Lima
The Spanish had little use for the Inca capitol city of Cuzco since it sat trapped in the Andes, so after their conquest was complete, they based the new capitol in Lima right on the Pacific coast. We were impressed with the infrastructure investments in Lima, as well as the beauty of the land.
Not a bad place to build a capitol city
The National Cathedral at the Plaza de Armas
The Presidential Palace
The UNESCO designated historic center of Lima
At sunset, it's time to head for Parque del Amor
A perfect setting, with fun people watching thrown in (as long as you're comfortable with copious public displays of affection)
Ironically, the Inca had conquered the settlers of Lima before the Spanish arrived and found little use for the coast. The prior people had built a massive adobe pyramid that slowly got buried as centuries passed. Eventually, the Miraflores district sprang up around and on top of the buried ruins. Today the archeological value of Huaca Pucllana protects the boundaries of this adobe brick complex from any further encroachment, creating an interesting juxtaposition next to modern mid-rises.
Huaca Pucllana, built tediously with hand-shaped adobe bricks
A handprint over 1500 years old imprinted into the adobe brick
Miraflores rises up right outside the ruins
But what really excited us about Lima was the food. The world’s 35th best restaurant is here, and large immigrant populations from China and Japan call Lima home (one of Peru’s quite controversial ex-presidents is the son of Japanese immigrants and had to flee back to his ancestral homeland for amnesty when things got dicey). We went straight to Chinatown to satisfy some cravings but ran into language difficulties; almost nobody spoke Chinese there! Next up was visiting Edo, a sushi bar where the chefs, all young Asian-Peruvians, spoke only Spanish, and the rolls reflected their fusion background.
Welcome to Astrid y Gaston, #35 in the world
Astrid y Gaston: A trio of ceviches - definitely a national dish of Peru
Astrid y Gaston: they dressed up guinea pig as Beijing Duck
Hanging ducks - a familiar sight in Chinatowns worldwide
Uh oh... menu in Spanish & Chinese and we can't read either
But we managed; dim sum in Lima - not outstanding, but good & comforting
It was fun guessing the Chinese bakery items
The sushi bar at Edo
Flaming a nouveau sushi roll
Left: parmesan cheese/salmon/avocado, Right: olive/mushroom/tuna/asparagus
The best roast chicken we've ever had at Pardo's
Hot chocolate & churros at Manolo's; the chocolate was delicious but we missed the Americanized Costco churros
Fittingly, we used the last of our Peruvian soles on a matinee showing of "Los Juegos del Hambre"
