Because many enclosed exterior spaces (such as patios) are tiled with ceramics that are similarly waxy, smooth, and lustrous, walking the streets of Lima feels very much like taking a stroll through a very large palace. Each shack, house, mansion, and tower is a room in this great palace.
The rooms in Palacio Lima are a collage of styles, colors, and textures. Wood, stone, iron, and glass are melted, sculpted, layered, and joined to form grand as well as intimate spaces.
Particularly beautiful are the lines of wrought iron, sometimes curly and coquettish to form elaborate patterns as delicate as chantilly lace, sometimes spiky and stern to warn off intruders; oftentimes, all it takes is a few vertical bars and some horizontal ones placed in their proper proportions to frame the most utilitarian-looking electric meter box as if it was a priceless masterpiece.
Dogs in Lima sleep so it's the work of tall cacti, sturdy and prickly, to stand guard. Some cacti have only one arm and, while elegant, are not seriously threatening; I've seen cacti that wear such a heavy wig of branches that those drama queens are unlikely to be concerned with nonsucculent callers.
Lima has many pristine, well-coiffed homes; there are just as many once-glorious ones that contribute to the feeling that Lima is a city of rehabilitated ruins recently resuscitated. Though covered with graffiti, caked with dust, and crumbling with age, even a home in the most desperate condition has the power to present its simple lines, secret history, and subtle intelligence like an ancient king returned home.
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