Tourist in Lima

I'm woefully behind on my chronicle of the Peru tour. I did several touristy things before I left Lima. On an afternoon when the performances were over early, Gustavo and I went first to a restaurant for his favorite lomo saltado, beef stir-fry. French fries are one of the ingredients. It was delicious. Then we went to the Museo Larco. This was an incredible museum of Pre-Columbian art, well worth the high admission fee. Unfortunately, this was on a day when I forgot the memory card in my camera. Here is somebody else's video of it:

On a different afternoon, after four performances, Gustavo and I went to downtown Lima to see the Museum of the Convent of San Francisco de Asis.

Though there is much more to the convent and museum than the catacombs, this is what it is best known for. Who doesn't want to see skulls and bones?! Here's what the website says:

Discovered in 1943, they countain thousand of skulls and bones, serving as a burial-place until 1808, when the city cemetery was opened outside Lima. It is estimated that 25,000 bodies were laid to rest there; the crypts, build of bricks and mortar are very solid and have stood up well the earthquakes, it is also believe that existed secret passageways connected to the Cathedral and the Tribunal of the Holy Inquisition.

This is not far from the Presidential Palace:

Do you recognize this picture? I put up a picture of a small-scale replica on Av. Arequipa earlier, though I didn't realize it until one of the students told me it belonged to her family (thanks, Maria Jose!).

Another tourist attraction in Lima is the Parque de la Reserva. The water fountain park is lit up at night. Here I am with my friend (and tour manager) Gustavo:
This next fountain is a maze. People run to the middle when the water is turned off. The jets come on intermittently, so the trick is to get out without getting wet. I'd love to try that in warmer weather. It wasn't that cold the evening we went, but I had no dry clothes with me. They even have a changing room for visitors who plan ahead.

I barely got any drops of water on me in the tunnel of water.

We watched the sound and laser light show. Very impressive!

On the same evening, we went to Las Brisas del Titicaca, a wonderful folkdance show with music and dances from around Peru.

Next, I'll show pictures of Los Lobos de Callao. Guess what that is? Here's a hint, it's not wolves.

In Mexico, not yet working

The way this tour worked out, I will begin telling stories in schools on Thursday of this week, so I have time to sightsee a bit. Last night, Inno and Alberto and I walked down to the House of Tiles (Casa de los Azulejos). This incredibly impressive building, once the home of a count and countess, houses Sanborns, a chain of restaurants and stores which began in 1903. Here's the view from the balcony looking down.

On the stairway is a huge mural by José Clemente Orozco, painted in 1925:

We had a light meal in the piano bar. Very elegant.

This morning I went to the Museo Nacional de Arte and then the Palacio de Bellas Artes--the latter is the premier opera house in Mexico. Both are impressive buildings, inside and out. Here's the Palacio de Bellas Artes:

If that weren't impressive enough, inside is amazing, with murals by Diego Rivera, Orozco, Rufino Tamayo and David Siqueiros on the walls of the second and third floors. There was also a temporary exhibit of El Greco going on. Fabulous!

I walked a lot at these museums, so I went back to the hotel for a rest. Then in the late afternoon Alberto and I took the metro to the Bosque de Chapultepec, an immense park with a castle at the top of the hill. We strolled around for quite a while. We wondered how they enforced the closing of the park at 6 p.m. (we went out the gate at 5:45). Do people get locked in, or choose to stay the night on purpose?

Then we went to Zona Rosa, a lively area for nightlife, for supper before coming back to the hotel. Tomorrow I may go to hear Inno tell stories, or I may do more sightseeing. Or both.