Antigua, Guatemala.

The short:

Antigua has been my favourite PLACE to visit so far. I know that I've been extremely positive about everywhere that we have travelled but now that I am actually able to compare places to one another, I am confident that it was rather special (plus a lot of people that we have spoken to agree). It was not at all how I had expected Guatemala to be; this city has an Italian feel to it with pastel painted buildings, cobbled streets, iron bars over windows with bright coloured flowers pouring through, and is incredibly clean and well kept. What makes you realise that you are not in Italy, however, is the number of street sellers wearing traditional dress and the backdrop of mountains to every street. It is a charming city. It is also renowned for being one of the nicer places in Guatemala and is extremely developed, with surprisingly great shops, restaurants and nightlife to choose from (if you look in the right places). Of course, you don't have to search far to find the more local hang outs and eateries, which are still found within just as attractive buildings as the tourist areas. We found out that Guatemala has 22 different languages, which is pretty outrageous when you think about it, but from what I gather they can still all communicate with one another.

The long:

Thursday:

Our hotel was very sweet and quaint, and very much part of the religious Italian theme that embodies the city. After a quick feed we set out to explore. We knew that there was lots to see in one central area so ambled around there for a few hours. We checked out the various convents, old ruins, churches and central square, which I will allow you to judge for yourself but I think are all rather beautiful.

They are an incredibly proud nation and the Guatemalan flag and colours could be seen every way you turned. This was particularly the case because Independence Day is on Monday 15th September, and the whole region is getting prepared for huge celebrations. We decided to eat a little packed lunch in the main square/gardens and just watch people go about their daily lives. Again, there were very few tourists to be seen, which I rather like.

These are the street sellers that I mentioned earlier. There are 100s of them selling a variety of things from bracelets to scarves to fruit and nuts. I honestly have no idea how any of them make any money seeing as there are so many of them selling the exact same goods, but I suppose (hope) that they must otherwise they would do something else. Not quite the horse and carriage we are used to at home...

There were a number of things that I noticed about the locals during our time in Guatemala. Firstly, how many of the local men dress like they are in the Wild Wild West; cowboy hats and boots all the way! Secondly, how beautiful some of the Guatemalan women and children are; some serious unscouted model talent lurking around. Thirdly, Michael commented on how small they all are, and it's so true (even smaller than you mum and Ollie)! They must average 5 feet in height, which makes sightseeing a bit of a breeze for Michael and I with no obstructions in our way.

There were children on a school trip and we crossed paths with them several times during the day. They were slightly infatuated with me (I don't think they see many blondes) and before I knew it we had a little gang of giggling followers saying "Barbie, Barbie". I told them I was not Barbie, which they found very funny. They then asked for their picture to be taken. How could I resist?

We had a rather Godly afternoon as it turned out. Several large crosses make an appearance around the city,

but the most famous is at the top of a hill, and can be seen from any street around the city. Its name translates into English as "cross on the hill".

^ It's the cross standing in the centre of the large cleared area. Anyway, after a tough 10-minute incline, we reached the top to be greeted by a wonderful view overlooking Antigua. 

Once we finished absorbing the view, we excitedly headed back down in to the city centre for our chocolate making course!!! I had read amazing reviews about it on Tripadvisor and thankfully Michael was as keen as I was to do it. The course is held in a chocolate museum called "ChocoMuseo", which is hands down the most interesting museum I have ever been to. We chose to do the "From beans to chocolate" course as it was the most educational and relevant to the area, since the region has a long history of involvement in cocoa bean plantations. It was only us and another couple doing it, which was obviously ideal as you get so much more out of it than when you are in a big group. 

Our "teacher" was so informative and enthusiastic, he really made the class what it was. He took us around the "museum" for about half an hour explaining the evolution of chocolate and how it was originally never eaten; chocolate was purely a drink for many centuries (something I did not know). It was invented by the Mayans, adopted by the Aztecs, re-created by the Spanish, and much later brought to Europe and transformed into an edible product. We made all 3 of the founding recipes of chocolate (as a drink), and all I can tell you is that I was in seventh heaven. They had all sorts of different herbs and spices in them, ranging from cardamom to vanilla, chili, anise seed, mint, etc.

Honestly, they were so delicious. Michael and I had seconds of all of them (and thirds). Also, it genuinely gave us a buzz, likened in the olden days as a high similar to cocaine.

The professional at work:

Our attempt (not too shabby):

The delectable finished product:

We also got to try our hand at making chocolate from scratch; from roasting the cocoa beans to peeling them and grinding them to a shiny paste (which was a race that my boy won, so got us a free choccy to share - I suppose he does have his uses after all!).

LAST BUT MOST DEFINITELY NOT LEAST, we got to make our own chocs and add all sorts of yummy bits to them.

I bet the suspense is killing you...

VOILAAAAA:

A few pieces of heaven/a combo of milk and dark chocolates with a variety of nuts, sea salt, chili powder, orange peel, desiccated coconut and coffee beans hidden within. 

Michael and I agree it was the best $25 either of us has spent in a long time; we ate loads and learnt lots, and even got a big fat goodie bag to take home with us. Happy days.

We found a way to make some room in our bellies and trotted out in search of dinner shortly afterwards. Obviously, dessert was had at home.

Friday:

We had booked our bus to San Pedro la Laguna so knew that we only had a few hours to roam Antigua in the morning. We decided to spend it checking out the huge local market, which sells the usual, 

to the not so usual:

Suffice it to say that I did not appreciate this pig's head appearing out of nowhere between two toiletry shops. Once we finished nosying around we picked up some fruit and made our way to the bus stop, coming across this cheeky little sign en route, which I obviously needed to be papped with!

 A fun 4 hour journey + boat ride awaits!