First day in Cuba- birthday cake and candles

April 21, 2017

10 months and 12 days after returning home from my last international adventure I packed my passport once again and headed for the airport. Shay and I caught a late flight to LAX, spent the night on the airport floor behind a row of chairs at the gate, and flew out the next morning en route to Havana. An uneventful flight later we landed in Havana and caught a taxi to our pre-booked Airbnb in the middle of the historic center.

Our initial look at Havana was just like all the photos, with old cars everywhere

Our hosts met us on the street and took us up the stairs to our small, clean room in their apartment. We had AC, our own bathroom, and a balcony view of the street below.

We dropped our bags and changed into shorts. There may or may not have also been some excited jumping up and down and squealing. I can neither confirm nor deny this. Then we got a map from Felipe, a couple suggestions, and went to explore Havana a little. Also find dinner, which incidentally was also my birthday dinner.

Three blocks from our room we found the capitol building, a plethora of taxi drivers with beautiful classic cars, and Nardos, where we had a delightful dinner at a fantastic price.

Dinner consisted of garlic shrimp, fish croquettes, steamed yucca, and fried plantains.

Of course we also had some celebratory daiquiris made with the famous Havana Club rum.

Our table was in a corner with mirrors all around it, so photo taking was a bit of a creative effort

Just when we were both stuffed from the meal, Shay went and told our waiter that it was my birthday and a big slice of chocolate cake with a candle appeared. They also dimmed the lights and played a birthday song over the speaker system while all the waiters sang. Go big or go home I guess.

 We finished the cake, though I'm still not quite sure how.

'Felicidades' was written in chocolate and sprinkles on the plate

And as a finishing touch, at Nardos when the check was paid, each lady at the table received a rose to take with them. (We watched other tables get them first, so we knew it wasn't just us)

We took our roses and walked down Calle Obispo (one of the main streets in the old town) to the water and got our first look at the Atlantic. Havana sticks out a bit into the ocean so there's lots of waterfront to enjoy. We circled around and headed for our beds, excited to wake up to a full day of adventures.