Bienvenidos a Cuba. Havana Cuba, the morning view from my hotel room:

We took a tour bus to the area of the city known as Old Havana and we walked and walked. Plaza de San Francisco aka Pigeon Plaza:

The pink hotel, 5th floor on the corner, is where Ernest Hemingway lived for 7 years.

The very popular bar where Hemingway drank mojitos. We all had one.

In the Plaza de la Catedral:

Traditionally, Saturday is laundry day. Who needs a dryer anyway?

A public bus. First the motorcycles are loaded, then they see how many people can fit. 

Arte Corte: a community enhancement project on one of the streets, centered around a hair salon and a barber school. Hair cutting scissors from all over the world have been donated and attached to this sculpture. It’s not finished.

Hamel Alley, a community project dedicated to art.

A local explained the connections between religions in Cuba, including Santeria. 

Lots of walking today. Everyone is quite tired. After a 2-hour break in the late afternoon, we boarded the bus again and went out for dinner. Dinner was at one of the many paladares in Havana – small family-run restaurants.

Thank you Elaine for taking us to the airport EARLY this morning. And for driving back to bring my cell phone which I left on the back seat.

Eek! A form we didn’t know we had to fill out to get a QR code in order get a boarding pass -a special requirement for the country we’re going to.

Two hiccups before 5am. After a stop in Phoenix,

One more flight .. but, to where?

Ann Ray photographed Alexander McQueen throughout his career. In the beginning, he couldn’t afford to pay her, they bartered photography for clothing. This exhibit, Rende-Vous, at the Crocker details the story of their professional relationship.

There was special area called the Dressing Room. Inside, there were several interactive activities, such as small-scale wooden models and clothes for children to create their own fashion statement. In the background, a few dress forms with clothes, hats, etc which children could try on then walk a very short runway and have their picture taken.

Carson and Terri playing a memory matching game for fabric patterns – ikat, plaid, stripe, houndstooth, quatrefoil, toile, etc.

Carson and Thais:

This event at the Convention Center by the Downtown Sacramento Partnership was a big deal. Some big-name speakers – Congresswoman Doris Matsui, Mayor Darrel Steinberg – but I came to hear Brent Toderian, City-Planner + Urbanist, an internationally-regarded “visionary” for cities of the future. Of note: he strongly promotes the inclusion and expansion of bikeways within cities.

The seating chart shows all the tables facing the stage at the top.

I was not seated at any of those tables and breakfast was not included. There was a nice bank of chairs at the back of the room – called the gallery.