Envigado

Medellín, very famous for being the town of Pablo Escobar, has had a rebirth after his death. We've checked in to a fancy hotel, our room even has a lounge and kitchen, in the nice part of town to use as a base to explore. We were overjoyed when we found that the hotel had free laundry machines wity dryers and a heated rooftop swimming pool. It's all about the little things. 🙃

Medellín is known for being the city of eternal spring, the temperature stay pretty much the same all year with highs of around 27. It is so nice to be back in a warmer town, but not too warm as well!

On our first day we visited the historical center of town, a large square with a few older buildings and its main art museum. The museum is dedicated to the famous artist Botero who was born and grew up in Medellín. We hadn't heard of him but he is apparently a big deal in this part of the world and we soon started spotting his sculptures and murals all over the city.

Just opposite the museum, on the other side of the square is the Palace of Culture. Its an old building that dominates the square with its distinct design but inside it is mainly offices for all the government workers who are promoting or legislating in the cultural arts. You can wander round to see the inner court yards and view from the top but it does feel a bit like you're interrupting their workday.

The center of town is also the place of business. The streets are very crowded with people selling all kinds of stuff. Every house in the centre has been converted to commercial space and we found that they are all grouped together by specialty, we walked a street with only phone shops, and then another just for shoes and then another one just with fabric shops! The streets are very chaotic as is the traffic trying to weave its way through the crowds so we are very happy to be staying in our fancy little neighbourhood called Poblado. This is high end business and tourist area where the street are filled with restaurant terraces, bars and boutique hotels. We decided to take advantage of being in a big city and ate some foreign foods, like Indian and Lebanese, not quite the classic Colombian Arepas and Empandads but we are starting to miss a few of the home comforts we take for granted in London. It was tasty and just like the subjects of Botero's art, I'm sure we are a few KG heavier than when we arrived!Les mer