Postcards from Peru
a little bit of what we saw, ate and did in South America
South America has been on our bucket list for years.. and yet, every summer, i find myself back in Europe eating shawarma on a cobblestone street at 2am - and i’m not mad about it (!!!!) but we’ve been craving something a little different. and that’s honestly the only way i can explain South America - different, but in the best way. in Peru, the fruit actually tastes like fruit (like, aggressively so), the air shifts depending on where you are, and you find yourself staying up late most nights because the energy is just constantly buzzing.
we started in Lima, which feels coastal and familiar in a weird way (very LA adjacent?) and then made our way to Cusco, which is a completely different vibe. muchhh higher, quieter, older. the altitude is no joke, but once you settle in, it’s so incredibly beautiful. small cobblestone streets, mountains in every direction, and people who are warm and welcoming.
this really felt like the kind of trip that makes you realize how big the world is, but also how much beauty exists in the smallest things.
as always, below is not necessarily a comprehensive travel guide, but a large list of where we stayed, what we did, what we saw, and what we ate. i’ve included links for everything to help you streamline your own trip, and of course i’ve added screenshots of my packing list because i will never not brag about taking only a carry on and a personal item on a two week international trip (packing light really is one of my biggest green flags).
i hope you enjoy, and i’ll be in the comments for any questions you might have!!
Lima
we had the opportunity to go to Lima and a small beach town an hour south of the city for a friend’s wedding. the flight times from anywhere in the states are weird as fuck, getting us into the city at 4 in the morning. we were recommended to take a TaxiGreen from the airport (uber xl or uber black works too), and somehow ended up in a manual car that was built in 1990, bumping and rattling its way through the dark. there’s something so disorienting about moving through a city you’ve never seen in the wee hours of the morning. the outskirts are quiet, almost eerily still, and you have no real sense of where you are or what’s around you. but once we got to sleep and woke up to the light, we immediately headed outside to do one of the best things to do in the city: eat.
Lima feels humid in that salty, ocean-air way, with almost a coastal LA vibe to it. we didn’t have a ton of time to explore since we were heading south for wedding festivities, but we made it a priority to eat as much as possible. the culture, the people, and the freshness of the fruit stood out immediately.
we stayed at Antigua Miraflores, a super cute boutique hotel. amenities weren’t anything crazy, but the property itself was really sweet and charming and it was a great price.
where we ate
Demo - recommended by literally everyone who has been to or lives in Lima. very CDMX energy. the guava + cheese pastry is top tier and the arepas benedictas are a must.
