My day long "walking tour" and my quest to locate Santo Domingo's new Metro Line #2, didn't always have me in the "worst of the worst" parts of Santo Domingo (as you can see above). I've traveled past the National Palace many times before, but never stopped to get a picture of it. The Executive Branch Government offices are located here. A little FYI, The National Palace stands on the grounds of the former Presidential Mansion that the US Military built during our occupation of the Dominican Republic from 1916-1924 (not when we later occupied this country in 65-66).
Today's blog entry was not intended to be about Neoclassical architecture in Santo Domingo, but what the hey, roll with it. If the National Palace is #1 the Palace of Fine Arts is certainly #2 on the aesthetic scale. Another gorgeous building built under the horrific dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo.
Although I am staying less than two blocks from the Museum of the Dominican Resistance, I don't plan to revisit the museum on this trip. But, I really really enjoyed my previous visit to the museum and it was incredibly informative (maybe horrifically shocking is a better word to describe Trujillo). If anyone is ever in Santo Domingo, this museum is a must see. http://www.museodelaresistencia.org
Lots more to say about Santo Domingo, but it would be hard to compete with the best (architecture) and the worst (Trujillo), so until manana...
PS. The stray dog "factor" in Santo Domingo is almost ZERO. I only say this because of having feared for my life while chased by a pack of wild stray dogs in Colombia, it's important stuff !
Ah, the dogs. Brings back fond memories of fearing for my life in Valparaiso, not to mention the smell of excrement there. Not the Dominican, but here are our dog ratings for select South America cities (often a little generous).
ReplyDelete--Brazil--
Manaus, 2 dogs (gotta start somewhere in the middle)
Tefe, 1 dog
Sao Luis, 1.5 dogs
Salvador, 2 dogs
Itacare, 3.5 dogs
Rio de Janeiro, 2.5 dogs
Uruguay--
Montevideo, 2.5 dogs
Colonia, 3 dogs
--Argentina--
Buenos Aires, 2.5 dogs
San Martin, “the Bone Standard”, 4 plus dogs
Ushuaia, 3 dogs
--Chile--
Pucon, 3.5 dogs
Valparaiso, minus 1 dog
Santiago, 2.5 dogs
La Serena, 2 dogs
Chanaral, 1 dog
Arica, 1.5 dogs
--Peru--
Arequipa, 3 dogs
Yanque, 2 dogs
Cuzco, 3 dogs
Aguas Calientes, 2.5 dogs
Puno, 1.5 dogs
Pisco, 1 dog
Miraflores/San Isidro, 3 dogs
Lima, 2.5 dogs
Bob, I'm glad you caught that comment. It was directly for you. I always appreciated that tidbit in your blog ! :)
DeleteYou're doing some fine blog work here, amigo. Love the photos and doing a link to a musuem web page is a great idea. Keep up the great work.
ReplyDeleteIt's time consuming, but something that I have plenty of ! That museum is just over the top cool.
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