Being a Tourist in San Jose. Costa Rica (City of)

We ended up with only one free afternoon in San Jose to explore the city's offerings - and this was a blitz of an afternoon at that!

First we walked through the bustling Avenida 2 where people were out in numbers. Blankets spread on the walkway offered customers ample opportunities to purchase handbags, electronics, happy face pillows and more.

We continued on to the Museueo del Oro Precolombino. Otherwise known as the Gold Museum.

Here we saw impressive pre-Colombian treasures such as El Guerrero - a life-sized warrior adorned with gold ornaments:

Also many many many cases of gold figurines:

I especially was drawn to the golden frogs:

Keep in mind some of these were smaller than my pinkie fingernail.

By this time, we needed to refuel a bit and we found a lovely respit in the Theatro Nacional cafe. The theatre was closed on Mondays, unfortunately, but at least we got a feel for this gorgeous, historical landmark.

Next we walked over to the Catedral Metropolitana.

If you look closely, you can see two bright green parrots roosting in the left pediment.

On the cathedral's north side, a statue (contemporary) of Pope John Paul by Jimenez Deredia is to be found.

It would have been lovely to take a closer look inside the cathedral, but it was 5:00 mass and that wasn't  possible. However, the tiling on the floors was most attractive.

Right across from the cathedral is Parque Central with a gazebo-type structure that is reported to also serve as a bandstand. Most impressive (and messy) was a tree in this area that was home to thousands of squawking parrots!

The daylight was lessening and we needed to make our way back to the hotel. But not before we checked out the Mercado Central (indoor market) that takes up an entire block of real estate; it reminded us a bit of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey.

Fresh fruit, vegetables, fish and fresh "curiosities" we would've enjoying learning about had we not been so exhausted after our whirlwind time as tourists in this city!

Bedtime was especially welcomed on this day!