Welcome to Peru!

I can’t believe yesterday I was at work and today I am in Lima, Peru.

Getting on a plane is difficult for me. I look forward to traveling and then the moment before I am supposed to go, I get anxious and start worrying about the millions of possibilities of things that could happen. My phone was low battery last night so I told my dad I would text him when I got on the plane. Except I got on the plane and there was no service. So my anxiety that I would die never having texted my dad goodbye had me crying hysterically until the flight attendant took me off the plane to send a text. Yes, I’m not always sane.

Anyway, the flight was great. Only turbulent at the beginning. I loved the plane, very modern, cool lights, staff was all very kind. Dinner was good: beef, rice, salad, crackers, and an excellent strawberry cheesecake. I watched Frozen in Spanish until I feel asleep. Didn’t wake up until 4:30am when they put breakfast in front of me. It was some sort of grilled cheese and fruit. Idk I was mostly asleep. The plane touched down at 6am, customs and immigration were super quick and easy.

We had arranged a driver which was ideal, as soon as you leave the airport there are at least 50 cab drivers yelling for your attention. Got to the hotel easily and thankfully they had a room ready for us so we could finally sleep restfully for an hour.

The hotel is a funny little place. It was recommended in my “Frommers Travel Guide” and the description said “no frills”. When I looked it up online, it was surprisingly nice for no frills. We basically have a double bed room ensuite for $20 per night. After staying in so many hostels, having your own bathroom and the place providing towels is considered frills. However, there is no A/C and it is hot here. Also I can only describe this place as both gaudy and run down at the same time. Everything is mismatched and there are tons of prints/replicas of famous European paintings and sculptures. There is also a car and a peacock that live on the 3rd floor balcony right below us. The peacock does make a loud noise that sounds surprisingly like my seagull call…

First stop of the day today was “El Pan de la Chola” a panderia (bakery) known for their fresh delicious breads. We had to take an uber there because the hotel is in a different section of the city. Driving around Lima, the city is pretty run down. I expected some parts to be good/bad neighborhoods but the majority of the city seems oddly old and dirty to me. So stepping into such a trendy little bakery/restaurant seemed out of place.

The bread was out of this world. I had some sort of cinnamon roll covered in sugar but so flaky and perfect with coffee. Adam had the best banana bread ever. We also shared toast with butter and jelly. Everything is so fresh. You can even see the photo of the bakers in the back. The juices are a prime example of the freshness that we are accustomed to not having in the US. That green juice was spinach and apple and kale and tasted a million times fresher the fake Jamba Juice. It was so good, I want to go back the day we leave and buy a loaf of bread to try to bring home.

After a long(ish) walk to see the Pacific Ocean for the first time, the next stop was “La Mar”–the home of the ceviche. The pictures will not do it justice…