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Published: August 31st 2022
Miraflores
Cute place close to the hotel.On our first day in Chile, our first outing was to experience a Ceviche cooking demonstration followed by lunch at the same location in the upscale Miraflores district, where our hotel was located.
The Asnapa Restaurant was just a few minutes walk from the hotel, and the demonstration was performed by the restaurant's Chef. Ceviche is a simple process, needing only five ingredients and a few minutes to be accomplished, and anything additional is to the chef's discretion and taste. Our chef chose fish as the main ingredient, and within a few minutes we were sampling his creation. A larger portion was available as one of the appetizers for our lunch, but I decided to try something different. It was the first of many delicious meals I was to have in Peru, enough so to have gained five pounds by the time I got back.
Content after our excellent meal, our next destination was the historical center of Lima, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage List in 1991 and was undergoing extensive renovations.
I must admit that I was underwhelmed by Lima. Our hotel was located in Miraflores, which was an upscale neighborhood, but there was nothing
particularly outstanding about it. Lima doesn't appear to be undergoing any extensive developments, which in my opinion can be a very good thing in saving the architecture and character of an old world city but, even though we saw many beautiful buildings, everything had an air of neglect and appeared to need a coat of fresh paint, or at least a good pressure washing.
Exquisite balconies displayed broken window panes and broken hinges when observed closer, and it all contributed to a certain shabbiness in appearance, which was regrettable.
Our first destination was the Basilica and Convent of San Francisco, which was built between 1657 and 1672. The architecture of this large complex was beautiful, including a Mudejar dome unique in all of the Americas, and crypts that served as the old cemetery until 1810 and at one time contained around 70,000 remains. These catacombs were rediscovered in 1951 and the labyrinth of rooms and passages today contain a good number of bones classified and arranged by type.
Not far was our second stop, the
Plaza Mayor de Lima, or
Plaza de Armas de Lima. It is surrounded by the
Government Palace,
Lima Metropolitan Cathedral,
Archbishop's Palace of Lima, the
Municipal Palace, and the
Ceviche Demonstration
The Chef's ingredients Palacio de la Unión. It is a very large plaza square. On the day of the foundation of the city, January 18, 1535,
Francisco Pizarro designated a location to build the plaza.
At the time of our visit the Plaza was conspicuous for the amount of police and barricades. The reasons were political, as the president of Peru was extremely unpopular, discontent was rampant, and protests were occurring frequently.
After leaving the center of town, the route to the hotel took us along Lima's Malecon along the Pacific coast. More specifically, the scenic clifftop walkway stretch along the Miraflores District which includes Parque del Amor.
The views all along the Malecón are impressive, and the entire strip is a popular route for joggers, skaters, and cyclists. There are plenty of parks, sculptures, and cafes, so there’s always places to sit to enjoy the view.
Our main destination was Lima's Parque del Amor (Love Park). The main theme is represented by the park's central sculpture, El Beso (The Kiss).
The park is said to be inspired, at least in part, by Parc Güell in
Barcelona, which was designed by Antoni Gaudí and opened to the public in 1926. It’s easy
to see why the colorful mosaics along the undulating walls and benches are often compared to
Gaudí’s mosaics in Barcelona.
Lines from various Peruvian poets are included within the mosaics found in Lima's Parque del Amor.
Along our walk we were able to cheer for paragliders swirling above us, as well as the many surfers who dotted the waters below us and are a constant presence in this stretch of the coast.
A short rest to refresh ourselves at the hotel, and we were on our way to our last stop for the day, another delicious meal at a popular Lima Restaurant, El Senorio de Sulco. Here I was thrilled to have Causa de Pollo. This delicious dish of mashed potatoes, stuffed with chicken salad, avocado and sauce is my very favorite Peruvian appetizer. I also had a chance to try Picarones for the first time. This dessert of sweet potato and squash dough, fried crispy and covered with maple syrup may not sound like much, but it was amazing.
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