My Old San Juan Food Tour started in front of the Banco Popular de Puerto Rico near the harbor. My tour mates were visitors on their own in San Juan and some passengers from the Disney ship in port.

The giraffe statue in front of the bank.

The Banco Popular de Puerto Rico.

Close-up of one of the bas reliefs on the bank building.

Walking up a street of beautiful colonial buildings. San Juan was settled by Ponce de Leon in the 16th century.

The Oh La La! store. Old San Juan has numerous stores.

Looking up the street. The streets are narrow and cobblestoned.

Looking down to the harbor.

Looking down the street.

Closer-up.

A colonial building.

Another one.

Statue in one of its niches.

Another.

Shoe shiner.

Our first stop.

At the Aromas Coffee House, Cafe, and Restaurant.

Inside the Aromas.

Here we had local arabica coffee and mallorcas: sweet Puerto Rican sweet bread rolls. Both were good.

Onward up a hill.

Part of the city walls.

Our tour guide.

The city walls were made of conch--seashells.

A view from here. Our guide told us that the haze is from sand blowing in from the Saraha Desert, a long way from here.

Another view.

Part of my tour group.

Another uphill walk.

Our second stop--at Senor Paleta, an ice pop shop.

Several flavors of ice pops: fresa (strawberry), dulce de leche (caramel), and sabor del mes (flavor of the month), among others. I had the fresa.

My group eating their ice pops.

A building with tiled windows.

A window.

Another window.

More colonial buildings.

Beautiful balcony and windows.

A small park overlooking the harbor.

Buildings behind the city wall.

View from the city wall.

More of the wall.

There is an old chapel, the Capilla del Cristo, built in 1753, inside the gate. It is occasionally open to the public.

Close-up.

Closer-up.

A street we passed.

The Parque de las Palomas (Pigeon Park).

The narrowest house in Puerto Rico and some say of the world: La Casa Estrecha (The Narrow House). It is 5 feet wide and 36 feet long. It was originally an alleyway.

Another view.

Another walk uphill.

A store.

A very good price for a bottle of water.

Colonial buildings.

Blue cobblestones seen throughout Old San Juan. They were used for ballast on Spanish ships and were made from re-used slag waste from iron.

Our next stop: at the La Calle Puerto Rican Arts & Crafts Gallery & Store.

Inside the gallery.

Many masks on its walls.

Mask.

Mask.

Masks.

Mask.

Mask.

Mask.

An old map on display.

Here we had empanadas--good.

And ceviche (cured raw fish)--okay but not a food I usually eat.

On our walk: the Spicy Caribbee.

Bear on a balcony.

The Cafe El Punto. We didn't stop here.

Onward.

La Fortaleza (The Fortress), now the official residence of the Governor of Puerto Rico, built between 1533 and 1540 originally to defend of harbor of San Juan. Guided tours of it are available.

Looking inside a building.

Looking backward.

The 450-year-old San Juan Cathedral. Ponce de Leon is interred inside the cathedral.

The Museo del Nino Puerto Rico (Children's museum) opposite the cathedral.

Close-up.

The giraffe statue in front of the museum, similar to the one we saw at the start of the tour.

Another sculpture in the park area.

Our next stop was in the building second from the left.

We went to the Rosa de Triana serving Spanish cuisine.,

Inside the Rosa de Triana.

We had mofongo here, which is a dish based on fried green plantain, which is mashed in a mortar and pestle. We each had our own mortar and pestle to mash the plantain.

To the plantain, you add meat, broth, spices, etc. This is what we added to the plantain.

It is served with rice and beans. I didn't like it at all.

The other side of this very pretty street.

The Plaza de Armas, one of the main squares in Old San Juan.

Just taking it easy and leaning an arm on the statue on the bench.

Closer-up.

Closer-up.

San Juan City Hall on the Plaza de Armas. The statues on the fountain represent the four seasons: autumn, winter, spring, and summer. Spring is facing us.

The San Juan City Hall.

Ice cream vendor.

A food stand with a long line.

They are selling mayorcas (also spelled mallorcas), what we had at our first stop on the tour.

Pigeon food vendor.

Another uphill walk.

Casa Corte, a chocolate shop, our next stop.

Inside the Casa Corte.

Artwork at the Casa Corte.

More artwork.

Casa Corte brand chocolate bars for sale.

Our treat: chocolate bars on top of cheese, a combination I didn't think very good. Better to eat separately.

Also churros (better in LA!).

A colonial building.

Another uphill street.

Colorful buildings.

Colorful building.

Farther up the street.

Sign in a store window.

Our last stop: at the Mezzanine, Cocktail Bar & Tapas.

We were, of course, sitting on the mezzanine level of the building.

A nice place to sit.

Here we had pina coladas--not my favorite drink.

And guava-topped coconut flan. Not too bad. This was the end of our food tour.