Looks like getting a booster shot has exempted me from needing a PCR test to enter the CR this January. <3 vaccines
That is unless they change the restrictions again.
Of course, I’ll get a test before going back to work anyway. Just won’t have to pay for it here before leaving.
I would definitely do nonstop to Milan then train rather than a connection and probably an extra ~4 hours of traveling then…train. Assuming flight time of the nonstop is remotely convenient. Europeans have a thing for punishing themselves with horribly timed flights.
ETA: one downside of Milan in particular is that the airport is quite far from the train station, while Genoa’s airport is very close to a station. That might tip the scales toward Genoa.
I assume that the food in Cuba is god awful? I have seen “street food” videos where the food all looks like airline food, for example, a dry bread roll and a piece of cold ham with no sauce or seasoning or butter and not heated etc. Another person got some vanilla ice cream in a cup (not even soft serve)
Yeah basically.
You can do homestays in Cuba where people have good home cooking, but literally any and all food produced by the government (which is most restaurants) ranges from bad to comically horrible.
(This was at least the situation in 2012)
Home stays are definitely the way to do it in Cuba. You get to chat with the family who often speak good English and learn a lot about life there, and they’re usually keen for you to share your experiences with them.
Highly recommend staying at an agriturismo in Tuscany for at least one night: stay on a farm, have a home cooked Italian meal. Do wine tasting at least once at a winery that makes Brunello di Montalcino, generally located around the namesake town. I was pretty satisfied with about a half a day in Siena unless you’re a particular fan of pre-Renaissance art (the piazza, the cathedral, a bit of wandering and lunch was enough for me). Florence, I can hardly imagine spending less than a day and a half, between the Duomo, the David, and the Uffizi at least. Climbing up between the layers of the Duomo’s dome is pretty neat, and the view at the top is well worth it. The lines for panninis at I Fratellini are long for a good reason. Oh, and consider shopping for a good pair of dress shoes there.
I did 2 days in Florence and easily could have filled another 2. It’s one of those rare super touristy spots that actually delivers.
You can’t get like a Cubano sandwich or good beans anywhere?
I didn’t have a Cubano while I was there, and certainly wouldn’t have wanted one made from the people’s bread, which in terms of quality is probably the worst bread I’ve ever tasted.
Now that was 2012, and I think Havana has a lot more trendy stuff these days. But truth be told, the novelty of visiting Cuba was much more in the people and the culture than the typical food/architecture/scenery/beaches stuff. Havana has incredible architecture–world class–but besides Havana, it’s the Caribbean, and there are better places for your typical tourist stuff throughout Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America.
But the culture and overall society is so amazingly different that anyone who’s a serious traveler really ought to check it out, right down to the part of doing homestays instead of hotels. That’s the whole point of visiting Cuba, for me.
That’s crazy. I was in Vietnam in 2000 when they were just opening up and the food was incredible everywhere. Same for China, Mongolia, even Siberia had some decent street food. I didn’t realize the govt could ruin a country’s street food like that.
The problem, perversely, is everything the government provides is so cheap. I’m talking like half a penny for a tiny cup of coffee, or five cents for the aforementioned ice cream blob (which is more like sugar-milk-slush). Directly offered by state-run vendors. There’s no competing with it.
Cubanos were most likely invented in Tampa.
Time for a strip club/Cubano excursion to visit my buddy in Tampa!
Beat: he’s a Trumper now. 
We stayed in Greve in Chianti in 2019 and it was amazing. Stayed at a bnb on a farm, rented a car for the week. Great food, amazing wineries and good travel distance from all kinds of things including a full day in Florence, half day Siena, San Gimignano and tons of other cool little towns. I could have easily spent a month there just chilling, was never bored during the week.
Also Cigar City Brewing.
this guy gets it.
WANT
Garden and Gun?
WANT EAT FOOD
few things are better than a good Cuban sandwich.
the Cuban sandwich festival in Tampa is great every year.