Admission is charged everywhere, and though I expect that in museums, I have an issue with paying to enter a house of God. I get quite stubborn about this, actually. We were able to sneak into this church. Such golden splendor! I wondered how many public bathrooms....just for starters...could be built so no one would need to urinate on the sidewalks. This was no house of God.
I was that nasty tourist who dared take a few flash photos
inside a church! But, just look at the gold! It's real!
There are treasures inside the old buildings, and this ceiling was one of the few we were fortunate enough to see.
I don't care for large cities, in general. I saw men urinating on the street...rather casually....and more squalor than I have seen anytime in recent history. The people are friendly and helpful, though visibly more stressed than they are in the small cities and villages. Still, I had no wish to linger, and stayed out of Lima on my second trip to Peru. I was coughing and gagging from the diesel fumes, so I was more than just a little bit cranky.
Though this city of almost 8 million people is choked with pollution from diesel belching cars....lots of them, taking up every square inch of the wide city streets without painted traffic lanes....there are gems of Colonial architecture to see among mostly unfinished building projects.
Peruvians are excellent drivers! We were very impressed both by their skill, patience, and courtesy. It's really amazing!
