Havana, Cuba
Tour Guide: If you go to Cuba (and you must – such an amazing country to see!); the ONLY way to see it is by private tour. I reached out to 5 tour companies, and selected The Megusta Company (Free Walking Tours) and selected Jaime Abel Ramon and his firm to give my best friend Robin & I an extensive tour of Cuba, in the little time we had (one full day) off our cruise ship Norwegian. Jaime was very patient with me and extremely thorough with details; as I had never been to Cuba before, nor used their money system, etc. I investigated through many sites the top spots to visit; shared these with Jaime, and he set up the ideal tour – and added a few “must see’s for us.” We requested an English speaking tour guide, and we were
blessed to have Frank de la Nuez – a wonderful young man and such a fine, educated gentleman! He even carried my tote bag after buying some Cuban dark rum and was very knowledgeable about his country’s history. After a 2-hour walking tour, ending in a great frozen Dacquiri at the Florida Hotel & Bar (Hemingways favorite stop), Frank suggested a lunch spot, then showed up with a convertible classic car, for the rest of a 3 – hour tour; which ended with more drinks at the famous National Hotel. (Learn about all the spots we saw in the Amazing Cities/County section). The entire day tour was only $95 CUC + Tip (about $100 US – half of what the cruise ship wanted for a group tour!) and was SO Totally Worth it! Thanks, Frank for making our day in Havana so special! I’ll be back, and contact you for more touring! To set up your custom tour, contact Jaime by email at – themegustacompany@gmail.com
Acapulco, Mexico
Tour Guide: I highly recommend Jonathan Basilio for a Taxi driver and Tour Guide. He speaks fluent English, will help you in every way around Acapulco, takes you to the best sites in ONE day, will help you negotiate money, and is a true gentleman. We went to the La Quebrada Cliff Diving show, to see the countryside and downtown, see the old Hollywood area and the Flamingo Hotel, went shopping at the markets and the Silver store – Villa Artesanal, The Chapel of Peach, The Old Fort of San Diego, The Mural Diego Rivera, saw the Diamond area and beautiful homes of Sylvester Stallone and other actors that live here part-time. Call him directly at +52, 984-158-1105 and please tell him Riana sent you!
St. Maarten, F.W.I.
Tijon Parfumerie & Boutique – 1 L’Esperance, Grand Case, St. Maartin, FWI (tijon.com)
The Tijon Parfumerie is a boutique manufacturer/retail outlet for Tijon Fine Parfums, l’Esperance Skincare, Caribe Baie Suncare and many unique items of design. We loved coming here to create our own perfume scents and was one of our most favorite activities in St. Maartin. We worked with the owner, John Berglund, in making our own perfumes in the Mix & Match class. I had made my own perfume scent once before, many years ago, and this was an experience I wanted to repeat.
I learned a lot about how perfumes were made, and worked with 100’s of scents to create my very own, “Ravishing Riana,” (my Night scent) and “Riana’s Daylight” (Day scent). I received an educational book, many samples, a CD and and nice letter from John and his wife/Co-owner Cyndi upon my return. What fun! And I just love my special, custom perfumes!
