Compared to most capital cities in South America, Lima is a disappointment. We had been warned that there wasn't an awful lot to see or do so we booked two nights in Miraflores, a more modern area near the beach. We took a taxi to town and were both pleasantly surprised at the main plaza. It was quite pretty with its fountain and seats surrounded by colourful buildings, the Cathedral and Presidential house.There also stood a monument of a man on horseback. This apparently had to be moved from its original position as the horses ass faced the Cathedral. We detoured away from the main plaza and came to the San Francisco Monastery. A guided tour took us round the building. Sadly we weren't able to take photos. The building had survived earthquakes but had been left with some very slanting walls. We were shown the library which holds thousands of antique texts, including some that date back to the Spanish conquest.. The library was like a scene from Harry Potter with its dusty old leather bound books on dark wooden shelves. Decorative spiral staircases took you up to the second level. We were then shown where the choir stand during service. A balcony at the back of the Church had wooden seats for choir members. There was also a large stand on which stood the music sheets. When we spotted some monks below us I immediately thought of Frangelico! (Shall try and bring a bottle back from the airport Clare for xmas). We walked past the courtyard and our guide pointed out that numerous paintings have had heads erased but they had no idea why. The pictures looked very bizarre! We stopped to look at a painting of a 'Peruvian' last supper picture where apostles were eating guinea pigs. being served at a round table by children and drinking from Peruvian golden goblets. The painting was used to help convert Peruvians. The last stop on the tour was the catacombs. Below the Church there are around 70,000 bodies buried and many bones have been excavated and put on view. We passed mounds of skulls and bones. Back in town we wandered into some more plazas. We passed some promotion people who ended up inviting us to a food festival int the evening. Although they were really nice we declined as we still had a little stranger danger fear and we would have to get another taxi back into town later. Before heading back to the hostel we went to a football themed pub. We sat on a table with a life size model of Pele. Upstairs a David Beckham guarded the toilets and Ronaldo, Maradona and Messi also perched at tables. The walls were covered in memorabilia and the menu was also football themed. After a drink and snack we made our way home. The next day we did a little shopping in Miraflores. The short legged Peruvians made it easier for Si to find a pair of trousers. We wandered round and grabbed some food. We later strolled by the sea-front before heading back. Nearby our hostel was a supermarket that had so many free testers! We had cheese, meat, yogurt, coffee, guacamole and tacos! The freebies alone nearly filled us up! Guacamole in South America is amazing - as are the avocados!! We stocked up on food for lunch and our journey south.