December 02 – Hemmingway and Museums

“An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with idiots.” – Ernest Hemingway.

This morning we headed out first thing to the home of writer Ernest Hemingway, Finca La Vigía.  He lived here from 1939 to 1960 and was and is much loved by the Cubans…they nicknamed him Papa Hemingway.  The grounds were pretty and the house well kept.  We weren’t able to go inside but they left many of the doors and windows open so we could peek inside and take photos. 

The house sits high on a hill with great views of Havana in the distance. 

There was a small pet cemetery for his pets.

And they also had Hemingway's boat on display.

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From there we went back into Havana...

with the first stop at the National Ballet Theater.  The theater was undergoing renovation so all we saw was the main lobby…

then we got to go backstage and walk onto the actual stage.  The stage is extremely deep and there was a grid of lines and spots to act as guides for the dancers.

A major focus of the theater was a statue in the main lobby of Alicia Alonso, Cuba’s most famous prima ballerina.  She started dancing in the 1930’s and danced well into her 70’s.  And for most of her career she was visually impaired, being nearly blind.  She was considered to be one of the best ballerina’s in the world.

Next stop was the National Museum of Fine Arts.  

First stop was the area where children are encouraged to create their own art. 

It features Cuban art from the colonial period to present.  There was a large mosaic in the lobby.

And there was some sculptures and other interesting art.

But we only had a couple of hours so were only able to see a limited number of galleries, mainly paintings.  

But we thoroughly enjoyed what we were able to see…including a 6’+ metal cockroach on a wall.

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Last stop on the tour was a visit to the National Hotel…know for it’s celebrity visitors and mafia meetings.  

We had drinks in the lounge where we viewed pictures of all the rich and famous who had visited over the years. 

The grounds were beautiful…

and overlooked the harbor and fortifications.

We headed back to the hotel to rest and refresh and then it was off to a very interesting restaurant for a rushed dinner…

because we had to leave for the Tropicana.  The Tropicana show was brilliant…exciting costumes, great music and dancing.  Non-stop action.  Unfortunately, there was a lot of cigar smoke.

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