Churches, Catacombs, and Chicken Sandwiches
After a restless night, I woke up ready to get out of my hotel and see Lima, Peru. I met the manager of the TUPAC on my way out for the day and she again made sure I was okay after the fireworks scare last night. I got an Uber from the hotel to the heart of historic Lima, Centro Historico. Uber is so inexpensive here it is great and really helpful. My driver did not speak English, but we were stuck in traffic for a while and began to communicate using Google Translate on his phone which was pretty cool.
The drive was through some pretty rough looking neighborhoods, but once we crossed into Centro Historico it looked like a completely different city. I ate lunch at a restaurant called T’anta and then walked around the main square of Lima, Plaza Mayor de Lima. The square is lined by beautiful buildings including Catedral de Lima, the Archbishop’s Palace, and Palacio de Gobierno del Peru.
I tried to visit the Cathedral first, but the lady inside would not take my $10 USD because it had a small crease which I found pretty ridiculous. Fortunately, the ticket was a joint ticket with the Archbishop’s Palace, so I visited the Archbishop’s Palace first where they readily accepted my money. The Archbishop’s Palace was beautiful and very decorative - it is where the Archbishops of Lima used to reside. The Cathedral is also really amazing. It was partly under renovation but still worth seeing for sure.
I then took a lot of pictures of the Government Palace next door before walking some more around Centro Historico and then heading to the Catacombs of the Convent of San Francisco and the Basílica y Convento de San Francisco de Lima. The Catacombs were really creepy but also so interesting. You walk through the Convent first, which was a stunning building. Then you go down into the Catacombs where there are just thousands and thousands of bones. The bones are in different pits depending on the type of bone. It was definitely a unique experience as I had never visited Catacombs before. Afterwards, I headed into the Basilica which was as beautiful as the Convent.
From there I briefly visited the Convento de Santo Domingo and then headed on to eat dinner in the Miraflores area at La Lucha Sanguchería Criolla. It is a small shop with outdoor seating but it was very trendy and the chicken sandwich was one of the best I have ever had. I was stunned when there was a Pinkberry next door. Pinkberry is my favorite frozen yogurt and I had no idea they had a store in Lima! After some fro-yo for dessert, I headed to the Miraflores Lighthouse and to walk along the water for a bit.
The Miraflores area of Lima is very modern and trendy and walking along the water was one of my favorite parts of the city. The views were amazing and even though it was quite chilly it was nice to just sit and enjoy Miraflores for a bit. I then took an Uber back to TUPAC. The ride was over an hour but somehow was still very cheap. It was fine other than when the driver told me to lock my doors in a not so nice part of town. After a long day on very little sleep, I had no problem falling asleep tonight. I have a super busy day in Peru tomorrow filled with travel to make it to Machu Picchu - I’m really looking forward to it!
25 countries down, 171 to go.
Read about my second day in Peru here.
To learn more about TUPAC Airport Hostel click here.
