Historical Center of Lima

I made it to Paris!

Click on this photo and see if you can find what business doesn't belong.

We made it to China Town!

Does this picture remind you of any specific movie?

Yesterday I spent the day touring around Lima's Historical Center with my group of fellow international students from ISA (International Studies Abroad). Throughout the day we were able to see many beautiful buildings, parks, and important statues that helped to provide background about Lima's rich history.

Our journey started by walking through a series of parks that contained abstract art along with nice areas for families to play sports, hang at the pool, and get some delicious food to eat. One of the pieces of artwork I took a picture with was the Eiffel Tower. While I have never been to Paris I figured it would be fun to see how many international flavors I would see throughout the day so Paris, France was added to that list.

As we continued our walk to the Main Square (Plaza Mayor) we saw many intricate statues that represented historical figures of Lima along with many religious figures. Throughout our walk I loved the architecture of the buildings because they had an Old European feel to them. Although many of the buildings had very beautiful architecture, it was somewhat funny to see what sorts of businesses now occupied these older styled buildings. Can you pick out a business that seems a little out of place in the second photo picture?

Our next international stopping point was in China Town. For those of you who love Chinese Food like I do you might be pleasantly surprised to find out that Lima actually has a Chinese restaurant on almost every street. Before traveling to Peru I figured I was going to need to eat my final meal of Chinese food but then after doing some research I found out that Chifa (chinese food) was a very common food in Lima.

The final stop of the day was at the San Francisco Church and Convent which is now a museum. While I would love to share photos of the museum, they did not allow photography within the exhibits. That being said I would highly suggest a visit because there was some amazing architectural designs, paintings, and history packed into the museum. One of my favorite paintings was a Peruvian version of "The Last Supper" where the main meat on the table for dinner was cuy (guinea pig). Also if you dare to adventure under the building and go through the tunnels you will see many skeletons and remains from people who were buried at the church. If you are not to comfortable with bones then feel free to go outside and feed the birds and wait for the rest of your group.

All in all the Historical Center of Lima provided a fun and educational view on the city of Lima!