In Love With My Adopted City: Antigua, Guatemala

Is it possible to fall in love with a place? I think so. We've spent, if you count up all of the days, After over a week in Antigua, Guatemala, I know for sure, Antigua is my kinda town.
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Is it possible to fall in love with a place?

I think so. We've spent, if you count up all of the days, over a week in Antigua, Guatemala, using this city as a base as we explore the rest of Guatemala.

It's not hard to say why I am in love with the place. Antigua is my kinda town.

Known technically as La Antigua, the city used to be the capital of Guatemala and is a colonial gem located only an hour's drive from the capital we know today, Guatemala City.

The bright colours of the low buildings, breathtaking volcanos that can be seen in the distance from any point of the city, and the cobblestone streets make me happy.

Some will say that Antigua caters to tourists, and is not "the real" Guatemala. With all its Western conveniences, this may be true, but who is to say what is real and/or authentic?

I love the town square, which converges on a central parkade where tourists and locals alike hang out. This morning there was actually a parade where little preschoolers dressed in their finest and sang and danced in honour of Guatemala's upcoming Independence Day (on September 15th).

Antigua is becoming my new, if only temporary home.

I've decided to take Spanish classes here -- two weeks of intensive Spanish lessons that I'll describe in a later post. I'll start next Monday after my boyfriend leaves me here to go back to work in London.

I've found a place to stay for the duration of my Spanish classes (more info in another post) and have my favourite hangouts, which I'll also detail later.

But for now, I'll leave you with some more pics of my adopted city.

Isn't she beautiful?

Are you in love with any cities? Or am I crazy?

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