El Centro - fotos!

Phew. Time for a touristy blog. I've visited El Centro four times since I've been in Lima. Here's a few recaps and pics.

El Centro ("downtown") is home to much of Lima's colonial architecture. This area was the center of Lima during the Spanish rule, and as such it houses the Presidential Palace (Palacio de Gobierno), the Supreme Court (Palacio Justicia), the Cathedral of Lima (Catedral de Lima), and other administrative and religious buildings.

Pictures of the Spanish - Baroque style architecture below. Also, note the palm trees!

Photo credits to Jeremy La Che

My housemate Jeremy and I in front of the central fountain in the Plaza de Armas.

One of the neat traditions of El Centro is the changing of the guards in front of El Palacio de Gobernio. The process happens every day at 12 noon and 6pm. First, a marching band comes out playing traditional Peruvian marches (pictured below). Then, from both sides of the entrance comes a block of guards marching leg straight and lifted to 90 degrees, arms swinging. The blocks meet, salute, and change places, thus marking the changing of the guards. The marching band and "old" guard then proceed outside of the gate and down the street still playing and marching.

The streets branching off from El Centro house stores of all types and sizes. People flock to buy both imported and local goods, traditional Peruvian food, electronics, clothes, and much more.

The mountain San Cristobal overlooks the central area of Perú. Recently created slums line the mountain, housing Andean immigrants who migrated both to look for more opportunity and to flee the Shining Path. In this picture, the mountain overlooks the shops and restaurants that branch off from El Centro.

Some traditional dancers perform in a pavilion near El Centro

I also visited Parque de la Exposicion, a park near El Centro that features a large outdoor concert venue, a Japanese flower garden, and MALI, the Mueso Arte de Lima. This weekend the park will be home to Mistura, a huge Peruvian food festival. Expect some great food pictures in an upcoming post!

The inside of MALI