Cats and Combs

Today we toured historic downtown Lima. It was great. There is beautiful colonial architecture everywhere and so many little shops. 

First we went to La Plaza de San Martin. It is huge and surrounded by big beautiful buildings. I'm not entirely sure what happens there, but it is beautiful nonetheless. 

Then we walked a few blocks to La Plaza de Armas which is where the national buildings are. The Cathedral, and the President's Palace are there. We watched the changing of the guards at noon and then peeked inside the cathedral. It is also know as La Plaza Central. This is where all the national festivals are held, such as the independence day celebration on July 28. 

Then we went to Lima's Chinatown. It was kind of gross, but the food was delicious. We had some seafood and pork appetizers, rice, chicken and plenty of other things that were unnamed. It was served family style so we didn't learn the names of anything. But it was so good! We also had Chicha Morada which looks like grape juice but tastes like Christmas. It's kind of nutmeg-y/cinnamon-y and very good. We also got to try Inca Kola which is the typical soda pop. It's super sweet. 

After lunch we went on a tour of Saint Francis's Cathedral and Catacombs. It was awesome. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but you should know that I was able to identify all the human bones that I saw in the catacombs. I got an A in Human Osteology, you know. It was really beautiful and really old. I think it was built in the 1500s, but most of it had to be rebuilt after an earthquake a few years later. The rectory part had this sweet painting of the Last Supper and on the table is a plate of cuy, or cooked guinea pig. Because of the time period and the way the cuy was cooked, historians were able to determine that the painter was from the Andes because Lima didn't have that type of cuy yet. So that was pretty sweet. Also, in the sacristy, they have paintings of famous martyrs on the walls. Hidden in some of the woodwork is the tomb of a modern day martyr (I think) from Mexico. So that's also pretty sweet.

Then we went to a little shop and had churros. I think I have only ever had churros from Disney World or Taco Bell, so this was obviously better. They had crema de leche filling which tasted like custard or vanilla pudding. It was so good. 

Tonight we are going salsa dancing in Miraflores and tomorrow we go on the official tour.