Nightime in Downtown Lima, Peru.

Cathedral of Lima in Plaza de Armas

Written by Karen.

Lima is a beautiful, interesting and dynamic city. The architecture, cobblestoned streets, great restaurants, events/activities, friendly people, and the large plazas make this a very walkable and fun city to explore.  Even at night.  The air cools down a bit, and people spill out into the main plaza, Plaza de Armas, and side streets to grab a bite to eat, watch the futbol game, sit and talk, or just people watch. Time seems to slow down.  No one is in a rush.  The night is young.  Why not hang out for awhile? 

At night, the Cathedral of Lima glows with light and shadows.  This cathedral was originally built in the 1530's and the Spanish conquistador, Pizarro, is buried here. 

The archways of the Cathedral of Lima at night

Presidential/Government Palace

This fountain in the center of Plaza de Armas square was installed in 1651.

Architectural details become more dimensional and dramatic at night 

Adam and I having a late night dessert at a local neighborhood cafe.

Suspiro de limeña.  A light, airy custard with a touch of port and cinnamon whipped into the meringue topping.

Dense - but moist - dark chocolate cake with ice cream and whipped cream on the side.

Leaving the Plaza de Armas towards the river parkway.  There's always something going on here: live music, festivals, street food, games...

This crooner on the stage had everyone rocking to 50's rock and roll.  Everyone loved him.  When his set was over, young and old alike cried out in unison, "otra, otra!" Another, Another!

Street scene of people dancing, watching and hanging out.

Another street fair.  This food fair celebrated Peruvian food from different regions of Peru.  Long tables with clay pots simmered in the background sending their flavorful scents wafting throughout the area.  While people queued up for the food, others started to sing and dance.  The guy in the white shirt was singing, while everyone else was putting on their dance shoes.  

Pisco Punch.  A close relative to the Pisco Sour.  Don't let this drink fool you....it packs a serious punch - pardon the pun!  The Pisco Sour is a completely addictive and refreshing drink.  Both Peru and Chile have their own versions of the Pisco Sour.

A little off-topic, but since we're talking about Pisco Sours!  Meet Henry.  We went to the 2nd annual Pisco Sour Festival and sampled the different varieties of Pisco that were available.  Henry is a master marketer of Pisco, loves what he does, and does it very well.  Needless to say, we stayed awhile at his booth chatting it up and enjoying his particular brew!

Butifarras.  Street Food.  Absolutely delicious and our dinner for four of the seven nights so far in Lima!  There are about twenty food stands along the river parkway that are open only in the evening.  You can see the sliced pork in the corner.  The cook grabs a few pieces of the pork, places it on the tiny hot skillet, heats the bread, and creates a sandwich with lettuce, purple onions, mayonnaise, mustard and hot sauce.  Then he takes some hot sauce and pours it on the skillet, instantly making the hot sauce bubble, scoops it up and adds it to the sandwich.  The resulting sandwich is tasty, light, and thoroughly delicious.  When we were sharing our first sandwich, this woman comes up to us and says, "You must have a Pisco Sour with that sandwich."  Who are we to argue?  We tried it and found the perfect meal!   

Eating a butifarra at night while sitting on the curb.