Day 10 - Shorter Bucket List; Back to the Homeland

It's a satisfying feeling when you cross something off your bucket list. Some bucket list items are big and some are small, but either way, it's not everyday you check one off the list so when you do, it's important to take the time to enjoy it. My moment was standing on the highest point of Machu Picchu looking over the iconic Incan ruins with the mist and clouds partially covering the beautiful backdrop of Huyana Picchu. I got that feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction.  

Returning home from an adventure is always bitter sweet. Obviously, it's great to return to your neighborhood, to your bed, to comfort. But it's sad to be finished traveling, trying new things, and meeting new people. The key is to not think of it as 'finished. ' It's just a hiatus. The daily grind of work is just the in-between until the next escapade.

I was asked what the best part of this trip was and I said there was a point when I was sitting atop Machu Picchu that was just majestic. Seeing how the massive granite peaks of the Andes mountain range engulf and protect the intricate Incan town, was definitely something special.

As amazing as that was, I'd have to change my answer now that I've had some time to think about it. My favorite part of this trip was how good friends from different parts of the world came together in a far flung country to eat, laugh, irritate, and have a great time. How often do you hear of a person in LA calling a friend in NY and saying let's go visit a friend in Lima and we can hang with him and his friends from Mexico and Ecuador. Along the way we'll meet people from Italy, UK, France, Spain, Chile, and numerous other places. That's so rad, so worldly. So, my favorite part about this trip is how it represented how international we've become.

Next up? Not sure...maybe Scandinavia, possibly Tokyo, or even back to South America (Brazil) for the World Cup in June 2014. We shall see.

Thanks as always for following along on our adventures. We truly appreciate the comments, emails and feedback. Until next time, travel whenever you can, and if possible, keep it casual and travel in sandals. 

A few of our favorite photos:

Day 9 - Last Day: Beach Day & Burgers

Monday was my last full day in Peru. It started off overcast but by noon the sun was out and you could tell summertime in Peru wasn't far off.

I started with coffee, juice and toast at La Bodega Verde, a perfect indoor/outdoor coffee shop about two blocks from Jeremy's place. 

It wasn't your typical coffee shop entrance. It was almost like you were walking into someone's front yard.

The coffee bar, tables, and architecture was designed and built around the already existing trees, lawn, and planters giving it that indoor/outdoor feel.

It was a perfect little patio to enjoy a leisure coffee and light breakfast.

The food was prepared in a kitchen housed in a separate back bungalow. It was fun because the cook, who you can see through the window, would put the prepared food on the window sill when it was ready for pickup.

After breakfast I took a walk down the cobble stone path to the beach. I saw workers preparing rows of cabanas, restaurants putting finishing touches on their patio expansions, and large ocean view condo complexes being completed in time for the summer real estate boom. In Lima right now it's their Spring time and summer officially starts in December, but the sun is already starting to peek through on occasion so the locals are preparing for the visitors coming to enjoy their sun and sand a little early.

The path leading from the Barranco city center area right down to the beach front.

Santa Monica Incline leading into a busy PCH? Nope, but it looked eerily like it. This is actually the continued part of the cobble stone path with a bridge taking you over the highway to the sand.

We didn't get a ton of sunny weather while we were there, but it was out and shinning on Monday.

I meandered around the beaches in front of Barranco and Miraflores for most of the afternoon.  I even took a brief ciesta on a grassy beach-side knoll.  I eventually made it over to Lacomar, the shopping and entertainment complex we frequented during our stay in Lima, for a quick bite to eat and some window shopping. Around 4pm I headed back to the apartment to clean up for my final feast in Peru.

We had talked all trip about a burger joint from one of Lima's top chefs, Gaston Acurio and on Monday night we finally gave it a go. The restaurant is called Papacho's and it's in the high-end area of Miraflores. It was a Monday night around 9pm so we were expecting a light crowd, but no so much.  The place was filled up and there was even a short wait.

Papacho's is one of several of Gaston's restaurants in Lima. He is a massive celebrity chef in Peru, but he also has restaurants in Colombia, Argentina, Spain, San Francisco, New York, and more.

I went with the blue cheese burger with bacon, onion ring and a medium rare patty...it was my last night of vacation, I was going big!

Juicy. It was a huge super tasty burger and surprisingly didn't leave me feeling overwhelming stuffed afterward...perfect, because we were going for a special dessert.

We got back in the car and headed to La Bodega de la Trattoria for the famous Cinco Leches cake. Yep, Cinco Leches, not Tres Leches like you've probably heard of before, but Cinco Leches. Delicioso!

It was a perfect last supper, a final culinary hurrah. I was ready to call it a night. We got home, I said my goodbyes and thank yous to our wonderful hospitable hosts Jeremy and Pam, and headed to bed. My flight was at 9am on Tuesday so I needed to be up and out early.   

I'll put up a final post with a few of the best photos from the trip. 

Day 8 - Any Given Lazy Sunday

New cities mean new routines. However, sometimes, such as when you go to bed at 7am and are a tad sluggish the next day, it's fun to incorporate your normal daily habits from home into your vacation. Sunday was one of those days.

On any given Sunday in the U.S. we would likely wake up a little late, grab a coffee, take a walk, perhaps run a few errands and make sure we are somewhere in front of numerous televisions blasting American football by 1pm ET. That is sort of what Greg and I did in Lima on Sunday. With the late night the night before, we figured it would be in good health to get some extra shut-eye, so we skipped all the pre-game running around and woke up late and went straight to watching football.

Once we were up and about we walked about 30 minutes to an American sports bar called The Corner. With dozens of TVs with every game on, it was exactly what we were looking for. 

We set up shop upstairs where it was a little less crowded. Greg enjoyed a Niners victory while Matt sat in sorrow watching his Eagles lose at home...again.

We hung at the bar for about four hours and then decided to head back home. We took the Malecon, which is the scenic cliff side path that overlooks the ocean.

We grabbed a quick snack from the local fruit cart on the way back.

We arrived home to an empty apartment. Jeremy and Pam were out and about. Here's a shot of the beautiful floor to ceiling ocean view from Jeremy's place. Definitely going to miss that 180-degree beachfront view.

Once Jeremy and Pam got back, we all jumped in the car and headed to Makoto for some sushi. It's only about 10 minute drive from their place so it became a great go to spot for a simple and super tasty dinner. The Salmon sashimi was dynamite.

That literally was our whole day. Nothing exciting, which is what we were going for.  Monday is a bit more of the same, except the TIS crew will dwindle to just one lonely sole. Greg flies out at noon, so it'll just be me (and Jeremy and Pam). I don't have anything fancy planned. Walk around, check out the beach, eat a few more delicious meals and then get ready to fly out Tuesday morning.



Day 7 - Dinner & Disco Part 2: Lima

Thank goodness we had a late check out and an even later flight on Saturday because the combination of the high altitude in Cusco, the smoke-filled Mama Africa disco, and perhaps, just maybe, the over indulgence on the booze and beers made us a little sluggish on Saturday. Fortunately, we didn't have a lot planned for Saturday Afternoon other than a short flight back to Lima. We expected a recoop and recover day, but our kind hosts in Lima - Jeremy and Pam - had other plans. 

We landed in Lima around 3:30pm and arrived to Jeremy's place in the Barranco District around 4:15. Jeremy and Pam were out and about which gave Greg and I the opportunity to relax and recover for a few hours. 

Around 7pm we started to get a bit more spring in our step and we began to realize that this is our last night to go big on this trip. It was a Saturday night, we could sleep in on Sunday, Pam's friend was having a birthday get together, there was talk of another club night...it had potential to be a great night. 

We started the night around 8:30pm with dinner at Rafael, one of the best reviewed restaurants in Lima. From start to finish it was a fantastic feast and was the perfect way to start the night. 

Foie Gras egg rolls appetizer.

Crisp Thai fish with homemade curry and pineapple sauce with coconut Basmati rice.

White fish with Vizcaina Bomba rice, wild mushrooms, shrimp and Jewish artichokes.

For dessert we had classic churros with a chocolate dipping sauce.

After dinner we headed over to Cala for birthday drinks for a friend of Jeremy and Pam. Cala is a restaurant and lounge right on the water and pulls in a hip Lima crowd.  We had a table outside on the patio, which was perfect because it was a nice spring night.

Cala was right on the ocean front; the waves literally crashed under the patio.

The Gang - Matt, Javi, Jeremy, Pam, Pipo and Greg.

Agoura Hills High School alumni shot.

Drinks at Cala lasted until about 2am and then the fun transitioned to a club in the Lacomar shopping center. Our group had grown and now included about 7-8 people, but Pam's friend Javi didn't have any trouble getting the group into the club for free. It's amazing how fun a city can be when you know someone local who is well connected.

A view of the club as we entered from above.

Matt trying to find his way to the bar.

The music was mainly reggaeton and Latin jams, so not the most familiar, but that didn't stop Greg and Matt from getting down.

This is what happens at 5am at clubs in Lima.

We finally left the club around 6am just in time to start to see the sun come up.

From dinner to drinks to clubbing with friends, it was another great evening in Peru. Huge thanks to Jeremy, Pam, Javi, Pipo and everyone else for taking us out and showing us how Lima does it.

Day 6 - Dinner & Disco Part 1: Cusco

First of all, I wanted to call attention to the fact that this is the 100th post on Travel In Sandals. I always see TV shows make a big deal out of their 100th episode, so I figured I'd mention our milestone as well. TIS started in 2010 with a wild journey to Australia and has made stops in Mexico, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, all over Europe and now Peru. I'm looking forward to another 100 posts and plenty of more worldwide adventures. 

Now back to Peru...

Greg and I were still on a high from the exciting day we had exploring Machu Picchu so waking up a bit early on Friday morning and catching the 8:30am train back to Cusco wasn't too bad. However, it was a two hour train ride followed by a two hour bus ride so it was a lengthy half-day trip. 

El equipo verde (the green team); Greg and Matt spent so much time together that they started to dress alike.

The train back to Cusco was just one car; the small train in Peru is not the equivalent to the small bus in the U.S.

Train friends...on our train and bus back to Cusco we met Italians Francesca and Natasha as well as Chelsea Football Club's very own Frank Lampard.

Apparently Peru knows Mo...we passed about a dozen of these hand painted Miguel Morales signs on the way back to Cusco.

Peru Sabe Mo

I wish every urinal had a view like this.

We finally pulled into Cusco around 2pm. Fortunately, we were in no hurry; we had no afternoon plans, so we were free to wander, eat, drink, meet people, relax and enjoy vacation.  

The view of Cusco and how the houses climb up the mountain side.

We stopped for lunch at Pachapapa in the San Blas part of Cusco. It was traditional Peruvian food which included an outdoor wood-fired oven.

We started with potatos in a creamy chili sauce.

The main course was the roasted lamb shoulder with mashed potatoes and veggies.

After a relaxing afternoon, we decided to take it up a notch for the evening festivities.  Since it was our last night in Cusco we did dinner at a highly recommended place called Cicciolina. It's among the top spots in Cusco. We increased our group by one; our French friend Valerie - the same girl who was with us when we chased the tour bus through Cusco - joined for dinner and drinks. 

Cleaned up and ready to go.

Remember Cuy - the roasted guinea pig? Well, we finally tried it. We managed to find a place that served it in a more appetizing manner. This is actually shredded Cuy Confit on a bed of avocado and potato puree. A bit different than the fully roasted head-to-tail guinea pig we've seen on previous menus. Glad we tried it, but we won't be making it a regular thing.

BBQ calamari, prawns and scallops.

Tagliolini tinted with squid ink in a creamy coconut milk, lemongrass, and coriander sauce.

Three's Company

Dinner was solid but the post-meal festivities is what left Greg and I a little sluggish on Saturday morning. We heard about Cusco's discos and being that we both dabble in the dance arts, we checked out Mama Africa, a spot spinning a mix of Top 40 and South American Latin hits...perfect!

There was a lot of jumping around, plenty of singing, probably too much air guitar, and I don't know what else. Basically, we dominated the dance floor until about 3am.

Pistolas!

We fly back to Lima on Saturday and wrap up this Peruvian extravaganza with a few more nights in the Capital city (Greg leaves Mon, Matt leaves Tue).