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Stress-Free Guide to Cuba | Havana

Guide to Havana CubaThinking about travelling to Cuba?

Here is my little guide to the places I visited.

My hints and tips. All the things I wish I knew before I went.

I hope you enjoy and if you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to ask.


Learn Spanish

This is a big one – people don’t always speak English.


Flight

First and foremost this is a biggy. There are not many flights that go directly to Cuba. This may improve over time now the country is opening up.

However, that said – make sure you get the direct flight from London. We did the split going via Spain. Not only was it like stepping back in time on the plane (no personal screens) but it is a LONG flight. It may be more expensive but trust me it’s important.

Airport

You are not going anywhere quick.

Havana airport is renowned for being one of the slowest airports in the world. It is disorganised, chaotic and slow. You will be waiting for your bags a long time. If you are travelling with a tour operator they are well versed in this delay but if you are booking your own onward travel please keep this in mind. Bring a book – there is NO 3G and NO WIFI.

Taxis

There are lots of taxis waiting and available from the airport. Don’t be scared to haggle the price. They know you have just landed. If you can get a classic car I would highly recommend.


Accommodation

This is up to you how you do this. Some things to consider… There is no beach in the city, the closest beach to Habana is about 20 minutes away, at Playa del Este. There are daily shuttles, I think for 3CUC/day.

With this in mind if you are a beach bae then I would try and book a hotel with a pool for the first couple of days to get over the jet lag before moving on to a casa.

I stayed at NH Capri La Habana

Nestled in the heart of downtown, rooftop pool, great views and in a cool area.

If you are staying in Havana for a while I would highly recommend you seek out a casa to stay in. Effectively these are B&B’s where the hosts generally look after you. They cook, clean, feed and water you. It’s an amazing way to immerse yourself in Cuban culture, meet Cubans and also help the community. This way you are helping the locals out.

Here are some great recommendations: Best Casas in Havana 


What to wear?

Key pieces:

Trainers:

I wore Adidas Superstar.Havana is a casual place but also a place you want to explore. The roads are cobbled, the streets full of life. You want a trainer that looks stylish yet is practical for allowing to you to get stuck in.

Shorts:

This is the perfect climate for shorts. The Cubans are lively and bold dressers so don’t be afraid to go with colour. It’s not widely conservative – so you can wear what you would wear at home. Females are warned though – be careful if alone – you will get attention. My American Apparel shorts were a godsend. Chic and comfy.

Tops:

Short, long, flowy – anything goes. Play with colours and be vibrant. Its hot during the day but there is a cool wind at night so bring a light sweater or scarf.

Accessories:

Think hippy and creative. This town is full of colour and art. Be part of the creativity.

Bags:

Bring bags with lots of pockets. This is still a foreign country and you are a tourist. There are a lot of opportunists in this world.

This is a cool, casual, artistic and vibrant part of the world. Like most Caribbean islands it’s full of life. In the evening for dinner its casual with a little elegance if you feel.


What to see?

Havana is a historical and political hotspot to explore.

Cuba Direct was our tour operator as we only had a limited time there. We had a bespoke private tour and saw the whole of Cuba from the comfort of an old American car. If you are short on time then a tour is the way forward otherwise have a look around when you get there.


Top Visits

Hemingway House

Old Havana

El Malecon

Havana Catedral

Plaza de la Revolucion

El Cristo de La Habana


Places to Eat

Something you will work out quite early on is that when you buy food out – its well erm ok.

Their avocados though are off the fricking chain!

The best food you will have is cooked by Cubans in their Casa’s

Here is one of the restaurants I will recommend in Havana Old Town.

Good food – peaceful atmosphere – good price.

Watch the prices in Havana Old Town – they are expensive.

Coppelia

This is a must visit Havana’s Coppelia building is one of the largest ice cream parlours in the world. Holding 1000 guests, it is located on the part of Calle 23 known as La Rampa in the Vedado district.

Fidel Castro had it built to bring Ice Cream to Cuba but also rival the Americans in Ice Cream production.

Its a weird looking building but in a really cool area where loads of Cubans hang out so it’s nice to get away from the tourist humm that will drive you nuts in Old Town Havana

La Rampa

where the Coppelia is located in a cool area.

It has the big hotels that once were booming in the 50s and also the old Mafia hotel (you cannot miss it)
It is also the home to one of the best Jazz Clubs I have been too.

Head to the British Telephone Box and head down the stairs.

YOU HAVE TO EXPERIENCED CUBAN MUSIC!

Enjoy


Keeping Healthy

Cuba is not a health hot spot in the world. A lot of the food is high carb, fried and meaty. It’s not the best place for vegetarians.

A lot of the cocktails have a spoonful of sugars added.

With this in mind think outside the box.

Havana Old Town is a nice walk away from most places – so opt for walking rather than cabs.

Try and top on veggies and fruit where possible.
You will often find vegetables come in a sauce – so in your best Spanish try and ask for them plain.

Swim, walk, run, and get active.

You don’t want to restrict your enjoyment but remember there is a Yin to every Yang – so balance it out.


Cuba is a wonderful place and will be ever changing now they are becoming open to the world.

Try and get there before it loses all its original value.


Words of warning

Do not buy cigars from anywhere other than state-run shops. You may think you’re getting a deal but you’re not they are fake and you do not know what is in them. You will meet sweet Cubans who have a friend, or know someone who can get them cheap, or will tell you about a national day where they are cheaper…unfortunately it is all lies. Sorry – but stick to the rules if you want cigars.


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Top Secrets to an Effortless Weekend

After a hard week in the office it is a blessing to get to the weekend. Two days and three nights that are yours to do with as you wish. However, do you ever feel when monday has come around that you haven’t had a weekend? That you haven’t caught up on sleep and in fact you’re more tired than you were last friday?

Many of us are guilty of filling our weekend to the brim with high expectations to pack in as much as possible into the valuable free time we have. Drinks here, cooking there, late nights, lie ins, eating out, food shopping, running around town and we get to Sunday evening and feel exhausted!

Its time to take your weekend back and follow these simple life hacks to make your weekend as effortless as possible.


Get Organised

Finding your room in a state, all your letters un-opened, none of your washing done and your house un-tidy is not a nice way to start the weekend. Often than not you will leave these tasks to Sunday – the ultimate day of rest – and then you will find yourself rushing around to get this done before the week begins.

Stop. Get organised.

Set yourself 45 minutes each day of the week to put a wash on, order that food shop online, tidy a room (or book a cleaner) and change your bedding to free up more time on the weekend. Washing can take hours if left to pile up so do a bit each day to make sure you are on top of this by the weekend. A clean and tidy environment enables you to truly relax and put those feet up for a rest!


Outsource your Breakfast

Its the weekend! You have spent the week making breakfast, packing those lunches and cooking meals its time to treat yourself. Get out the house and meet friends for brunch. Take your loved one out or your housemate and let someone else do all the hard work.

Brunch is great as it means you can have a few hours extra in bed and effectively cram two meals in one! Saving money and saving time. Breakfast and brunch food is great too! There is nothing like sinking your teeth into Eggs Florentine, Chorizo on Avo Toast or getting continental with a Crepe.

All of these when attempted at home can sometimes lead to a disaster, mess and effort. Why not whatsapp a few friends and check out these amazing and reasonable brunch places this weekend and sit back and let it be done for you.

Cafe Fleur: Nestled in Wandsworth this beautiful cafe is the perfect stop. The owner is delightful and the food is abundant. Take a short walk to Wandsworth Common to walk it off or head to Putney for some shopping after brunch.
Recommend: Avo Toast with Chorizo and Poached Eggs!

La Petite Bretagne: New and situated a short walk from Clapham Common this beautiful french crêperie delights the senses with their Gluten Free and Wheat Free Crepes. Coming in both Savoury and Sweet there is a crepe to suit everyones taste. Nearby you have the big open space of Clapham Common to rest and walk and lap (if there is any) some rays on sunshine while you digest.
Recommend: Paimpol with a side of the SuperSalad


Sleep and Rest

FOMO (fear of missing out) can play a huge part in exhaustion.

Long gone are the weekends of empty days. These days your weekend diary seems to mimic your work diary but instead of calls and meetings its: Parties here, bbq’s there, Weddings, Hen Doos, House Warming, Festivals and Birthdays.

Sometimes you have to take your time back. Yes you may miss the odd sausage or glass of vino but sometimes R&R is just what you need.

Have a bath, Read a Book, Catch up on whatever is your current Netflix fix and slip into those pyjamas and get that nine hours of un-disturbed sleep that will give you the energy boost you deserve.


Visit markets

Towns and cities have a wealth of different markets open on the weekend. From antiques, car boots, thrifts stores food and wine and cheese there is a market for everyone.

Markets are great as you can ignite your senses, try new things, sample lots of treats and often come home tired from all the walking and with a bag full of treats to sample that evening.

Rarely there are stressful queues like in Supermarkets. You get to try before you by and is a fun day out for all. It is an excellent way of trying new brands you may have never seen in the shops and means you can do your part to support the independent shops of your area.

There are so many to choose from… check out your local community blog or paper to find out whats on. Where I live in South London we are privileged with so many to choose from: Brixton Markets, Clapham Market, Herne Hill, Lordship Lane, Peckham and beyond!

Check it out and make a day of strolling around and getting out of the house without busting the purse strings or getting stressed in crowds.


Boost your health

Running around in the week sometimes by the weekend your health has taken a battering. Work dinners out on, late meetings fuelled by coffee and sugary snacks when running from call to meeting can really make you feel rubbish.

Start the weekend by investing some time in you. Get those healthy proteins, fruits and veggies loaded up in order that you fuelled up for that week ahead.

I know Green Smoothies really do get a lot of jip but they really are great for you. Loaded with all things green (which sometimes we neglect) can really boost those vitamin levels.

My Favourite Recipe:
Spinach
Kale
Cucumber
Mint
Ginger
Lemon
Lean Protein (Neat Nutrition)
Coconut Water (Jax Coco)

Blend together with a ton of ice and it tastes magnificent. Perfect if you need something to tide you over before brunch!


These are my secrets to an effortless weekend… what are yours? Would love to hear your hacks for a stress free weekend which re-balances you ready for work.

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BOXING: Work Out like Gigi Hadid


 

GIGI HADID

Right…who hasn’t heard of Gigi Hadid? The beautiful blonde with legs up to the heavens who turns her middle finger up to those who fat shame!

This gorgeous goddess – daughter of Yolanda Foster – is the focus for this blog post.

One of the things that is inspiring about Gigi is that she is not your average model. She walks high end fashion runways and is a Victoria’s Secret Model yet she sports a curvy lean physique with strong thighs.

Hell Yes – a real woman!

This world is full of images that lead us to believe that our shape isn’t good enough. Unrealistic images are pumped into our day to day lives. It is refreshing to see someone strong bold and well relatively normal – storm the top runways.


So I dug a little deeper and looked into what this young lady is doing to look so gorgeous yet remain lean and strong

The answer: BOXING!!!

Boxing as a sport requires a high level of athletic prowess: strength, speed, agility, hand-eye coordination, endurance, nerve, and power, just to name several required attributes.

Gigi trains with a boxer to burn through calories, shed excess fat, and remain agile which all leads to her lean physique.

Boxing can be off-putting as it is deemed a male sport – but this empowering exercise really can attribute to some serious body changes!

Here are some reasons why you should try out boxing


Total-Body Strength

All that punching, kicking, and jumping requires a surprising amount of strength. Think about it – most professional heavy bags weigh at least 100 pounds. During a boxing workout, you may punch or kick a bag hundreds of times, requiring your upper body, lower body, and core to engage as you make contact with the bag.


 

Cardio

You hear it all the time: You need to do cardio to protect yourself from heart disease, burn calories, and lose or maintain your weight. But “doing cardio” doesn’t have to mean hopping on a treadmill to log your required minutes – how boring is that?

The whole point of cardio is to place a moderate amount of stress on your heart and lungs so that they’re challenged enough to make beneficial physiologic adaptations to support the higher level of physical activity. As long as you keep your heart rate up during your workout, there’s no reason you can’t punch, kick, and jump your way to a healthy heart at your local boxing gym.


Body Composition

Boxing is great for improving body composition – and some might say it’s great for weight loss. The technique means you are pushing your body burning up to 13 calories a minute!


Less Stress

Almost any form of moderate to intense physical activity can decrease stress. Exercise increases endorphins, boosts mood, works as a form of meditation, and improves sleep, all of which help reduce stress.

Boxing is a great outlet for stress! You can literally fight your way out of the stress zone!


It’s a win win situation!

Be inspired by the strong women in this world and learn from their tricks. If she can do it so can you.

Go and find your nearest boxing centre or get into the gym find those gloves and get practising!


Speaking of BOX – ing… I am very excited to open my new FITTY London box!

FittyLDN

Packed to the brim with Healthy Goodies to start February the right way!

From Spiralizers, to coconut oil to delicious superfoods to sprinkle on my breakfast. This perfect little box never ceases to surprise me. So chic and beautiful – its really does give you that monthly buzz to keep on track!

fitty box

Delivered to my door every month (along with my Vogue) its like my birthday happens every month!

Happy February!


Check out Fitty London here


Balance/ Explore/ Recipes/ Stress Free Style

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Yes you! I am talking to you!

I want to hear YOU! I want to see YOU! I want to know what YOU think about my articles.

Your comments, thoughts and opinions are what keep me motivated. What you think about articles will really help me to know where to go with future posts.

If you read an article and have a thought or opinion please leave me feedback. I am giving you the power to let me know what you think. Negative or Positive – I want to hear from you.

So please… next time you stumble across something you like, dislike, or want to know more – please leave me a comment!

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Travel With Work: Healthy in Manchester

Manchester

I travel a lot out of passion and for work. When I travel with work it means I stay in hotels and it can be very easy to eat out a lot and unhealthily. I am hoping to put together a guide to the places I stay and the gems I find to help those keep healthy in the places I stay.

I am also going to apply this to holiday hot spots – as its nice to find perfect little gems to fit in-between the cocktails and the tanning

Healthy in… Manchester 

manchester


Food

Let’s begin with some food. I found this wonderful place for breakfast – lunch called…

55 Thomas Street,
Manchester, M4 1NA.
0161 832 3233

As I wandered through the Northern Quarter in the hunt for something that wasn’t in a burrito, burger, or dripping in some all American sauce, I stumbled across the Teacup Kitchen. I had a look inside and was taken by their advertisement of Healthy and Hearty lunches. I chatted with the host and asked him what the Soup of the Day was… (my eyes glanced to their pledge to get the best ingredients and sourced from the best places)

To my delight, he said “Celeriac with Truffle Oil”

Celeriac soup

Sold!

I was seated in this beautiful little restaurant that was informal and casual and had a buzz. I also ordered from their list of juices (tick) and went for the booster.

juice

All in all, they have a delightful selection of healthy and not so healthy therefore if you are with guests or colleagues who give you a bashing for being “too healthy” then you can bring them here and they can shovel away the sugar while you peruse the goods.

shlurp

Unit 2, Brazennose House East, Brazennose Street, Manchester M2 5BP

I was lucky enough to stumble on Shlurp a soup bar that makes everything fresh, all locally sourced and in season. They have options from Value to Skinny, Veggie to Meat. There is an offer of soup and a salad which is perfect to cover the nice comfort of the warmth and my snack later in the afternoon. Their ethos is incredible and they really care about the contents of their food. They let you know the Fat, Salt and Wheat and all other factors which concern those who look after their health.


Workout

Getting a workout when you are away from home is hard. You can though tactically book a hotel with a gym.

Here are some of the Central Manchester Hotels with Gyms

Doubletree Hilton

Radisson Blu

Britannia Sachas Hotel

Malmaison

Be savvy when you book accommodation as it will be your home and make sure you get all you need.


Eating Out

Manchester has a plethora of great restaurants. There are the more hipster ones in the Northern Quarter but those are usually the not so good for your waistline ones.

My favourite has to be…

 7

I walked through the Northern Quarter and up to Oldham Road where I discovered this small little family run restaurant.

6

The insides were humble and I was greeted by a small but welcoming host who asked how she could help.

The restaurant prides itself on being a family run establishment providing the healthiest and freshest home cooked Vietnamese food to the heart of Manchester

8

I read through the menu checking out all the delicious offerings from Vietnamese Salads to the traditional Pho

I settled on Prawn Summer Rolls and Chicken Pho.

Phở, (pronounced fuh) is one of the healthiest and most delicious Vietnamese dishes eaten every day by the Vietnamese for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Pho is a fresh, nutritious & tasty broth-based noodle soup. The dish is served with a side plate of fresh herbs, sliced-up chillies and lime wedges. The best part is that you can customize your Pho to what you desire to suit your taste.

  5

My Summer Rolls arrived – so fresh and low in calorie.

The Pho arrived and it looked and smelt beautiful

1002528_10152573875868285_5913441597258204169_n

I added my fresh veg and some added chilli to give it a kick. Chillies despite their infamous reputation of adding heat to a meal – have a plethora of health benefits from lowering LDL, high in vitamin C, A and B and high in a number of minerals

I left Saigon Lotus with a belly full of goodness and a smile on my face. I would definitely recommend for dining on your own, with a partner or out with friends.

tip: When eating out stick to Asian food or simple protein and veg combos for a healthy alternative when it’s not your choice of the venue


So I hope you like it – and find it informative. Please comment below and let me know of any healthy finds you have in Manchester. Always on the hunt and word of mouth is always better!

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Morning Motivation

We all have those weeks when the alarm for the gym goes off – and you hit snooze

You have a green smoothie for breakfast – and someone offers you a lunch out in a plush restaurant

You go tee total – and then it turns out to be your best mates birthday!

Motivation is a long term thing… there will be ups and downs in the long term plan… all you have to remember is that it is long term.

IMG_1228

You must remember the days you have done well

Plan wisely: this allows you to stay motivated.

Set aside that time where you are going to catch up with all your favourite hobbies. Get in your gym gear first thing in the morning to remind yourself at some point your are going to have to go! Organise your food menu for the week. Do your weekly shop on a sunday and prep for the week ahead.

 

IMG_1235

 

 

Keeping motivated is all about staying on top of your goals and re-organising them as day to day life gets in the way. Just because you didn’t achieve something today does not mean it cannot go on your to do list for tomorrow. 

And when all is said and done – allow yourself those moments when you can relax and have some well deserved r&r

Peace xx

Stress Free Style

Puma Logo Street Style

11796341_10153200756893285_4029908320012852402_n

Loving this Puma Logo Crew Neck Sweater

 

image3xxl

 

Chic, soft and stylish and can be paired perfectly with jeans or A-line skirt with sneakers.

This sweater is perfect when running from work to the gym or from the gym to friends. It can really ease your day if you can mix up your style to incorporate sports brands so you only need to carry one bag.

Hot to trot!

You can find this Puma Logo Sweater on ASOS or click here

Recipes

Sugar Detox Banana Icecream

Homemade Banana Ice Cream

Difficulty: Easy Peasy

Storage: Freezer

Lasts: 2 weeks

If you are looking to go on a Sugar Detox – try my homemade banana ice-cream. Refined sugar is laced in so many products in our world and increasingly becoming the main culprit for many problems ranging from Obesity to Stress. We all have a sweet tooth from time to time so why not try somthing that is nutritious and delicious, clean and has no added sugar.

Just all natural.

Method:

Blend 4 frozen bananas  with a tsp of Coconut Oil(Chop and peel the bananas before freezing as it makes it a lot easier to chop up). A food processor is best used however you can do it in a smoothie maker with a bit of patience.

Serve with organic peanut butter (the clean stuff) and topped with flaked almonds.

Mix it up with different flavours: the beauty of this recipe is you can have it your way

 

Top it with blueberries, add cacao chips, add fresh strawberries. Make the banana ice cream your own.

Please share your photos with me – tag me on instagram @cyntra.city or facebook

For great results use Vita Coco Coconut Oil