Lima

Lima day 1

Taxi: a wild, early morning taxi ride from the airport to our airbnb in Barranco after flying through though the night.

La bodega verde: a cafe below our airbnb that was open, had good cappuccinos + sandwiches, and helped us gain energy for the day.

Plaza de Armas: we ubered to the plaza de armas as the first few shops were starting to open. We wondered around, taking in the architecture and munched on the first churro we could find.

Basillica de San Francisco: a monastery at the intersection of colonialism, catholicism, and Peruvian culture; built 11 years after the founding of Lima. (The library and garden were favorite stops along our tour.)

LA73: fantastic ceviche, delicious green tamalito (think tamale but in this case more of a mash) that stretched our imagination of what corn can taste like, and delightful people—also, right by our airbnb.

Parque de mariposa: our attempt to keep awake after an amazing nap in our airbnb. Views of Lima, lovely landscaping, but unfortunately no butterflies.

Museo arte contemporario: a small, but impactful art museum in Barranco that made us contemplate, laugh, and wonder.

Cafe Sofa: we went here to stave off bedtime until at least 8pm. Success!

Lima day 2

Caleta dolsa coffee: delicious, vibey, friendly coffee shop. Our barista gave us a list of his favorite spots in Barranco and Miaflores. We read for a bit—Danielle: Orlando, Virginia Woolf; Mason: 12 bytes, Jeanette Winterson

Bridge of sighs: legend has it, if you make it across this bridge without breathing a wish will come true.

Ocean: we walked down the cliffs to the ocean, where we sat on the rocks and read for a bit. It was moody and cloudy—just like our slice of the pacific.

Dédalo: a delightful maze of Peruvian shops in one large, winding building.

Central: what to say! Central is ranked as the 4th best restaurant in the world; the food was indescribable—we experienced flavors we had no reference for or memory of. It was a fully sensory experience—visual, tactile, olfactory, auditory, and of course, the taste. The courses (or “moments”) are organized around ecosystems in Peru stretching from sea level to 14000 feet. The menu and a few of the 18 courses are pictured below. Standouts were the high rainforest and extreme altitude.

Post-central we were full and tired from our full-sensory journey. So we went back to our airbnb and watched somebody feed Phil/fell asleep for another wonderful (but too long) nap. We woke and decided to watch Zoro to keep awake, then partway through decided to venture to Sandwiches Monstruos for a late dinner. Unfortunately we messed with our sleep cycle too much with all this strangely-timed food and napping—so we were in for a restless night.