Free day in Cusco

6/18/16

I woke up today ready and refreshed for an exciting day in Cusco. It’s hard to top yesterday but for every day of excitement I think there needs a day of relaxation. Doing just that, Hassan and I woke up around 10:30 and by 11 everyone was gathering in the lobby. Plans ranged from horse back riding in the afternoon, going to the famous San Pedro market, or getting breakfast at a crepes and waffles restaurant. I chose the market, with plans to get lunch later with Anna and Rebecca.

The San Pedro market, for anyone visiting Cusco, is a must see attraction. It is easily said the center of commercial business with everything on sale. The market is housed in a giant warehouse filled with stands creating aisles, branching off of a main street down the middle. On the edges of the building there the general tourist goods that we have seen almost everywhere throughout Peru. Once one breached the outer circle there were a collection of produce stands with every type of food one could ever need at a very affordable cost. On the right there are a collection of butchers counters, I swear on one of my passes I saw a whole pigs head hanging by a hook, next to a pile of chicken feet. There were also stalls for kitchen supplies like rolling pins, pots, and utensils. In the far back there were counters to purchase food. Now I’m always one for trying new things and doing as the locals do, but a bunch of the counters were cramped together and definitely lacked some of the cleanliness that my stomach would have needed to feel comfortable. By the end of the day I had bought a bunch of gifts and useful things for myself including a cutting board, alpaca socks, and a wooden spoon.

So I have been dying to try Chifa this trip because usually I’m a fan of Chinese food and chifa is a Peruvian-Chinese fusion, which has been a crowd favorite by almost everyone we have run into so far. My host mom had served me some take out and I did go to Chinatown but my thirst to eat real chifa had not been quenched yet. So for lunch Anna, Rebecca, and I headed out on a quest for the best Chifa in all of Cusco. Coincidentally it wasn’t very far from Hotel Prisma as it turned out, we had walked by it multiples times on the way to La Plaza de Armas, named Chifa Sipan. We arrived about 11:30 however it was not open yet so to kill the time we got pedicures. On a scale of one to ten this would be about a seven and probably the best pedicure in my life so far (one of two). Taking about 40 minutes for all three of us it really was relaxing. Mental note to self, get more pedicures in Boston.

Lunch was exactly what I had been hoping for. I got a mixed platter of sweet chicken, chicken noodles, fried rice (choufa) and wonton soup. At this point it was about 1:30pm and I was starving. Oh, I can’t forget the spring rolls, essentially just balls of meat rolled into a shell accompanied by a sweet brown dipping sauce. In the background we watched as Spain played Argentina in the American cup. I can’t say that I was enthralled by soccer but I understand the appeal. I kind of wish I was more into it like the rest of the world because I think it’s a great way to make bonding and friendly competition between groups. Even though I can acknowledge that America has soccer teams, when was the last time I even watched one, or heard how Philadelphia Union team was doing. The rest of the afternoon was dedicated to catching up on blogs and homework. If you are reading this relatively soon after I posted it you’ll find that none of my blogs have pictures and almost all are poorly written. This is my own fault and laziness but I will put in photos before I’m done I swear. That being the goal I will go back and add them and correct my writing, if for nothing but my own personal records.

Dinner that night was at The Hotel Monestaria, an old Monastery that has since been converted into a hotel and restaurant. We arrived at the Monastery around 7:30pm and were seated at a collection of six tables with six people at each. We dinned in a large hall with a giant chefs prep table at one end and the diners at the other. In the middle was a grand fireplace and slightly to the left were about three instrumentalists playing a couple of lovely pieces. Servers brought an assortment of breads to us quickly along with water and the menus for the night. On the menu was the largest variety of foods yet with about 10 options for starters, main courses, and about 6 desserts. This blog will not justify how amazingly beautiful dinner was and how rich it felt being able to enjoy just a lovely dinner with each other. I made a couple rounds to all the tables, taking pictures and having some small talk. Some tables were talking about superlatives of what were the best parts of the trip, I’ll save mine for a different blog post. For me, my starter was a mango and trout salad which was a little plain with no dressing but was almost like eating a perfectly prepared slice of sushi. My dinner was a medium-rare chateaubriand and a potato gratin, accompanied by a bearnaise sauce. Literally the most amazing thing I have ever eaten in my life. It was a two course meal so I split it with Daria. Annie and Vicky got the same as well. Feeling particularly decadent I accompanied my steal with a lovely red Malbec vine. Dessert was probably the most underwhelming, just a collection of cooked strawberries and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. In the end I was fully stuffed and a little tipsy from the vine and ready to hit the hay at home to rest through the digestion of the meal.

But alas, the night was not over. An hour later at 11:15 I was rudely awakened by Gaby announcing that a group was going out to the resident discoteca in the plaza de Armas, Momma Africa. The dance floor was located on the third floor of the building with a DJ booth and a full bar. By the time we arrived the place was in full swing with a couple hundred dancing and even a man doing black light face paint. My last drink in Cusco was a Maracuya Sour, a combination of passion fruit and pisco. Nick, Caroline, and I ended up leaving about 1am calling it a night to sleep off the alcohol and get packed to leave the next day.