It is midnight as I finally arrive in Lima, it only took 14 hours since Melbourne according to my watch, but it was more like 30 in reality.

Edgar, the representative from my travel agency greets me and we're soon on our way to my hotel. About ten minutes into the journey, police in riot gear standing near a tank-like vehicle usher us and a few other cars over. Edgar clearly knows the drill and gets his papers, and wallet, ready. It turns out they're doing criminal records checks to try and catch any repeat offenders so there's no need for any bribing this time. "They are here to protect you," says Edgar, "Peru is much safer than Colombia." I suppose this is a comparable statement to saying someone is less evil than Stalin - and doesn't really give me much comforting information.

As we arrive at the hotel it turns out that it is overbooked. Pretty soon I'm whisked off to another hotel and given some sort of suite with a double bed and two single beds, although it doesn't appear to have any windows...

Boom, boom, boom. It´s 7.00am. I look out of the frame where a window would ordinarily be and see a large construction site behind the hotel courtyard: total sleep achieved 4hrs 30mins. I have a flick through some of Lima's TV channels and I'm sure that Simpsons aficionados will be delighted to hear that Bumblebee Man is not a work of total fiction - there is something very similar on Peruvian Channel 12.

It's lunchtime and I'm heading for Junius, a buffet restaurant that Edgar recommended. I hail a taxi, get in, and give the driver the name, the address, a description of nearby major buildings, and a map. Nonetheless he looks totally perplexed; he rotates the map every which way as though it were some sort of optical illusion. He seems so delighted when we finally arrive that I get the feeling a large element of luck was involved, either that or he enjoys scaring the tourists.

At the restaurant I enjoy some traditional Peruvian dishes, names of which I cannot remember. Most were something like a bland fish curry although the ceviche (raw fish in lemon juice with onions and two types of maize) was really excellent and tastes significantly better than it sounds.

My Lima city tour first takes us through the classy districts of Miraflores, where my hotel is located, and San Isidro. San Isidro is where many European immigrants came after World War II so it has a number of large European style houses, including mock-Tudor mansions that look quite odd in the otherwise Spanish setting.

There are some beautiful colonial era buildings in Lima, the main squares of San Martins and Plaza de Armas containing the best of them. Many of them are filled with embassies, the red coloured one is the Venezuelan embassy. It used to be coloured yellow, but Chavez had it changed; red is his favourite colour apparently - I never would have guessed. We take a look around the Monastery of St Francis of Assisi, which contains the Peruvian last supper. Christ sits at a round table feasting on lemons and guinea pig - I don't think they mentioned that in the Da Vinci Code.

Dinner is at a restaurant close to my hotel. The menu, only in Spanish, isn't divided into sections (carne, pesce etc.) so I take a wild stab at something in the middle. The waiter turns up with a fruit salad, but fortunately goes to the table next to me. Phew. Then he turns up with mine: 3 boiled potatoes and a hard boiled egg, in thick yellow sauce. Now, Peru is of course the home of the potato, and they're very nice as boiled potatoes go, but I wouldn't expect them as a main course. (Note to self: buy Spanish phrase book, papas = potatoes)

I also sample the national Peruvian drink - a Pisco Sour. It is made with Pisco (brandy), lemon juice and egg whites. It tastes good but definitely has quite a bit of alcohol, hope I can find my way back.