We arrived in Lima at 1:00am on May 12. We stayed at an apartment in Miraflores, which is an upscale suburb of Lima. I was a little worried about staying in an apartment- when we got there, we met up with the owner of the apartment to get the keys. It was in a very nice neighborhood and the apartment was perfect- only $65/night for a 2 bedroom apartment close to everything, too! After getting rested up, we spent the entire day in Miraflores (walking...walking...and more walking!).
Mom and dad were very impressed with the place and the location. When we arrived at nearly 2:3oam at the apartment, it was hard to tell if we were in a good neighborhood or not. When the sun came out the next morning we knew we were in a good area.
The view from about a 5 minute walk of our apartment.
We spent a little bit of time just relaxing in the apartment, which was nice.
The kitchen was small, but it worked great for us. The owners even provided eggs, fruit, yogurt, and beverages. One of the evenings, we walked about 7 blocks to the grocery store to get some juice, creamer, and coffee.
Here is the view from the apartment window. If you look out you can see not too far the park, and beyond that, the ocean.
Our first experience with Peruvian food was at the El Farolito, a small and busy restaurant that is supposedly a favorite among locals (no tourists there that I saw of). It had a set menu that came with a drink, appetizer, and main dish for only 7 soles (about $2.50). Yummy chicken and rice, ok ceviche, but don't ask Adam about the papa a la huancaina. =)
After lunch we stopped at the Parque Kennedy to take a rest. We spotted a gelato/coffee shop across the street, so we grabbed some dessert.
Here is one of the streets in Miraflores. The middle section is sidewalks for pedestrians. All along this street, micros and combis (busses) would drive by, with someone hanging out the door yelling out the destination and people flagging it down if they wanted on. We walked along Avenida Arequipa for what felt like forever to try and get to the Huaca Pucllana ruins.
The Huaca Pucllana ruins were actually pretty impressive and so different from any of the ruins that we would later see. The ruins looked like small little bricks all stacked on each other.
The strangest looking dog I have ever seen. There was a female one as well that was pregnant and wobbling around within the ruins.
It was also interesting to see the city built all around these ruins, and yet the ruins remain intact. It is kind of like in Athens, seeing the city built around the Acropolis (except clearly this isn't on as grandiose a scale).
At dusk on our way back to the apartment, we passed by the Parque del Amor. It was very pretty. Unfortunately, we were in search of a bathroom and also some rest for the poor soles of our feet, so we hurried along back to the apartment. At the end of this evening, we ate at a restaurant in the Larcomar shopping center.
The cathedral in the Plaza Mayor (also known as the Plaza de Armas)
My parents standing in the Plaza Mayor!
This is the statue in the middle of the Plaza San Martin. The statue was built in 1921 and is of General San Martin. There is a huge and very packed pedestrian mall that takes you between the two plazas. It was super packed and busy that day!
The view of Chinatown. We spent quite a bit of time trying to find a restaurant that was supposed to be good. I was expecting to see a thriving Chinese population because Peru supposedly has the largest population in South America, but we only saw a few.
There were a lot of families around in the plazas. Kids were running around, just enjoying the day instead of sitting indoors watching t.v.
After we got back to Miraflores, we tried to find a way to get down to the beach (we never did find out how). We had a chance to sit in the park, enjoy the views, and people watch.
This is the view of the upscale shopping center that was right around the corner from the apartment. Before dinner we spent time people watching and trying to identify the tourists (fanny packs, backpacks, t-shirt and tennis shoes instead of being dressed up...)
After walking up and down the main street of Miraflores and not finding any local restaurants, we ended up buying a pizza. It was pretty good and Peruvians are really big on pizza!
After dinner, Adam talked with family and friends over Skype, while my parents and I talked and rested our feet!
