Yesterday was mainly spent on a bus journey from Arequipa to Cuzco which took around 12 hours including a viewpoint stop and a stop for lunch. This was the view from the viewpoint.

When we arrived in Cuzco the bus couldn’t go into the centre as it’s a protected area so Peruhop provided us all with taxis to our accommodation. My taxi went the wrong way and ended up having to drive backwards down a very narrow street. In the end I just got out and walked as it seemed quicker and safer.

In the evening I just had a stroll around the main square which looks really pretty at night as they light up all the buildings.

Today I got up and just wandered around the city. My hotel is right next to the main square so I went there first. There was some sort of parade and ceremony going on, including the raising of the Peruvian flag.

The rainbow coloured flag to the right of the Peruvian flag is not about gay rights. It represents the four quarters of the Inca empire.

After watching the parade for a bit I went into the Cathedral. You’re not allowed to take photos inside but almost all the wall space is covered in paintings. One of the paintings is a replica of Da Vinci’s Last supper and it has a guinea pig on one of the plates.

I then walked up to the San Blas district, this is a very arty area and also has a church.

There is also a great viewpoint here where you can get some nice views of the city.

On the way down I stopped off at Plaza de Nazarenes where they have some really nice alpaca wool shops.

I also saw the infamous 12 sided stone in the wall and managed to spot the puma and the snake as well. These stones are all part of a wall known as Hatun Rumiyoc, which makes up the outside of the current Archbishop’s Palace.

I walked up to another area and this place had some great views of the city and main square – although you had to climb up on the wall to take the photos.

Then it was time for lunch so I stopped in a little side street and had some vegetable quiona risotto.

After lunch I walked to San Francisco square where there is another church and a really old archway.

It was then back to the main square where I visited Iglesia de la Compañia de Jesus. This church has the highest alter in Peru at 21m high and 12m wide. It is made of wood and covered entirely in gold leaf. Again though, no photos allowed.

You could climb up to the top of the church, which I did, and the views across the square were really nice.

As I finished in the church and went outside it was pouring with rain so I walked around the main square and looked at the shops until the rain stopped.

In the evening I met up with Alice for some dinner – we went to a great restaurant called Rucula and the food was really fresh and delicious.