On Friday after days of rain and smog in Bogotá, the thought of getting out of the city and seeing more of Colombia was sounding very appealing to me. Because I’ve lived in a city for 5 years now, as I travel I now tend to want to leave immediately.

The friend of a friend I have in Bogotá arranged for a friend of hers to pick me up and we drove ~4 hours north to Villa de Leyva. Villa de Leyva founded in 1572,  is a really popular Colonial town in the Boyaca department of Colombia. The cobblestone streets and Spanish style red-tiled roofs are very charming, and I’m really happy I was able to go for the day. While Villa de Leyva is beautiful, its main source of revenue is now a tourism, and with that comes a price tag. We had lunch and dessert after, and the prices were notably more expensive than in most of Bogotà.

The beauty countryside of Boyaca

Plaza Mayor in Villa de Leyva

For lunch I had mojarra, a poplar fresh similiar to Tilipia (I think?)  in Colombia. Since we were in a tourist town, this was my most expensive meal so far at a ~$12 price tag.

Mojarra for lunch!

After Villa de Leva we drove back to Chía, a suburb of Bogotá, to visit the famous Andres Carne de Res. Andres Carne de Res is the largest restaurant/nightclub in all of Colombia, and frankly I’ve never seen a larger restaurant or club anywhere.

Me with the ~50 page menu

This place is all about the absurd, everywhere you look staff members are dancing, throwing confetti, and encouraging visitors to party. Flamboyantly dressed employees greeted us at the entrance of the restaurant with tequila shots, whistles, party hats, and silly glasses. I tried imagining this place in the United States and laughed because, compared to Colombians, Americans are so boring and stiff. Colombians have the most imaging attitude, no matter what is happening or how bad things are they find a reason to celebrate. I also noticed that people here don’t drink very much, they don’t need alcohol to have a good time and having una cerveza or two is enough for most.

I have lots of pictures but unfortunately the wi-fi is too spotty here to upload them. If you go to Bogotá, go to Andres Carne de Res.. you won’t regret it!

PS- Of course it rained.. GO AWAY RAIN!