Cuba
People apparently bring so much luggage to Cuba that United has a dedicated check-in are at Houston Intercontinental Airport for Cuba flights. Co-located with baggage claim in Terminal C, they have ample space, although for a single regional jet flight it seemes a little absurd. And as befits a regional jet, there's no ovens, so even in first class, your meal is served cold.
Arrival in Cuba is efficient enough, and to my surprise the tour I had booked picked me up in a Mercedes GLA200 SUV, which was to be the car the whole trip. I suppose this should have made the hotel less of a surprise, but the Hotel Grand Aston La Habana was extremely nice by Cuba standards and still quite nice by any other standard. There was electricity as well, although my guide (Noberto) clarified that the power infrastructure damage due to the hurricanes earlier this month was still significant and there could be power outages.
Soaked in some views from the hotel's location on the northern coast road at the northwestern corner of Havana, then a sleek 1959 Chevy Impala convertible was the evening's ride through downtown Havana. Noberto did an excellent job explaining all the sights, including many structures and art pieces celebrating the revolution, the capitol itself, as well as the general layout of the city and the history of how it was built out over time. It was only a small fraction of Havana's true sprawl, but still good to see some of the highlights.
Switched back to the Mercedes GLA for dinner-- which was solid, although honestly the first of many fairly similar meals. Sopa de papas (potato soup) was generally good everywhere, thin sliced pork, white rice, black beans (sometimes mixed), dark meat chicken, and rice pudding. Noberto and the driver (apologies, I forget his name!) were clearly an experienced team who got along well, and we made a few re-visits on foot of some earlier sights we had only driven by earlier. Wrapped up the night at Legendarios del Guajirito Buena Vista Social Club for some live music to a packed house; was not my thing, but was still a fun experience, especially as the night wrapped up and the crowd really got into it.