Move aside Tom Cruise. At 4.00 pm (16:00) into Hotel Sevilla and up to the 9th floor for a cocktail making session. Great ice breaker. Excuse the pun.

Love the view from behind the bar overlooking the Malecon sea front and lighthouse across at the Parque Historico Militar Morro-Cabana.

Mojito – 1 desert spoon sugar, lemon to cover the sugar, mint leaves crushed, sparkling water, 45 ml vitamin R (white rum), ice, sparkling water, 3 – 4 drops bitter.

Cuba Libre – 45 ml rum, full ice, cola, lemon.

Pina Colada – Pineapple ½ glass, coconut milk ½ glass, rum, few drops triple liquor, ice, shake 30 secs.

Al Capone once hired out the whole 6th floor, Graham Greene used room 501 as a setting for his novel Our Man in Havana and the Mafia requisitioned it as operations center for their prerevolutionary North American drugs racket. Nowadays the Moorish Sevilla boasts an ostentatious lobby that could have been ripped straight out of the Alhambra and spacious, comfortable rooms.
 
The hotel still drips with history as countless old black-and-white photos of past celebrity guests testify.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/cuba/havana/hotels/hotel-sevilla#ixzz3xO9Wrtra

http://www.hotelsevilla-cuba.com/
 
By now the afternoon tropical heavy rains had started and while our hotel was only 2 blocks away, I'm really glad that most of us took the bus the couple hundred of metres! Some stayed and drank more cocktails.

Back across the road to Hotel Iberostar Parque Central to sit in comfort and use up another 16 min of internet time. This time it was logging out that took up my previous minutes. Trick is to type up what one want to say, then log in, post / email then log out.

 
 



















 
























































 















































































 

 
Off at 7.45 pm (19:45) in the light drizzle to go the 9 block to the La Calesa Real Restaurante. Most of it was on foot through the old town.

The basic meal option of chicken was only CUC$14 / US$14 / NZ$21.50 but for CUC$24 / US$24 / NZ$36.90 I could indulge in a sea food platter of lobster, prawns, fish and octopus. Was told no octopus so there would be an increase portion in the remaining items. As the Tui add would go, "Yeah right". That plus the stronger 5.8% alcohol Bucanero beer at CUC$2.50 / US$2.50 / NZ$6.90. These prices here included the service charge. Then when Jose said that the average Cuban wage is only CUC$15 / US$15 / NZ$23.10 a month .... Plus the most favourite meat is pork and that is CUC$2 / US$2 / NZ$3 a pound, one wonders. I've read elsewhere that the average wage is CUC$25 / US$25 / NZ$38.

Dinner service was a bit slow but considering there are 17 of us, I hope that this is not a thing to come. I know that Jose was disappointed with the service etc. We had tried to go to La Moneda Cubana but they were full so this was "second" best. Jose, I wouldn't worry about what happened with the slow service!