Through the eyes of a Limeño

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We've had a fabulous day in Lima today, thanks to our friend and Debbie Wiener's cousin, Perla. She gave us a real insider's view of the city.

She started but driving us around the better residential neighbourhoods where grand neo-colonoal buildings have been restored, mostly as office buildings, and mix with new housing and apartment buildings. There are lots of pleasant small parks, including one which is an olive grove, rthe emnants of an olive farm that previously occupied the entire area. We had coffee and a traditional Peruvian caramel cookie at Perla's local cafe.

Then we went to Museo Larco, a beautiful private collection of ceramics, tapestries and metal craft from pre-Columbian Peru, set in an elegant mansion draped in multicolour bouganvillia. The museum is particularly known for an entire room of erotic ceramics, which illustrates that ancient appetites were every bit as varied as the modern.

Museo Larco has an excellent restaurant where we had the best meal we have has in Peru. We started with a tasting plate of local delicacies including tamale, fried yucca, sweet potato stuffed with chicken and a delicious savoury corn cake. Then I had a stewed fish dish in a yummy sauce and Danny had the same local fish grilled in chestnut butter. Apparently a lot of these dishes use yellow chilli but they boil the chilli until the heat goes out of it so it was very tasty but not at all hot.

We had a long leisurely lunch, then drove to another interesting neighbourhood, the funky seaside suburb of Barranco, a former seaside resort where grand old buildings have been iturned nto boutique hotels, bars and quirky shops. There are a couple if interesting looking galleries too but it was too late to visit them so we may go back to them tomorrow.

Perla is lovely and great company - though she drives as crazily as every Limeño! We had a great day with her and feel very privileged to get an insider's view of this city.

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