If I thought I had overdosed on Spanish Colonial cities, then I was wrong. Havana is absolutely stunning, if crumbling. But then Havana has several centuries of grand building styles, so it isn΄t just a Spanish colonial town.
I stayed right in the heart of Havana Vieja in what΄s called a casa particular. There aren't any travellers hostels here, so casas particulares are the next best thing for the budget traveller, and believe me, my budget is tight! There has been much rennovation going on since the 1990s when Cuba switched to tourism to replace the financial lifeline was cut off by the collapse of the Soviet Union. Indeed, there was rennovation going on right across the street, the screach of the stone cutter making a siesta quite impossible. Here's a photo of me on my very own balcony...
...and some other local street scenes...
Cuba has a very communist feel about it. So reminiscent of when I visited Prague in the 80s - beautiful old buildings falling down, and almost empty shops with barely a dozen different items available for sale, just one lone sample of each displayed on a dusty shelf. Some items are scarce. I saw a crowd form in a street outside a shop that presumably had just got in a supply of electric blender, as people were coming away clutching their new purchases. On the plus side though, not a MacDonalds, KFC or Burger King in sight. Hooray!
Back to the buildings. Here are some magnificent examples of Colonial, Fin de Siecle, Art Deco and Neo Classical styles. I found out what Neo Classical means: the building is not nearly as old as it looks.
The Barcardi building looks like a advertising agency with all the motorbikes parked outside, but I am sure they are not courier bikes!
The Capitol is packed full of Italian stucco and marble, and French light fittings. Equally, if not more impressive as the Capitol on Washington DC, though apparently it is also modelled on Versailles and St Peters, Rome.
Other famous sights on the streets of Havana are classic, pre-revolutionary, American cars. Here's an action-shot of one passing the Railway Station, although you are more likley to see Ladas!
That's probably enough for this blog!
Chris