There was a lot of whispering amongst my three girls in the days leading up to my birthday. I am the only member of the family who is celebrating a birthday while we are down here in Peru, so they were very excited about it. Despite their secrecy, I kept hearing utterances about fish. I suspected we were going to a fish restaurant which seemed odd, because neither Isabel nor Sophia likes fish. Not to eat that is...
I was led to a nondescript doorway in the corner of one of the smaller plazas in town, but as I crossed the threshold I entered a diametrically opposite world of unbridled creativity exploding in stunning paintings, sculpture, furnishings and decor. Welcome to "The Fallen Angel," a restaurant/bar/hotel like nothing I have seen so far in Peru, and actually, like nothing I have seen anywhere else.
Stars and clouds on the ceiling
I quickly found out what the big "fish secret" was: the tables in the dining room are actually bathtubs filled with meticulously laid out aquaculture scenes. Each one is beautifully lit and contains three or four fish. Oh, and those benches? They all have hinged lids so you can put your coats and umbrellas inside.
In the center of the Fallen Angel is a classic colonial courtyard, but far from the austere look that most of these spaces have, this one was filled with sculpture and surrounded by paintings. The girls were drawn to the atrium immediately and found some clothing designers and a model there. Really. After nearly two months of traditional Latin American culture, we had stumbled upon Cusco's nexus of cutting edge, cultural creativity. The model and her cohorts were preparing for a fashion show this weekend featuring high couture clothing made from everyday fabrics from the public market.
The Bar
Lunch was delicious, and afterward were invited upstairs to see the four thematic hotel rooms. These rooms were to hotels as concept cars are to the auto industry. I had to ask twice (in shaky Spanish) if these were in fact hotel rooms, or art installations.
See through managerie-bathroom
Inca Wall Shower
Tunnel Foyer
That "stage" is the shower
One of the many amazing paintings by in-house artist Carlos Bardales
Another painting by Carlos Bardales
The rooms at Fallen Angel cost $250 US per night, which is a lot for around here, but definitely cheap when compared with boutique hotel prices in the US. It is still amazing to me that having walked through that plaza a hundred times I had no idea that there was such a jewel hidden behind its blank, white walls.
The wind was carrying a rain storm into the city as we stepped back out into the plaza. It felt a bit like we were leaving a dream and stepping back into our waking world. This feeling was driven home by the strong smell of urine emanating from the ground on the pedestrian walkway called Siete Culebras. We had left the realm of refinement and creativity and landed smack-dab back in what we we have affectionately dubbed "super-pee alley." I think Cusco has a lot more to show us, and bit by bit we are figuring it out.
It was a great birthday.
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