A fantastic week in Cuba

Paul, Claire and I just returned home from a fantastic week in sunny, friendly, beautiful Cuba. We stayed at an all-inclusive (my first experience with this) and I have to say, I completely enjoyed the break from planning meals, grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning up. Claire enjoyed the plentiful pina coladas (without rum, of course) while Paul and I enjoyed quite a few of the same (but with rum) and yummy mojitos.

Claire loved the beach. We spent most of our time there, building and digging with her sand toys, collecting sea shells, jumping waves, and grooving to music. We all avoided sunburns thankfully, as we were pretty careful about applying sunblock frequently and hanging out in the shade.

When we weren't at the beach, we could be found at one of the resort's many restaurants, swaying to music in the lobby bar or running (or rather, chasing after Claire) through the long outdoor corridors. Many, many of our pictures of Claire are action shots of her running toward or away from the camera. Here's just one example:

We went on a one-day trip into Havana, which was absolutely incredible. We were a little worried about how Claire would do with the trip (two and a half hours to Havana) and the long day but she was a total angel. That also happened to be the day that Castro resigned but you'd never know it from the lack of unusual activity in the streets. Paul and I were blown away by the architecture and the state of disrepair that many stunning buildings had fallen into. People were incredibly friendly, and everywhere we went, men and women alike would comment on Claire's beauty or ruffle her hair.

Some old American cars on a Havana street

Paul watches as Claire dances to some great Cuban music.

As great a trip it was, we are glad to be home. Claire did have a few moments near the beginning and the end of the trip where it seemed she was out of sorts about being away from home. She didn't eat a lot, but then, we can tell that her second year molars are giving her trouble again, so that could be the cause too. (But I like to think she simply prefers my cooking - ha ha.)

I can only post a few pictures at a time, so I'll follow this post up with a couple more.