SEEING GHOSTS

There were also platters of scrambled eggs and cold cuts.

Sunday morning began with our usual color-mad breakfast, followed by a visit and show at Callejón de Hammel, the high temple of Santeria Afro-Cuban religion and culture, and the only place throughout our trip where Mandy insisted that we leave our purses and other belongings locked in the van with our driver.

 

From there we went on to immerse ourselves in all things Hemingway, visiting his two favorite bars and Hotel Ambos Mundos, where he always stayed while in Cuba. Apparently he loved the view of the harbor, where he often went fishing on his yacht Pilar.

The worst lunch of the whole trip was at a government-owned cafe where it took us two hours to get terrible Cuban sandwiches. But that's OK, because dinner more than made up for it!

Welcome to Paladar La Guarida (The Hideaway), located on the third floor of this eerily gorgeous mansion from the early 20th century.

An Oscar-nominated film called Fresa y Chocolate (Strawberry and Chocolate) was filmed here some years back, and one of the families who lived here decided to open the paladar in homage to the main character's hideaway. We are ever so glad they did.

Outdoor Dining Terrace

Dinner was served in much the same manner as the previous night, with an assortment of delicious appetizers, platters of yucca, plantain, rice, and the most amazing black beans ever, called "sleeping beans" since they are allowed to cook overnight.

Those tiny fresh tuna tacos on the appetizer plate got us all to moaning -- and wishing we could just have a plate full of those as our main course! There was also an eggplant caviar and a cold soup, both delicious.

Lucky for me, one of the main course options was roasted chicken with orange sauce -- pretty darn tasty even if it wasn't from El Aljibe!

Ballroom/Laundry Room

I swear, I could almost see the ghosts of the building's former residents swirling about us as we dined!