People to People Cultural Exchange
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CUBA November 7-14, 2016 University of Redlands $5,800.00 double occupancy $1,700 supplement for single occupancy Please note that the highlighted items are part of the Redlands Signature Experience, which elevate this trip beyond typical Cuban Travel. Day 1 Miami Monday, November 7 Travelers arrive in Miami independently on Monday, November 7. Crowne Plaza Hotel is located 5 minutes from MIA Airport. Free shuttle service to and from the Miami airport every 20 minutes. Look for signs indicating where hotel shuttles pick up passengers in the departure level (2nd floor). Taxis are also available. Check in to Crowne Plaza Hotel. A reservation has been made for you. Crowne Plaza Miami International Airport 950 NW Le Jeune Rd. Miami, FL 33126 Tel: (305) 446-9000 Day 2 Tuesday, November 8: Miami to Havana 9:00 am Group meets in the lobby of the Crowne Plaza Hotel to board shuttle for the airport 9:30 pm Check-in at Miami International Airport (MIA) for ABC Charter flight #AA9476 operated by American Airlines. Check-in is located in Concourse D. (Note: Flight departure time and details will be confirmed at a later date) 12:00 pm Depart from Miami to Havana. Flight duration is 1 hour. 1:00 pm Arrive in Havana. Clear customs and immigration (approximately 1 hour). 2:30 pm Lunch at El Aljibe. El Aljibe offers a pretty open-air setting and live music while you dine. The popular state-owned restaurant celebrates creole fare. 4:00 pm Check in Hotel Parque Central. Itinerary subject to change. 1 Minimum number of travelers required. The luxury 5-star hotel is located in the very heart of Old Havana. Havana's attractions, including the Great Theatre of Havana and Paseo del Prado, are within easy walking distance of Hotel Parque Central. The local area is also well-known for its shops and boutiques. Inside, the Parque Central Hotel combines the elegance of colonial style with modern accommodation. Rooms at Hotel Parque Central feature city views, and offer all the necessities so that guests have a wonderful stay, including rooftop pools. Hotel Parque Central Neptuno, esquina Prado y Zulueta, Havana, Cuba, Havana 10100, Cuba Tel. 53 7 860 6627 6:00 pm Visit some of the most iconic buildings representative of Havana’s modernist fifties. (Riviera Hotel, Habana Libre, Coppelia Ice cream, Pabellon Cuba) 7:00 pm Visit Hotel Nacional del Cuba. The hotel exhibits an eclectic architectural style, reflecting Art Deco, Arabic references, features of Hispano-Moorish architecture, and both neo-classical and neo-colonial elements. There are even details from the centuries-old Californian style. The resulting unique example of so many schools of architecture is the most unusual and interesting hotel in the Caribbean region. 8:00 pm Welcome dinner at El Atelier. Set in a 19th-century building, this charming restaurant serves some of the best cuisine in Havana. The selective menu is tiny and beautifully executed, with Chef David Jobert creating recipes with fresh from-the-market ingredients. (L,D) Day 3 Wednesday, November 9: Havana Breakfast is served every day at the restaurant in the lobby level from 7:00 am to 10:00 am. 10:00 am Walking tour of Havana Vieja. Wear comfortable shoes. This morning we visit the Plaza de Armas, a scenic tree-lined plaza formerly at the center of influence in Cuba. It is surrounded by many of the most historic structures in Havana as well as important monuments. Continue to the Castillo de la Real Fuerza, a massive fortress built between 1558 and 1577. Visit the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales. The palace currently houses the Museo de la Ciudad and was the former residence of the Spanish Captains. Visit to the Plaza de la Catedral and the Catedral de San Cristobal de La Habana. Visit the Centro Wilfredo Lam, a cultural institution dedicated to the study, research and promotion of contemporary visual arts from developing countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Caribbean Visit to Taller de Grafica Experimental. The Taller is more than Havana’s printmaking workshop. It is a studio, a school and most of all, an art institution that preserves and develops the sophisticated art of print making with relative freedom of spirit and form. 12:00 pm Lunch at Paladar Los Mercaderes. Itinerary subject to change. 2 Minimum number of travelers required. Housed in a historic building, Paladar los Mercaderes is one of Cuba's most distinguished restaurants, known for its Cuban and international dishes. The restaurant has to be one of Cuba's most refined paladares for ambience, service and food. 2:00 pm Wander through the Plaza Vieja. We also see the Plaza de San Francisco, a cobbled plaza surrounded by buildings dating from the 18th century, dominated by the baroque Iglesia and Convento de San Francisco dating from 1719. Walk back to the hotel at leisure (20-min). 6:00 pm Demonstrative lecture on Cuban Music by Prof. Alberto Faya at Bar Asturias. Alberto Faya is a singer and guitarist, who has written countless musical pieces for Cuban and international TV and radio. He will give us an overview of the rich mélange of influences that make up Cuban music, with the assistance of a jazz trio comprised of his son David and his young band mates. Enjoy this lively and interactive show. 7:30 pm Dinner at La Terraza. Ernest Hemingway lived in Cojimar for some years and this was his favorite restaurant, as evidenced by the many pictures of the American author there, including one with Fidel Castro. La Terraza offers a fabulous view of the Cojímar Bay. The dining room itself is light, airy, with pleasant clean lines, and great glass windows and lightwood being both easy on the eye. The old bar out front is atmospheric and perhaps more authentic in its wornness. The food here is all about the seafood. (B,L,D) Day 4 Thursday, November 10: Havana 10:00 am Attend a performance by Compañía Irene Rodriguez (flamenco). We will receive a warm welcome by Irene Rodriguez who is considered by many to be the finest flamenco dancer in Cuba. Irene will introduce us to the dancers and discuss the cultivation of artistic talent in Cuba. 11:00 am Architecture walking tour of Centro Havana guided by Architect Orestes del Castillo. We will visit Havana’s Central Park and the first monument erected in Cuba (1904), dedicated to National hero Jose Marti. Visit to the former Centro Gallego, built in 1915 by Belgium architect Paul Belau, today the Great Theatre of Havana, which includes the Garcia Lorca Theatre among other rooms. Visit the Bacardi building, the most significant art deco building in Havana. Visit the recently restored lavish Palacio de los Matrimonios, the former Casino Español of Havana, built in 1914 by Luis Dediot. Walk along the Paseo de Marti (Paseo del Prado), a tree lined pedestrian promenade leading to the sea and also designed by Forestier. 12:30 pm Lunch at La Guarida. La Guarida's lofty reputation rests on its movie-location setting (Fresa y chocolate was filmed in this building) and a clutch of swashbuckling international newspaper reviews. The food is up there with Havana's best, as it is establishing a pioneering brand of Nueva Cocina Cubana. Itinerary subject to change. 3 Minimum number of travelers required. 3:00 pm Visit the Plaza de la Revolución, the center of government also commonly used for massive rallies. 3:30 pm Visit to the Christopher Colon Cemetery, an elaborate necropolis covering nearly 8% of the city. 4:30 pm Return to the hotel. 7:30 pm Dinner at San Cristobal. Decorated with old furniture, black and white photos and quirky antiques, this paladar has a nostalgic atmosphere. Their specialty is Cuban-Creole cuisine. (B,L,D) Day 5 Friday, November 11: Day trip to Viñales 9:00 am Depart for our day trip to Viñales Valley (3-hour drive). Considered by many to be the most beautiful place in Cuba, the Viñales Valley National Monument holds stunning landscapes. The area is also famous for being the premier tobacco growing area in the world. 12:30 pm Visit the Family Farm of Concha and Paco Ramirez This beautiful 40-acre farm has belonged to Concha and Paco Hernandez’s family for many generations. Their farm produces tobacco as well as a multitude of fruits, vegetables, and grains. Lunch will be served at the farm by the family. 2:00 pm Visit a Despalillo, a processing facility where tobacco leaves are dried, fermented, classified, then shipped out to a cigar factory. Free time to explore Viñales. 3:30 pm Depart to Havana. 7:00 pm Arrive in Havana. Dinner on your own. (B,L) Day 6 Saturday, November 12: Havana 9:30 am Lecture on US Cuba-relations by prof. Carlos Alzugaray. From 1980 to 2007 Professor Alzugaray was on the faculty of the Raul Roa Garcia Advanced Institute for International Relations (ISRI). He was the ISRI Department Chair (2006-2007) and Coordinator for Strategic and International Studies (2002-2007). Since June 2007, he has been Professor at the Center for Hemispheric and United States Studies (CEHSEU), at the University of Havana. Before becoming a full-time scholar in 1996, he spent 35 years (1961-1996) as a Foreign Service Officer, being posted at Cuban diplomatic and consular missions since 1961. He is the author of more than 30 publications on Cuban international relations. 11:30 am Visit Finca Vigía Ten miles east of Havana is Hemingway's Cuba house - Finca Vigia, meaning "lookout house".