Antigua, Guatemala

     When I was in Guatemala I had a chance to stay a few days in Antigua.  Antigua was on of the first cities in the Americas built by the Spanish.  I really didn't like it that much, it looked really old on the outside but when you really walked around you can seen it was kind of fake.  The buildings look really old on the outside but when you walk inside they look like boutiques you would see on south beach.  It felt like a movie set or like going to Disney Land but it does has tons of history and thats what makes it worth visit.
 

   Like I said there's tons of history in Antigua, you can just see it in the architecture.  There are tons of churches all around the city and the one below stood out to me.  The Spanish would have the Mayan people build the churches and at this church they had them make grapes for the outside design.  But instead of making grapes the Mayan they made the design look like corn, that is very important to the Mayan culture.

   Also in Antigua there is on of the top Jade factories in the world, La Casa del Jade.  Jade is a precious rock that is used for jewelry.  Jade was a very important item to the Mayans, that the kings wore all over their bodies and even placed them on their teeth to show their power.