Day 1 - Made It To Lima...Let's Eat!

I know it's been less than 24hrs, but I may have found my favorite South American food city. I landed in the capital city of Lima at 7am on Sunday morning and was quickly able to find a local coffee shop...

Alright, it's not local, but at least it has a Peruvian color pallet.

I made it to my friend Jeremy's apartment in an affluent area called Districto de Barranco or just Barranco for short. The rest of the group - Greg, Jeremy, Jen, and Pam (Jeremy's girlfriend) - were fast asleep since they were out until 5am the night before. So for the morning and, likely the early afternoon, I was on my own to explore Barranco. Jeremy's place is right on the cliffs overlooking the ocean so there were plenty of spectacular views to take in when walking around the neighborhood.

The view from Jeremy's apartment in Barranco.

La Ermita church in Barranco; the back side of the church had a beautiful panoramic ocean view.

You know it's a beach town when they've got vintage VW vans.

After a bit of morning exploring, I made my way back to the apartment to check on the rest of the crew. They were finally up and about getting ready for a late lunch, which in Peru means 4pm. Basically the routine around these parts, at least for those on vacation, is lunch around 4pm, dinner around 10pm, drinks at midnight, club at 2am, head home around 5am, sleep until 2ish, wake up and do it all over again.

Once everyone was showered up and ready to start their day, we headed to grab a bite. Let the eating begin.

Rafael Osterling is one of Peru's most notable and successful chefs and restaurateurs, so what better way to start the Peruvian feasts than by hitting up Mercado, Osterling's three-year-old cevicheria and seafood joint located in a fun, commercial hub called Miraflores.  The menu was stacked with everything from parmesan scallops, grilled octopus, and BBQ crayfish to garlic butter lobster, tuna sliders, lemon sole, and of course a wide assortment of ceviche, Peru's national dish.

Jen, Pam, Greg and Matt at Mercado in the Miraflores part of town.

Grilled squid in parsley aiolli with native potatoes and mushrooms.

Baked scallops in parmesan.

A seafood medley of crayfish and scallops in a delicious Asian bbq sauce.

After an amazing feast at Mercado, we drove to take in the sunset at the Miraflores bluffs that overlooked the Pacific. It was overcast most of the day, but the skies cleared up just in time for the sun to set.

Greg's Peruvian Sunset Dance

We weren't the only sunset spectators on the Miraflores bluffs.

We decided to do a quick drive-by tour of the main plazas in the city center including the Plaza San Martin, which was built in 1921 to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of Peru's independence.

Plaza San Martin was surrounded by beautiful colonial style architecture.

As if we hadn't had enough seafood at lunch, we opted for a casual sushi dinner at Makoto Sushi Bar.  This also was in Miraflores, but it was on the second floor of a mall.  Don't let that fool you because this place had amazingly fresh and delicious seafood across the board. After only two meals in Lima, there is no doubt that seafood dominates this city - no wonder it's the second largest fishing nation in the world (behind China).

The group at Makoto Sushi Bar.

Greg and Matt capped the night off with a bit of gambling at the Atlantic City Hotel & Casino...yep they have gambling also...this city is really making a great first impression.

The plan for Day 2 is to explore a bit more of Lima's city center and definitely more delicious seafood.