Lima is home to a range of exclusive private homes. Casa García Alvarado is a Republican home in the heart of Miraflores that welcomes visitors behind closed doors to visit the grounds and enjoy a meal with the owners for an exclusive insight into Lima's history. Casa Garcia Alvarado in Lima  At the beginning of the twentieth century, Lima’s upper class started to move from the center of Lima towards the coast. Miraflores became one of the first residential districts where Limeños purchased land and built vacation-style homes. One of these houses, Casa García Alvarado, not only still stands in very good condition, but is open to visitors interested in learning about the history of Lima from the perspective of a Peruvian family. It is also available for private lunches and dinners as well as private functions such as wedding receptions. Meeting the owners Aracari visited recently and was welcomed by the owner Mrs. Ana Maria García Alvarado de Astudillo for a tour and to enjoy this special insider experience in Peru. We were greeted at the door and lead into the drawing room and offered a pisco sour each or a non-alcoholic refreshment and the rounds of hors d’oeuvres began. Ana Maria soon joined us and greeted us in perfect English, explaining that she went to an American school in Lima run by nuns from Philadelphia when she was young. She is now so accustomed to conversing in English with the guests she shows her house to that giving descriptions and telling stories often comes out automatically in English instead of her native Spanish. She also speaks basic Italian and German. Life growing up in Lima As we spoke with Ana Maria and enjoyed our hors d’oeuvres she told us about her childhood growing up in the house, how her