Peru Part 2: Cusco, Aguas Calientes, y Lima

While we obviously couldn't cover Peru in full over our ten day trip (I'd love to go back and see Lake Titicaca and spend some time in the Amazon), we packed in as much as we could with two full days in Cusco, one in Aguas Calientes, and one in Lima.

Click to keep reading about our experience in these cities...


Cusco felt incredibly quaint, charming and safe -- an interesting contrast to the fact that it was a geographical focal point in the violent Incan/Spanish history. The city center is the Plaza de Armas. We tried to avoid the super tourist restaurants directly on the square, but couldn't resist following the "Bienvenido el Otono" sign into what has got to be the Starbucks with the best view in the world.

It's fall in South America! They even had the red cups!

Roaming the square are women young and old peddling trinkets or asking you to pay to take a picture with them and their baby lambs. Off of the square are similar women and men, now trying to usher you into their small shops, which all sell the same alpaca sweaters, brightly colored scarves, and Machu Piccu memorabilia. One particularly crafty salesman threw authentic Peruvian clothing on us, took our picture, and then proceeded to convince us to buy about 200 soles worth of souvenirs.

That's how you get 'em...stupid tourists

Definitely paid them to take this picture

We had two wonderful lunches in Cusco. The first was at Cicciolina, about a two minute walk away from Plaza de Armas. I was shocked at how amazingly delicious our food was - especially the shrimp with wasabi tapa and the chocolate dessert. The second day we ate in the courtyard of the Hotel Monasterio, a luxury hotel in Cusco (which looked like an incredibly tranquil place to stay, for those who can afford it). We were the only diners, and the combination of our solitude and the background recording of monks singing made this easily the most peaceful part of our whole trip.

Our amazing tapas at Cicciolina

A quiet, courtyard lunch at Hotel Monasterio

Another highlight of Cusco was touring the cathedral. Our guide, Franklin, was a triple-threat historian, with tons of knowledge of the religious, architectural, and artistic history of Cusco, all of which he conveyed in incredibly impressive English.

On to Aguas Calientes. I literally almost cried when we had to check out of our hotel at 9am and we spent the first hour walking around, only to realize that we were in a maze of tourist chotchkies and people practically begging us to come into their restaurants (literally...our group of 16 was offered a 5 for 1 drink special so we would choose them over the identical restaurant next door offering 4 for 1...).  We sat down at one of said restaurants, ordered coffee and OJ, and played a game of Jenga. Haven't seen Jenga in a while? Go to Aguas Calientes. It's set up on every table. Our moods picked up after that, and we ended up getting a couple's massage -- US$90 for both of us for a 1.5 hour stone massage -- amazing. Wouldn't necessarily recommend either of the places we ate lunch (yes, there were multiple places, yes, we were there for one day), but we did have a great time at the Hot Springs, for which A.C. is known.

Catching up on some writing in Aguas Calientes at one of our lunch spots...

Jenga to the rescue...we ended up having a blast in Aguas Calientes by playing about 85 games of Jenga in various cafes

I won't spend time on Lima because of, well, that whole "if you don't have anything nice to say..." thing. We spent two days there and I think, had it been one, we would have left very content. We really enjoyed our time at the Larco Museum, especially the part of the exhibit which showcased the tools and traditions of the Incan sacrificial ceremonies. That night we had a wonderful dinner at Astrid y Gaston, which we booked months in advance after seeing it on a list of the world's top 50 restaurants (it came out to ~$200, with a bottle of wine, appetizer, two entrees, and a dessert...much better for our wallets than dinner for two at the French Laundry, which also made the list).

So excited he could finally show off his Spanish..."Donde esta la biblioteca?"

Kiiinda sums up how I felt about Lima

Walking toward the beach in the Barranco neighborhood. While many people recommended Miraflores, we found Barranco to be a little quieter, cleaner, and prettier.

Delicious dinner at Astrid y Gaston

Overall, it was wonderful exploring South America for the first time. Hiking the Inca Trail was definitely the highlight, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes the outdoors. I don't know if I've added any of the aforementioned cities to my "favorites list," but it was great to gain perspective on a different part of the world, and we ate some truly amazing food along the way!