Afterward, I walked to El Bolivarcito, a small bar connected to my hotel. This bar offers wonderful

This was probably the most ambitious trip I've undertaken on my own. As a child (and military brat), I traveled extensively in Europe with my family, but as an adult, it's only been in the past few years that I've had the opportunity to travel internationally. I've been to Montreal, Grand Cayman, St. Lucia, and now Per . I chose Per because it has, among other qualities, a few attributes that I was particularly drawn to: a world-class city, a gorgeous landscape, and of course its incredible Inca heritage. In all these areas, it surpassed expectations.
I was met by Am rico, a taxi driver I arranged when booking my room at the Gran Hotel Bolivar. cheap rental cars orlando florida He spoke some English and was very friendly. Following cautionary advice I'd read on TripAdvisor, I put all my stuff in Am rico's trunk -- my money was stashed all over my person in various hidden pockets -- but I didn't see anything that made me feel this was really necessary.
A small white rosary swung from the rear-view mirror as Am rico navigated the streets. While he drove, he told me about the city and pointed out a restaurant with a sign that said "Chifa." That means Chinese food, Am rico said, reminding me that Lima has a large Chinese diaspora.
Am rico estimated it would take 30 minutes to reach our destination, but it seemed hardly any time had passed when we pulled up to the Gran Hotel Bolivar, which is on the Plaza San Mart n, a square named for the man who led Per to independence from Spain. The square is lined with graceful white colonial cheap rental cars orlando florida buildings cheap rental cars orlando florida and is particularly beautiful cheap rental cars orlando florida at night, when it's all lit up.
If you've read a few reviews of the Gran Hotel Bolivar, you probably have a good picture of what it's all about, but here's a quick summary: It is a historic hotel that was quite grand in its day. Today it's a bit worn around the edges, but still glamorous. The hotel's lobby has a stained-glass domed ceiling, and a Model T is parked near the front desk. Unfailingly cheap rental cars orlando florida polite doormen are stationed out front 24 hours a day. Curiously long corridors wind through the upper floors, and the spacious guestrooms have 12-foot ceilings, walk-in closets, and tasteful cheap rental cars orlando florida wooden cheap rental cars orlando florida furnishings. I had requested a room with a view, but they gave me one facing an interior courtyard. This was probably just as well, since even in the interior I could hear traffic from the streets.
It started with breakfast at the Bolivar, which featured strong coffee, juice, and a basket of breads. The highlight was a soft croissant that had a layer of caramel baked in -- delicious! The waiter tried to serve me scrambled eggs with ham, but I'm a vegetarian and had to decline.
After that, I was off to explore the city! First I walked to the Plaza de Armas. My idea was to walk through it on my way to the catacombs, then return to the plaza to see the changing of the palace guard at noon. But when I arrived at the plaza, I was surprised to see it packed with people. Surely all these people aren't here to say the changing of the guard, I thought... but it was unclear cheap rental cars orlando florida what was going on. I wandered over to where the crowd was thickest -- near the Cathedral -- and, after perhaps five minutes, a procession started up. At this point, I should mention that I have only rusty college Spanish, but based on what I was able to glean at the time and through a little reconnaissance later, I learned that this was the start of a month-long celebration of San Mart n de Porres, the first black saint from the Americas and a much-loved figure. cheap rental cars orlando florida The procession included people carrying a litter that held a statue of the saint, followed by a brass band, the highlight of which was the cymbal player. At times confetti was tossed, and the scent of incense hung heavily in the air. During one stop in the procession, cheap rental cars orlando florida children were lifted up so they could get a closer look at the saint's likeness. Meanwhile, all around the area, vendors sold trinkets commemorating the event. San Mart n is often pictured with a broom because he got his start in the Dominican order by cleaning and doing other menial tasks, so among the items sold were small brooms decorated with ribbons and sequins. My broom, bought for 1 sol, is is now a treasured memento of the day. Here's a short video I took of the procession:
I followed the procession half a block out of the Plaza de Armas, where it stopped for a lengthy reading of verses. I continued watching for a while, then decided maybe it was time to wander away. At this point, I looked behind me and saw still more activity in the plaza. I went back and found myself on the sidelines of a lively parade! This was yet another celebration, totally unrelated, marking the 67th anniversary of an area in Per called Pasco, which includes several cheap rental cars orlando florida mountain communities. As a nod to the chilly, high-altitude Pasco climates, many of the parade participants wore blankets and other symbols of warm clothes, and dancers cheap rental cars orlando florida sometimes had bright red circles pained on their cheeks. Others wore elaborate face masks. Here is a short video I took of a few of the dancers:
After the parade, I visited (finally!) the Monastary cheap rental cars orlando florida of San Francisco, also known as the catacombs. An English-speaking guide showed us the church's beautiful hand-carved choir, its paintings, the peaceful courtyard, and the library, which contains cheap rental cars orlando florida texts so old they pre-date the conquest. But of course the highlight of this church is its crypts. Apparently, back in the early days of Lima, there were no cemeteries. People were always buried in crypts. Eventually, cheap rental cars orlando florida to make room, bodies were sorted out into groups of skulls, femurs and so forth, and you can see bins of each type of bones in the crypts.
After the Monastary, I just wandered around, enjoying the sights and sounds of the city. I loved the Plaza de Armas. In some ways it looks Spanish, yet the bright yellow buildings and the palm trees give it a different flavor.
Another thing I liked about Lima is that there are so many cafes situated in alcoves along the streets. That is, they do not have exterior walls -- you can just step inside and grab a table, which makes having a snack very tempting. Another enjoyable thing is that many of these cafes have cases and cases of pastries right along the sidewalk to tempt you. The Peruvians most love desserts! Anyway, that afternoon, I found a small cafe and had a towering slice of cake topped with a cherry. Then I headed back in the direction of the Plaza San Mart n, and the Museo Andr s Del Castillo. This museum is housed in a beautiful colonial building, and its exhibits include mineral samples from all over Per , and, on a seemingly unrelated note, textiles and pottery from ancient Peruvian cultures. I especially enjoyed the pottery, which included many depictions of animals. cheap rental cars orlando florida I particularly liked a sculpture of a dog nursing several pups.
Afterward, cheap rental cars orlando florida I walked to El Bolivarcito, a small bar connected to my hotel. This bar offers cheap rental cars orlando florida wonderful nighttime views of the square. I had a pisco sour, the classic Peruvian cocktail made of lime, whiskey and a frothy egg-white topping. I can say now that the pisco sours at this bar were the strongest I had in Per -- almost too strong! Also, it really struck me that at this bar, every single person was drinking pisco sours! I didn't cheap rental cars orlando florida see a single other beverage being consumed!
Following the cocktail, I drifted into the Bolivar dining room, and asked in imperfect Spanish cheap rental cars orlando florida for a vegetarian meal. I was served a mushroom risotto that was much cheesier than I prefer, but it had no meat so I won't complain!
qwovadis, thank you so much! Regarding Ollanta, I walked by the Apu Lodge once or twice and thought it looked really nice. In retrospect, I actually wish I had stayed in that area rather than out by the train station, although cheap rental cars orlando florida there were things about El Albergue that I liked.
I woke up my second day feeling well rested and firmly in vacation mode (it always seems to take a day or two). However, it was hard to believe cheap rental cars orlando florida my time in Lima was already half over! For my last day, I decided to visit more of the historic churches and colonial cheap rental cars orlando florida mansions described in my guidebook. Most of the mansions you cannot actually go inside of, but you can admire their exteriors. I had also wanted to visit the "Magic Circuit of Fountains," but an attendant at the hotel's front desk told me it isn't possible to go on Monday. (I ended up doing it later in the trip...)
Before leaving for the day, I had breakfast (this time a very good vegetarian omelette along with the same basket of delicious breads). I also decided to take some photos of the interior of the hotel. A member of the cleaning staff saw me doing this and gestured for me to come in and take photos of one of the suites. This was fun -- the suite was big, with a living room and a balcony overlooking the square. I'd heard that, in the past, this hotel has hosted many notable people, including Robert Kennedy, Ava Gardner, and Ernest Hemingway. I couldn't help but wonder if someone famous had ever stayed in this suite.
Then I was off! My first stop was el Palacio Torre Tagle, cheap rental cars orlando florida an 18th-century baroque mansion now home to Peru's Foreign cheap rental cars orlando florida Ministry. The first thing you notice about this building is the perfect color scheme, which includes rose (the exterior cheap rental cars orlando florida walls), mahogany (two elaborate Moorish-style closed balconies), brownish gray (the stone doorway), and bright white (the frothy cheap rental cars orlando florida looking decoration over the door). cheap rental cars orlando florida The overall effect is really striking.
My next stop: La Iglesia de San Pedro. This 17th-century structure isn't too exciting on the outside, but the interior -- wow! Everything is golden and fabulous. The arched white-and-gold ceiling cheap rental cars orlando florida is especially beautiful. I learned later that the church has three doors, but because cheap rental cars orlando florida having three doors is considered appropriate only for cathedrals, the third door must always remain closed. I did not see any other tourists inside -- just people praying cheap rental cars orlando florida -- so I didn't take any photos.
Next I walked to La Iglesia (y Monasterio) de Santo Domingo, which is the chu