The last time I wrote, I was looking out the window of the bus. The bus driver dropped us off at the beautiful entrance to a 17 story hotel. From the minute you passed through the enormous glass doors, your eyes were greeted with art. Original sculptures in the foyer, original artwork in the lobby, the halls, and in every room. My first impression was, wow, they really value art here. My room was very nice with a few mysterious gadgets that we never did figure out what they were for. The electric was 220 so we could not plug anything in with out a converter. Ours did not work. Another point of frustration.
My wonderful roommate, Wendy Free has her Doctorate in art education and curriculum planning. She is currently developing the gifted/AP art program/curriculum for the national art educational system. We hit it off right from the start. Our first mission together was finding this Cuban coffee everyone was talking about. We ventured across the street to a little cafe for the BEST ever mini cup of coffee. I have include a picture of Wendy and I at the cafe.
Wendy and our Cuban coffee.
As I mentioned above, I brought back a few things from Cuba. One of them being a bug. Not the kind swarming around the trash I dug in (more on that later) but the kind that remains in your stomach. (I just had a thought maybe the bug did come from the trash?) Anyway, I actually think it came from some of the food I ate. As I mentioned in an earlier posting, we were treated like royalty. That included the food. It was amazing! I wanted to try everything. However, due to my quest to satisfy my inquisitive taste buds I picked up a little souvenir that I would have rather left behind. So I am posting food pictures for you all to see my struggle for self control and the dilemma I was in -to eat or not to eat. If you so feel the need, please post which food you think was the guilty culprit whose sole purpose was, "to make Beth remember Cuba for days after she returns".
Supper in Old Havana Cathedral Square -"El Patio"
Salad -sweet potato, tuna, cucumber, green beans -(notice mojito)
Beef, potato, brocolli
Yum!!
Buffet at the hotel -Breakfast every morning.
salads -yes for breakfast
Pastries -made right there.
assortment of cheese and ham
Churros, french toast, crepes with various toppings.
This is only about half of the stations. Fresh fruit, juice, smoothies, meats, tea bar,
omelets, plus mimosas - just to name a few others.
So....where did my little stow-a-way come from?
My guess would be from the salads. Can't guarantee they wash the vegetables like we do. You're right though, the food looked fabulous!
ReplyDeleteI think you may be right Suzanne. I was hesitant in eating anything raw. The locals get a food ration book. It does not allow for much. I felt guilty not eating food that was presented to me because I kept thinking about the people who worked in the kitchen. They most likely have very little food at home. I did not want to put them through the task of throwing my food away. Many times at restaurants, the portions were very large. I kept thinking, "Is this how they perceive Americans -as gluttons"? Also they gave us large portions of beef, a rarity in Cuba. Even though I am not a huge fan of beef, I ate it all, so they would not have to throw it out. In fact, many of my meals were a little tarnished by the knowledge that the Cubans have so little and I was provided so much.
ReplyDeleteBeth