Havana

The holiday started with a drive down after work to Gatwick to the Skylane hotel. The hotel was really run down although it did the job as we were able to leave the car their and got a minibus to the airport next morning.

A wise move missing on the ridiculously overpriced breakfast at Skylane we tucked into some food at Frankie and Benny's. Jen had sorted us a stay in the airport lounge which I wasn't sure about but when I got in there was well impressed with it - just a quieter room with free magazines and more importantly a free bar - it felt like the holiday had really started!

I watched a couple of films on the plane, 4 Lions which had some good bits in but was a bit disappointing and Shutter Island which I really enjoyed. About an hour before we were due to land - sickfest struck as Chelsea started being sick in her hand - fortunately my quick thinking saved the lady in the seat next to her from an impromptu shower as I managed to grab a bag they handout with sleeping mask and toothbrush in. Needless to say I think we were all glad when we touched down.

It was pretty slow through customs as we all had to get our photos done but the Kuoni rep was there to meet us on the other side and directed us to our tour bus where we met Alberto and Ivan our driver and guide for the first part of the trip as well as our fellow passengers. It was a small group with just 6 other people on the tour which suited us.

Alberto gave us a good introduction to Cuba and explained bits about the city on the transfer from the airport. We saw the university building which was impressive and he showed us Copelia - basically an ice cream parlour but a place where all the locals met up.

We stayed in the Hotel Nacional and we were all totally amazed that we were staying there. We liked everything about it from the old cars waiting outside the luxurious lobby with tiled floors and antique clocks to the gardens and many bars! We changed the first of our money here and checked into the rooms which were fine - not really fitting with the luxury of downstairs but perfect for what we needed and with an excellent view to watch the sunrise and set over the Malecon (basically a long promenade and another place where the locals loved to hang out fish and jog).

Everyone was tired from travelling but I knew that if we went to sleep we'd be wide awake at 4 in the morning and we really needed to get used to the time difference. We stayed in the hotel and were able to spend a while checking out the different places to eat and drink. We opted for our first taste of Cuban food in a great restaurant in the grounds of the hotel called La Pergola. There was a live band and we had our first (of many) Mojitos. Jen and I had a dish called Ropa Vieja (which translates as old clothes, but is shredded beef in a spiced sauce) with Moros and Cristianos (literally Christians and Moors but a dish of Rice and Black beans) which was very tasty. After dinner we sat out on the hotel veranda where we had some more drinks and listened to some more live music, although it was a battle to stay awake!

Needless to say we were all wide awake early and watched the sunrise before heading down to breakfast. Well the choice was amazing and we were absolutely stuffed as we nibbled our way through quite a few plates of fresh fruit, bacon, sausage, omelettes and pastries all topped off with fresh juice. We were a bit disappointed with the coffee though as there was an instant machine and something labelled Cuban coffee which tasted a bit burnt however, we found that the freshly brewed coffee out on the patio was great. After breakfast we met up with the rep who gave us a very brief introduction to Havana and the Hotel before we booked a meal and concert and booked a slot in the Parisien Cabaret which was included. We then met up with Alberto to start the first day of our Havana tour.