The other Columbus...

As mentioned in the previous post, La Zona Colonial is the oldest area of the city. This area was the first settled area by Christopher Columbus. In this area, there is the La Catedral Primada de America, La Fortaleza Ozama and more. 

In this post, I am just going to focus on La Alcázar de Colón, which is the foto above. This residence belonged to Christopher Columbus' son, Diego Columbus and it is the first official resident of the Americas. 

Before we arrived to Columbus' house, I walked around La Zona Colonial with my cousin Lisa and my uncle Enrique, and took some pictures of this historical area of the city.

Above is a photo of a sign of the street below called Calle Las Damas. This is to be the oldest street of the new world, built in 1502.

This is a mural that is in the ticket center of the Alcazar of Columbus. I love maps which has led to my passion for traveling. 

Below, are all the different rooms within the Alcazar.

Kitchen

These dishes were so fascinating to me because the shield on the plates is from Castilla y Leon, which is the province I lived in when I was studying in Salamanca in Spain. 

The Ozama River. It is believed that Columbus sailed in to Santo Domingo through this river. 

Christopher Columbus with his son Diego. 

The plaza outside the Alcazar from the front balcony.

To conclude the tour, I wanted to add these last two photos of drawings that were on the walls of the Alcazar. I thought they were pretty fascinating.

This is end of my tour of the palace. I remember coming to this place as a child and think that it was Christopher Columbus' house. It wasn't until years later that I realized that it was his son's house and not his fathers. Diego seems to be forgotten and is overshadowed by his father's accomplishments.  Of course, there is a lot of controversy when it comes to Columbus and his affect on history. Yet, as I did some research on Columbus and his son, I realized that if it wasn't for his son Diego, Christopher Columbus may not have been remembered for what he had accomplished. 

How do you see Christopher Columbus? Did you grow up in an environment where he was revered or criticized?

Oh, and I almost forgot... HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY TO THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC!!

Santo Domingo: Un poco del Malecón y La Catedral más Antigua de las Americas

Ha, I bet you did not think that you would be learning some Spanish from Lady on a Roof, right?

Well, continuing on in my excursion through Santo Domingo, my cousin made a quick stop by El Malecón which basically translates to an embankment/boardwalk by the coast. I've been here so many times that I really did not take the advantage this time to take a lot of pics.

This is along the boardwalk in El Malecón. During this month, it is not only time for Carnival but also the celebration of the independence day which is this Monday, February 27th. As you can see above and in a lot of the pictures that I post, the Dominican flag is everywhere to commemorate specifically, the independence day.

From here, we went to La Zona Colonial, which is the oldest part not only of the city and of the country, but of all of the Americas! Here are some pics of the La Catedral de Santa María la Menor, the first cathedral built in the Americas. I have to literally RUN to catch a bus, so here are my favorite pics of and around the cathedral with little writing. Hope you enjoy them!!

Christopher Columbus, pointing to Europe. There numerous statues of Columbus pointing to a foreign land in some many cities, like the one Barcelona where he is pointing to the Americas.

So, did you know that many of the first establishments of the Americas were here in the Dominican Republic? 

More postings on this historical island are to come!!

The Secret is out!! Lady on a Roof is in the Dominican Republic!!

¡¡Hola a todos!! Sorry to keep you all in suspense for so long... I have been too busy enjoying the warm weather down here. Once a year, I use my vacation time to come to the Dominican Republic and visit my family here. I have family in the capital which is Santo Domingo and in a town called Barahona. Each time I come, I visit both places because my goal each time (more than visiting the beaches) is to spend time with family. This visit is not any different.

I arrived early Saturday morning and since I have been here, I have been spending time with my cousins Ana and Lisa who are like sisters to me. In the capital, we may do some shopping, visit some popular spots and spend time with friends and family that are here.

For my first night here, Ana's in-laws took us to a restaurant called Adrian Tropical. That's us at the restaurant in the photo on the left (notice how I am the only one posing).




In Santo Domingo, Adrian's (which is what the restaurant is called for short) has many locations around the capital. The most popular one is right on the water in the area of the city called "El Malecon". Yet, my cousin Ana swears that this location of Adrian's make the best food. This, I would agree.

When you first sit down, everyone gets a small bowl of sancocho, which is traditional Dominican broth made with different types of meat and vegetables.

Here is a closer shot so you can see the texture of the soup... Qué rico...

Next, we got out drinks. My cousin's husband got the popular Dominican beer, Presidente.

Ana got a piña colada.

Me? I got one of my favorite drinks that I have loved since I was a little kid: Batida de Lechosa. This translates to Papaya Shake.

While we waited for our food, a musician came to entertain us with some traditional instruments from the island. 

Though the upstairs was closed off to the public, it was beautiful to look at. 

Finally, after a long wait, our food arrives. I ordered Mofongo which is a fried plantain mixed with pieces of meat. 

With my Mofonogo, I got some pieces of steak which you can see in the photo above. For me, this is a real treat because I never eat Mofongo unless I come here. 

How about you? Have you ever had Mofongo? How about any other types of Dominican dishes? If not, know that you are missing out ;)