Day 2, Lima

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This was my first view of Lima. Not that appealing. We eat some granola, thank goodness Kathy is good at this travel thing. She made sure we had enough granola just in case and we did use it all. First thing is first we leave the safety of our hotel and adventure out into a city where we don’t speak the language or know our way around. We arrived early for this trip and our tour did not start for another day. We walk down the street in the heart of Lima to the Plaza San Martain. This plaza was built with stone and marble to celebrate the independence of Peru. Independence was achieved on July 28 1821. The liberator was Jose de San Martain, there is a statue of him in the middle of the Plaza. No we did not know all of this the first time we went there. This was our first adventure trying to walk around these cars. They don’t slow down for pedestrians. They speed up! There are several pictures of this square. We did not visit it very much after this second day. This is the first time where I noticed people making out in public. It is normal for couples to be sitting in nooks and crannies of the plazas making out at all times of the day. There were basically only taxi’s no one seems to own cars around here. Despite the fact no one drives everyone comes to the main plaza in Lima to go walking every day and night it seems. We walked on Carabaya st. This is where we ate lunch. Food here is wonderful! We found this small crack in a wall type restaurant called Shalom. Here we had an appetizer and a main meal for only 6 soles. About 2 dollars Canadian. Not bad. Having a Spanish from Spain translation book did help us a little. But we had no idea what we were eating until it was in front of us. I had mystery meat and pasta. Kathy had the pineapple chicken. Not bad at all. I like this walking on your own adventuring around a city thing. But the one thing which we had anywhere they sold them were Tekenos or tequenos. This was like egg rolls only they had cheese inside of them. Fantastic! Next we walked up to the Plaza De Armas. This was where the military would practise there fire arms. This was the most beautiful Plaza. On all sides it had amazing buildings. On the south side was the Municipal Palace. Which was painted the best colourful yellow. A long the east side was the Cathedral and the Archbishops Palace. To the North was the Government Palace. We took many pictures of all sides of the Plaza but non could do it justice. We came just in time for the changing of the guards. This is a spectacular display of discipline. It also took about a half hour for the men to into position. The security in the whole city was very extensive. We then walked north to the San Francisco church. It is a working church, convent and a museum. We had the tour of the catacombs. Very creepy. Hundred of thousands of people were buried in this catacombs before it was closed. The original church was destroyed in an earthquake in 1656. It was rebuilt in 1672. The artwork now seen within this church is mostly from the 17th century. This is a Franciscan church. The Franciscan order was first created by Francis of Asisi during the 11th century. This is also where we get the term friars. Finally I can actually use some of the information I learned as a religious minor in university. We went to dinner back at the Plaza de Armas. We ate at a more touristy place. We had Lomo saltado. This is a wonderful beef dish made with onions tomatoes and fries. It was fantastic. This is also where we saw “the dogs.” Security at night time is beefed up. They had Rot Wiliers, they had thick leather muzzle’s on. They looked like Hannibal off of silence of the lambs. Another day done for Kathy and I.

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Photos

First view of Lima
This is from our hotel room. First thing in the morning when I could see the city.

First View of Lima 2
This is the view from the other direction. Trust me Lima gets a lot better.

San Martain Plaza
This is the statue of the liberator of Peru Jose de San Martain.

Menu
Just look at the last item on the list.

First picture of me
This was the first picture taken of me in Peru. Im about to go explore the Plaza San Martain.

Laura and the Door
I saw this door and I just had to have a picture of it. Everything was so colourful.

Kiss's and hug's!
No I was not lying when I said people just made out everywhere! This is in front of the church!

Municipal Palace
Look at those colours!

Dinner!
Lomo Saltado The best Peruvian meal there is!

San Francisco Convent
Pigeons everywhere!!!!