Peru - Machu Picchu

Early breakfast, left the hotel at 7am. Edu drove us to the airport where we checked in for our flight to Lima. Had nice seats in premium economy for our 90 minute flight. Picked up by a Big 5 representative for a 30 minute van ride to the Ātemporal boutique hotel. Checked in, changed and hopped in a couple of Ubers to Mayta where we had a delicious 7 course tasting menu for lunch. Afterwards we walked back to the hotel, checking out the neighborhoods along the way.

Rick took an Uber down to the water to run around and take pictures. The rest of us camped out on the back patio at the hotel with a few glasses of wine, did a Zoom Happy Hour with Tomas back in California. Planned an RV excursion for May with Dr Matt. Then it was time for bed.

Had breakfast on the back patio, then at 9:30 we had our covid tests. All negative, yay! We can go home! Our tour guide Gladys and our driver arrived and we hopped in the van. Headed to Mercado N #1 de Surquillo where we tasted some local fruits (yum!) and then walked around to see all of the fruits, meats, and other items for sale. Walked outside and had some flavored ice cream. Took the van to La Preferida for lunch. Had some local treats, Rick had lots of ceviche. Took the van to the Bohemian part of town where we saw The Bridge of Sighs. Hopped back in the van and toured some more neighborhoods, then stopped for coffee. Then it was time to head back to the hotel. Hung out on the back patio for a while before dinner.

Walked about 20 minutes to Astrid & Gaston, one of the top 50 restaurants in the world. Had a nice table right in the center of the main section. We knew things were amiss when our waiter was trying to not write down any of our orders, but was clearly not remembering what we were saying... The food turned out to be delicious, but the rest of dinner was a mess. From constantly having to ask for more water and wine to grease being spilled on Tim to Rick's entrée showing up 5 minutes after everyone else, white and red wines in the wrong glasses, butter knives for cutting meat, pretty much a list of what not to do in any restaurant, let alone one that was supposed to be Michelin class. It was so bad that one of the owners, Astrid, came to the table to appease us. Then after we waited 10 minutes trying to pay our bill they finally brought it and we discovered that they had comped the entire meal. Actually made us feel worse since we were definitely not trying to get a free meal! We all walked back to the hotel, had a glass of wine, then headed to be after saying our goodbyes.