Day 18-July 13th

Hi everyone! This is just Claire this time. Today was our first full day in Lima. The day started at our hotel in Miraflores, Lima. We all dressed up for the Government Palace which is where the President lives (sort of like the Peruvian White House). We got there around 10 AM and met our guide named Julio. Julio said that he had given 53 Government Palace tours. Julio took us to the Grand Hall first which included a rectangular table with about 30 chairs around it for all of the important ministers and guests, and of course, a special chair at the head for the president. There was a massive crystal chandelier given to the Peruvian government by Slovakia above the table. Next, Julio took us to a small room and showed us a plaque that immortalized the time the Pope came to Peru for the first time. Julio pointed to the right of the room we were in and told us that there was a movie theater in which the President would watch the movies before they were released in Peru. He would need to approve in order for it to be released. We entered the Front Hall after that. Around 20 busts were placed on the sides of the hall. The busts were the heads of Peru's greatest leaders. Simon Bolivar was there, and Tupac, an indigenous leader from Cusco.
We saw a long hall covered with mirrors and gold leaf after the Front Hall. In this hall, you could see the French influence because it looked like a room from Versailles. The last room we saw was where they kept all of the artifacts/gifts given to the Peruvian President from villages in Peru or cities in other countries. The changing of the guard happened around 12 PM. It was an extremely elaborate changing of the guard with the navy playing in a band for the ceremony. The guards were marching in synch and swinging their rifles. We left the palace after that ended. We went to lunch at a Peruvian McDonald's called Bembos. It tasted much better and probably was healthier than McDonald's. The World Cup finals were on after lunch and we watched Germany beat Argentina. At the end of the day, we went to a Chinese Peruvian restaurant for dinner.
Ciao!
Claire