Day 1 Sunday, February 12, 2017
• Depart Miami on our flight to Havana.
• Arrive at the Jose Marti Airport
• Meet your English speaking guide and driver
• Panoramic overview of the city. Stop at Revolution Square. The square is dominated by the José Martí Memorial. This famous square is where Fidel Castro delivered the majority of his lengthy political addresses. Continue with visits to the Rosenberg Memorial, Lennon Park, Havana University
• Lunch at Il Palio Paladar.
• Continue to Patronato, where we meet with Adela Dworin, the President and other community leaders. Tour the center and the Sunday school, with time to deliver our gifts and aid. Visit the Pharmacy at Patronato
• Check into our hotel with time to relax and freshen up
• Welcome dinner at El Aljibe restaurant
Overnight in Havana
Day 2 Monday, February 13, 2017
• Breakfast at the hotel
• Depart for a walking tour of Old Havana (Havana Vieja), a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Learn about the history of Havana as we visit highlights of the city and the colonial plazas. Visit Jewish points of interest such as the Raquel Hotel, a Jewish-themed hotel. Visit Adat Israel, the Orthodox Synagogue and meet with Jacob Berezniak to deliver our gifts to the community.
• Visit the hotel Conde de Villanueva. Learn about the history of tobacco and the tradition of cigar rolling in Cuba. Interact with roller and locals
• Lunch at Café del Oriente
• After lunch, stop at Almacenes de San Jose handicraft and artists' Market.
• Continue with a visit to the Sephardic Center. Meet with Mayra Levy, president of the congregation, who discusses the role of Sephardic Jews in the resurgence of Jewish life in Cuba. In 2011, the Sephardic Center opened the first exhibit displayed in Cuba about the Holocaust. Deliver aid to the community
• Return to our hotel
• Dinner at a local restaurant
Overnight Havana
Day 3 Tuesday, February 14, 2017
• Breakfast at the hotel
• We begin the day with a visit to the Jewish cemeteries in Guanabacoa, including a special memorial service at the site of the Holocaust Memorial
• Continue to Finca Vigia, the villa that Hemingway called home for 21 years. His home is now a museum with many of his personal belongings. Learn how Cuba influenced his writing
• Lunch at Finca Yoandra / Il Divino. Take a glimpse into this organic urban farm and community project with a private restaurant in the outskirts of Havana
• Visit the Cuban Art Collection at the Fine Arts Museum
• Return to hotel
• Dinner on your own
• Concert with Cantor Lisa Levine at Sephardic Synagogue this evening
Overnight Havana
Day 4 Wednesday, February 15, 2017
• Breakfast at the hotel and check out
• Depart to the beautiful colonial town of Trinidad, a charming city settled in 1514 which is a UNESCO heritage site since 1988. Arrive in Trinidad.
• Lunch at El Dorado paladar
• Enjoy a walking tour of historic Trinidad which is a 500 year old city with Spanish colonial architecture. Only a few square blocks in size, historic Trinidad is famous for its lovely cobblestone streets, pastel houses with wrought iron grills, as well as beautiful palaces and plazas. You'll learn about the efforts to preserve the city's heritage
• Meet with the famous family Santander, well-known local potters. Visit their workshop and gallery. These artists have been making handmade pottery for over 100 years
• Continue to the beautiful port city of Cienfuegos, Cuba's “Pearl of the South"
• Check into Jagua hotel
• Dinner at Villa Lagarto
Overnight in Cienfuegos
Day 5 Thursday, February 16, 2017
• Breakfast at the hotel
• Tour of Cienfuegos including Parque Marti and the Thomas Terry Theater. Learn about this UNESCO World Heritage Site, founded by French immigrants in 1819
• Enjoy a performance by Cantores de Cienfuegos at Museo Provincial de Cienfuegos
• Meet with Rebecca Langus and learn about the local Jewish community with time to deliver gifts
• Lunch at Finca del Mar
• Continue to Santa Clara, an important city founded in the 1600's, where Che Guevara won a significant battle which led to the triumph of the revolution in 1959
• Stop at Che Guevara Memorial with a photo opportunity at the Square
• Meet with David Tacher, a leading representative of the Santa Clara Jewish Community, where we will learn about the local community and deliver our gifts.
• Stay and enjoy a dinner at Santa Rosalia Paladar in Santa Clara
• Return to hotel
Overnight in Cienfuegos
Day 6 Friday, February 17, 2017
• Breakfast at the hotel and check out
• Depart for Havana city.
• Lunch on the way (on our own)
• Arrive in Havana
• Stop at the impressive Fuster house/studio to see this unique mosaic masterpiece. Learn about the artist's project to beautify and help the community he lives in
• Check into your hotel and get ready for Shabbat
• Shabbat services and dinner at the Sephardic Synagogue with community members
Overnight in Havana
Day 7 Saturday, February 18, 2017
• Breakfast at the hotel
• Shabbat services at Patranato
• Afternoon at leisure
• Classical car ride from our hotel to the restaurant
• Farewell Dinner at La California paladar
Overnight Havana
Day 8 Sunday, February 19, 2017
• Breakfast and check out of hotel
• Transfer to the airport for our flight back to Miami
• Departure back to Miami from Havana
The Memories Last a Lifetime
*Itinerary subject to change