First of all, I moved to a new neighborhood! I am staying in a hostel downtown for the next 2.5 weeks, so I have new places to explore (that are within walking distance). I'm a little behind on posting photos, though, so these are from last week. I'll try to catch up this weekend, but no promises. Anyways, these photos are from my trip to the National Park and National Museum.
These dogs looked like they were having so much fun! It's usually hard to tell which are strays and which are accompanied by their humans. On the streets, sometimes strays will sort of just walk with people, and sometimes pets will just sit around on the sidewalk.
Roads through the park are often lined with taxis and vendors.
The views were really incredible. This is one of the fountains and, oh, look, mountains!
Clock square (like Times Square), or square clock? Both?
There are new, smooth paths in the park, but you can also find many older paths. This one was so quaint with its uneven stones and wall of trees.
There's a whole section of the park with playgrounds. I considered swinging but I didn't want to alarm any Colombian parents.
I love the juxtaposition of modernity and antiquity that you can find in the city. The sun came out to light up this patched fence.
There's a globe and a map of Colombia. They have an observation platform so you can look down on the map, but I could only take photos of bits and pieces, so this is what you get.
This might be my favorite photo of the day. I was watching several birds, and as this one rested on a branch, the sun peeked out and lit up the leaves. I love the colors!
One of the stray dogs in the park. She was so pretty!
There are so many different people in the park. This guy was practicing his tightrope-walking skills. You never know when it will come in handy for a quick escape...
This is the main fountain/monument in the National Park. It's a great place to take a rest and people watch, because it's on one of the main streets in Bogotá.
Right next to the National Park is a Museum of Culture and Art. It's not as much a museum as it is a cultural center. They have different talks on artists and art techniques. I walked around a little, but most of the lights in the exhibit rooms weren't on, so I didn't get many photos. I had to use flash for this one, but it actually turned out okay.
Despite not seeing a lot of art, the building itself was pretty. There were some interesting, quirky items in the gift shop, but they were quite expensive.
After the National Park, I walked in the direction of the museum, but I didn't know exactly how far it was. I thought I passed it, so I turned around and after half a block knew I hadn't walked far enough yet. It was a little confusing, but went past a mall so I stopped to get coffee and a sweet roll. The mall had this horse statue in front of it. I have no idea why.
Outside the mall, there were jesters on stilts. Kind of exciting, until you realize they are just giving out ads for a cell phone company.
Aha! I found it! The outside is impressive in size, but actually rather boring otherwise.
I don't remember what exactly this is, but I didn't notice the face in the sun until after I took the picture. It looks pretty cool, so I deemed it to be blog-worthy.
This is the desk, flag, and portrait of Laureano Gómez, president of Colombia from 1950 to 1953.
This is a poster promoting the Pan-American Union. "What's that?" you might ask, to which I would respond, "Look it up on Wiki. You'll learn something."
This piece depicts Adam and Eve partaking of the forbidden fruit from the serpent.
This is one of two pieces entitled "Anguish." I love how the perfectly sculpted body is emerging from/attached to the rough, unpolished stone.
This shows a prisoner being 'disciplined.'
Some of those 'disciplinary' instruments.
These are typical items that the peasant/working-class type would have worn back in the day.
This is a typical painting by some really famous artist from Colombia. He's known best for his voluptuous figures, whether they be people, animals, or even houses. His name escapes me at the moment, but I will eventually be touring a house that has a bunch of his paintings in it, so you'll get more information then.
This is one of the gardens. The museum is broken up into several different wings, so in between there are gardens with statues and fountains.
What better way to end a blog post than with a headless statue!?
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