other craft- type things. I knew I couldn't bring back rum or cigars but I'd hoped that an exception would be made for the delicious Cuban coffee. But no dice. The flag came back with me because my carryon bag was with me and wasn't searched.<br />
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Just between you and me, I talked to an American man at the airport who bragged about bringing back the forbidden cigars. I didn't see him again after we landed in Miami, so who knows how he fared.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334223757426121731noreply@blogger.com1