Rick and Janell's News: Peru Trip Part I (Lima)

We made it to Peru!! We have been looking forward to and planning this trip for a few months now.

We flew out of SLC for a redeye into Atlanta. After a four hour layover we got on another plane and flew eight hours down to Lima Peru. We arrived just after 8 PM and got an UBER to take us to the Sheraton Lima Historic Center where we stayed for a couple of nights.

We were so happy that we were upgraded to the Executive Suite. It was super nice and large and spacious for us. It had a free standing bathtub that was so nice to relax in after a long day.

After a good night's rest we caught another UBER which took us to the Lima Peru Temple, our ONE HUNDRETH TEMPLE!! It was a great experience to be there! We enjoyed some time in the celestial room after doing some initiatory work and then took a few pictures of the outside.

It was so nice to be there.

While at the Sheraton we were on the 18th floor. What was interesting is in the middle of the floor it was completely open to the Mezzanine. It was almost like looking into the abyss.

Our room looked out over a cool park. At night the park was filled with a bunch of different youth groups dancing. I guess the park is the nighttime meeting point for the kids in the area.

After changing into our street clothes we walked about a mile to the historic district looking at the old buildings as we walked. The walking street was buzzing with people and even street performers and beggars.

After a while we caught another UBER and went to the Miraflores/Barranco district where we had planned a food tasting tour. We met ups with our tour guide, Adriana, and one other participant whose name is Enoch. He was from British Columbia.

Our first stop was at Exquisite Peru where we had a lesson on different foods from Peru and got to taste a few things.

We tried Coca Tea, and three different types of Peruvian fruits. There was the Grenadia, Lucuma, and ?.

We also learned that Peru has four hundred different varieties of potato, which is amazing.

We also got to taste different types of chocolate that come from Peru. Adriana, also taught us about the different peppers and the sauces that are common in peru. It was a great learning experience and we actually saw many of the sauces in our eating throughout Peru.

Our next stop was Luna Nueva. A cute little cafe.

There we were served Munya Tea and a chicken empanada.

The empanada was delicious...the coca tea, not so much.

Our next stop was a place called Ayahuasca which is a name for a narcotic plant that is grown in Peru.

The restaurant was in this beautiful old home.

After watching a cool demonstration of the chef making our food we were directed to our seats to enjoy it.

We were served Lomo Saltado and beef hearts.

The Lomo Salgado was super delicious! It was the first and best of our whole trip.

Rick really enjoyed the hearts. They did taste pretty good but the thought of eating hearts made me leave some on my plate.

We got a taste of the famous Inca Kola.

It didn't taste like cola but was nice and sugary.

We walked through the "art" district with lots of street art that has been painted by famous Peruvian artists

This is an old church that has been around for centuries. It was destroyed by battles and weather an now is just a home for the birds. the facade looks pretty good but the inside is falling down.

This is the famous bridge of sighs in Lima.

There is a local legend that you make a wish and then if you can hold your breath all the way across the bridge your wish will come true.

Here is the beginning. Rick was able to hold his breath.

I knew there was know chance for me. HAHA!

Our next stop was the Republic Del Pisco.

Here we were served a fruit drink, called Punch Andino.

and some seafood dish. One was ok and the other was way too fishy for me.

Rick liked them both.

We got to watch the chef make fresh ceviche.

Ceviche is huge in Peru and each region has a different way of making it.

I had a bite. It wasn't too shabby.

This is a beautiful cathedral in the Miraflores Plaza.

The sun was going down by this time and everything was bathed in a pink glow:)

We then stopped at a famous bar in Miraflores, called Juanitos

There they serve the famous Peruvian drink Pisco Sour but since we don't drink alcohol we were served some delicious Passion Juice.

Our last stop was at Blu Ice Cream. You can bet we loved every bite!

After our tour ended we said goodbye to our new friends, Adriana and Enoch and found an UBER back to the hotel for a bath and some sleep!

The next morning we had planned a bike tour throughout the same area we were in the night before.

After picking up our bikes with our guide Fernando, we stopped at a cathedral and looked inside.

We then rode over to the coast. It was a bit of a balmy day but the view of the Pacific was 👌

Our next stop was Love Park. It is named Love Park after a giant statue of a man and women in an embrace. We decided to show some love while we were there:)

We passed this tree and I just HAD to get a picture of Rick in it.

I think that's our thing...pictures of Rick in huge trees!

Proof we were in Miraflores...

We stopped for lunch at a little cafe.

Fernando suggested Rick get the Chicharrron sandwich which was dry and NOT good.

Fernando loved his.

I got an empanada and this bowl of fruit with yogurt. YUM!

He looks happy but don't let the smile fool you, he was really disappointed.

All of us together at the end of our ride.

I think we rode about twenty miles plus all together.

That afternoon we got all dressed up and took an hour long UBER to get to the Los Olivos Temple.

It was just dedicated earlier this year and was really beautiful. It was a little tricky communicating with the sisters helping me in the dressing room but I was able to get to the right place at the right time.