City sightseeing

Today is Halloween, which is a big event in the country. It's a tradition they've embraced to the fullest. Shops are decorated with pumpkins and fake cobwebs. Children and parents are dressed up. Little princesses, Dalmatians and supermen walk the streets. Many parents make do with a scary mask. Those in costume carry small pumpkin buckets to shops and restaurants handing out candy. To get the best view and experience the city, many choose to go on guided bike tours. It's not exactly cheap. It costs between 25 and 35 usd. We really wanted to explore the city on a bike, but our hostel had been out partying on Saturday night, so they couldn't handle a bike tour. Instead, we took a ride on Mirabus, a typical double-decker sightseeing bus where the guide spoke both Spanish and English. Mirabus offers different packages. You can choose a guided evening tour of the city (55 S for 3 hours) or a tour that combines city sightseeing with a dinner show at the Sheraton Hotel (150 S for 5 hours). We chose the bus tour, which goes through the Miraflores and Centrum neighborhoods (55 S for 3 hours). We were informed about the beautiful colonial buildings, the government building, the town hall and the cathedral. The tour included a visit to the old church and convent called San Francisco. Today it is a museum, once it served as the city cemetery. Under the church and convent, the people of the city were buried - slaves, commoners and rich people alike. The poor were thrown into a kind of well, while the other bodies were stacked on top of each other. From the catacombs there are air ducts, one of which goes directly into the church - a grate in the church floor. To avoid odors, the dead were smeared with lime. Inside the monastery you can see a library of antique books that the monks collected. Many of the books originate from Europe. You'll also pass through the monks' changing rooms where they changed into their "ecclesiastical uniforms", their dining room and the choir in the church where the songbooks were enlarged so they could be placed on a stand in the middle of the room where everyone could read the writing. Lima has an incredible number of fast food restaurants. We are looking for Menu del Dia, but so far we haven't really found any places. Maybe it's not so widespread here... Menu del Dia offers an opportunity to taste local dishes at very reasonable prices. Instead, it seems that many people prefer fast food restaurants that are only a short distance apart. The exchange rate varies a lot. We have found that Casa de Cambio offers the best rates - better than the banks and even better than the airport.