"Papa's House," Around The Outside...

We began our tour by walking up the driveway to the house. On either side of the road were majestic palms and mango trees – some of which were over 60 ft tall.

The main building, while beautiful, was suffering from the combination of punishing tropical climate and structural deterioration. As is true with much in Cuba, there are few resources to properly preserve and restore aging structures. In spite of this the museum caretakers had done all they could to keep the grounds as presentable as possible.

We were allowed to walk freely around the home and look into the windows. While it was typically forbidden for Americans to take photographs (apparently so that the museum can sell more postcards,) our tour guide turned a blind eye and allowed us to take as many photos and shoot as much video as we liked.

Per our family’s quirky sense of humor, my youngest sister Laura had us take a picture of her "knock, knock, knockin’ on Hemingway’s door."

Go Inside...