Then I took a walk to Central Park through the pedestrian only paths on my way to the National Museum. En route you will notice that there are a good number of clothing stores, mostly for women, but I was surprised by the sheer volume of shoe stores.
They even had clowns on microphones trying to get the attention of would-be customers. The other things you will notice as you walk around is that on almost every intersection there will be a metal shed. It is about 5 feet wide and about 2 feet deep. These are small vendor locations and they sell varieties of different things.
There are also numerous fruit and veggie sellers just on the street since mangoes and strawberries grow plentifully out there.
The museum is located just West of Calle 17 and the International Highway (1). In the front of the building you will see the original structure in a warm yellow.
It sits atop an open courtyard and a series of steps. This is the old entrance for when it was used for military purposes. Now it is closed off and the entrance is located to the right behind a sphere made of glass and metal.
The museum will cost you about $8 USD to visit and it features a butterfly garden upon entry, a nice collection of pre-Columbian artwork and history of the building.
If you have a large bag you will be asked to place it into a locker that they will provide for you for no cost.
Like any museum, you should remember to turn off the flash when taking pictures.
Around the Museum
If you are looking for souvenirs, just outside of the museum beyond the steps is a gallery of tented shops. There are numerous vendors selling the exact same thing so if you are looking to haggle you definitely can go for it.
In the courtyard in front of the museum I was fortunate enough to take in some live performances for a pride concert. The people were very friendly, there were a number of tourist police on hand but they also seemed to be enjoying the music and the atmosphere.
Dinner
I would suggest for at least the first couple days taking in food you would generally eat at home, such as western fast food. You will be walking a lot and sweating tons to help burn the calories if you are worried. But the more familiar foods will help your body adjust to the local cuisine. It will also help if you are just learning to order food because it is as simple as:
"Me gustaria [combo number]"
And if you want to take the order out you can say:
"Para llevar" (is to go) or I used "Tu-Vas" for take-out
*Please note I am not a Spanish teacher, this is what I was told to say by locals.
The other benefit for me was to get used to converting the money in my head because I know the cost of a McDonald's hamburger and I can compare how to gauge how much I should spend for food.
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