I will admit that when he asked me to go to Colombia with him that my second reaction was to be nervous. My first reaction was "Of course! This will be so much fun! I want to explore and travel with you!". The nerves came probably a couple days later when I realized that I would be meeting his entire family and my Spanish es muy malo, more like mi espanol es Spanglish. But I felt so comfortable with him and so excited that my nerves were pushed to 1/3 of how I felt.
When the time came to fly to Bogota, Colombia I was so excited (and of course nervous). The whole flight was excitement, both of us were looking forward to this experience. I knew he couldn't wait to show me his hometown and have me taste the foods he grew up with.
Our flight to Bogota landed in the afternoon and once we got our bags we were warmly greeted by his parents. They both immediately hugged me and made me feel welcomed.
The day after we arrived he wanted to show me where he went to University and explore the city center. We used public transportation to get to the downtown area of Bogota. I am so glad I came with a local, because the bus system confused me! The buses run in their own lane with bus stops in covered areas (similar to subway stops) in the middle of the road. The Bus lines (to me) were not clear, but he was a natural and we easily transferred to the buses we needed. I was fascinated by the city streets of Bogota and all the new scenery. My ears were adjusting to the new cadence of speech, the beautiful melodic sounds of Spanish.
We started by exploring the Plaza De Bolivar where all the old municipal buildings are. The Museo Del 20 De Julio is there. The museum portrays the history of Colombia and really gives a great overview for the big events.The museum is in Case De Llorente, where the independence started. After looking at the exhibits we went to the house's back courtyard and saw some of the government buildings peaking out.
You can feed the pigeons in the square outside of the The Museo Del 20 De Julio, which as a girl now living in New York City, this did not sound appealing. But there was a child happily holding bird feed out to attract all the pigeons in the Bogota area!
He looks very happy to be surrounded by pigeons! "Come to me Pigeons!"
We then walked to where he went to University. The campus was incredibly gorgeous! There were flowers everywhere in all colors. The school's buildings looked very beautiful. It was nice to walk around the campus with him as we re-lived some of his memories together.
Our next stop was Mount Monserrate for Lunch. We explored side streets on our way. And stopped to appreciate the colors and lively atmosphere of the city.
Once we got to the base of Mount Monserrate we decided to take the Funicular up the mountain! It was so much fun, and the views were incredible!
We had lunch at the top, and enjoyed seeing the expanse of the city from the Mountain's view. The food was also delicious!
It was a gorgeous and wonderful day. I loved seeing the city through his eyes and being able to see where his memories took place.