Peru 2017: May 12, 2017-Lima sightseeing-Changing of the guard ceremony, Archbishop's Palace, Cathedral, Cordano Bar, Convent of Santo Domingo; Hard Rock Cafe

We slept well and are ready for breakfast and then some serious Lima sightseeing. We tell the hostess our room number and are seated at a nice table for 2. The breakfast buffet looks very much like a lot of the other hotels. I'm disappointed that there is no egg station. Cusco spoiled me! There was a variety of fresh fruit, breads, rolls, mini pastries, juices, cereals, cheeses, sliced meats. Also items in warming bowls like scrambled eggs, grilled vegetables, lomo saltado, sausages, lyoneese potatoes, quiche, pancakes. A lot of food and plenty of options. I will have the same breakfast every day-fruit, mini pastry or toast, juice, coffee, and will try to find scrambled egg from the dish that is not so mushy. Boring but it suits me fine. My husband will mix it up as he tends to enjoy the vegetables and the meats and cheeses.

Breakfast buffet

Breads and rolls

Cheese and sliced meats

Toppings

Juices

Coffee, teas

Fruit

Lots of cereal choices

Scrambled eggs

Grilled vegetables and potatoes

I ask the hotel to call us a taxi. We pass by lots of market places for souvenirs and such. We have the taxi drop us off at the Plaza de Armas. With Lima traffic it took us around 30 minutes to drive from our hotel in Miraflores to the Plaza de Armas. Cost for the taxi was 30 soles. It's almost time for the changing of the guard ceremony that takes place at the Presidential Palace. There are lots of armed guards to make sure you are standing several feet away from the iron fencing. The ceremony begins around 12 noon and last about 30 minutes. It's quite something to see. Traditional music from the band and lots of marching by the guards in formation. Just too bad you couldn't get right up to the fence as you'd then have better shots for video and pictures without the fence obstruction. Anyone who ventured too close was told by a guard to stand back. You don't argue with a man carrying an assault rifle! This was a very stirring ceremony which I loved and was so glad we got the chance to see it.

Lima traffic-bumper to bumper

The first lady of Peru is supposed to be coming by here today

We see what looks like the band members arriving

Presidential Palace

The band plays a lot of lovely music first

The changing of the guard is done

Next was the Archbishop's Palace. Admission was 20 soles per person or for 30 soles you could buy a combo ticket which included the Cathedral. Since we planned on visiting both we did get the combo ticket but there's no cost saving to do so. The Archbishop's Palace is neocolonial style with Baroque elements. Stunning exterior with elaborate carved wood balconies. This site dates from 1535. A new palace was built in 1924. It was designated a museum in 2010. The first floor had temporary exhibits of religious Catholic faith. The second floor had recreations of offices and halls of the palace. Contains archiepiscopal chapel with 18th century altarpiece dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. A series of portraits of Lima's archbishops, furniture, paintings, ornamental objects-some dating back to the 16th century. Grand staircase. Stained glass ceiling. Open M-F, 9:00 AM-5:00 PM. Sat 9:00 AM-1:00 PM. Free admission for children 12 and under. Guided tours in Spanish and English available for extra cost. We spent 1 hour here.

Archbishop's Palace has gorgeous architecture!

Beautiful carved wood balcony

Entrance

Pretty tilework

Grand door

Blue is the first floor and green is the second floor

Second floor information

Stained glass ceiling

Grand staircase to second floor

Archbishop's Salon

Archbishop's office

Salon Bartolome Maria de la Heras

Santiago Apostle Hall

Paintings on the chapel wall

Ceiling in the chapel

Grand staircase

Sala Melchor de Linan y Cisneros

Archbishop's secretary's hall

The Cathedral is right next door to the Archbishop's Palace. Included with combo ticket or single ticket price of 10 soles per person. This is dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist. Construction began in 1584 and was completed in 1622. Viceroyalty church. The design is Elizabethan gothic, Renaissance Baroque, Neoclassical, and Neocolonial. Many side chapels. Altars. Sculptures, paintings, and ornaments dating from the 1970s. Highlights were the Francisco Pizzarro burial chapel, crypt of Our Lady of Candelabra, crypt of Our Lady of Assumption, the Archbishops' crypts below the main altar. If you decide to go down to where the crypts/tombs are be aware there is an odor and it's close quarters so if you're claustrophobic it might not before you. Breathtakingly beautiful. Murals everywhere. Black/white checkerboard floor. Work being done main altar. A "must see" in my opinion. Stayed here for 1 1/2 hours.

Cathedral

San Juan Evangelista

Painting depicting sign Aries-my birth month

Painting depicting sign Cancer-my husband's birth month

Even the pews have elaborate carving

Black/white checker board floor

It was a hot, sunny day and by now we're thirsty so just a short walk down the street is the Cordano Bar. This is the first bar of Lima. Crowded. You can order food as well as drinks here. Richard orders the Machu Picchu which came in a tall glass of 3 layers. Bottom is red, then yellow, and the top is green. It's very pretty. I got a pina colada which was perfect. Pineapple is my favorite fruit. Service was quick. Cost 45 soles without tip for our 2 drinks. I only wish the menu had described a bit more about the drink ingredients as I would have loved to know what was in my husband's drink! He said it was good but a bit too sweet for his taste. Feeling recharged now for more sightseeing!

Signs

Cordano Bar

Machu Picchu drink

Pina colada

We walked back up to the Plaza de Armas Square to take some time to just sit and take in our surroundings-to people watch. There's a lovely bronze fountain dating back to 1650. The water that is shooting up from the animals around the base looked very tempting for a cool off! The winged figure on top is blowing a very long horn of some type and it has several birds perched on this horn. There are also birds on the figure's head and wings. As we sit here we see the Mirabus/double decker bus go by as well as a horse and carriage. Several lovely yellow buildings clustered around this square.

Plaza de Armas

1650 bronze fountain

Peru flag

Looking at the Archbishop's Palace and the Cathedral from the Plaza de Armas

Mirabus

Horse and carriage

Line for the bank

Our last stop for the day will be the Church/Convent of Santo Domingo which was built by the Dominicans in the 16th century. A pretty peach/pale pink colored building. Altar of 3 Relics-3 Peruvian Dominicans to reach sainthood-San Martin de Porres, Santa Rosa de Lima, and San Juan Macias. Next door is the attached convent which we missed!! There is no charge to visit the church but I believe there is a small fee to visit the convent. We spent 30 minutes here.

Entrance

Door

We were getting a bit tired by now as it was a very hot, sunny day and it's going on 4:30 PM so we decide to head back to our hotel. What was nice about this day of sightseeing was that all the places we visited were in short walking distances of each other so no need to get the taxi to wait for you. With the help of a uniformed transportation guy on the street we get a taxi back to our hotel. Cost 30 soles. Tip: We always carried with us a card from the hotels we stayed at to show to the taxis.

City bus

Lots of billboards with ads

Back at our hotel we spent around 1 hour at the semi indoor pool. Wish there was a hot tub here like the Cusco hotel. We also checked out the exercise room. There's a scale so we decide to weigh ourselves thinking we must have lost several pounds with all the hiking, walking we've been doing. OMG-I've only lost 1 pound and my husband has lost 2 pounds. I figured I had dropped 10 pounds!!

So nice to just relax!

For dinner tonight we will go to the Hard Rock Cafe. My step daughter collects the HR shot glasses so it's a must on any trip where there's a Hard Rock. It's located in the Jockey Plaza which is HUGE and takes us almost an hour to drive there. If I had known more about this mall I would have made plans to get here earlier to do some shopping. Taxi there and back?? Didn't write the amounts down. We stop at the Rock Shop first and are happy to be able to buy the shot glasses. My husband wanted a shirt but sadly the largest size was L and he needs XXL. Not much to choose in the way of clothing here. Cost for 3 shot glasses was 56.99 soles. We got a nice roomy booth inside the Hard Rock Cafe. Our server is Karol and he is very nice. Every time we go to a HR Cafe (London, Athens, Bangkok...)we order the same thing. Original legendary for my husband and since I don't see the smaller version of it I order the big cheeseburger which has double the cheese. There's a choice of cheese and I chose cheddar. Both burgers come with fries. The legendary is immense with bacon and a large fried onion ring-not to mention the lettuce, tomato. How will he get that into his mouth? Not to worry. My husband does just fine. This is not fine dining but sometimes what you need is a burger and fries!. Cost 90.98 soles without tip. I must admit the decor of this HR wasn't as good as some of the other we'd been to. It did have the usual music playing but the rock exhibits were few and nothing outstanding. Another day has gone by so quickly. Where is the time going?