#13| peru: lima

dear lima,

I found out a few months before summer that during the slow period at work, we can request for a full month off. So, I did, and we began planning this trip!

We left San Francisco and landed in what feels like San Francisco! We drove along the ocean and was greeted by the oh-so-familiar fog. As soon as we had lunch, we made our way to the ocean- always so drawn to the water.

We immediately fell in love with the street art and the architecture. We explored by foot, joined a walking tour, ate everywhere along the way, drank at many hipster bars, and took too many photos. We bookended our trip to Peru with Lima, because it was easiest of fly to/from the metro city. Lima overall was a noticeable contrast with our other adventures in Peru.

Major Note: We found a lot of restaurants were closed on Sundays.

This is the site we used for a lot of referencing at the time. The layout looks quite different now, but the information is still there.

Stay

• 1st Airbnb: Piso in Barranco This has the Mister’s must: a balcony! We were intentional in being near the Barranco neighborhood, and just two blocks away from boardwalk (not clear in the map, we were surprised to find that the boardwalk is two blocks DOWN A CLIFF from the apartment, so walkability requires a bit more navigating). What we loved more than its proximity to the boardwalk is that it is only a few blocks from the heart of Barranco.
• 2nd Airbnb: Exclusive ocean view! The location was perfect, just across from the El Malecón. My favorite features from this apartment were the ocean views from our large windows, AND an elevator that takes us up directly to our apartment (feels so incredibly fancy).

If you are new to Airbnb and sign up using this link, you will get up to $55 off your first booking.

Eat

• Central: #4 best restaurant in the world in 2016 (above Noma at the time!). The 17th course meal was a very educational experience, as the dishes reflect different regions of Peru. We loved the episode highlighting Virgilio Martínez Véliz on Chef’s Table.
• Astrid y Gastón: #30 best restaurant in the world in 2016. We did not intend to eat here, but found a day with little to no plans, so we stopped by here for lunch. We ate very simple (their bread and butter were amazing!), and really enjoyed the patio seating and decor.
• āmaZ: They use sustainable ingredients from small rain-forest communities, and everything was ordered a la carte. Memorable experience: there are some insanely hot peppers on the table as a condiment, and the Mister tried a little before our food arrived. It killed his mouth, and the sweet waitress kept bringing us milk.
• La Picantería: This was my favorite restaurant in Lima, above all. It was a bit far, so we didn’t get to it until our last day. Their menu consists of what is freshly caught that day, and you order the whole fish. From one fish, they can make 2-3 dishes for you based on your request. Love Mayssam’s detailed experience here!
• La Lucha: This was a discovery based on accessibility: It’s open on Sundays. We had previously walked by, noticed an incredibly long line, and what seemed to be a local’s spot. We went back here multiple times and tried every sandwich in the first column- all of which we loved!
• Chez Wong: They only take reservations through the phone in Spanish, but they understood enough of my elementary Spanish to get us in. Anthony Bourdain recommended the ceviche. Overall, I was a little underwhelmed with the food, but the ambiance was homey.
• Note: Maido in Lima has climbed the top restaurants, #11 in 2016, but consistently in the top 10 since.

Drink

• Puku Puku: The Mister is an ultra hipster coffee snob (haha), and this was his favorite spot for sure (I liked it too). We returned here a couple of times.
• Ayahuasca: Each room in this mansion has a bar and lounge seating.
• Victoria Bar: We loved the ambiance of this bar.
• Restaurante Cordano: One of the oldest bars in the country, Cordano is a Lima institution. Because it’s located at the corner of the Government’s Palace, all past Presidents have been customers. [Source] We only had drinks here, hence it’s in this category, but they serve the best butifarra in Lima.

Activities

• Free Walking Tour (don’t forget to bring cash for tips!): My FAVORITE way to explore any city is to join a free walking tour. The guides have so much information to share, and more importantly, their added personal experiences/stories really paint the city as a local. I highly recommend.
• El Malecón: The 6 mile stretch of greenscape along the water is beautiful. When we lived across from it, the Mister went on a daily run. I joined him for a small portion and met at an upscale mall just to take in the view.
• Huaca Pucllana: In the middle of an upscale residential neighborhood in the Miraflores district of Lima sits an ancient adobe and clay pyramid, dating from around 500 CE. [Source] The pyramid is beautiful, and the scene is just mind blowing with the juxtaposition of this ancient pyramid next to a modern city. I believe you will automatically be put into groups and led by an English or Spanish tour guide and the tour was informative. I’ll never forget toward the end of the tour, we were made aware of a ritual of sacrificing young girls… and they are still buried under where we were standing. Oh, my heart.
• Parque de la Reserva: The Magic Water Tour is currently the world record holder for the largest fountain complex in the world, consisting of 13 distinct fountains, many of which are interactive. All of the fountains are lighted at night, many with continuously changing color schemes. [Source] We arrived a bit early, so we ordered an ice cream and sat on a bench while we waited for night to fall. Loved.
• Basílica y Convento de San Francisco de Lima: The basement of the working monastery reveals the bones of wealthy Limeños who believed they would be the last to rest in their expensive plots. The tour reveals what actually happened to their remains. Since the catacombs couldn’t expand and affluent Catholics, unfortunately, kept dying, bodies were stacked to decompose down to the bones, and now the larger bones (femurs, forearms, and skulls) are arranged artistically in a circular pattern to make them more aesthetically pleasing to visitors. The site is interesting from both a historical and modern sociological, ethical, and religious standpoint. [Source] The monastery was architecturally beautiful but the catacomb was haunting with human bones laid in decorative patterns: it is an experience I will never forget…
• Larco Museum: The museum is housed in an 18th-century vice-royal building. It showcases chronological galleries that provide a thorough overview of 5,000 years of Peruvian pre-Columbian history. It is well known for its gallery of pre-Columbian erotic pottery. [Source] We really enjoyed spending a few hours here, and giggled like school children in the Erotic Gallery.

xoxo, kim