I recently came back from an amazing 2 week vacation from Peru and I wanted to personally share my journey with you! In the next couple of weeks, I'm going to share with you what cities I visited in Peru and everything you need to know about the city. First stop: LIMA!
I started my vacation in the capital of Peru: Lima. I landed in Lima International airport around 4pm. Flying into Lima is a very popular choice among people who travel to Peru. It is the main airport and the easiest way to begin the journey. At the airport, my friend Ashley and I were greeted by a nice gentleman holding up a sign with our name. We emailed our hotel in advance to schedule a taxi. I highly recommend doing this because getting a taxi at the airport is much more expensive and not always reliable.
We stayed in Miraflores, which is a very cute district in Lima that has great food, shopping, and sights to see. It is the best area to stay in while visiting Lima because it is very safe and lively. The area was also really great because the best spots to visit are all in walking distance.
Day 1, we had an amazing breakfast at our hotel, Pucllana Lodge, and headed out to start our first day of vacation! We walked down to Parque Kennedy which is a hot central spot. There was a great pop up street market filled with local art, food, and rollerblading classes going on. It was great to see the local Peruvian life and feel the laid back hustle of the city.
Casually walking, we ran into the CUTEST little alley named Calle Manuel Bonilla filled with great restaurants and bars. The street was filled with colorful buildings and street art (which you know I love)!
Exploring the city more, we decide to sit and have a mid-day coffee. Yup we actually sat down to have coffee! That's something that is very rare in my everyday NYC life. We had a delicious cappuccino and latte at the News Cafe Coffee Shop located on the main street Avenue Larco. It was the perfect sunny day to people watch and the view from the patio was perfect for just that.
My favorite thing about vacations are the unexpected plans I make as I'm exploring a new place, this coffee stop was just that. It was great to sit and literally do nothing, something we all don't do enough of.
After a relaxing drink, which perked us right up, we walked down to Larcomar which is a big outdoor shopping center right by the water. The view of the water is stunning from here! The shopping center is filled with great stores and restaurants. Then we walked down to the beach to feel the Pacific Ocean on our toes and listened to the soft ocean waves. I highly recommend talking a stroll down to the water and Larcomar because the scenery is beautiful. We even walked/climbed on the rocks by the water (very hard but the locals made it look like a piece of cake). Thanks to these amazing CAT booties with the best grip, I didn't slip!
After climbing back up a million stairs, we went to the Park of Love right by the water. The walls were made of tile artwork that had romantic phrases. The view of the sunset was amazing from this park!
After walking all day long, we were starving! We went back to Larcomar and had amazing dinner at Tanta. I had the Lomo Saltado which a a famous Peruvian dish- marinated steak, vegetables and fried potatoes served over rice. YUMMY!!
The very end of our trip, we spent another day in Lima before heading back to the states. This day we explored another district in Lima called Barranco. It is known to be the "Soho" of Lima. After visiting, I don't know if I fully agree with that statement, but it was a cute colorful area. Barranco was more residential but again the views were gorgeous. I loved all the colorful houses which had such character!
To end a long day of walking, we headed back to our favorite area in Miraflores (Parque Kennedy) and went to a bar called Nuevo Mundo Draft Bar. This bar is known for their locally crafted Peruvian brews. We tried 6 different beers and learned how they were made. The bartenders were extremely nice and answered all our our 100 questions. It was an amazing way to spend the last night of my vacation.
Sweater: H&M
Jeans: Calvin Klein. Similar here
Leather Jacket: H&M
Scarf: H&M. Similar here
Boots: CAT Footwear
Photography by Ashley Gallerani
