Three flights is a very tiring operation but all had gone fairly swimmingly until we reached check in for our final flight. They asked us for proof that we would be leaving Colombia and so I showed them all our documents (hostel bookings, flights from Peru to France etc.) but as we had not booked transport leaving Colombia they would not check us in. We then spent a very stressful half an hour trying to book a bus online (which was actually impossible) and in the end spent a fortune on a flight (which we would hopefully be able to refund - although this is still not certain.) 

We were pretty relieved therefore to finally reach Bogota, however after waiting some time at the baggage collection we gathered our bags were definitely not here. The process of trying to locate our bags was made a lot harder by the fact that we understood and could speak practically no Spanish. Eventually we were pointed in the direction of JetBlue airline offices who assured us they would call us tomorrow morning with news of our bags. By this point we were pretty exhausted and caught a taxi to our hostel - Casa Bellavista. 

Accommodation:

Casa Bellavista, La Candeleria. The people who worked here were very friendly and helpful and went out of there way to try and help us locate our bags. Nicely located in the La Candeleria district and in walking distance to most of the tourist attractions. (Which was great as getting a bus was pretty convoluted, and the one time we took a bus we ended up in a seriously dodgy area and very quickly hopped in a taxi and went back the opposite way again.) 

Sights: (there are lots of museums to see here. They are mainly all in Spanish, which he obviously greatly limited my understanding of the displays. Also there was way more to see in Bogota but we spent a huge amount of time at the airport trying to sort out our lost bags, so by the end of our stay we knew the airport much better than the city itself.) 

Museo del Oro (gold museum):

This was probably the most interesting museum we went to. Located centrally in La Candeleria, the museum is fairly self explanatory and filled with lots of gold artefacts. However, by about the fifth room with the same sort of gold artefacts on display, we were a little bored by it. Although if you understand more Spanish then it might tell you a bit more about the significance of the different pieces. 

National Museum of Independence or Flower Vase House (Casa del Florero):

Apparently this house is where the chain of events leading to Colombia's independence began.

In short, in 1810 Bogota's patriots formed a plan to wrest control from the Spanish. They needed an excuse to riot, and so they had an idea to ask the well known Spanish merchant Joaquín Gonzalez Llorente to borrow a flower vase (at the Casa de Floreres) for a celebration in honor of Antonio Villavicencio, a patriot sympathiser. They knew that he would refuse and thus this refusal would be enough to provoke a riot. (which he did, or even if he didn't they made this up to allow the riots to break out.) The people of Bogota took to the streets to protest the Spanish and this became known as Colombian Independence Day. 

The museum itself had some interesting displays (again none of which we could fully appreciate as there was no English) but the house itself was worth a look as it was a pretty Colombian house overlooking the main square. 

National Museum of Colombia:

This was probably the least interesting museum for us. This one probably had the least English and I thought it would tell a bit more about Colombia's history but instead it seemed to house lots of art and sculptures instead. 

Plaza de Bolivar (Bolivar Square):

The central square in Bogota with some huge historic buildings bordering it - the Palace of Justice, the National Capitol, Primary Cathedral of Bogota, and Lievano Palace (seat of the Mayor of Bogota.) The buildings date back from 1539 (when the cathedral was started.) The buildings are big and imposing but the thing that strikes you most is the sheer amount of pigeons in the square and they do not move, like seriously they're not going to move unless you virtually tread on them. 

Food:

There's so much choice here that you can eat pretty cheaply (you can easily get a decent meal for 10,000 COP pp.) Although if you're a coeliac or vegetarian you're going to struggle (vegans will die.) Your options are pretty much restricted to eating a variety of carbs (normally with meat inside) and since we don't speak Spanish we've just kind of pointed at stuff to try. At the moment we've worked out a couple:

Empanadas - kind of like a pasty, stuffed with different fillings, normally queso (cheese) or carne (meat.) These are pretty good and maybe my favourite 'Colombian' food so far. Especially if you go somewhere where they make them fresh, they're definitely better. 

Arepas - kind of like a potatoey crumpet. There's not really an easy way to describe these. I'm not too much of a fan. 

The food in Colombia isn't too amazing (as of yet) and is heavily based on carbs (be prepared to be served at least two different types with your meal.) However, the fresh fruit (especially mangos and bananas are really good.) 

Drinks:

Club Colombia beer is easy, cheap, light. The best thing about going for drinks or food here is that there's always a pretty good atmosphere. Bogota is a very lively city and even if you just wander around you will find shows on the street and lots of people everywhere. 

Summary:

Bogota is a huge vibrant city, I think the population is around 8 million. It's very lively and noisy, with everyone in a bit of a hurry. Everyone was pretty quick to dismiss Bogota but after seeing it firsthand I think it's well worth spending a couple of days here. Note: definitely don't wander too much from the tourist path here, stray too far and there are some violent areas about.