Cusco: Inca Seat of Power, Spanish Capital, Eco Tourism Mecca

July 15, 2018 by Troy Colbert in Food, Museums, Travel, Peru, Colonial Architecture, Blog, Cusco, Andes, Inca

Cusco, Peru: From Inca Capital to Ground Zero for Peruvian Eco Tourism

I wasn't sure what to expect about Cusco, Peru. I knew it was in the mountains and that altitude sickness was a real possibility. I knew it was the jump off point to go to Machu Picchu. I had read guidebooks and done some online research, but none of it prepared me for what turned out to be one of the most interesting places I've ever visited.

Cusco is a city of about a half a million people. We land at night and the first thing I notice when we step outside is that it's cold! Lima is on the coast so they don't really have cold weather, but Cusco is at 11,000 feet and the clear air doesn't hold the heat of the day at all. We're told that in the winter the days can get up into the 90's (again, thin air) and it will drop below freezing that night.

Being in a new city is always very exciting for me. I've traveled enough to understand allowing the new place to reveal itself. The trip from the airport takes us through the more modern part of Cusco into the older section in the center of town. We are staying in the San Blas area which sits above the main downtown area. The cobblestone streets get very narrow, VERY steep, and the buildings are smaller and older. San Blas is known as the barrio de los artesanos or the "artisans' quarter". There are lots of small boutiques, restaurants, cafes, and hostels all over the area. We're staying in a rental house that's owned by a small, boutique hotel next door. It's rustic and has a fireplace to take care of the winter chill. The view down into Cusco is spectacular.

We've decided to spend our first day in Cusco acclimating ourselves to the altitude. I don't know if it's because I live at 3,500 feet or because I've been sucking on coca candy for two days, but fortunately for me I never experience a single moment of altitude sickness but I see people walking around town obviously gutting it out.

The main plaza in Cusco is overlooked by the Roman Catholic Cathedral. It serves as the centerpoint of the old part of town on the Plaza de Armas. Like Lima they are having a festival with parades of people from the surrounding area in colorful outfits and costumes.

Catedral del Cusco

Festival Participants

Getting Ready for the Parade

The Interior Courtyard of the Church of Santo Domingo/Qorikancha

When the Spanish came, took over Cusco, and made it their Capital, the Inca already had a thriving city in place. Of course the Spanish were out to save the souls of the "heathen" native population so they built lots of churches. From my rented house I can count six Roman Catholic churches -- and those are just the churches I can see. The Spanish would oftentimes simply build on top of the Inca temple already in place. A prime example of this is two blocks from the Plaza de Armas in central Cusco. Santo Domingo Church was built on top of and next to Qorikancha, the Inca Temple of the Sun. Today it's a fascinating place to visit. The temple and church sit side by side and you can see how the Spanish used the already established Inca religious traditions to further Christianity. Inside you will see how the structure was constructed to allow the sun to come through the windows (very important on the two yearly solstices). There is also an art gallery of (mainly religious) paintings from the Cusco School, a modern art gallery, large outside gardens, a traditional Spanish courtyard, and exhibits on Inca astronomy and the Inca Seqe System of Cusco with Qorikancha at the center and different seqes or lines radiating from it connecting over 360 wakas or Inca sacred places.

The food scene in Cusco is very diverse. You obviously have dozens of restaurants to cater to the scores of visitors that come through Cusco. One thing I found enlightening is the number of vegan restaurants in Cusco. I guess if you think about it eco tourists might be slightly more inclined to eat a plant based diet, but restaurants don't stay in business without customers. There's something about the people coming through Cusco that make it worthwhile to serve vegan.

We found a great place right off the Plaza de Armas called Greens Organic. They have their own farm and work with local producers to supply all of the restaurant's ingredients. The menu was diverse, the prices were not rock bottom but weren't unreasonable, and the food tasted amazing! We had a fried local cheese with mango salsa, and I had a delicious African Curry dish. I also tried a Peruvian specialty, Chicha Morada or purple corn juice. It. Was. Fantastic!! The purple corn is cooked with fruits like apple and pineapple, plus cinnamon, cloves, and sugar. It's sweet and earthy and completely delicious.

Fried Local Cheese with Mango Salsa

African Curry

Chicha Morada!!

We also found a tiny pizza place where the owner had built his own wood fired pizza oven and had it right in the dining room (he and his family lived upstairs). The pizza was very tasty! Local ingredients again were the key.

Another fun place was Paddy's Irish Pub. It has the distinction of being the highest Irish owned pub in the world! I had one of the better shepherd's pies I've ever had anywhere (including Ireland) and a Cusquena, the most popular Peruvian beer. You can't beat an Irish pub for a laid back, great time.

Breakfast every day was at the hotel next to us. Two sweet ladies put out a breakfast buffet every morning with fruit, juices, freshly baked bread, cereals and superfoods like chia seeds, and eggs cooked to order. The local eggs and milk were so much better than what I'm used to finding in the States, and the Peruvian coffee was spectacular.

While I wasn't sure what to expect from Cusco it turned out to be one of my favorite places I've visited. I definitely will return to see more of Cusco and the surrounding area.

Next. On to the Sacred Valley and the Inca ruins at Ollantaytambo!

The Skyline in Miraflores from My Balcony

Lima Peru: My First Foray Into South America (But Not My Last!)

July 06, 2018 by Troy Colbert in Blog, Food, Museums, Travel, South America, Peru, Lima, Colonial Architecture

Art on Building in Lima

Street Mural in Lima

Street Mural Art in Lima

Peru. Land of the Inca. Home to ceviche, the Sacred Valley, alpacas, and the pisco sour.

Full disclosure. Peru was not on my radar to visit. I always figured my first time in South America would be in Argentina or Brazil. But that's the beauty about travel. Sometimes an opportunity presents itself to go somewhere and you just gotta jump. I have a friend whose son is in Peru on a mission trip, and while he is off building a school and playing soccer with the local kids, his mom wanted to be in the country seeing the sights. She asked for folks to come with her and I happily agreed.

We'll split our time between the Capital of Lima and Cusco, the gateway to the Sacred Valley. While Machu Picchu is close to Cusco it's not in the cards for me. Logistics and time just don't make it possible.

In any case, it's another opportunity to visit a different country and a different culture and I couldn't be more excited.

Lima: The City of Kings

We land in Lima very close to midnight and make our way to where we are staying in the District of Miraflores along the Pacific Ocean. Because it sits in the Southern Hemisphere it is early winter in Lima. What that means is that the city is in a kind of permanent "gloom" -- cloud cover that never really lifts but without any rain. It's a pity because I'm sure Lima is beautiful in the sunshine. Unfortunately we don't have that experience.

Lima is a city of 11 million people and is broken into districts. Miraflores is the most international district. Most foreigners stay here. The majority of the fine dining restaurants are here. It's the best place to locate. Barranco is where you'll find the artists, the musicians, the authors, and the cool kids. The Central District or "El Centro" is home to the Government Palace, the Cathedral of Lima, and the oldest house in South America. I'll visit all three as well as the Larco Museum in the Pueblo Libre district.

Miraflores & Barranco

View of the Pacific Ocean from Larcomar

Holy Cross Parish

The Park of the Cross

Day one starts with a very short bicycle tour. It would have been longer but in all honesty I was not prepared for it. The bicycle I had was uncomfortable, not very well maintained, and all I was doing was trying not to die in Lima's traffic. I saw the Pacific from atop the Larcomar Market and the Park of the Cross before I sent my traveling companions on their way with the guide and went on foot through Barranco.

The Park of the Cross was the first place the Spanish landed in what would become Lima. Legend has it that the sailors saw a cross high on the bluff and when they reached the spot it was gone. They raised a cross of their own on the spot and it has been there since. The church next door is being renovated and has an interesting history. The story is that there was a priest who treated the native people very cruely. During one of the frequent earthquakes that occur in Lima he was in the front garden of the church when the church bell fell from the belltower and decapitated him. Talk about divine intervention!

If Peru has a national dish it is more than likely ceviche, the combination of raw fish, citrus juice, onion, and chili pepper is served throughout the country. On my walk through Barranco I was able to find some delicious ceviche at a small place called Barra Mar. The fish was ultra fresh, and the lime juice, onion, and pepper gave it a tart, spicy flavor that was addictive! I also was lucky to find a great craft brewery the Barranco Beer Company. The IPA was sweeter than any IPA I've had in the US. Their Pale-X was a fantastic rye based ale.

Ceviche

Craft Beer Menu at Barranco Beer Co.

Beer Flight at Barranco Beer Company

Day two in Lima. We are having lunch at Maido, the #8 ranked best restaurant in the world but before that I am going to take in the Larco Museum in the Pueblo Libre District.

Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera

The Most Complete Set of Solid Gold Ceremonial Regalia in the World

What started with a gift of around 600 ceramic pieces has grown into one of, if not the best museum of pre-Columbian art in the world. The museum is broken down into four areas: North Coast, Center, South, and Highlands Cultures. There are ceramics, textiles, metalwork pieces, and a storage area with thousands of pieces catalogued. If it weren't for this museum many if not all these pieces of history would have been taken, sold, and never seen again.

I have been fascinated by this kind of art since I saw the new, world art exhibit at the Louvre in January. What it shows me is that ancient peoples of the world are all connected. The art of pre-Columbian Peru looks like totem pole art in North America and pieces I've seen from Polynesia and Africa.

The animal imagery in the pieces represented the three areas the pre-Columbian peoples considered divine: the sky (where the sun is, represented by the owl and eagle), the ground (where people are, represented by the cat and frog), and underground (where crops grew from, represented by the snake and spider).

Something else I found interesting is that, while most of the pieces were functional, the people who had them used them mostly for decoration in their homes. They were the original knick-knacks!

The grounds themselves were lovely as well with bougainvillea and bottle brush trees blooming and several varieties of cactus I hadn't seen before.

Maido: Peruvian/Japanese Fusion at One of the World's Top Restaurants.

Nikkei is a word with multiple meanings, one of which describes the Japanese global diaspora. In the late 19th century thousands of Japanese came to Peru to work on two year contracts. Lots of them decided to stay and the two cultures have become intertwined. Chef Mitsuharu "Micha" Tsumura has taken his heritage -- born in Lima to Japanese parents -- and in Maido has created a restaurant that fuzes Peruvian ingredients with Japanese techniques into something he calls "The Nikkei Experience". In 2017 Maido was voted the top restaurant in Latin America and the #8 restaurant in the world. When I decided to book the trip to Peru a visit to Maido was on my "must do" list.

The atmosphere in Maido is minimalist and fairly familiar of other sushi restaurants I've been to. Wooden tables and chairs throughout with staff hustling around in a very efficient manner. One detail that was pretty cool is above the diners heads. Ropes descend from the ceiling many stained red. When viewed from opposite sides of the restaurant the ropes look like either the Japanese or Peruvian flag.

The Nikkei Experience lunch is a small plate of three "amuse bouches", eight small plates of food, and two desserts. Japanese and Peruvian cuisines are very compatible with each other. The fact that both rely very heavily on seafood from the Pacific Ocean is one of the reasons Chef Micha's menu works so well. Each dish was unique. Even dishes that had ingredients that were familiar to me were given a new twist. The ceviche was insanely fresh and perfectly spiced, the fish stew with yuca and amazing Peruvian yellow pepper was a barrage of flavors, the short rib is cooked for an astounding 50 hours and melts in your mouth, and the uni rice topped with even more uni was over-the-top decadent. The liquid nitrogen frozen tofu cheesecake "ice cream" was tasty and fun, and the granita served with a chocolate shell filled with the different kinds of cacao and nibs was served in a bowl made from sugar and was visually stunning. The entire meal was a delight and it was very cool to enjoy the Peruvian ingredients done in such a clever Japanese way.

I have been fortunate to have eaten in some outrageously good restaurants, and Chef Micha and the staff at Maido can be very proud of their place among the best places in the world.

Amuse Bouches

Ceviche

Pork Belly Bun

Fish Stew with Peruvian Yellow Pepper Broth

Cuy

Toro, White Tuna with Uni, Beef Tongue

Cod with Hazlenuts

50 Hour Short Rib

Sea Urchin Rice Topped with Sea Urchin

Tofu Cheesecake "Ice Cream"

Granita and Cacao with Nibs

Central Lima: The Church, The State, The People, and the Oldest House in South America.

Government Palace

Cathedral In Lima

Cathedral Interior

Festival de Patron Procession

Festival Parade Participants

Pizarro arrived in the land now known as Peru with less than 200 conquistadors in 1531. While they didn't have a lot of men, they did have four main things the native Inca (population 12 million) didn't have: guns, horses, the wheel, and an immunity to smallpox. It didn't take the Spanish long to manipulate their way into being in charge.

The Spanish set up in the Inca capital of Cusco. They helped orchestrate a civil war between Inca factions and then executed Atahualpa for his brothers death, thus completing their coup d'état.

In 1535 Pizarro founded the city of Lima as the Capital of what would become the Viceroyalty of Peru. It was from here that the Viceroys would rule Peru until 1824.

Casa de Aliaga: The Oldest Colonial House in South America

Street Entrance of Casa de Aliaga. Photo Courtesy of Trip Advisor

Interior Patio of Casa de Aliaga

Beautiful Interior of Casa de Aliaga

Detail of Imported Tile

Senor Aliaga's Sword

Each Room Has A Unique Ceiling Pattern

Antique Bed

Stunning Detail Throughout the House

The Aliaga Family Chapel

Pizarro had a friend named Jeronimo de Aliaga y Ramirez who came with him to Peru. He gifted him land to build a house and it has remained in the Aliaga Family since 1535. Throughout history the family has seen politicians and diplomats, and has remained one of the leading families on Peru.

At one point there were tunnels connecting the house to the Cathedral, the Government House, and the nearby convent.The house itself is still used by the Aliaga family today. There are two apartments inside the house the family uses as well as the dining room and chapel. It really is a lovely example of colonial architecture and the family has done a magnificent job of preserving it.

So my stay in Lima was really something. It was fascinating to be in such a big city that felt more like a lot of smaller cities. I would love to return in their Summer to see the city when the sun is shining and the beaches are full. The people I met were very warm and friendly. I'd love to see more of Miraflores and Barranco and try some more Peruvian food!

Next I flew to Cusco to learn more about the Inca and to experience the Andes at an elevation of over 11,000 feet!

The Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, and the Ultimate Bistro Experience

March 25, 2018 by Troy Colbert in Food, Paris, Travel, Art, Museums

The Louvre

I've mentioned before I'm no art expert but I know what I like. While I appreciate the classical artists, I'm much more drawn (no pun intended) to the impressionists.

The Louvre is obviously one of the great museums in the world. If you've ever been to Paris, seen a travel show about Paris, or seen a movie about Paris (DaVinci Code anyone?), you've seen the Louvre and it's now famous Pyramid entrance.

Here is my dirty little secret...I'm not a fan of the Louvre. Don't get me wrong, I fully understand the significance of the art in the museum. I am just not a fan of the place. It's way too big. It's ridiculously crowded. You really can't appreciate any of the major works because there are so many people around each one talking, taking selfies, and getting in your way, that the entire experience is just unpleasant.

So I approach visiting the Louvre like a military operation. Get in, do what I need to do, and get out.

I do notice that the museum has added a new section on art from Asia, Africa, North, and South America. I make a note to check it out.

Venus de Milo

Mona Lisa

Winged Victory

The famous paintings, sculptures and artifacts are everywhere. It truly is a spectacular collection. Again, it's the fact that you are looking directly at something that thousands and thousands of people have looked at and had their own ideas about that is so wonderful. I am pleasantly surprised with the art from beyond Europe. It's fascinating to me that the art is so similar despite the distance between the people who created it.

The key to enjoying the Louvre is doing lots of research before you get there, pick out the stuff you want to see, see those things and hit the road.

Musée d'Orsay

“The history of the museum, of its building is quite unusual. In the centre of Paris on the banks of the Seine, opposite the Tuileries Gardens, the museum was installed in the former Orsay railway station, built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. So the building itself could be seen as the first “work of art” in the Musee d’Orsay, which displays collections of art from the period 1848 to 1914.”

— Musée d'Orsay website.

According to the dictionary, Impressionism is defined as, " A style or movement in painting originating in France in the 1860s, characterized by a concern with depicting the visual impression of the moment, especially in terms of the shifting effect of light and color," and, "A literary or artistic style that seeks to capture a feeling or experience rather than to achieve accurate depiction."

The impressionists broke away from the convention of what was considered "art" by the Académie des Beaux-Arts in France (who preferred paintings featuring historical or religious themes and figures). They wanted to paint out of doors, where the light changed the way they saw people and places. They wanted to paint landscapes and scenes of everyday life. Of course the Académie lost their collective minds, and the critics railed and mocked the new artists -- among them Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Paul Cézanne .

After years of being rejected by the Académie and banding together to show and promote their new style of art, the public began to realize that this new style was actually a legitimate form of art and embraced what the impressionists were doing.

Impression, soleill levant by Claude Monet. The painting that gave the movement its name. — *Impression, soleill levant* by Claude Monet. The painting that gave the movement its name.

Of course, today we look at these artists as masters and their works as masterpieces (to me even more so than the 'traditionalists" like David). I mean come on. Would you rather spend you time looking at paintings of some rich dude who could afford to have a famous artist paint his portrait or Monet's Impression, soleil levant? There is only one answer really.

The Musée d'Orsay, opened in 1986, houses the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art in the world. I fell in love with this place when I was here in 2006 and if anything, my love has only gotten stronger. Unlike the Louvre, the d'Orsay is easily navigated. I could spend hours going from room to room. I'm fascinated by the impressionists and their work. The use of light, the individual brushstrokes, showing people living life. It speaks to me in a very deep, personal way.

Bistro Paul Bert

The truth is if you're going to Paris you need to have a French Bistro experience. You need to go to a place that is busy, full of energy, noisy (but not loud), and serves outstanding, classic, rustic food. There is no better bistro experience in Paris than Bertrand Auboyneau's Bistro Paul Bert.

The menus are handwritten on chalkboards in French of course, and with a little help from my awesome server (he literally had half the restaurant, kept everything moving efficiently, joked with every table, and didn't forget a single thing), I settled on the house-made, rustic paté, the fried grouper cheeks, the peppercorn filet with a cognac cream sauce, and the Grand Marnier souffl. FYI, my mouth is watering remembering this meal.

My table at Bistro Paul Bert

House-Made Paté

Tempura Fried Grouper Cheeks

Peppercorn Filet with Cognac Cream Sauce and Frites

Grand Marnier Soufflé

The paté is delicious. It's perfectly spiced and the quality of the meat is outstanding. It's one of the things that separates Bistro Paul Bert from other bistros. They actually own farms in Normandy and Brittany where they source most of their ingredients.

The tempura fried grouper cheeks are light and crispy. The house made tartar sauce is creamy and compliments the fish perfectly. I adore grouper anyway and this is a new twist for me. If I lived in Paris I would eat this dish as often as I could.

Full disclosure, I'm not usually a filet fan. I've always thought it was an overpriced, under flavored, cut of beef. This filet showed me how wrong I was. I wish I could do the Vulcan mind meld trick from Star Trek because it's the only way I could adequately describe my experience. Perfectly cooked, butter soft, exploding with flavor. The peppercorns, cognac, and cream enveloped the filet in a sauce that I can only describe as otherworldly. This is what comes from using an outstanding product, and perfect preparation.

What really impressed me was the fact that this dish could have been mediocre. Bistro Paul Bert is FAMOUS for this dish, and they could have half-assed it knowing that they were going to continue to sell portion after portion regardless of the quality. But they didn't. I have no doubt that if I went back 100 times and ordered the filet it would be as amazing every single time.

The soufflé was light and eggy, with a perfect balance of sweet (but not too sweet) and boozy (but not too boozy). Heavenly.

For those of you thinking, "You had dessert?!", I reply, "How could I not?!" Yes I was full, yes it was over the top, yes my cardiologist would have slapped me around if he saw me, but come on! There was NO WAY I was going to miss out on the perfect ending to a perfect meal.

So I saw amazing art and fed not only my heart and mind, but at Bistro Paul Bert my body and soul as well. Needless to say I slept VERY well after my most Parisian of days.