Time to relax in Miraflores!

So we're finally back in Lima. I'm so happy to be back here as we didn't have a chance to explore the city when we arrived. We're staying in Miraflores. It's such a beautiful area of Lima that I can stay here for a bit longer! 

The hotel we hoped would not be full was full. It's the same hotel we will be checking in for our GAP Adventure Tour. It's called Los Girasoles Hotel. They guided us to another hotel, more like a guest house called El Zagnan. It's such a cute place! Very zen... It has lush greenery everywhere... Sounds of fountains, birds singing in the garden, and a cute family and dinner area. Our room was on the top floor (3rd) and we had to go up these beautiful spiral staircase. As beautiful as they are, I am not the best with spiral staircases (slow and steady). The people are so nice here always greeting us with huge smiles. One thing to remember when you stay here is that you have to buzz to get in and out of the place as it is gated for security. You see this alot in Peru.

The first thing we wanted to do was go to do our laundry. I am a bit sick of wearing the same clothes but the worse thing is wearing the same stinky clothes! We went to a self-serve laundry place and it wasn't so bad. It costs 16 soles to wash and dry 1 kg of clothes. We didn't really care if we were separating our whites and colours as we were both prepared to throw or lose the clothes we brought with us. This is the first time for me going to a self-serve laundry place. You watch in movies and TV shows that it takes a couple of hours and you had to sit there and make sure no one steals your clothes etc. But it didn't take long at all...probably just a bit over an hour. So we were both happy that we didn't have to stay that long. The people were helpful there as well despite the language barrier. The pointing, simple words, and sign language helped :)

Now that laundry was done ... we were off to explore Miraflores! We headed toward the plaza from our place. It took about 15-20 minutes to walk there. There were shops and restaurants everywhere! And the hustle and bustle was so very nice to see! Oh how I will always be an urban kind of girl! I miss shopping ;) and it's hard not to buy things sometimes knowing the big journey is still yet to come (Inca Trail, Amazon and Costa Rica). The Kennedy Park was busy with food stalls and art displays etc. The walkway with the art displays were amazing. I really wanted to get a couple of them for my place but the thought of carrying them ... I wasn't sure. I bought one when I was at my last stop in China - Hong Kong - but that was the last stop. These were large paintings and decided to just pass. If I won't regret it, then I can pass on it... that's how I usually decide on things :) 

On a different note, I was telling Eva how I have yet to see a McDs or a Starbucks in Peru and we finally saw them around the Kennedy Park. Perhaps we will have to visit while we are here :) We were joking around saying that we should try McDs in every country we travel too. We have been taking advantage of breakfast at the places we've stayed at so we haven't made a McDs trip even if there was one in every place we visited. We both love the breakfasts ... mmmm...