Yes, I'm a Quarter of a Century//Brooklyn, NY

     Birthdays have always been a big deal for me. Growing up, my mom would throw me the best birthday parties at the coolest places and since I've grown up, I've skipped the parties and just done my birthdays with my husband. This year 25 felt like a big deal to me so I thought I would celebrate by hitting the streets of NYC. Here are some of my favorites:

Alicia

Little Havana//Miami, Florida

 Hello there!

At the beginning of January my husband and I decided to visit my his Grandma in Delray Beach, Florida along with his parents and most of his siblings. While we were down there we decided to make the short trek to Miami for some beach time and to check out the city. We decided to stop and walk around a part of town called Little Havana (aka Little Cuba). It's full of Cuban's and full of culture. They had everything there from Cuban treats, coffee, and cigars.

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     With so many cool shops around we all decided to stop at this really cool cigar shop called the Cigar Factory. There was this older gentleman who would sit outside the shop, smoke a cigar, and wave at everyone who would walk by. You could see inside the windows of the shop were pictures of this man along with news paper clippings, sculptures, and tons of cigar boxes with his face on them. We went inside and there his son was running the shop (unfortunately I don't have a picture of him) as well as some of his friends who were making cigars, smoking them, and selling them. He told us about how his family business started. He said his family had moved to Cuba from the Canary Islands to grow tobacco and that he is the 5 generation cigar maker. He said his mom and dad moved to America because he was about to go to the military (it's required in Cuba) and his mom refused to let him go so she asked the Cuban government if her and her family can move to America and they agreed but, before they left they required her to pay the price of labor by working at a concentration camp in the coffee fields for a couple years. Since then they have opened their cigar shop in Little Havana and they are doing well.  

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     Little Havana was such a cool place to experience. We pretty much only walked three blocks and within that time we drank coffee, had some ice cream, watched some old guys play dominos, and checked out some cool shops. My husband and I really enjoyed our time there and hope to go back sometime.

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Alicia