Lima, Peru

My sister Jackie and I were born two years and 8 days apart, so her trip to Peru was in part to celebrate our birthdays, and to help with that, our Dad gifted us with a stay at a nice hotel. And what a great treat it was!! Especially since we had spent the better part of the 30 hours before our arrival in Lima traveling and on a bus. I would highly recommend this hotel - affordable but  luxurious. There was a gym, pool, sauna, and great views. 

view from our room

I could have just stayed at the hotel (In fact I added an extra night and did just that - I left the property only once that day for a 15 minute walk to get a sandwich).  But we needed, and wanted to, explore. Jackie only had two more days in Peru.

We started our first day with the free walking tour of the historical downtown area. However, we missed the first meeting point, and needed to take public transportation ourselves to get downtown. I went into a nearby hostel to figure out what to do and we headed out on public transportation to catch up to the group. We had to get on the main bus line, which functions almost like a subway. It was really quite cool and efficient. You pay before you enter a platform, like a subway station - this reduces the time the stops take for most buses. Then the bus pulls up and you get on through an entrance. There's different platforms for different routes. It was pretty impressive public transportation, especially for South America. Well, we missed our stop and were late again for the walking tour. Somehow we still found them a second time and were able to join in!

We saw several historical sights, such as the Plaza Mayor, Saint Rosario church, and the original train station, which is now the market and post office.

Plaza Mayor

train station / post office

We also had a few drink tastings. We tried chicha morada, which is a popular juice made from purple corn. It kinda tastes like watery grape juice. Later we also tried the yellow kind, which was sweeter. (they also ferment this kind into beer….it's pretty gross)

We also had a Pisco tasting, trying four flavors- regular Pisco sour, papaya, a Kaluaha like one (really good!) and cocoa (which tasted like mint and I didn't like it at all).

After the tour we went to San Francisco church. This was home to the Franciscan monks and houses large catacombs. Pictures weren't allowed inside and it's a shame because it was so beautiful and cool. We were very glad we took the tour. The woodwork in the church, especially in the seats of the monks, was so intricate. There were amazing mosaics and tile work. And the catacombs had piles of bones for 25,000 people. Google image search "san francisco monastery lima peru"

Amazing!!!

We then visited the Central Market, looking for souvineers, which we couldn't find. It was a maze and set up similarly to La Paz's in a parking garage like structure.

Our next and last downtown stop was the birthplace of the Pisco sour, Hotel Bolivar. Definitely the best Pisco sour we had. Delicious and perfect. But we were also hungry and the food we got was not great and the ambiance wasn't as special as we were hoping for.

After a rest and a few drinks at the hotel, we went to dinner at Huaca Pucllana hich overlooks the ruins by the same name. Unfortunately we didn't have a great table and couldn't see them. But we did have a spectacular meal - ceviche, octopus, anticucho hearts (beef hearts), and duck. We ordered WAY too much and could not come close to finishing everything. We also didn't want to try to finish the hearts - they were delicious, but rich, and still kinda creeped me out knowing what they were.

We had some drinks on Berlin road, the epicenter of bars in Miraflores, and called it a night.

Our second day in Lima was more relaxing, with most of our time spent along the beach front promenade, Malecon. It is a beautiful stretch of parks that run along the sea through the Miraflores and Baranco neighborhoods. There are cliffs that jet down to the beaches, where you can see surfers at several breaks. There are several statutes along the way, including the famous lovers embrace. There are benches reminiscent of Guadi's Park Guel in Barcelona. I saw a skate park and BMX ramp. There is an area that paragliders jump off. And people are running, rollerblading and biking along the paths. Jackie and I started walking it, and then rented bikes. We took the bikes into the Baranco neighborhood which is really charming. Both Baranco and Miraflores are very liveable with the parks, nice condos along the water, and cute houses a few blocks in. We REALLY liked the areas!

lovers embrace statue to the left

After our bike ride, we headed down to the beach. The Lima Beaches are not nice, at least not the ones below Miraflores. There is not much shoreline and the beach is pebble/ rocks. We weren't comfortable so didn't stay long.

Our goal was to go to a renowned ceviche place in Baraco for an early dinner, but when we got there at 7:30 it was closed. We ended up at Arlotia, a great tapas place, and had a drink after dinner at Ayahuasca, which was super funky and also a top bar in the world.

amazing food at Aliota's

great martinis!

After Jackie left, I stuck around Lima for a couple more days. But instead of doing more tourist things, I enjoyed the Miraflores and Baraco neighborhoods. They are charming areas, and I enjoyed walking around looking at their unique touches and hidden streets.

In the morning I ran the promenade like a local, and I would definitely do it every morning if I lived there. Better than the west side highway in NYC! You could feel the sea mist, watch the fog lighten, see surfers in the water and tons of birds were flying along the shore.

I walked all over the place through Miraflores and to Baraco. I made it to the ceviche place we had the failed attempt at and had lunch there (Canta Rena). It was delicious and a bit spicier than the others we had.

I LOVED Lima. I thought the downtown area was great for history and a visit during the day. I found the Baraco area charming and the Miraflores neighborhood incredibly liveable. If I wanted to or had to move abroad, I would look at Lima. I don't know why Lima is overlooked or often gets a bad rep - It is westernized so maybe that's not what everyone wants. But of all the bigger cities in South America, this one is by far my favorite. I can't wait to go back!