Posted 2015-07-25 by admin under Costa Rica

  One of the great things about travel is returning to a city you have such fond memories of and the great time you had the first time you visited, well that is the way I feel about San Jose.  As much as a city can change it stays very much the same.  I started my day with a walk to the city’s edge to photograph some of the mountains that embrace it, rising high over it.  With each street I crossed and each neighborhood I walked through the more I was reminded of why I love this city so much.  The city is bright and colorful with homes painted in multitudes of colors that are bright and alive.  And while some may not use the word beautiful and San Jose in the same sentence, I will.

As I made my way back to the city I headed back to the city center and visited my first church, The Catedral Metropolitana, on the city’s most beautiful.  The artwork that covered the ceilings was just as beautiful as the stain glassed windows from Paris that lined it, for those that visit the city, it is a must.  From there I walked to the Teatro Nacional Costa Rica very close to the church.  As you enter the theater statues of  Calderon de la Barca, Frederic Chopin and Ludwig Von Beethoven greet you.  The inside features the mural Allegory of Coffee and Bananas by Milanese artist Aleardo Villa, which is featured on the five colon bill.  The theater is considered the finest historic building in the capital.

Once I left the theater it was lunch time and on any given street you’ll find any fast food chain to the top restaurants in the city, and usually down the center of most streets are vendors trying to sell you anything and everything.  After some lunch I made my way to Parque Nacional, one the quietest places in the city.  The park is the perfect place to sit and relax, it is one of the city’s most green spaces.  It has a collection of statues devoted to key figures in Latin American history and at its center is the Monumento Nacional, this monument depicts Central American Nations driving out American filibuster William Walker.

And after an hour or so I returned to my hotel and my first full day back in Costa Rica was over and now it was time to see if the nightlife was as still as energetic and vibrant as I remember.