Dominican Republic~ day 2

Sunday morning was drizzly, we got up and got ready to go be at church at 9am.  We had figured out where the local ward (branch) met so we called up Francisco and he came to get us.  It was a little confusing trying to figure out where exactly the building was, directions only gave a "proximity to" location, but we eventually found it tucked away on a quiet side street.  I'm used to our church buildings with the steeple on top, this was more like a regular two story building, very simple.  I was pleasantly surprised to find several senior missionary companionships from the States!  They greeted us warmly.  I wonder how often they get visitors??  Matt encouraged me to listen to sacrament meeting in Spanish.  I sang the hymns in Spanish since I can read the words but don't necessarily know what they mean.  I quickly figured out a couple of the hymns simply by singing the music in my head!  The opening hymn was Haz el Bien, Choose the Right.

Sunday School was offered in English.  For Relief Society, I used the headphones to listen to a sister translating the words that were spoken into English. The people were extremely friendly.  I even saw the sister I had sat next to in the temple the day before!  I kinda wanted to sneak down and listen to the Primary kids sing and I'm sad I didn't!  We got some recommendations of things to do and places to eat from one of the senior missionaries.  They told us EVERYONE knows who the Mormons are, just tell them we know so-and-so from the Mormon church!  haha

After church, Francisco took us back to the hotel for a quick change and then we headed to the Zona Colonial (Colonial Zone) for a tour.  Our guide was this Rico Suave guy that was happy to take our money and walk us around, telling us about his city in very broken English!  We started off at the Fortaleza Ozama.  It was built in the early 1500s to defend the city against attack by marauders and pirates.  The walls are built from coral brought from the sea.

We walked down Calle las Damas to see a few prominent points of interest.  It was insane how there were power lines criss-crossed, wrapped, running here, there and everywhere.  So many of buildings were crumbling and in extremely poor conditions.

Panteon Nacional- built in the 1700s, it was originally used as a church, it served many other purposes before it was renovated to serve it's current purpose, a mausoleum where several prominent historical figures are buried.

Musea de las Casas Reales (Museum of the Royal Houses) - Comprised of two connected buildings, the first building was government offices and the Royal Court, which was the first court of law in the New World.  The second building was used as a residence for high government officials.  It now houses various artifacts, furnishings and antique weapons.

Alcazar de Colon -- colonial palace of the Columbus family

Parque Colon - the central square of the Zona Colonial.  This statue stands in honor of Christopher Columbus, who discovered the island on December 5, 1492

Once we finished our tour, we ate lunch at Angelos Pizza (Italian ristorante), which was recommended to us by Elder Anderson.  We were given a table on the upper level, which we had to ourselves!  We tried the bruschetta, had fettuccine with langosta (lobster) and a pizza that was totally different that your typical pizza!  Matt had THREE mango drinks!

This is the owner, who treated us like royalty!

We got back to our room and wanted to check out the hotel pool.  They had free drinks and snacks for happy hour.  We're so wild, we got bottled water!!  We hung out for a little bit then went back to our room.  We called the kids and ordered dessert from room service at 10pm!