Fun Visits

IRELAND COMES TO PERU

Obviously, all of Ireland didn't come to Peru, but it sort of seemed that way in July-August. The day after we arrived back from our wonderful Jungle Holiday - and just as I was moaning and groaning about having to go back to work - Brenda and John arrived from Ireland. Yeah!! A few weeks before that, some friends of theirs were here. And a couple of days after they arrived, some other friends of theirs were here (I guess that Peru has really become a popular destination - and that the Euro really helps people to travel more easily). Regardless, I'm just happy that my Irish friends came...and that Brenda and I could enjoy some cocktails together...

The plan was that in between traveling around Peru (Machu Picchu and the Amazon), Brenda and John would stay with Arturo and me. This worked out well and was excellent planning on their part. They also organized themselves to bring us some amazing gifts. They brought my favorite Cadbury chocolate bars, a "Palmer Vineyard" wine for Arturo, the best smelling lotion and bath gel I have ever smelled for me, and some newspapers for my class that is studying media. Oh - and the best part? They brought their usual fun selves!

Although, I have to admit, as soon as I realized they would be here for amost a week, I got nervous. In fact, despite my initial reaction to Lima, it is a city with lots of wonderful things to do --but I've already done all of those wonderful things with my parents and friends who already came.

Then, the most incredible thing happened:

1) I appeared to really know Lima when showing them around
2) I discovered tons of NEW stuff in Lima

So, all in all, we had a fabulous time. Plus, now Brenda, John and I have hung out on four continents, beginning with Asia, then North American followed by Europe and now South America. Perhaps Africa next?

Some highlights from their with us in Lima:

Going to Barranco, the 'Bohemian' area. There, we visited the Museo de Osma, a small museum housed in a beautiful old house, and the Museo de la Electricidad, a tiny, but fascinating museum designed more for kids, but we had a great time! Then, we stopped by this terrific café which is an old train car turned café.

Huaca Pucllan, ruins dating back to AD 400. This adobe pyramidal structure started with the Lima culture and has been remodeled over and over again until it was eventually owned by a rich farmer. Today, only about half of the original structure remains, but it is right in the heart of Miraflores, the district of Lima we live in.

The incredible Circuito Mágico del Agua was indeed magical. The Mayor of Lima took the decrepit Parque de la Reserva and created a park full of fountains, fountains in different shapes, with lights, and some that you can actually enter and enjoy without getting wet (unless you want to). I would say this is one of my absolute favorite places in Lima. Thank you Brenda and John for coming or I may never have gotten there!

Of course, no visit with Brenda is complete with a game or two of Scrabble. She is a killer player and beat me every game, but it was still fun (Then, she got me hooked on Scrabulous on Facebook...which sadly has now been removed).

Brenda celebrated her birthday while they were here, in Lima. To celebrate, John took all of us out to my favorite restaurant, Rosa Nautica. The beautiful restaurant that I have mentioned in two other blog entries. The best part was that after eating, the sommelier invited us into the wine cellar. This wasn't really a cellar, but rather a temperature-controlled room full of amazing wines. We saw bottles as much as $1,000. Thank you John for inviting us to enjoy a delicious meal, plus get the opportunity to see something I have never seen - and may never again.

We also just at well in general and Brenda and John are now in the same mindset as I am: Peruvian food is amazing! We went to several different types of restaurants and tried ceviche (even Brenda, a total non-fish eater, thought it tasted good), causa, papa huancaina, and much, much more. They also had Arturo's famous barbecue and lomo saltado, and enjoyed the famous Pisco Sour. Yummy!! (and check out Arturo's great new sign for the hostel)

Despite insane plane delays (they actually flew two hours to Iquitos and the plane turned around and went back to Lima since there were too many vultures on the runway) and despite not being able to paraglide (they tried on their last day, but the wind wasn't strong enough), I think they had a great time. I can say that we had a FANTASTIC time and are SO GLAD they came to visit!

A RETURN & A FIRST VISIT
One of Arturo's friends from school, Rodolpho (a.k.a. Chote), lives in the States and, after a long time away, came home for a visit. He used to live in NJ so Arturo was able to spend quite a bit of time with him, and was able to go to his wedding. Then, when he was trasnferred to Chicago, Arturo drove the U-Haul with Rodolpho and Di (Dilorion), his wife. After a lot of paperwork, Di was finally able to bring her daughter, Malika, from Uzbekistan to the USA. Soon after, the planned their trip to Peru, squeezing in Machu Picchu, the northern beaches of Mancora, and Lima in just two weeks.

We met up twice and had a great time. Once, we just went out to eat with some of Chote's friends and then went out for drinks. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but I am very proud that I stayed out until 2:00 a.m. on a weeknight. Usually I can't make it past 10:30 p.m. which shows you what a lovely time I had talking with Di.

The next night, Di and Malika came over to our apartment to hang out while Chote ran some errands. We went to my favorite shopping mall built into the sea wall cliff, Larco Mar, and had dinner. After this, Chote met us and we went bowling! I had been saying I wanted to go bowling for ages and it was great! Everything was lit up with black lights and, best of all, I won two games.

Then, it was a final good-by to all our guests....