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.