#havanacityguide

An afternoon strolling through the streets of Havana is sheer delight! Pictures are more attractive than word, so welcome to Havana and enjoy your walk along Carlos III Avenue:

Have you ever heard about the Versus 1900, a new trendy restaurant in Vedado (Havana district)? Did you know that there is an ecological spa in Havana? I learnt it a few days ago and many thanks to Lien for telling us more about it!

The story began in December 2013. Lien wanted to change her life doing something that makes sense, something with passion. She asked herself, “what kind of job do I really like?”. Doing something from the heart was obviously involving her husband. “What can we do together that makes sense?”.

 Lien and his husband

She loves architecture, design and decoration, he is keen about food and cooking. Why not creating a restaurant? Speaking with their friends they found the perfect place in Vedado: an old colonial house, built in 1900: it gave the name of the restaurant Versus 1900. She totally fell in love and decided to restore it. She studied Art History and had plenty of ideas to make her dream house. In March 2014 the project started. She obtained all the required licenses in September, made various works during more than six months with Raul Mancina, a great architect. They respected all the original construction.  The floor is still the original one, they refreshed the woods and the doors. They created a new modern rooftop with mattresses that creates a cosy and trendy atmosphere; which is quite rare in Cuba. The restaurant has been open since October 2015.

The pictures often tell more than the words. I let you discover this amazing restaurant:

And what about the food? I had the pleasure to eat at the Versus 1900 and to meet the Chef Vladimir Febles Fuentes, in his kitchen. Now I can say: yes, it’s so good!!!! Vladimir made cooking studies in Cuba and started his career working for a Mediterranean Cruise. For twelve years he has been inspired by Italian, French and Spanish cooking styles. When he came back to Cuba he worked successively at La Guarida and La Fontana, two of the best restaurants in Havana.

Vladimir and his team

 Because a good idea never comes alone, Lien decided to create a healthy spa at the same time. Why? She wanted to change her life because she was sick, she had an endometriosis and needed to be closer to the natural world, rejecting all the chemical products. Her friend convinced her to launch the first ecological spa in Cuba and she accepted the challenge! In September 2014 they found the local and opened it at the end of October 2014. They didn’t have many things to restore. It was a very modern place. They painted it, put the air-conditioned, decorated it and it was ready to start! The spa is called Lien Martinez, it’s a very relaxing area with a pure white and fresh atmosphere (which is very positive in Cuba!). This beauty center offers services of manicure, massages, peelings, fitness treatment, depilation, etc. all with 100% natural products.

 “Changes are important. I’m always creating something, watching what is missing to try to make something better. There are too many things to do in Cuba!” said Lien.

What are the next steps in Lien’s entrepreneur life? Well, in summer she plans to change the decoration of the rooftop in a marine’s theme. Oh, and did I told you that she opened another restaurant during the last Art Biennial, in June 2015? It’s a French-Cuban fusion restaurant, called Los Naranjos, in Vedado too. And did I told you that Lien was a model? She loves fashion. Why not organizing a defile? She also likes traditional music, ballet, art, photography. I’m sure it’s just the beginning of the story! She has the passion to create.

“I’m very curious and I always want to learn more about many things. I wish I can study communication in September.” she confessed me.

As Lien said, “Cuba is changing a lot. A modern Havana is growing with new technology, new way of thinking and new mentalities. Nowadays there are thousands of people with great new ideas who want to do something. The history has to be written by the Cubans.”

 Thank you Lien and good luck for your future projects.

 If you are passing by Havana don’t forget to have a break there:

Versus 1900, Calle Linea e/ D e E, +537 835 18 52

Lien Martinez, centro estético: Calle Calzada #307 e/ H e I, Vedado, +537 832 81 77

As many countries in the world, in Cuba taking a cab, renting or buying a car is very expensive. Bus, subway, sharing car, there are plenty of transport options in Western countries. What about Cuba?

Another concept exists in Cuba, the collective transport in vintage car known as a máquina, which means machine, or almendron, which means almond. Let me explain about this transport.

When you see a vintage American car with a taxi sticker on the window it’s not a real “taxi”, it’s a “maquina”!

Do you want to join me for a ride in a Maquina? Ok, let’s go!

It’s a real headache to understand how local transports work.

1.       Where can you find a Maquina?

You have to go to one of the streets where there is Maquinas’ traffic. Here are the major streets where you can find a Maquina:

-          Galiano, near the Capitolio and Zanja in Havana City Center,

-          Línea, Calle G, and calle 23 in Vedado

-          Tercera, Septima and Calle 51 in Miramar

-          Calle 19 en playa

 2.       How to stop a Maquina?

In Cuba, there is no indication on bus stops for the maquina. We just have to do a signal to the driver to stop the Maquina. How? Making a hand signal to bus drivers who respond in return with another hand signal. Thanks to this, Cubans can pick up the maquina they want.

Let’s start easy, just raise your hand and watch the maquina’s driver, as does the guy in front of me:

One, two, three… 10 maquinas have passed by without even seeing us.

3.       Wait

-          It’s the rush hour, all the maquinas are full! He tells me (understanding that I was waiting for a maquina too). We could wait from 15 to 30 minutes here... Well, I’m Alejandro, nice to meet you.

Great, it’s finally working! A very beautiful black Chevrolet 52 stops and we go inside. The car is huge and quite comfortable!

4.       But… to go where?

Each maquinas follows a predetermined road and most often goes straight ahead along the street: from the beginning to the end of Tercera, then from the beginning to the end of Linea, and then to Capitolio, etc.

Actually, the only potential difficulty remains in finding the road changes (?). Thanks to Alejandro, here is the meaning of the different signals you have to learn to understand where a maquina is going and to make the driver understand where you want to go:

-          The index finger pointed downward: I’m going straight ahead along this street.

-          The index finger pointed upward: I’m going to Havana City Center (or anywhere, just point the finger to the direction where you want to go):

-          Show three fingers of one hand: I’m going to Tercera

 5.       Price

The maquina is very cheap! At 50 cents Cuc (=0,50 USD) a ride, you can go far from the Vedado to the Capitolio for instance.

To conclude, it is very fun to hang around in a maquina. It’s probably not the quickest way to go to your destination but it’s definitely one of the best way to feel the Cuban spirit, to hear the Cuban stories and Cuban “chismes” (ie gossips), to live like the Cuban people!

Thank you Alejandro for your help!

 If you want to go quickly somewhere, I would not recommend you to try those transports alone but with a local who knows how it works. You are shy or in a hurry? Don’t worry, there are other options to choose when visiting Havana: the classic yellow taxi, the classic taxi, the bici-taxi (bike taxi), the coco-taxi (replaced by a moped bike), or the horse cart. What kind of transports should you use, and where? Let’s have a clear overview:

http://myhavana-club.tumblr.com/post/109488037631/transport-in-cuba-almendrone-macina-coco-what

Bookshop in Plaza de armas  ‪#‎CubaInsider