I mentioned earlier one of the biggest changes to our vacation schedule while traveling with a toddler was the fact that we needed to be in our hotel room by 7:30 pm to meet a special someone’s bedtime. Just trust me when I say it was better for all involved to respect this restriction.
Andy and I took to spending the remainder of the evening on our hotel balcony which overlooked the quiet side of the hotel, some palm trees as well as caged parrots and tigers. We spent the time on our balcony talking, relaxing and appreciating some of the fine, beer, wine and tequila that Mexico has to offer (usually not all three in the same night.) We also quickly discovered the local cigar shop which sold both Mexican and Cuban cigars.
Now we are not smokers. In fact, I believe Andy told me at one point early in our relationship that if I smoked he would leave me (drastic!) But over the years we have learned to appreciate a good cigar. I have come a long way from my first cigar given to me by our friend Jim in Las Vegas where I must have looked like a gold fish opening and closing my mouth puffing on the cigar, trying to keep the thing lit while walking down the strip. And my better half is even better at it than I am. In fact, he showed me the correct way to hold it so I look (cool) like the famous picture of Che Guevara.
Do you see the resemblence?
Anyway, so on a different trip to Vegas when I lost more than my alloted gambling money playing poker, Andy and I had a day to kill which I was not allowed to gamble any more. We spent the day at the Vegas replica of the Hofbrauhaus (German beer house), which is strikingly similar to the one in Munich. Then we went across the street to the Hard Rock Hotel and quickly discovered the delicacy of whiskey and cigars…it is as if you are drinking water.
Since then, we realized that the same holds true with tequila and cigars and about that time I came up with the soft rule that we will smoke one cigar a year together. We haven’t followed this religiously as we smoked a few more in China, once we discovered how fantastic Cuban cigars are and of course the last two years they have been avoided alltogether.
We made up for the abstinence of last two years during our recent trip by enjoying Mexican cigars two nights and Cubans two different nights. FOUR years work of smoking in two weeks. 
A note on Cubans…they are ABSOLUTELY worth the hype! I really do love me a ‘Romeo y Julieta’ and who can resist the name?
On our last night on the balcony, Andy tried to get artsy with the camera using a really long exposure expecting the blur. This was just before the bats came out for their nightly flyby.
Seriously, can we just end the Cuban embargo already? I am thinking we have the short end of that stick missing out on the best cigars and a beautiful country.
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