If the the current springtime wherever you are feels more like fall at the moment (as it is the case in London) and just gives you the blues… Well, I find that there’s nothing better to lift me up than some sunny music.
And what’s more sunny than salsa Cubana?!
These are the songs I shazamed form the local radio or our driver’s playlists during our trip to Cuba – some classics mixed with more recent tunes. Enjoy!
S o b e a u t i f u l.
I can’t remember the last time I was so impressed with just how beautiful a city is (perhaps the first time I visited Paris years ago). I know we got lucky with the weather (almost no rain and beautiful sunshine for the whole weekend) and did choose a very charming season to visit (full spring = the city covered in blossoms and very little tourists), but I do believe you will be as impressed no matter when you visit.
Edinburgh is not a big city, at least everything you might be interested in seeing is not that far away. We stayed on the side of Dean Village and walked everywhere. Even Buddy made it and that’s something!
If you’re planning your visit and are looking for some recommendations, I’m talking about a few here below + some of the spots are saved on the map here.
Visit Bruntsfield Links and brunch at The Treehouse Café
I found this place on the Internet and got lured in by their pictures of pancakes. Worth it!
Plus, Bruntsfield felt like a good starting point of our Edinburgh discovery in the morning.
Walk through The Meadows
This is essentially “just” a vast green area with plenty of spots fields and people hanging around with their dogs. Unless you get there in the middle of spring, like we did, and get surprised by the sea of blossoms. Just wow…
Spot the castle from Vennel
Ok, I am aware you can spot the castle from pretty much everywhere in Edinburgh but this tiny hidden staircase is a very photogenic spot minus the crowds of tourists. Win-win.
Take a break for people-watching on Victoria Street
I’m sure you’ll end up on Victoria Street at one point or another even if only for its colourful facades but it is actually a cool spot to take a break and have a glass (or two). There’ s a balcony with several restaurants right above the street but I can easily imagine it getting pretty crowded in high season.
Lucky for us, the place was empty when we visited and we liked it so much we came back for brunch the day after!
Chillout in the Princes Street Gardens
It’s a very nice park running along a commercial Princes Street and the castle area. There are a lot of benches to take a break on and green areas with bars and armchairs to take a nap in the sun.
Walk up the Calton Hill
For very nice views over the city and the sea in the back.
Get lost around Circus Lane
A very charming residential neighbourhood with some magical side streets and tiny houses. Very insta-friendly if that’s the factor you’re interested in!
Walk the Walter of Leith Walkway and escape the city in Dean Village
If you want to feel like visiting a druids grove or some other fairytale and not that far from the heart of the city either! As I mentioned our hotel was in that area and this walk was really a highlight of our trip (I won’t recommend it to you as apart from location it was really nothing special – understandable since they accepted dogs and we were travelling with Buddy).
The only other city I recall with such lush and nearly magical greenery so close to the centre is… Wroclaw!
Eat Haggis
The odds are you’ve heard about this disgusting Scottish invention already but even if you haven’t, you’ll quickly spot it on the menu pretty much wherever you go in Edinburgh. You know already what a gourmand I am and can easily guess that was my number 1 on the list of to-do’s in Scotland!
To be honest with you, if you’re not a veggie and have tried your fair share of stuff in your life, haggis is not something that extraordinary at all. It comes with a hearty taste but a very pleasant one and I actually enjoyed it so much for dinner, I made sure it is included in my full Scottish breakfast the day after.
For my Polish friends (as this is the best reference I have) haggis is something between kasza gryczana and kaszanka depending on the way it is served.
Climb up the hill in Holyrood Park
Right outside central Edinburgh, there is this green hill overlooking it visible from wherever you go. It seems like it’s far away but if you focus your attention you’ll see little people moving on top of it.
As it turns out, it’s not even that far as you can start your walk up right next to the Palace of Holyroodhouse which is a 15-minute walk away from the castle.
I was really up for walking up but the rest of my bunch not really so I gave this one up to the boys and well, left it on the list for the next-time visit.
Surprisingly, or not at all, there is a certain way to do things in Cuba as a tourist and a certain set of rules you’re expected to follow. No matter how hard you try, it is really hard to get rid of the tourist tag you get and just go your own way. Being a foreigner you’re an obvious profit prospect for the locals and this is just how it is. However disappointing it is (and it was quite a bit for us), Cuba is still a very special experience and one you should try yourself.
All things considered, this cross-country set up is working quite well and moving from place to place you will quickly notice you’re told the same thing everywhere. So, if you’re looking for some practical information based on our experience, here’s everything you need to know about how to travel in Cuba.
If you want to know more about our trip, you can find the other posts here.
Being a European citizen and travelling from any country outside of the US, you do not need a visa to enter Cuba but you do need a Tourist Card. What’s the difference? Cuban Tourist Card will not get placed in your passport and will not leave any proof of you visiting the country there. It is a separate document you need to order prior to your arrival and have with you at the airport.
The process is very easy, you can simply order your Tourist Card online. We ordered ours here and paid £26 per person.
I heard that some airlines also allow you to buy the card directly at the airport before boarding your flight but you should definitely do your own research on that.
Insurance
In the Internet you will some information that travel insurance is obligatory to enter Cuba and this is what we did. However, no-one has ever asked us about it or checked it so it’s hard to say whether we were just “lucky” not to get asked or if it’s not needed at all…
Perhaps you already know it, but Cuba has 2 official currencies: CUC (Cuban Convertible Peso) for tourists and CUP (Cuban National Peso) for the locals. You will most likely get to use CUC only but if you do find yourself in a place or situation where CUP is expected, it’s good to know:
1 CUC = 1 USD
1 CUC = 25 CUP
1 CUP = 0.04 CUC
Is Cuba expensive?
The answer is: it’s not as cheap as you expect it to be. Since most of the prices are in CUC, you’re basically paying in equivalence of American dollars. So at this point in depends on the place and what you consider to be expensive:
– for a regular meal set in a restaurant or in your Casa Particular you will pay 10-12 CUC (10-12$)
– you can find cheaper options and have a sandwich + drink for 5 CUC
– you can find even cheaper and very local options and have Cuban pizza + drink for 25 CUP = 1 CUC.
Depending where you find yourself, it is useful to have some CUP on you but, as it happened to us, most of the time you can still pay in CUC and just your change back in CUP (make sure to count your dues though).
Where to exchange?
Before leaving, it is worth checking whether you card / bank is accepted in Cuba. If yes – you’re lucky as the ATMs are available in most of the Cuba cities and the airport as well. If not, it’s best to take currency with you and just exchange it upon arrival.
Good news is that you can do it right at the airport. After passing through security and leaving the arrivals area, you will notice several machines where you can withdraw or exchange money (American dollars or Euro). If you have other currency, like we had British pounds, you need to leave the airport and another exchange office is available right there.
Further in the country, you should be able to exchange and/or withdraw money in most of the main cities, however it’s always good to have some backup – on the day when we run our of money, all banks and ATMs were closed due to lack of electricity in the area…
The best way to discover Cuba is to stay in Casas Particulares which are basically rooms in the locals’ houses. Luckily (or not so much?), Airbnb has reached Cuba and you can find most of the Casas there with numerous options in price and location.
There obviously are more fancy hotel options all over the country but this is not something we were interested in.
How much?
Anywhere from as low as 8$/night up. It’s worth knowing that the standard doesn’t necessarily change with the price you’re paying – or at least we didn’t notice any difference in experience (apart from a bug-bed surprise on our last night in Havana…).
All of the hosts are there to help you – organise activities or cook for you (everything for extra price of course, but you can read more about our experience with this here)
You have several options here, the most accessible and common one being taxis collectivos – organised taxi rides between the cities squishing is as many people as they can.
Arriving at Havana Airport – How to get to the city?
This is the first place you’ll realise that Cubans have actually organised themselves pretty damn well around all those hordes of tourists visiting their country. After leaving the terminal and taking care of exchanging your money (see point above), you will easily notice a number of taxis. Most probably, you will get approached by one of the drivers right away.
Here, make sure you’re not being overcharged. A ride from the airport to Havana should cost you 20-25 CUC per car (not per person!) depending on which part of the city you’re going to. If they propose you 25 CUC, try to negotiate it down to 20 anyway!
It takes anytime from 20 to 45 minutes to get to Centro Havana, depending on traffic.
Moving around Havana
Havana, or at least the central part you might be the most interested in, is divided in three main parts: Havana Vieja, Vedado and Centro Havana, all spreading out next to each other. The best way to move around here is too… walk. The distances are not so overwhelming and it is definitely the best way to discover the city.
The only location we found too far to walk to (and it was one of the reasons we ended up not going there) was Fabrica de Arte Cubano for which it would be advisable to get a taxi.
Travelling between cities
This is where you have quite a few options:
Rent a car
This was our original plan but after some research into possibilities, car rental agencies, cost and general driving-in-Cuba experiences, it didn’t take us too long to back off from this plan. As you can imagine, the car rental offer is not too wide in Cuba as the international players don’t exist there and the local ones are rather small.
This is why, renting a car in Cuba is extremely expensive (like minimum $100/day expensive) and rather complicated.
If you’re still considering this option it is also wroth knowing that: a) you are not allowed to rent any of the vintage cars in Cuba. As a tourist, you are only allowed to drive “regular” and newer cars. And b) tourist rental cars have a special registration plates (different in colour and structure) so everyone on the road sees you’re a tourist and well… most probably don’t know hot to drive the Cuban way…
Viazul Bus
A totally proper bus company in Cuba offering most of the connections around the island in air-conditioned buses. If that’s what you’re looking for, you can check the connections, schedules and prices on their website here.
This was our plan B, but little did we know that these buses are the most popular tourist choice and sell out quickly. If your head is set on this option, you should think about booking the tickets way in advance.
Price-wise it seems like the buses are a bit cheaper than colectivos but yo have to keep in mind that you need to get to the bus station yourself (extra taxi fare in Havana where the bus station is located outside of the city).
Taxis Colectivos
And so here we are – our plan C but I think at the end the best option. Collectivos are shared cars with taxi drivers who gather people travelling from one city to another. They pick you up directly from your Casa and drop you at the door of your second destination. All of the Casa owners in Cuba know perfectly who to call and how to organise it for you – all you need to do is ask.
The big advantage of this way is that you get a chance to travel in the real vintage Cuban car (and experience all its discomforts!) and you get to meet other people since you are squished against each other for a good few hours!
The cost depends on the length of the journey but is normally set, i.e. 20 CUC/person Havana-Vinales, 35 CUC/person Vinales-Trinidad etc.
Hitch-hiking
An option we wouldn’t consider for our trip but one that used to be on top of my list so I guess it’s worth mentioning. To be honest, there are a lot of hitch-hikers in Cuba but most of them are locals. In fact, there are so many that I imagine it to be very difficult to be successful – we’ve met some people spending hours just standing on the side of the road. The problem is that most of the cars moving between the cities are already completely packed. And, having experience Cuban “hospitality”, I would imagine that even if you get picked up, the driver would expect you to pay him anyway…
Internet
Bad news is, most of the European carriers don’t have data coverage in Cuba and enquire a special package to be paid in advance (and my British EE didn’t work there even after I tried to activate it). Good news is that WiFi is now available in most of the hotels, Casas or restaurants in Cuba, you just need to know how to use it.
In order to connect to any WiFi network in Cuba you need to buy a special card with assigned ID. These cards come in several different prices:
1 CUC fo 1 hour connection
5 CUC for 5 hours connection
These cards can be purchased in special Telephonic offices (ETECSA telecommunication – you can Google it or ask any local for the closest one) for the prices listed above or in many restaurants – but be aware that here the prices will be higher (i.e. 3 CUC for 1 hour).
Having this card is essential to be able to connect to WiFi – don’t let your millennial heart fool you into thinking that you can just click on the WiFi icon in your iPhone and browse for free!
Potable water
Tap water in Cuba is not potable and it is highly recommended not to drink it. Unfortunately, as the only other way is to buy bottles of water as you go.
Electric socket
You will not find the European on British type power sockets in Cuba. I recommend googling the image of the type used there (2 flat entries instead of round ones like in Europe) and thinking ahead about getting a suitable adapter!
So this is the way we travel – we wander. Prior to our trip I of course plan a bit ahead, prepare a Google map with some landmarks to see, or particular spots I would like to pass by, some restaurant recommendations I have… but the principal is just to walk around and see where we get.
This is very important to me and I am so grateful I have found my perfect travel buddy with the same approach to travelling. I believe that this way we’re not tourists but also not travellers, who I feel like manifest their presence in the space too strongly. We’re as local as we can be and just vanish in the landscape. In French, there is even a word for that: flâneur. A perfect travel philosophy if you ask me.
What makes our journeys even more special, and more memorable, is that when we wander our ways and look for the places to stuff our bellies (the two big gourmands we are), we tend to find ourselves in the most amazing, truly local places with some of the most delicious foods we’ve ever tasted.
Thinking back about all these, I got inspired to create a list of the most memorable ones.
The best tapas bar in Nerja, Spain
Seriously, the best we’ve ever been to and we like ourselves some tapas!
1 tapa free with each drink (€2), 1€ by itself = a night full of drinking and eating for less than €20 for two.
More about our trip to Andalusia here.
La Puntilla
Calle Bolivia, 1, 29780 Nerja, Málaga, Spain
The most genuine Portuguese cuisine in Lisbon, Portugal
Brace yourself, there’s a story coming.
When we visited Lisbon together 3 years go, we stayed in this cozy little Airbnb at the bottom of Alfama – one of the oldest neighbourhoods of the capital. Right in front of our house was this tiny bar/restaurant where on the first day we stopped for a coffee.
There we met the wonderful owner – an older lady who in broken English / French / Spanish told us that she opened this place for her passed husband, that’s why the name translating into “Lisbon – Yours and Mine”.
She must have opened only recently at the time and it was end of February so not necessarily a high season… but this place was always empty and every time we would pass by, she would call us in to give us some of her food, worried that no-one else is stopping by. Heart-breaking.
The food was delicious though. Genuine Portuguese home-cooking. So at the end of our stay we asked the lady for her email address and other details and announced her presence to the Internet: added the address to Google Maps and created a profile on TripAdvisor.
Now, check for yourself her success and if you’re ever in the area – go and eat there cause you’ll be missing out if you don’t.
Lisboa Tu e Eu
R. Adiça 58, 1100-538 Lisboa, Portugal
The best kushikatsu in the world in Osaka, Japan
Planning our trip to Japan, we read about kushikatsu before and couldn’t wait to get to Osaka to try it. Now, you would most probably never enter this place by yourself but you definitely should if wandering through Osaka’s Shinsekai area. It’s a tiny restaurant with only several seats at the counter but their skewers were absolutely exceptional. The ultimate rule: NEVER dip your skewer twice in the sauce bowl!
Read more about our Japanese food experience here.
Kushikatsu Daruma Shinsekai Souhonten
2 Chome-3-9 Ebisuhigashi, Naniwa-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka-fu 556-0002, Japan
As home-made as it gets in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica
Don’t mind the crates in the windows and a VERY local clientele and order Caribbean chicken. You’ll never forget it.
More about our trip to Costa Rica here.
Lidia’s Place
Avenia 67, Calle 217, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca 70401, Costa Rica
The tastiest pork sandwiches over the old market in Porto, Portugal
Another spot you would never consider, especially if you’re one of those straining from food-poisoning. Joking aside, if you’re looking for the yummy Portuguese pork sandwiches in the lowest price ever, climb up to the first floor of Mercado do Bolhao.
More about our stay in Porto here.
Mercado do Bolhão, 1st floor
R. Formosa, 4000-214 Porto, Portugal
All flavours of Florence in Florence, Italy
Spending a day in Florence, you will surely hear of the famous bistecca alla fiorentina – a local variation of a coal-grilled beef steak traditionally served in a minimum of 1 kg (sic!). Trattoria Za Za is where you get to try this exquisite tradition. For a cheaper option (1 kg of meat has its price wherever…), their selection of pasta is also amazing (and truffle everything…)! Plus obligatory mascarpone cream for dessert.
More about our trip to Florence here.
Trattoria ZaZa
Piazza del Mercato Centrale, 26r, 50123 Firenze FI, Italy
The coolest jazz bar in Budapest, Hungary
Giving up on finding a cool spot for dinner on a Friday evening in Budapest and having no reservation? We practically gave up and looked for whatever. And there it was – beautiful setting, live music and delicious food. Perfection (I would consider booking though cause it was a pure luck for us to get a table!).
See beautiful Budapest by night here.
Zeller Bistro
Budapest, Hercegprímás u. 18, 1051 Hungary
The most local bar in Tokyo, Japan
The time we discovered a place called Gado Shita in Tokyo where under the railway you can find a line of bars and restaurants and this place was absolutely amazing – filled with locals only, enjoying a drink after work.
See our full Japan itinerary here.
Yurakucho Sanchoku Inshokugai
2 Chome-1-１ Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo-to 100-0006, Japan
Coming back from our trip to Cuba (you can read all about it here), we had a chance to stop for one day in Mexico City. It was a conscious choice and I couldn’t be more excited about it (Thomas needed some convicts though…). Verdict? We can’t wait to plan another and this time longer trip to Mexico!
8:30 land in Mexico City
Our flight from Havana arrived early in the morning and all not fresh but ready, we left the airport to see the city. Hopefully, the connection with the airport and the city centre is very convenient and very frequent so there shouldn’t be any problem with that not matter what time you’re arriving.
Leaving the airport in the arrivals area you can see ticket machines from which you can buy a ticket for Metrobus line 4 leaving directly from Terminals 1 & 2 to numerous locations in the city centre.
The route airport – city has a fixed cost of 30 MXN and there’s a 10 MXN fee for the card. Now, be smarter than us and charge your card for round-trip right away if you’re planning to go back to airport the same day as it is rather tacky to charge your card afterwards in the city (it took us some walking around to find the spot for it).
Cost: 40 MXN (£1.50)
9:30 Breakfast at El Cuatro 20
Since we fell in love with the wonderful innovation of chilaquiles, there was no option we were in Mexico and not having it for breakfast. After some research of breakfast spots near Centro Historico we were on our way to Café El Popular but passing by El Cuatro 20 and noticing the menu looking as nice but much cheaper, we decided that was the place instead.
The food was very good and they had WiFi so a win-win situation.
Cost: 50 MXN (£2) for a set breakfast menu (main + fresh orange juice + hot beverage)
10:30 Zócalo
If you’re following our path, now you’re only few steps away from the famous Zócalo – the main square in central Mexico you may recognise from tourist guides and the Internet.
It is a nice spot to walk around and take a few pictures yourself, especially if you’re as lucky as were visiting 1 day after St. Valentine’s and having it decorated with flowers all over.
Cost: Nada
11:00 Church of San Francisco & Torre Latinoamerica
A short walk down West you will find yourself on a busy Avenida Francisco I. Madero with plenty of shops and several architectural highlights of Mexico, including Church of San Francisco and Torre Latinoamerica.
You can go up the tower, which apparently serves wonderful views of the city but since our budget was tight, we decided to skip this attraction and continue our walk.
Cost: Nada
11:30 Palacaio de Bellas Artes and belonging park
Just few steps away from Torre Latinoamerica there are a beautiful Palacio de Bellas Artes and its adjacent gardens, to which the entrance is free. It’s a nice short stroll in the shadow of its trees which might serve as a nice break from the heat.
Cost: Nada
12:00 Monumento a la Revolucion
Still not tired from the walk? Perfect, cause the Monumento a la Revolucion is 20 minutes away further West and is another worthwhile stop on the map of Centro Historico.
Cost: Nada
12:30 Mercado de La Ciudadela
Enough of the monuments, time for shopping (or just looking in our case)! Mercado de La Ciudadela might be the most famous destination for this and unfortunately… the most touristic one. You can see some nice pictures of the place on the Internet, but the truth is that nowadays it’s rather a trap for overpriced pseudo-Mexican goodies. Worth stopping by for a minute but don’t expect anything exceptional!
Cost: Nada, unless you get tempted and purchase some souvenirs!
13:15 Mercado de San Juan
Even though the morning chilaquiles were quite satisfying, after walking so much in Mexican heat you might start feeling a bit hungry. Our first destination on the map was Mercado de San Juan, known for some good local produce. We didn’t decide to eat there as we had the whole perfect taco hunt planned, but you can definitely find something here for yourself.
Cost: Depending if you decide to eat here, see below!
13:45 Lunch
Because by this time the chilaquiles are already only a memory and you are in the area with street food all around. Go for it.
Cost: 120 MXN for 2 (see more details here) – £2.50/person
15:00 random walk on the streets of Cnetro Historico
Because it’s just too pretty not to!
Cost: Nada
16:30 drink with a view back in Zócalo
Back at Zócalo, you’ll notice plenty of waiters inviting you to have a drink with a view over the square and since we did have some time and spare change, that’s what we decided to do. I can’t recall which place we entered exactly but I imagine the prices to be quite similar everywhere.
Cost: 25 MXN (£1)
17:30 head back to the airport
And if you’ve listened to my advice at the beginning of this post, you’re good to know. If not, you might spend some time looking for a place to recharge your transportation card…
Cost: 30 MXN
Living in London is great (yes, and you hear it from me, who’s been complaining about living in Paris for the last 3 years). It does have its obvious downsides though – it’s expensive, crowded, polluted… well, nothing new really but definitely enough to make you feel like you need a break once in a while.
We’ve also never been ANYWHERE in the UK outside of London and really don’t want to end up in 2 years saying we’d been in living in England for a while and seen nothing of it. So the plan for this year and I hope the one to come is to discover more of this land. How exciting!
Our first 1-day trip was a spontaneous one to Surrey Hills after a quick googling exercise of Where to hike around London. Fast and easy, we chose to do The Mole Gap Trail starting in Leatherhad and finishing up in Dorking. This website was just amazing, the whole trail was described in every little step you take so there’s no way to get lost.
It’s an easy 10km hike through the hills and fields of Surrey. In just one afternoon you can leave London and breathe in freely. Pack up your lunch and go – at least that’s what we did.
We didn’t travel much last year. Well, we knew we would be moving countries towards the end of the year and that needed some extra savings. This time has passed now (fortunately) and we’re successfully and happily moved to London (the best decision we could have made!), so the travelling bug is kicking in strong again.
Cuba was always on the list of places one-day-we-would-like-to-visit but was never a priority. Well, we knew we’d like to do it sooner rather than later since everyone is saying that now is the last moment to see the real Cuba before it develops (I’m afraid it is a little bit late already, but about this maybe in a separate post…). So in the middle of cold English winter the idea was to find a place to visit in February that is hot and sunny, cheap to visit and with convenient flights from London. After narrowing it down to Cuba and South Africa – Cuba it was!
There are many more or less convenient flights from Europe to Cuba. I’m sure there are even direct ones from London to Havana but that was not in our budget at all so didn’t even bother considering this solution. Aero Mexico was the best shot for us – the flights are very cheap, most of them over-night (a must for me!) and they offer a transfer in Mexico City allowing us a quick 1-day visit – PERFECTION.
February in Cuba is still in the summer time so the weather for travelling is just perfect: around 30*C most of the time with not much rain or humidity (in the whole week we experienced rain only 1 afternoon). Of course, unfortunately, this means that it’s the highest tourist season as well so if you’re trying to avoid that (as we did in Costa Rica), I’d recommend researching more off-season time of the year.
A big surprise for us: Cuba is a VERY big island: it’s almost 1500 km between the most eastern and most western point and at least a 19-hour drive. So, needles to say, our original plan of road-tripping the whole island was not an option in a week’s time. One week is, however, just enough to visit the eastern part of Cuba, closer to where Havana is located and this is exactly what we’ve done.
With our Aero Mexico connection we arrived to Cuba around 13:00 and planned for the rest of the day and the night in Havana. The airport is located very close to the city (around 30 minutes by taxi) so id everything goes smoothly you can set off to see the city around 14:00 already.
On our first day we stayed in this wonderful Airbnb right in Havana Vieja and would highly recommend it to anyone. The family owning it is very nice and helpful, not too obtrusive in trying to make money on you (which happens all the time). The location is absolutely perfect and the breakfast prepared for us in the morning was SO good.
Due to the location of our Airbnb and the fact that we planned only half a day in Havana at this point, we decided to spend all of it on discovering Havana Vieja (the Old Havana) – the core of the original city of Havana. The Northern part where we were staying has been in parts renovated over the past few years so it’s definitely more Instagram-friendly but also a bit… safer? We did get lost in the older and more destroyed southern part in the evening and perhaps didn’t feel unsafe per se but definitely a bit… out of place.
The best idea to do here is to just wander, or at least this is what we enjoyed the most. It might get tricky to find a spot to eat that is not too touristic but at the end we managed to find a cool quite local bar with very cheap drinks and ate a decent Ropa Vieja (traditional Cuban pulled pork meal with fried plantains and beans on the side).
Bar Bigote Gato
corner of Brasil and Aguacate
drinks for $1.95
First destination on our road trip – Viñales. It’s a valley located 2-3 hours drive from Havana famous for its tobacco plantations – this is where the finest leaves for Cuban cigars come from. It’s a beautiful and lush valley with strong Jurassic Park vibes. We stayed in this amazing Airbnb and to be honest, this was our best Airbnb experience in Cuba. The host was nice and not obtrusive at all, helpful and understanding and his all family made us feel very welcome and not like tourists at all. It is a bit outside of the main town of Viñales but I think it’s actually better cause the views from the rooftop terrace are breathtaking and you don’t have drunk tourists bothering you at night.
The thing to do while in Viñales is obviously to visit the valley. This is also the main tourist attraction so the locals have built a great business around it. The most popular way to do it is horseback riding: a guide picks you up from your casa in the morning, gets you settled on a horse and you spend the whole day discovering the valley and the local plantations where you can purchase the products, including cigars and local rum obviously.
(Interesting fact: because Viñales is now protected by UNESCO certain plantations are forbidden in this area, including sugar cane. This is why the local rum here is made entirely out of guava and is the most delicious one we’ve ever tasted!).
For most tourists the above is the most convenient solution but, us being us, we decided to set ourselves for a hike alone and let me tell you – it is completely doable. It’s around 10km route and you might get lost in the middle (as we did) but if you do, just ask whoever passing by about the way back to Viñales.
We also decided not to visit the most popular tobacco plantations in the area but asked our host to take us to his friend leaving nearby and let me tell you, it was the best choice! We ended up with a private tour, a very detailed description of the whole process and tasting of cigars (for Thomas) rolled right on spot.
In terms of food in Viñales the challenge is exactly the same as in Havana – it might be tricky to avoid the tourist spots but there are a few we can recommend:
Bar Restaurante El Vinadero
Perhaps the cheapest drink bar in Viñales ($0.90 for mojito)
El Qba Libre
Delicious lobster meal for $5.
JRompiendo Rutina
Pork sandwiches for lunch for $1.50
There was no possibility for me to be in the Caribbean and not spend time on the seaside. The choice was – Playa Larga in the famous Bay of Pigs. Why? Because of the beautiful National Park Cienaga de Zapata and the coral reef in one place. What else do you need, really?
The original plan was to visit both the national park and go diving but it turned to be too complicated to organise – you can’t visit the park without a guide (such a shame!) and we didn’t have a car to drive ourselves to the coral reef area. As a result, and thanks to our Airbnb host again, we ended up visiting a smaller but as beautiful part of the park called Enigma de las Rocas in the morning and went snorkelling in the Cueva de los Peces area later in the afternoon – both of which turned out to be breathtaking and unforgettable experiences.
The first one – Enigma de las Rocas – is a short 1-hour hike in a part of the Zapata National Park between Playa Larga and Playa Giron where you’re guided to see see the cenotes (sinkhole) in the middle of the jungle in which you can swim. WOW.
If you have more time to visit Cuba than we did now would be the best moment to head more east – to see Cienfuegos or Trinidad for what we originally planned but at the end decided not to stretch our schedule too much and go directly back to Havana.
Last day in Cuba was our return to Havana and oh, how lucky we were to get there on Saint Valentine’s! It turns out to be quite a big deal for Cubans, at least in Havana and we found ourselves in the middle of festivities. Music on the street, local performances, street food stalls and $0.50 mojitos everywhere.
Centro Habana and Vedado are located more to the west than Habana Vieja, definitely have a more local vibe to it (apart from the main street of course, Paseo de Marti) and much less tourist trap bars and restaurants. This is also when we finally got to taste the famous pizza Cubana and surprisingly, it was quite good! When you eat lunch for 2 for less than $3, you know you’re doing it right…
Our flight back to London was leaving very early in the morning from Havana Airport with a stopover in Mexico City again, but this time for a whole day giving us an opportunity to visit a bit of this city. You can read about our hunt for the perfect taco here!
So that’s a first: I’ve written a very personal post. There won’t be any travel guides here, no pictures of my cute dog and not even a recipe. Just me, myself and my opinion on something. Feminism – wow, couldn’t have chosen a more cliché topic and a more controversial one. So if you don’t give a damn about that, now’s the time to get out of here. Thank you and bye bye!
(note: I am obviously not a sociologist, neither did I spent hours looking through academic literature to write any of this. I have never been very much interested in studying feminist theories in depth but feel entitled to share my opinions on the basis of well, being a woman.)
I was raised in a very strong feminine energy for a great disapproval of my sociopath father. But guess what: the more he fought against it, the stronger each of us got so here’s one to a perfect irony. By the time I became an independent adult I was hurt and shamed one too many times, seen and experienced way too much for a little girl, and as a result, I’ve grown up with absolutely no trust or real appreciation for men in general, but a strong belief that whatever I need in life, I can provide for myself. Amen.
I love all the women in my family and since they’ve made up for 95% of it for most of my life, this appreciation for a strong and independent female lead is the only one I’ve grown up with. For some reason, none of the men in our lives ever stuck around and the ones that passed by are mostly not worth to be mentioned. The men that did stay and who I’ve grown to love were rather on the mellow side letting themselves to be completely outgrown by our personalities. Real girl power energy.
Considering all this, there are not as many things in my life I feel stronger about than female empowerment. With all my heart, I’ve always fought any signs of discrimination and inequality and am fully committed to do so for the rest of my life. I’m not having any man’s crap and so will not my daughters if I ever have any.
So you might be thinking: sounds pretty feminist to me, but does it really?
I’ll be honest with you, I have a problem with the very word feminism since I can’t understand how it refers to equality in itself. Don’t get me wrong but if a racist is someone who believes in superiority of his race, it makes feminism sound like a superior thing as well. It might be perhaps due to a very unfortunate grammar but I definitely don’t believe in superiority of my sex. All I believe in and fight for if needed is equality. Hell yeah you ain’t better than me! But you ain’t worse neither.
Talking about equality though, I have to make myself clear: I do not actually believe for men and women to be equal in every aspect. I strongly believe we should have equal rights and opportunities but the world IS built on our differences and hail glory to that.
Even more so, I feel confident enough in my femininity to acknowledge the inequality for men when needed (1 year of maternity leave? I don’t know a man who would not be happy to take on a part of this!).
Feminist narrative is also not one I feel encouraged to be part of – I am not a victim and strongly refuse to be portrayed as one. I mean, you know this story – if I tell you not to think about a pink elephant, you ARE thinking about a pink elephant whether you want it or not. Highlighting how vulnerable and victimised we are will never let us move forward but only creates an endless limbo of disadvantage. Hey ladies, time to change the narrative!
Lastly, what’s up with a modern image of a feminist – you don’t have to be a successful businesswoman or a single-and-ready-to-mingle 20-something year old to call yourself a feminist. A married woman, a stay at home mum with 3 kids or a teenage girl hopelessly in love with Brad Pitt can also be as strong and independent as any other woman, can’t she? An independent woman can wear pink, paint her nails and care about putting her make up on to look nice for a hot date on Friday.
Hell yeah, she can!
So, let’s say, I’m proud to be an equalist and so is every man in my current life, for which i am eternally grateful.
Peace & love,
Maja
When I first learned that we’ll have an opportunity to spend 1 day in Mexico City on our way back from Cuba, I obviously got the most excited about finally trying the real-deal Mexican food (sic!).
We started off with delicious chilaquiles for brunch but the ultimate goal was to try to find A REAL TACO, since that’s what Majas love the most. After some research in the internet and several tips from friends, we set ourselves for a hunt around Mercado San Juan in Centro Historico of Mexico City.
Conclusions? Very surprising!
Mexican food in Mexico is not even close to what we have in Europe as its representation.
The size, the flavour, the ingredients, the spices, everything!
I don’t know if that’s because we’re stuck here in the Tex-Mex type of cuisine but I might get seriously disappointed visiting a Mexican restaurant in Europe ever again.
Mexican food in Mexico is not that spicy… or was I just lucky?
It is a bit spicy but not hell-raising-in-your-mouth type of spicy as I always imaged it would be.
We didn’t go to very touristic places so I would cross over the factor of trying to please foreigners and their soft palates. Perhaps we just didn’t really try the meals that are actually supposed to be spicy… Noted to be discovered next time we’re around!
Don’t worry about getting a food poisoning eating street food.
I was fully aware of this possibility and perfectly cautious of my ability to get sick with literally everything, yet I was perfectly fine. Couldn’t be more happy about it, as we really got to try the real street food and not regret it either.
Mexican food is REALLY cheap.
Like really cheap. Like less than $1 for a taco cheap.
Getting to the food though and wether we did manage to find a perfect taco?
sample #1
2 flautas (22.00 MXN)
Mercado San Juan
spiciness level: 0/5
I’ve never even heard of flautas but strolling through the market we noticed them all around and got really curious. OK, I know that’s not practically a taco but it did serve as a perfect starter.
This are tortillas rolled in tubes with shredded meat inside and covered with fresh cream, queso fresco and fresh cabbage.
Verdict: A-M-A-Z-I-N-G
This has quickly become my favourite and I will definitely be looking for recipes to recreate it at home.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – Maja’s favourite!
sample #2
Quesadilla de pollo (12.00 MXN)
Mercado San Juan
spiciness level: 0/5
Yes, that’s not a taco either but close enough since it turns out that quesadilla is something completely different than whatever we are selling in Europe. It’s a rather thick corn tortilla, stuffed and closed in form of a big dumpling.
Verdict: Meh.
Surprisingly, none of us was a big fan – it was rather dry and tasteless.
★ – least favourite of them all
sample #3
Taco de masita (16.00 MXN)
street outside Mercado San Juan
spiciness level: 1/5
First actual taco and oh-my-god was it good. From what I gathered, masita is a kind of slow-cooked pork, very tasty and juicy. Covered with tomatoes, spicy guacamole and coriander. I’m still a rookie but I believe this is how it’s supposed to be done.
Verdict: That’s what I’m talking about!
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – Thomas’s favourite!
sample #4
Taco Campechano (20.00 MXN)
Taqueria Gonzales
spiciness: 2/5
Stepping up our game and next one on the list: taco campechano – a style of taco combining several meats. Ours came with a spicy red sausage and sautéed beef. Flavourful – that’s for sure and the only one with a significant spiciness level.
Verdict: Very good and definitely to be tasted but perhaps a little bit too “strong” in taste due to the red sausage?
★ ★ ★ ★ – Yum
sample #5
Tortilla Verde con Queso (15.00 MXN)
Ricos Tacos Toluca
spiciness: 0/5
(even after adding a “spicy” salsa, spiciness: 1/5)
At this point we were so stuffed already, our excitement about eating tacos has gone significantly down… But we’ve seen several people eating these green tortillas stuffed with cheese and couldn’t not try!
Verdict: A nice snack, a bit disappointing after such strong forerunners though 🙂
★ ★ ★ – Quite ok
#dessert
Fresh Fruit Juice (35.00 MXN)
Mercado San Juan
After eating so much, there’s no way for dessert but a full cup of a fresh pressed juice is always a good idea. This one: orange + guava, which I’m not sure I ever had a chance to try before and was already very much into it for the whole week in Cuba.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Voila. Here you go. You’re welcome. You’ll never be hungry in Paris again.
In just one click here you will have everything your belly might be looking for in Paris.
Ok, I admit, I am most visibly a Rive-Droite kind of person but it must be because I have only ever lived there (10th and 11th Arrondissements) and didn’t spend as much time to the South of Seine. I promise to fix that as soon as I have an occasion! I’ll also appreciate any of your recommendations in the comments below.
Some of our favourites (you know, the ones you dream about when you realise the food scene in London has nothing to compare itself to Paris… Paris 1:0 London):
La Taverne de Zhao
We were lucky to live right in front of it when it opened few years ago and the very first time we stopped by… we new that was the shit. In my opinion – one of the best Sichuan restaurants in Paris. Our favourite menu for 2 gourmands as we are would usually include several sharing plates: liang-pi classique, platycodon, pork momo and chicken raviolis.
No booking possible but don’t expect a big queue.
La Taverne de Zhao
49 Rue des Vinaigriers, 75010 Paris, France
Higuma
Our favourite ramen in Paris. Combo ramen + gyoza only 11.0€ and I’m talking about the real ramen here, comparable to those we tried in Japan. No booking possible and very long queues any time of the day. Definitely worth it though!
Higuma
32bis Rue Sainte-Anne, 75001 Paris, France
Street Bangkok
Ok, it might b a bit too spicy for my taste but even if only for its satay chicken skewers, it has to be on top of my list. Tried to make it home several times, never got it right.
You will find the same menu in Canal Saint-Martin and Bastille locations. The newly opened one in Rue Saint-Denis has a different menu, equally good and perhaps less spicy!
Street Bangkok Local Food
3 Rue Eugène Varlin, 75010 Paris, France
Le Petit Cambodge
I have never eaten a better bo-bun than this one. It is on a more pricey side but never EVER disappoints. We have our go-to order here: Bobun spécial mixte (with both shrimp and very tasty beef) and Saucisse à la citronnelle for a starter is a must. Wonderful citronnade with ginger and mint.
Le Petit Cambodge
20 Rue Alibert, 75010 Paris, France
Yemma
A more recent discovery but one that made its way to the list of our favourites right away. It’s a Moroccan fusion place (even though they do serve more traditional cous-cous and tagine) and our favourite: kazdal sandwiches wrapped in an (apparently) traditional Bangladeshi pastry.
Yemma
119 Rue du Chemin Vert, 75011 Paris, France
BigMamma Group
You can’t go wrong with this one and the biggest plus is that you can find their locations all over Paris. In all of them – the best pizza, pasta, tiramisu, drinks and other fresh straight-from-Italy produce.
Ober Mamma
107 Boulevard Richard Lenoir, 75011 Paris, France
East Mamma
133 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, 75011 Paris, France
Pink Mamma
20bis Rue de Douai, 75009 Paris, France
BigLove Café
30 Rue Debelleyme, 75003 Paris, France
Pizzeria Popolare
111 Rue Réaumur, 75002 Paris, France
Jules et Shim
Very good Korean bibimbap just on the side of Canal Saint-Martin. Take away for the very fun packaging and enjoy it in the sun.
Jules et Shim
22 Rue des Vinaigriers, 75010 Paris, France
Bong
Our discovery of the Korean barbecue dining and oh-so-good. Make sure to go on an empty stomach though cause you’re up for a FEAST.
Bong
6 Avenue de la République, 75011 Paris, France
La Pause Indienne
The most inconspicuous of them all, it looks like yet another gross Inidian fast food around Gare du l’Est but serves honestly good naan wraps. Yum!
La Pause Indienne
58 Boulevard de Magenta, 75010 Paris, France
hellomaja 