Nino Posted February 23, 2012 Posted February 23, 2012 Hi all, been back in HAV now for a week with 3 more left and enjoying the calm before the ... festival circus. Flew on my b'day and have had a quiet week here with lots of fine beach, lobster, great italian food by a friend, rum and cigars. Picked up some bundles for my 4 weeks here the day after my arrival, contacted Toby, Punch Joe and the gang and tomorrow will be my first day out with Andy who's arriving today, touring El Laguito, lunch at Habana Club and the usual places for cafe & rum. Sunday lunch at La Moraleja with friends, planning a tasting of 100 yr old Remy Martin louis XIII cognac with 2 great Habanos. Not attending anything official, just private meetings with good friends. Rob, we miss you here !! Pacific Cigar will have a great party this time. Will report back in a week or so if I can manage. saludos Nino
Orion21 Posted February 23, 2012 Posted February 23, 2012 Enjoy and look forward to your blog posts when you return home. Cheers and enjoy that cognac -- what a fantastic opportunity! Cheers!
FrankBlack87 Posted February 23, 2012 Posted February 23, 2012 cheers nino. that cognac sounds amazing!
Scdalak Posted February 23, 2012 Posted February 23, 2012 Thanks for Update Nino, feel free to post some pics when you can!!
riazp Posted February 23, 2012 Posted February 23, 2012 Have a great time Nino! we want pictures! lots of pictures!
CanuckSARTech Posted February 23, 2012 Posted February 23, 2012 Very cool. Wish I was there.... Enjoy your time, Nino, and thanks again for sharing with us all here. GREAT updates and pics and stories, that's for sure! I'll just sit here and dream, and look forward to next year, when I'm planning to be there for the 15th festival (and likely the week before as well), and will be able to meet you all in person and share some great stories, cigars, and drinks (you bring the Cigarrignac and I'll bring the Sortilege!) Cheers and best wishes. Will be looking forward to your updates!
spirit Posted February 23, 2012 Posted February 23, 2012 Thanks Nino. Love trying to live the dream through your blog posts. Damn! I miss allowing the hours to pass sat on the terrace at the Nacional with a nice smoke on the go!
harryleech Posted February 23, 2012 Posted February 23, 2012 Hi Nino, Good to hear you're back in Havana for a good long trip! I got in Sunday, looking forward to meeting up with you at some stage for a cigar or two! Harry Hi all, been back in HAV now for a week with 3 more left and enjoying the calm before the ... festival circus. Flew on my b'day and have had a quiet week here with lots of fine beach, lobster, great italian food by a friend, rum and cigars. Picked up some bundles for my 4 weeks here the day after my arrival, contacted Toby, Punch Joe and the gang and tomorrow will be my first day out with Andy who's arriving today, touring El Laguito, lunch at Habana Club and the usual places for cafe & rum. Sunday lunch at La Moraleja with friends, planning a tasting of 100 yr old Remy Martin louis XIII cognac with 2 great Habanos. Not attending anything official, just private meetings with good friends. Rob, we miss you here !! Pacific Cigar will have a great party this time. Will report back in a week or so if I can manage. saludos Nino
BrotherBear Posted February 24, 2012 Posted February 24, 2012 Hola Nino! Wish I could join you on this trip and share in some laughs, good times and fantastic cigars... This time, I'll be there with you guys in spirit. Hope to be able to meet up with you again some time my friend.
maverickdrinker Posted February 24, 2012 Posted February 24, 2012 glad to hear your first week in havana was relaxing nino. say hi to everyone for me. have a wonderful time down there
Ghabanos Posted February 24, 2012 Posted February 24, 2012 Thanks for sharing!! Personal question: how much time is split between HAV and home? Or is HAV home now?
Nino Posted February 28, 2012 Author Posted February 28, 2012 Hi all, been in Havana now for 11 days and basically enjoying every day full tilt. Had the pleasure of meeting a nice Italian neighbor at my first Casa a great chef and passionate cook from Venice and we have been sharing great home-made dinners, wine, cigars and then weve moved to a lovely villa in Miramar all to ourselves with a fully equipped kitchen, staff and lovely patios. Ive procured a few dozen lobsters thanks to Toby and some fish, and we drive to the great Tarara beach 20 driving minutes from Havana which is basically deserted Monday to Friday and quite lively on weekends. Today Monday 27-th the Festival starts and its great not attending anything, specially not the welcome gala at the charming Karl Marx theatre ( yes, its as lovely as the name sounds …. ) Cigars have been quite good so far ( like the fabulous weather, sun and 30 C ) and Ive smoked Dulcineas, RyJ Reservas and the new Cohiba Piramide ( the latters been the most impressive so far ). Well be having a tasting courtesy of the Fox Bros. (Rob and David ) tomorrow afternoon at La Moraleja, my fav Paladar, and another great event on Wednesday at Le Chansonnier, a 100 yr old Remy Martin Louis XIII Cognac paired with spectacular Habanos. Thursday will be another tasting courtesy of my Swiss friends, the Portmanns at La Moraleja where my friend L will pair Dulcineas, chocolate and rum while giving a lecture on Havanas architectural development. Met my friend Jimmy from Singapore at his fav place, El Templete for a long and interesting dinner and he will be with me at these tastings plus some dinners, parties and the baseball game on the 3-rd. All in all having a great time actually the first time Im vacationing in Cuba, laying on the beach, swimming, lunching, drinking rum and smoking there while theres Festival going on …. Guess what I prefer ) First time I carry my notebook with me so Ill try to post this report plus pictures from the lobby of the Melia Habana hotel if possible. The humidors are quite exclusive, as I was able to see the Cohiba humidor that will be auctioned at the Gala dinner already …. Saludos from sunny Havana Nino
cottierm Posted February 28, 2012 Posted February 28, 2012 Enjoy your stay Nino and thanks for the posting (always a pleasure to read you). Best, Michel
riazp Posted February 28, 2012 Posted February 28, 2012 Thank you for the Report Nino. Good to hear your getting some great R&R, drinking smoking and eating with friends. Thats the life!
kiwiman911 Posted February 28, 2012 Posted February 28, 2012 that's what life is all about, thanks for the update Nino and can't wait to see the pictures
maverickdrinker Posted February 28, 2012 Posted February 28, 2012 Good to hear that you are having a great time over there Nino. Thanks for posting and sharing your adventures with us.
Colt45 Posted February 28, 2012 Posted February 28, 2012 Thanks Nino. I'll be interested to hear what people think of the RyJ.
winelover Posted February 28, 2012 Posted February 28, 2012 Thanks for your posts and hope to see some pics too. You are very fortunate indeed. Graham
OZCUBAN Posted February 29, 2012 Posted February 29, 2012 Great post Nino As always a great read ,one day I will get there ,oh and happy belated Birthday Cheers OZ
CanuckSARTech Posted February 29, 2012 Posted February 29, 2012 Great post Nino As always a great read ,one day I will get there ,oh and happy belated Birthday Cheers OZ + 1. What Steve said!
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