So it's been approx. two weeks sinceI got back from Cuba. I'm a married woman now, under the eyes of Castro. Cuba was truly breathtaking. It was so beautiful and the weather was really nice. It was very hot, but very nice for the wedding. So here is a run down of what we did. If you want more info just ask! Pictures will be coming up shortly.

 

We woke up (some of us didn't even sleep) around 2:30am and got ready to go to the airport. Our flight was leaving Toronto @ 6:30am and we had to be there 3 hours early. Not very fun. I think most of us just slept on our way there. We met with our travel agency's rep and he escorted us to the shuttle bus to our resort. Slept most of the way there too. We were greeted with huge smiles and amazing hospitality. After settling into our rooms, some of met at the main buffet restaurant for lunch. We were famished! Everyone mostly took a tour of the resort to see what they had to offer. I hung out with my girls at the pool (bar) the rest of the day.

 

Eric got sick for a couple of days. I think it was because of all the food that he ate. Today, the girls and I headed to the beach. The water is beautiful. So clear and so green in colour. It was so nice. I only went to the beach once b/c I don't really like the salt water.  I prefer the swimming pool. After, we took some salsa dancing lessons. I think our teacher thinks we suck! Didn't do much besides lay by the water and sun tan. For dinner, Drew and I got invited to a special dinner with some other couples. A trio of musicians just went around the room playing music for us while we enjoyed our dinner. It was so romantic.

 

To be honest, I don't really remember what we did today. Maybe when we get the pictures back from the photographer, I'll remember... I'm sure I was by the pool suntanning. That's what I did pretty much the whole time in Cuba! Oh wait, in the afternoon, I went to the newly opened Spa and got a french mani & pedi. They look so pretty. Drew's sister Sarah and her husband arrived at the resort today from England. We all went to some Creole Restaurant in the evening for dinner. It was ok, it was really hot in there and I was not in a particularily good mood because of it.

 

W-Day today! Last night, had some butterflies in my stomach, but I was ok this morning. So I just relaxed in the morning, b/c I didn't want to do a lot. After a light lunch, I got my hair and make up done at the Salon & Spa. Jamie, our photographer took pictures of me getting ready. It was weird b/c the camera was just there! He even took pictures of my nicely painted fingernails and toenails!

 

Getting ready with the girls was fun, although a couple of them were under the weather. The only bad thing was that my sister Christina, who is also the maid of honour was really sick. She got ready for the wedding, but just could hardly stand, neverthelss stay for the whole ceremony. I felt horrible for her because she seemed like she was in so much pain. I knew that she was upset and felt terrible for not being able to help me with the wedding dress and standing up with me at the ceremony. After walking down the aisle, my very good friend Tiffany had to take her back to her room and watched over her. She was not feeing well either. So my other very good friend Benita took over Christina's role as the temporary maid of honour. I'm so glad that I had all of them there with me under the circumstances.

 

So for the actual ceremony, we got married at the wedding gazebo which overlooked the ocean. I entered the garden area in a horse drawn carriage. And of course, there was enough room for me and my girls! When I saw Drew, he just looked so handsome. I'm glad that he wasn't wearing a suit or tuxedo, it was really hot! The ceremony was given by the JOP and it was in Spanish. We had someone there to translate to us though, so it wasn't too bad. After the ceremony, we took pictures all around the resort, mostly at the gazebo and the spa. A lot of people stopped us and congratulated us because they saw us wearing our bridal attire. Then we had our dinner reception at El Patio. It had a romantic atmosphere and it was awesome being there with friends to celebrate with. When we received our cake, the musician sareneded us with a song. After the reception, we went back to our room to change to go to the show, and to our surpirse, the bed was all made up. There were rose petals on the bed and they had drawn up a bath with more rose petals. And there was soft romantic music playing in the background.....The whole day was definitely something to remember!

 

In the morning, we had breakfast in our suite. It was basically the food from the buffet restaurant, but someone had delivered it to us! We got more champagne, again. After breakfast, Drew and I went to Guardalavaca to the local flea market by horse drawn carriage. I got a couple of necklaces but that's about it. Playa Guardalavaca (beach) was packed with locals and the water there was clear too! Everywehre in the resort, people were congratulating us for our nuptials. Everyone knew who we were. I mean, our party were the only ones with Asians! So we definitely stood out! For dinner, we went to El Patio again for a romantic dinner for just the two of us. There was a small wedding party being held there too so we went up to the couple and said congrats to them too. Following dinner, we watched the show. And when we got up to go back to our suite, Drew was not feeling well. He was having an allergic reaction to something and he couldn't breathe well. It friggin' scared me and I didn't know what to do. I had his Epi Pen, but he said he didn't need it. So I spent most of the night watching over him making sure that he was breathing ok while sleeping. It was scary. 

 

Today Drew and I spent practically the whole day in Holguin. We went on a Inside Cuba tour via bus and train. We finally got to see some life outside of the resort. I am truly thankful for everything that I have in Canada. The houses and the towns there are so poor. But everyone seems to always be in a good mood. There was quite a few panhandlers, but it was expected. We did the whole touristy thing during the day. We got back to our resort and changed and met up with another couple and went back to Holguin for the evening. Drew and his friend, Kevin befriended the AV guy for the nightly shows who also is the DJ at the Congo Fun Pub and he took us out for a night out of town! He took us back to his house to meet his family and then he took us downtown Holguin for some real food! It was truly amazing to eat real authentic cuban food with other locals. After our delicious dinner, we went to a local bar. We weren't supposed to be there b/c we were tourists, but they actually welcomed us. It was fun, but we had to call it a night.

 

We went back to Guardalavaca to pick up some more souvenirs from the flea market. When we were there, we bumped into one of the dancers from the show. He actually recognized us and we started talking and hanging out. He told us that next time we come, that he'll take us out into town! All the people that we have met are so nice. They are so friendly and hospitable. Today, we just relaxed again by the pool. By this time, everyone who was sick, was pretty much ok. Today, I actually felt a difference in the weather all due to Hurrican Ernesto. It was a lot more windy and cool. I guess it was nice b/c it's been so hot the rest of the week. But at the same time, I'm glad we were going home the following day.

 

Erics's 10 birthday! Happy Birthday! We woke up early so that we could catch the shuttle bus back to the airport. It was time to leave Cuba. When we got to the lobby, some of the staff drove up to us in their golf-like carts and rushed to say goodbye to Drew and I. We had a lot of random people say congrats to us throughout our stay at the resort. I didn't even recognize half of them. It was so sad to leave the place. But at the same time, we were all glad to be back home. I'm glad to have left when we did, b/c Hurrican Ernesto hit Cuba the next day. I hope the Cubans are ok. We told everyone there that we would be back to visit. And that is a promise that we are both going to keep....