I admit that Lima wasn’t at the top of my list given the city of 9+ million is omitted from most “top places to visit in Peru” lists, so we (now down to 2 weirdos as Kristin parted ways with us) decided to limit our time here to 2 nights & after a late arrival on night 1, we planned to cram everything into one whirlwind day tour of Lima before getting on to the fun stuff in Peru. I absolutely love it when expectations are blown away. I was pleasantly surprised by the city & its central plaza, Plaza Mayor, is a showstopper in all of its gold-hued splendor.  
We took in the changing of the guard outside the presidential palace on Plaza Mayor but it wasn’t really like any changing of the guard I’ve ever seen guards didn’t seem to be replaced, but rather a military marching band, rocking long faux mohawk braids & an intense straight leg kick marching technique, performed various tunes as a backdrop to a lengthy 30 minute ceremony in the suffocating hot sun. We felt as if we deserved a break so snuck inside afterwards to the “museo de pisco”’which was really more of a bar but it served fantastic pisco sours which was the point – by far the best ever which makes sense since Peru is the birthplace of pisco. Amy even got behind the bar to learn from the very sweet Jose Luis how to make one. Fighting the urge to sit at the bar all afternoon, we wandered down the pedestrian shopping district between the main Plaza Mayor & Plaza San Martin, which is apparently home to most of the city’s political rallies (no such luck that day).  
Continuing our search for the best pisco sour in the city, we found a place oft blessed with that ranking, located just off Plaza San Martin. While the drink didn’t quite hold up to the museo / bar we left 2 hours prior, the scene was great. Despite the notoriety of its pisco sour, the place was jammed with locals for the lunch special & we deduced that lunch special very obviously ended with a dessert of red jello as every table was littered with these glass serving dishes containing jello remnants. Never did I ever anticipate red jello being such a hit with the locals. 
After lunch we toured around again, this time heading out of the tourist area to the local mercado. It reminded me quite a bit of SE Asia’s big city markets as the mercado consisted of similarly-themed storefronts with all of their contents spilling onto the street. For instance, we very clearly stumbled upon the gift card & hair product supply blocks. It was a Friday afternoon around 3pm & the area was hopping. Vehicle traffic had long since stopped & the streets were filled with locals out running errands & socializing. Amy & I were thankful we went in search of the area… that’s where you see the real heart of the city. We were so pumped so of course what did we do? Wandered through the market til we circled back to the museo de pisco for a couple celebratory pisco sours where we got props from our new bartender friends for checking out the mercado as “most tourists don’t venture there”. It’s true perhaps that wouldn’t be a great spot at night (in general, guidebooks advise you to NOT stay overnight in central Lima due to security reasons) but it was fabulous & thrilling during the day. 
We decided to leave our new fave bar around 5pm & head back down south towards the coast where we were staying. We went directly to the Barranco neighborhood where we discovered it’s a hip neighborhood (an apt was blasting Andersen Paak’s “Come Down” while we passed) with a chill feel & small dope restos & bars, houses & small apts vs the highrises of the more well known & developed Miraflores, where we were staying. Miraflores was great for the brief time we were in Lima but when I return for a longer stay, I will definitely stay in Barranco. That after all is where we happened upon a little park atop the gorgeous bluffs that overlook Lima’s coastline just in time to watch a glorious sunset & all of the massive waves lining up as far as your eyes could see. 
We then found this hole in the wall eatery that served 17 different types of fresh ceviches – & nothing much more – & proceeded to have the best ceviche yet on the trip (which says a LOT bc we’ve had incredible ceviche) as some chopped peppers added an incredible kick. That served as our appetizer & then we hopped in a taxi to Miraflores to what we thought then was one of the best restos in Lima (Central Restaurante) but found out the very next day that it has actually been voted the best resto in all of Latin America for the 3rd year running & is actually known as the 4th best resto in all of the world. Imagine our surprise then when we show up without a reservation at 8pm dressed in the same jean shorts & tops in which we toured the city, begged for a table & were thankfully rewarded & enjoyed delicious & inventive takes on classic Peruvian food. It was already a very special night when we were inexplicably invited to take a private tour of the resto & be paraded around – still dressed as schmucks – including the rooftop herb garden where we were invited to sample the fresh herbs, a stunning display of the 50+ unique Peru-based ingredients used in the kitchen, the vast wine room where Amy the sommelier went a tad nuts, & of course the kitchen where the cute bearded staff was still very hard at work. It really was a special ending to a stellar day in Lima. Those top ten Peru lists be damned. I can’t wait to return. 
***As an aside one month after I wrote the above… I’m following the devastating floods in Peru, including Lima & Machu Picchu, as close as I can & I’m just heartbroken. The rains started in Lima perhaps a week after we left Peru. My heart hurts for all of the lovely locals we met & the beautiful cities we visited. I hope it recovers shortly.