14/03/2005 - The ministry of the interior

Complete with huge Che mural.

14/03/2005 - taxi!

You don't get taxis like this in the UK!

14/03/2005 - Performing troup

This group walk around the old town on stilts every day playing music and entertaining people.

14/03/2005 - Posers

We saw quite a few people who seemed to make a living from smoking big cigars. Take their picture, give them a peso. They must make quite a bit in a day! I couldn't resist these two...

14/03/2005 - music

There was live music everywhere in Havana. Every resteraunt, bar, cafe and hotel had a band. Not just in the evenings either. They would play throughout the day, and as we walked around the old town we often stopped by one to listen for a while.

14/03/2005 - Cigars

The Cubans do like their cigars. Far more people smoke cigarettes though. I guess cigars are too expensive for most of the Cuban people. Fidel's recent smoking ban doesn't seem to have made much difference from what we saw!

14/03/2005 - A drink break

This was on one of the pedestrian streets we walked down every day.

14/03/2005 - Typical Havana

Unfortunately Havana isn't all nicely restored old buildings. The vast majority of it is old buildings on the verge of falling apart.

14/03/2005 - The Capitolio nacional

The carved front door and dome

14/03/2005 - The white house?

The Capitolio Nacional was built as a replica of the white house while the US ran Cuba. It is no longer used.

14/03/2005 - The Bacardi building at dawn

You might be able to make out the bat symbol that they use on their bottles on top of the building.

14/03/2005 - Havana at dawn

Taken from the top of our hotel.

14/03/2005 - Club Tropicana

The famous Club Tropicana night club, which has been going for 66 years. Not many night clubs where you get a bottle of rum and a cigar as part of your entrance!

14/03/2005 - the gallery of cretins

This is at the museum of the revolution. The caption by George Bush reads "Thanks cretin, because you have helped us to consolidate our revolution", and the on by Ronald Reagan reads "Thankyou cretin for helping us to strengthen our revolution".

14/03/2005 - The presidential palace

The palace is now the museum of the revolution. It's incredibly grand inside.

14/03/2005 - The Bacardi building

Owned by the family who made their money from their rum. They have been exciled now though.

14/03/2005 - Che

We expected to see quite a few pictures of Che Guavara around, but there weren't that many. This was the best we saw.

14/03/2005 - 50s taxi

There were some nice old American cars around, but I think they are just kept going for the tourists benefit now!

14/03/2005 - The Cathedral

with it's lopsided towers

14/03/2005 - Havana from our hotel