From all accounts, Lima is the place to fine dine because it has some world-class restaurants at pretty affordable prices. As soon as we made the decision to pass through, I was on the net researching and shooting off emails to try and get a spot for either the Friday or Saturday night we would be there. I was really keen on Central - a restaurant in Miraflores serving Asian and European influenced Peruvian food - but they were booked up until 6 January! In the end, Astrid y Gaston was just around the corner from the hostel we stayed at so we wandered over there on the off chance they could seat us and they did!

The restaurant itself was really beautifully designed and there were equally beautiful people seated in it. Brent in jeans and a tee (minus cap) and me in black pants and top with my new heeled boots purchased in Cuzco, did not quite fit in but the waiters never made us feel it. We chose the degustation menu (based on the history of Italian immigration in Peru) with matching wines and then the ¨journey¨ began!

The first course came out in a wooden box placed in the middle of our table. It opened to show a cream cushion with two of each of five different bite-sized creations laid on it. (I had to use a downloaded image because we forgot our camera at home!) The flavours and textures were so strong and interesting - every mouthful was a surprise and a pleasure! Even though the food was really tiny, there was quite a bit of it - I think there were five courses in total but at least 20 different dishes. And with every course, the waiters kepts topping up our glasses of wine so by the end we were both very very drunk and full!

The whole experience was so over-the-top but truly amazing. They even gave us leather bound books with all sorts of information, diagrams and a cd about how the menu was designed and prepared. For Brent´s first fine dining experience, it was pretty spectacular.

The next day we explored the Miraflores waterfront area walking through the Larcomar mall which is built into the cliff-face and watching paragliders launch off the cliff and fly overhead. In the evening we went to Barranco for a traditional dinner of ceviche, raw lime-marinated fish and seafood, and arroz con mariscos (seafood rice), followed by a pisco sour in one of the swanky bars there called Bar Ayahuasca, another great spot for watching the beautiful people of Lima.

To round off our two days of luxury, I guess it was appropriate that when our flight to Guayaquil, Ecuador was delayed the next day, we were upgraded to first class and given admission to the VIP lounge for the four hour wait. Pretty freakin awesome!