10 Things You Must Know about Cuba (Part I)

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1. One country - Two Currencies: the cuban peso (CUP) and the cuban convertible (CUC) - being it about 25 CUP = 1 CUC = 0.78 EUR. Cubans generally get paid in CUP, and salaries average around 400-500 CUP per month (which equals 12-16 EUR). This is really low, given that many consumer items now sell at international prices. As a tourist, you'll only trade in CUCs and, unless you go off the beaten track, will never come across a CUP.

2. Where do all the Graduates go? The education system in Cuba is enviable: school is free for everyone and it focusses on students to understand rather than memorize. Teachers/Professors demand a high level of participation and students have research to do at home, every day (oh, btw. there's no internet at home - what about that?). In bars, restaurants and hotels, you easily come across with engineers, biologists and historicians, who, after graduating, realized that they are better off working at the bar of a hotel than actually making use of their career - basically because tourists tip in CUC, which, as I explained, already equal 25 CUP!

3. No rights to buy or rent a house. When you drive across La Habana, you probably wonder who lives in all these beautiful colonial villas - at least I do! Well, anyone can live there - they can't be bought or rented. The only way of getting your "own" home, is by inheriting it. In the case the person leaves the country, if he/she doesn't come back after a year, the apartment/home will immediately belong to the Government, who will donate it to someone it believes to be in need. This results in many locals having to live with their parents (and grandparents!) even when married with children.

4. A Sip of Rum for the Saints. Every time a new bottle of Rum is opened, a sip is dropped to the ground and said to be offered to the Saints. This is a funny tradition, considering that Cuba is mainly a christian country. Well, it's not! There's a strange mix between christian and african-tribe-type beliefs. No wonder that you'll find several corners taken up by people dressed up in white tunics reading tourists fortune by staring at a glass of water.

5. Tell me about your car plate and I'll tell you about yourself. Not only are the old-timers that circulate through Cuba a whole sightseeing for tourists, but who gets a chance to glance at the streets (which I have - I sit next to a window) will notice the variety on number plates. There are several colours: the black ones (starting with TUR) are cars rented by tourists, the red ones are rented by companies, the yellow plates indicate private cars (most of which are these classic pre-revolution cars from the 40s-50s). Green plates are from militars, blue ones from the State and whenever you see one with a white number plate, it will probably be a government minister or an important state person.

Want to know more? Click here for reading Part II!

The Privilege of Business

Saturday night I arrived in La Habana. I would say it was a tiring flight, but I would be lying. The truth is, travelling business does make a big difference when it comes to spending long hours in the plane. When I stepped into the business area, my first thought was “where is my private screen?” – on a 10-hours flight, I need at least 3 good movies to keep me entertained. Then, I noticed about what a waste of space it was to separate each row that much (it’s ok to stretch your legs, but do you really need about 1.50m? My seat had simulated a cocoon – something that reminded me of this futuristic furniture from the 70s. Was the plane really outdated?

I don’t think so – but then, how should I know? - I was only a travel amateur and never stepped into the business area of an intercontinental flight before. I was lucky enough to sit next to the youngest guy in business class (that is, around 40 years old, married, 3 kids), who wasn’t experiencing this luxury for the first time. Soon after being up in the air, I was already sipping a glass of red wine, watching a movie, with my legs extended and enjoying a relaxing back massage.

Every seat is equipped with a satellite phone, a laptop connection port and a 10.4 inch touch screen from which you can even send text messages and e-mails (not for free, though) – besides from the movies, music and games, of course.

The food was also delicious. The menus are Sergi Arola’s creations (modest ones – no molecular experiments included), and offer a wide range of Mediterranean products, accompanied by traditional Spanish wine, such as Ribera del Duero and Rioja among the red ones, and Penedes and Somontano among the white ones.

After dinner and a bit of reading, I reclined my seat into a full bed went to sleep – it was really that easy! The seat was wide enough to take a turn to whichever side you are used to sleep. No wonder I slept for about 5 hours on a row (and I would have slept more, if my seatmate wouldn’t have waken me up to ask if I wanted some breakfast. Given that I had been eating for the last 20 hours, since I had arrived in Madrid (I’ll post on that once back in Switzerland), I did not trade sleep for food this time – but I’ll probably do on my way back!

Getting Ready for Cuba!

Today in a week I'll be hopefully writing from my hotel balcony in La Habana, Cuba!

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I always get very excited when it comes to new destinations - even if its supposed to be "only for work"... Ok, got it, I've got to give the best out of myself with our cuban team - but I'm sure I'll find some time to visit the city, catch up on my caribbean tan and spend an evening surrounded by salsa-dancers without any classical dance education, but leave you breathless with their moves. I've bought a Lonely Planet travel guide for Cuba, hoping to find some nice corners of La Habana and, with some luck, spend the weekend in one of these postcard-type beaches with creamy white sand a bright blue water.

... only 4 days to go!

Tartare de Boeuf: Love it or Hate it

Ok, I might be getting some typical french habits - I've noticed that almost any conversation, at some point, makes a turn and goes straight towards food and wine, no matter with whom I'm actually talking with. Whenever I travel, I check out regional dishes and some recommended restaurants (the whole touristic spots come afterwards). And whenever I stay at home over the weekend, I'll spend the saturday morning at the market and the evening checking out some new restaurant / cafe / I don't even mind as long as they serve food.

Anyway, I've recently fallen back in love with the tartare de boeuf. Even though its easy to prepare, tartare de boeuf (or steak tartare) is considered in many countries a gourmet dish. Its made from finely chopped or minced raw beef, seasoned with salt, pepper, olive oil, capers, parsley and delicately cut onions. Some restaurant may add a raw egg yolk, Worcestershire sauce and/or Tabasco, depending on the country or region - I've never seen it in Romandie (french-speaking Switzerland) so far.

The ingredients are simple, so the quality (specially of the beef) plays the main role. In my one year in Romandie, I've gone on from loving tartare, to hating it and back to loving it even more. It all depends on where you eat it. In principle, never order it if the price is suspiciously low, which in Lausanne would be, lets say, below 25 CHF (18 EUR). Believe me, it's raw meat - it will really need to be good quality and fresh, not only because of the taste, but also because of health reasons.

After a year, I can narrow my list down to three spots with an excellent tartare in Lausanne.

1. Mövenpick Hotel - The Mövenpick Hotel is located just in front of the lake and, besides for the breath-taking ice-creams they are famous for, they also offer the best tartare I've tasted so far. The hotel has three restaurants, and they offer a tartare menu in both, the Brasserie and Le Jardin. You can pick out of around 6 different choices with varying spices and flavors - I do remember the mexican one (probably a bit spicy), the italian one (probably with balsamic vinegar and some cheese) and the one I had: the truffle tartare - practically unbeatable! Prices were over 40 CHF (30 EUR) the portion, though - quite a kick in your pocket. However, for an exception, the kick is absolutely worth it.

Mövenpick Hotel Lausanne

Avenue de Rhodanie, 4

Lausanne

Tfn: +41 21 612 7 612

Price per person: main dishes 30 CHF - 60 CHF

2. Vieux Lausanne - Vieux Lausanne is located next to the Cathedral and has the advantage of serving food until relatively late hours (at least for swiss standards!) - Their kitchen is open until midnight! Although the price is a bit above my limit, I must admit that anything I've ordered has always been delicious. The tartare is simple, but very tasteful - the beef is chopped so delicately, it almost melts in your mouth. Many plates can be ordered as half or full portions, which is great if you're only looking for a little (gourmet) snack. The tartare is served with slices of bread and thin (addictive) french fries - it's so yummy, you should go for the bigger of both plates as the small one would only leave you crying for more.

Vieux Lausanne Restaurant

Rue Pierre-Viret 6

Lausanne

Tfn: +41 21 323 53 90

Price per person: main dishes 35 CHF - 70 CHF

3. Bleu Lezard - Bleu Lezard offers a lunch menu which usually includes tartare de boeuf for 21 CHF (16 EUR) - and so much more affordable than the two above! It comes with country potatoes, salad and toasted bread - and besides from the regular ingredients, it also includes green olives (a great taste booster!). The restaurant / bar / club itself is located in the city center and during the week there is always some concert going on (tuesdays its jam session). Note that the tartare de boeuf for 21 CHF is only once a week (I think usually fridays) for lunch time - for dinner, prices jump back to more regular swiss prices (27.50 CHF).

Bleu Lezard

Rue Enning 10

Lausanne

Tfn: +41 21 321 38 30

Price per person: main dishes 25 CHF - 30 CHF

There's one other place which is known for its tartare and, well, for its beef in general - Le Petit Boeuf (very appropriate name). I've never managed to go as you generally have to reserve a table, but if I do - I'll let you know about the tartare!

So... are you feeling as carnivore as I am?

Broadway Av. - Lausanne, Switzerland

Where:

BROADWAY AV

Place du Tunnel 9

Lausanne

When:

Every day from 17H - 05H

Price Range:

Main dish between 18 CHF (pasta) and 69 CHF (meat)

Contact:

021 323 000 9

This Gastropub has a quite unique decoration that carries you back to the refined New York of the 50s - the low lights, the brick walls, the piano... Everything, at the beginning, makes you feel as if you were in a broadway musical - the only pieces missing were a streetlight and some smoke coming out of the sewer!

Broadway Av. opened in June this year, and when I arrived to have dinner I was surprised about how empty it was (which is usually not a good sign in restaurants!). But shortly afterwards we found out that their actual peak business hours get well into the night hours, since its one of the few places in the city that offer tapas and pizza until 05:00 am every day! A good alternative to avoid burning your house when you get home after a night out and fall asleep while waiting for your pasta to cook.

Besides from the pizza and tapas - which I did not try yet - Broadway Av. offers a big variety of mediterranean dishes, all with rather famous names such as Chicken Run, The Fire Fighters or Nemo. Even though the idea concept is interesting, I must say that the kitchen is still needing of some more practice (my salmon was dry and the risotto too salty). Additionally, the service was not good quality - we had to wait for a long time until they took our order and even longer to ask for some wine. However, this might have been because our broadway-dressed waiter was on his second day of work. I hope this improves with some time!

Unfortunately (for my pocket), the restaurant prices are generally accepted in Switzerland - Salmon for 28 CHF (20 EUR), pasta for 23 CHF (17 EUR) and 200 g beef for 42 CHF (30 EUR) is just among the standards. You might think that, at least, for these prices you get a good service and good quality cooking, but you don't necessarily do - which is the worst of all, because you realize that if you want your food not only to look good but also to taste good and want to get a polite warm treat, you probably have to double these prices.

Its better to focus on their 5pm-5am 7/7 non stop pizza and tapas.

Review: 5/10

A Personal Guide to Spanish Tapas

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The Tapas culture is probably the one thing I miss about Spain - Knowing that any day is a good day to catch up with friends while enjoying some tapas, that anywhere is acceptable as long as you get served. I've gone on a 40 minutes bus ride to arrive to the most common tapas bar, have spent afternoons in the one I just had around the corner, paid ridiculously low prices in some of them but also got ripped in others. Sometimes it was a simple pre-dinner aperitif, while other times it turned out to be a tapas-marathon that went on for 12 hours in a row.

That's what I like most about the concept: It suits any personal requirement. There's no excuse of not having time or money, of not having a car or having to work the next day - You will always find time for Tapas!

But the concept of tapas is not only about enjoying the varied food and the drinks - It's a whole culture:

1. You should be a group of 3 to 6 people - less is too intimate, more is impersonal, you all have to be able to carry the same conversation.
2. If the bar is crowded, don't turn around - tapas are meant to be enjoyed while standing or at the bar (excepting in events of force majeure)
3. The original tapas concept is made of simple ingredients, but for the more demanding, there's an increasing number of bars offering creative tapas that combine both, good taste and good looks
4. You can fairly judge the quality of the tapas in a bar by the amount of paper napkins and olive stones on the floor (logically, the more the better!)
5. There's no drink without a tapa and no tapa without a drink - believe it or not, you can always eat one more...
6. As good as a place might seem to you, try not to stick onto the same bar for more than 2 rounds. There are hundreds of bars waiting for you!
7. Don't be stingy - The best way of handling the money when going for tapas is to pay one round each
8. Never ask for beer and wine in the same round - wait for the next one! This not only makes things easier for the waiter/waitress, but also for you (as most probably beer and wine have a different price)
9. Conversation should be casual and fun - no stress, no arguing...
10. There is no strict timing. You can start at noon and end when all bars of the area shut their doors (which is usually not before 2am anyways). However, the rather stylish bars might have certain opening hours for the warm tapas, which in the evening usually starts at 8pm.

... Que aproveche!

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Last Days of Wine & Sunset

It seems as if Autumn has officially hit Switzerland. Trees are losing their leaves, women have substituted sandals for boots and people went back from bright colors to their usual black. But I won't admit it this easily - I'm sticking to my wedge shoes and colorful dresses as long as its above 20ºC!

This weekend was one of those weekends. And for me, any weekend with nice weather, is considered the perfect occasion to drive anywhere in the Lavaux region and enjoy the beautiful views while having a glass of wine with some friends. After all, many of these fantastic spots will close latest end of October, when the stylish wine terraces will be replaced by fondue and raclettes in traditional caverns.

This time we drove to Le Deck, in Chexbres - a restaurant and lounge bar with a huge terrace offering stunning views. Below Le Deck, you can see the vineyard of Daniel Rogivue et Fils, which tumbles down 180 meters until the village of Rivaz. To the west, you will eye Vevey and Montreux and to the east, all the small wine villages with Lausanne beyond. But the most impressive view of all is definitely the opposite shore of the lake: the French Alps.

Le Deck itself was packed with couples enjoying a romantic afternoon light (I admit it's probably one of the best places I've seen so far in this country). Service, on the other hand, was slow and a bit rude, but I guess that's what you have to get along with if you want to enjoy wine in a top place. It's only open during summer (for obvious reasons) - starting 1st of April until 31st of October, every day from 11am to 11:30pm.

Although Le Deck is open during the whole day, I strongly recommend to visit it during the late afternoon hours to enjoy the magical sunset. As the sun went down, photographers came out of all corners to capture this moment.

In case you're visiting the region between November and March, Le Deck belongs to Le Baron Tavernier - a small hotel and restaurant which are open the whole year long. Although the view from the restaurant is probably not as good as this one (since its next to the road), the rooms have a small balcony overlooking the whole region, which I'm sure is comparable to the one from Le Deck.

What Do (All) Frenchmen have in Common?

I've always had this thing for frenchmen. They are mysterious and have this particular attitude - so confident and arrogant. After a few years of experience with the french, I can proudly say that I can recognize them in a crowded bar, in the streets of Hong Kong or even among the swiss-french, which I thought were similar, but this last year has proven me wrong. There's something about them:

1. Frenchmen drink wine instead of beer - it's much more classy

2. And are slightly obsessed (not always in a good way) with fine food and cuisine

3. They know how to be polite and rude at the same time

4. They believe they're right even when they know they're wrong

5. Me

In the last years, I've had a few relationships with frenchmen (most of them characterized more or less by the points above). Obviously, each of these relationships failed, which, I guess, has made me somewhat like immune to french charm. But even when I avoid the french (if you're french, don't take this personally - it's a life stage I'm going through), they come to me, as if I am continuously sending out some signals that only the french can decode.

Last weekend, I was in Brick Lane with my friends. From the whole packed bar, only one guy came to talk to me - he was french (afterwards, I learned that he was chatting up every 3rd girl in the bar, so let's leave it as a coincidence). Today, while I was checking out the skaters performing (they were quite pro I must admit!) somebody sat next to me. I didn't care, there were a lot of people watching the performance anyways. However, this guy suddenly started speaking to me (in french):

French Guy: "I assume you are not swiss - you are french, right?"

Me thinking: "is it my dress? my shoes? my hair? my sun glasses? what gives me away, huh?"

Me: "Not really - I'm spanish and don't speak french, actually. Sorry - english?"

After a short 5 min conversation, he grabbed my back, leaned into me and said "you are so beautiful".

Me thinking: "there we go again...."

Dude, thanks - but no thanks. This was far from being the best way of me getting over my french ban. Does anyone actually fall into that?

I'm seriously worried. This has been going on for years now. Are all frenchmen following the same pattern? Am I the pattern? Or am I still the one responsible for all this? Does my mind and body reject my french ban?

I shall investigate more, definitely.