A 3 Hour Tour...

I love double decker bus tours of major cities, and I'm not ashamed to say it. Normally, I aim to blend in as much as possible, but bus tours are such a great way to see bigger cities. You always feel slightly silly getting on, but  I don't care, I love them. We took a bus tour of Lima today and saw a lot of great sites that are difficult to get to by foot or taxi. We hopped on the bus a few blocks from our hostel and joined a 3 hour tour. I know what you're thinking. Yes, Dad, I started singing the theme song to Gilligan's Island to Jeff immediately!

We went all over (including right past our hostel, 3rd picture):

This is the start of the tour, at the Ovalo de Miraflores, or the town square in the Miraflores district of Lima, where we stayed.

 

 

Because of the big fence, we had no idea this park of ruins was within eyesight of our hostel. What a lucky surprise.

All of a sudden, we passed our hostel! If you look closely, you can see our laundry drying in window (in true Peruvian style) above the garage. That's our room.

This is the center of Lima, a REALLY big statue in an even bigger intersection.

The Plaza des Armas in Lima. Across the plaza is the Catedral de Lima- an amazing church that houses a statue of Mary that was made in Spain in the 1500s and brought to Peru and several Crypts with 100+ graves each....one of which we got to go in. Jeff and I were almost too tall to fit through the underground stairway. It was like a tomb down there (pun completely intended).

Atop our double decker bus.

 

Inside the Catedral, in this back room, is precisely where they signed Peru's Independence papers. It felt almost like being in Philadelphia at Independence Hall. To stand where such an incredible piece of history took place is very humbling.

I will figure out how to right this image later, but it's the beautiful pulpit in the church.

Us outside the Catedral

 

Right at 11:30 each day, the palace does a "changing of the guards" ceremony and we were there to see it!

This picture is from a bit later in the afternoon, the Bridge of Sighs in Barranco. It's a very popular place for first dates, so Jeff and I made sure to stop by.

 

Love, love, love,

K