We woke up late (for us) and went for a walk to el Parque del Amor (Love Park) on the cliffs of Chorrillos. The park opened on Valentine’s Day in 1993 and features Victor Delfin’s sculpture “El Beso.”
We spent the afternoon walking through the Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Antropología e Historia del Perú (the National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History of Peru). It is the oldest state museum and houses a vast collection of artifacts; some of the rooms were well labeled and others had no information. The taxi ride home was a lot of fun—the driver was from Chiclayo and had three boys.
There was a lovely sunset as we got ready to dinner.
The hotel offered an art and cocktail class in their restaurant Tragaluz. We learned about the artwork (which changes every few months) and learned about three cocktails that combined local ingredients with well-known drink: rum with fruit juices and fresh mint, pisco mai tai and tequila with fig puree and sage.
Dinner at Statera was exceptional. André Patsias, aformer sous-chef at Central, recently opened this small restaurant. The name means balance and the five-course dinner was just that—balanced. The chef explained each dish tableside as it was served and included scallops, ceviche, octopus, lamb and a coco dessert that was similar to mouse. The vegetarian versions were equally as beautiful in look and taste. As a side note, the bread and “butter” was spectacular. The butter was black in color and made from caramelized fruit. Wow! There was a little confusion when we first arrived because there were only two menus in English and another table was using both. But the food and ambiance were an amazing way to celebrate Ian’s 50thbirthday eve.
