Last stop: Lima, Peru

Monday, August 3, 2015

With one full day in Lima, Peru at the end of our trip, we packed our day full. Things we saw in one day:

Historic Center of Lima
  •  Plaza de Armas - the heart of Old Lima; the bronze fountain in the middle is the only thing that has survived several earthquakes and dates back to 1650 
  • Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco - historic church that's known for its catacombs, which contain remains from 70,000+ people

Barranco neighborhood
  •  Mate Museo Mario Testino - amazing photography museum containing the work of Mario Testino, who is from Lima
  •  Pacific Ocean - we walked along the rocky beach and watched paragliders fly over the city

Miraflores neighborhood
  • Choco Museo - cute little bean-to-bar chocolate factory with free tours

First we had to check out the historic center of Lima, which was basically one huge plaza surrounded by gorgeous buildings and churches and lots of tourists. Next, we took a taxi and public transportation to get to some of the waterfront neighborhoods. We walked a lot of Barranco and Miraflores, which are right next to each other. We stopped by a couple of museums, marveled at the beautiful waterfront homes and boutique hotels, bought lots of chocolate to take home to our families, and sat on the rocky beach watching waves crashing and paragliders sail over the skyline. 

It's wild that we live on the Pacific coast as well, but so far away, both physically and culturally. Here the beach is incredibly filthy with litter, at home it's pretty spotless. Here there are palm trees, at home there are evergreens. Here we're tourists, at home we're citizens. Here it's winter, at home it's summer. That's what had us aching to be back. There's no place like summer in Seattle.

And that wraps up our South American trip! I shot a little iphone video while abroad, and want to share that next before moving on to our next trip.

- Julia


24 comments :

  1. Love all these photos. I've never been to Peru before. Those buildings are beautiful :)

    VONNYDU

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  2. Peru looks beautiful, I'd love to visit one day, didn't expect the beach to look like that! Your photos are really lovely x

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    1. Thanks Rachel. I didn't expect a beach like this either! It was a nice surprise. :)

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  3. Lima looks amazing! Lovely photography!

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  4. These photos are amazing! Makes me want to go to Peru even more :)

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  5. In love with these photos! Made me include Peru on my bucket list :)

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  6. How beautiful your post and photos are.

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  7. Peru has been on my bucket-list ever since my parents went on a South American tour but didn't invite me *glares*

    I can't tell you how much I'm loving your Peru posts and how much it's motivating me to plan for my trip of a lifetime...thank you! x

    Jasiminne | Posh, Broke, & Bored

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    1. Haha! That'll be us one day... escaping to another country without the kids. ;) Glad you're making plans to go to Peru.

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  8. Amazing photos! Im actually going to Peru next year, hopefully we'll get to go to Lima it looks stunning!

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    1. Thanks, Megan. I hear many people completely skip Lima and head straight to their next destination after flying in, but I'm really glad we spent at least one day here, if only to know what Lima is like.

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  9. Seeing all of these photos really makes me want to get back to S. America (I haven't been in years). I currently live in Zurich, so it makes sense to explore Europe for the time-being. I'll make it to Peru one day (maybe when I repatriate to the U.S.).

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    1. If we lived in Zurich, it would be a looong time before we left Europe. So much to see around there.

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  10. Great photo's. Miraflores is a good place, some wonderful parks to explore. Another good option is the Larcomar museum for pre Inca history of Peru, very interesting. And you probably know that Lima has one of the best cuisines of the world! Fantastic food.

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    1. Thanks for the tips, Bart. Yes, I heard a lot about the food and wish we could have explored more restaurants. There are not enough meals in one day!

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  11. Good place, Nice pictures and narration. Enjoyed. Still East is pending in my list

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  12. stunning... god, I so want to just travel all the time.

    Valentina
    http://www.valentinaduracinsky.com/

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  13. Beautiful! We've only been through Lima - never got a chance to explore it. We'll have to go back again!

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  14. This is an incredibly sweet post. The pictures are so beautiful but also just so simple, it makes me feel like maybe I was there too :) It is strange, you're right that there are a lot of similarities for the entire Pacific Coast. I was thinking how similar the pictures looked to California.. anyway, happy I found your blog :)

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  15. What great photos, Peru is definitely on my list!

    xx Kelly
    Sparkles and Shoes

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