First weekend

Friday night we went to Brujas de Cachichi (brujas means witch) for dinner(http://www.brujasdecachiche.com.pe/index2.htm) and tried an appetizer plate with typical Peruvian dishes like beef heart (which basically tastes like beef), ricotto rilleno (chili pepper stuffed with sausage with cheese melted on top), and these little potato donuts - some were bigger and also had meat inside and were extra delicious. There was a bunch of other stuff but that's what stuck out. Afterwards, we went upstairs to the bar there that almost everyone (it seems like) has recommended. It was a really cool place and we just sat and had a few (maybe more than a few) drinks and headed back to the hotel. We checked out the casino at our hotel for a few minutes, but it was no fun. There are casinos everywhere in Lima! Most named after American cities. Megan at least won 30 soles so it wasn't a total loss!



Saturday we woke up late and decided to try a place near our hotel for lunch. Megan found a "fast food" chicken restaurant called Pardos in her guidebook (she LIVES by the guidebook haha). We were hoping it would be the Peruvian version of Bojangles... not so much. It smelled like a chicken coop. We ordered "fried chicken pieces with fries" which is basically exactly what it says - chunks of chicken, white and dark meat, fried. It wasn't terrible, but the smell almost made me vomit so we left in a hurry. None of us have felt sick yet (knock on wood) so I guess the food was safe!


There happens to be the only sports bar in Lima that plays American football (according to the old American drunk there) right around the corner from our hotel. We were reeeeeally excited about this find, so Saturday after we ate we went there to watch the UT vs. Bama game (Megan's husband and Matt went to Tennessee so they're both big fans). We had a few Cusquena cervezas (beer of Peru - we all LOVE cusquena and are trying to figure out a way to bring it home with us). We each bought t-shirts, came back to the hotel to change, and went to the Magic Circuit of Water (http://www.enlima.com/lima/en-parque-de-la-reserva-circuito-magico-del-agua.html). It's basically a bunch of fountains and the water moves/sprays to light and music (think of the Bellagio on a much less grandiose scale). It was kinda cool, but we didn't stay too long. If you see one dancing water fountain with lights, you've seen 'em all, ya know? :) We quickly walked around the park to see all the fountains, then had our taxi driver take us to Barranca.



We planned to go to a trattoria (Italian restaurant), but we saw this really interesting place across the street so we decided to check it out. It happened to be a bar that someone we're working with recommended - Ayahausca bar (http://www.ayahuascabar.com/). It's such a cool place with lots of funky decor - crazy mixed chairs and tables, sculptures, frames with no pictures...very eclectic and fun. We got a few appetizers and a bottle of vino. We had empanadas (I'm obsessed with these), some sort of pizza, and mini egg rolls. We've had empanadas a few times since we've been in Lima and they're awesome. Beef are my favorite - some places put olives and hard boiled egg with the beef ones and serve with limes (possibly key limes) to squeeze on top. They're muy bueno! We were pretty tired from Friday night, so we made it an early night and came back to the hotel.



Linda and Wade arrived on Sunday (late Sunday night) and we all went to a cafe near the hotel for brunch. We each got tortilla espanolas and coffee - oh my gosh I can't believe I haven't talked about the coffee! It's reeeaaalllyy good - a highlight of each day here. The cream that they serve with it is really rich and different - it's almost sweeter and fresher/purer than in America. Not sure how to explain but it's really really good (the ice cream is similar and equally great). Then we went to the Inka market to shop for cheap touristy souvenirs that we don't really need, but we definitely bought our fair share of t-shirts, knick knacks and such. They sell a lot of silver but no one bought any jewelry. I bought a few gifts for people which I'm sure aren't the highest quality, but it's all fun. When am I going to come back to Peru, ya know?

Sunday night we had dinner at Rosa Nautica on the water, basically a super seafood restaurant. Everyone ordered the tasting menu and we tried four of everything - apps, entrees, and desserts. Most of our group didn't like the food that much, but I thought it was pretty good. Everything was really different and unlike anything I've had before and I think it's always fun to try new stuff. Dinner was pretty uneventful minus the crazy food (and black scallop ceviche), then we turned in early.

Overall great weekend!