Still trying to adjust to the time difference we were all awake early and up for breakfast before we jumped on the bus to start day 2 of our tour.
First stop of the day was the Real Fabrica de Tabacos Partagas (cigar factory) one of the oldest and most famous cigar factories in Havana founded in 1845 by Jamie Partagas. The building facade was pretty interesting - inside we met our guide who walked us through the various stages of cigar making from the arrival of the leaves to the pressing and rolling. We saw a school were would be cigar makers are trained but learned that only a few make it through the tough training. We were told that different blends of leaves are selected by the master cigar maker to make up the different cigars, however the workers never learn which combination make up which brand. The factory was a bit of a rabit warren of stairs but interesting enough. The workers are allowed to take home the rejected cigars (which I guess is where some of the on street sales take place) and they are also allowed to smoke whilst they are working. We learned that someone reads the newspaper to them as they work and in the afternoon they are read a novel. The last bit of the tour showed us the colour and size sorting (although colour has nothing to do with quality apparently) and all the other quality checks including a smoking machine which ensures that the cigars aren't too tight and enough air could pass through. We were shown down to the shop and got a glimpse of the VIP smoking area with leather bound armchairs - we didn't buy anything here as Alberto had told us it would be cheaper to buy things at our next stop.
Our next stop was a rum factory where we saw Legendario rum being bottled. Whilst we waited for an English speaking guide to talk to us about rum and cigars our driver Ivan called us into the coffee bar - the coffee was great but the barista also heated up some of the rum and dimmed the lights to pour "molten" rum into the cups - it was great. Next we got a guide who talked us through the rums and cigars.
I picked up some Cohiba Siglo VI which the guide at the cigar factory had said he smoked himself. They were dirt cheap and I was surprised when I came back and checked the price on-line:
Next we headed out of town to Hemingway's house situated in San Francisco de Paula. It was a strange place basically it was left practically untouched since Hemingway left in 1888. You can't go inside but instead look in to the various rooms through a series of open doors and windows. The house was full of books and hunting trophies. We climbed a tower for a view around the place before walking around the gardens where we saw a dog cemetery and his fishing boat El Pilar. We also saw the pool where Ava Gardner supposedly swam naked. The house was worth a look but starting to look a bit shabby and the pool could have been better maintained as it was empty and had missing tiles. We learned that the Hemingway Society in the US wanted to send over money to help with the preservation but this was blocked by the US government. We ended the visit with a beer on the patio - Cuba only has 2 beers Cristal and Bucanero.
After the visit we headed back into Havana for lunch, but of course had time for another drink this time in Hotel Ambos Mundos - the hotel Hemingway stayed in where he supposedly wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls. We checked out the lobby bar where there was a classical pianist playing.
We had lunch in Santa Angel which was OK there was a young group of musicians playing. After lunch we had our own time to look around Havana. Our first stop was el Museo del Chocolate (Chocolate museum) which I thought Jen and Chelsea would like - you could see them making chocolate - Jen had a drinking chocolate which was Spanish style really thick melted chocolate, I had a chocolate milk and Chelsea ordered herself a box of chocolates.
Then for a bit of culture and history (before a pub crawl) we headed over to the Museum of the Revolution. This was a very impressive building which used to be the presidential palace, in fact it was attacked by revolutionaries and bullet holes can still be seen in some of the walls. The inside was pretty interesting too especially the Salon de Espejos (room of mirrors) which was designed by Tiffany of New York and the presidential chambers. There was a lot of weapons and blood stained uniforms on display. Outside we saw various military transport including a tank used during the battle of the bay of pigs and with its own armed guard displayed in a large glass enclosure the boat the Granma which Castro and Guevara arrived on from Mexico to start the revolution.
From there we ducked into the Bacardi Building but could only see the lobby as the tower was closed. Our next stop was El Floridita - allegedly the bar where the daiquiri was invented there is a huge life-size sculpture of Hemmingway propping up the bar - it was very touristy but worth a look even if the drinks were a bit pricey.
For our next stop we went back to the Hotel Ambos Mundos this time checking out the roof terrace bar which had sensational views of the city.
After that we headed down the busy Obispo street to find the Lluvia de Oro a busy bar with yet another live band. From here we went on to Taberna de la Muralla the brewery pub this time we sat outside and had a beer and Hamburger.
Our final stop after a bit of a detour (I got us lost - although we got to see a really non touristy part of the city) was la bodeguita del Medio - yet another Hemingway bar and probably the most famous in Havana. The walls are covered with signatures of the many famous (and not so famous) people who'd visited. The small downstairs bar was packed so we headed upstairs to sample the Mojitos before heading back to the hotel.
That evening we checked out the Winston Churchill cigar bar before heading over to the Parisien cabaret which was worth a look but not really our cup of tea - the place was packed and the dancers pranced around the room as well as on stage but we decided not to stay until the end and instead headed down to the cinema corner where we had a pizza before Chelsea headed to bed and Jen and I went for our nightly night cap out on the terrace ending our last night in Havana.
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