Lima

You know things are never as well written the second time around. This post, after festering in my brain for a few days, along with at least 3 more posts, was moving right along when somehow something was pushed and it completely disappeared. I can’t even blame my two year old, it was all me and my clumsy fingers and lack of clicking the useful save draft button. Now, said two year old is no longer interested in whatever was holding her interest while I was writing and the television that I’ve resorted to for some distraction is just making her crazier!

But I digress…

It is winter here in the Southern Hemisphere. Somehow I didn’t mind being in summer while the Northern Hemisphere suffered through a never ending winter. I mean, I was a little jealous of the snow, but sunny days, long jersey dresses and flip flops kind of put the jealousy to rest. But now, all your happy summery photos on the old Facebook are kind of making the greyness of Lima’s winter worse! Winter in Lima can be described in one word — Grey. This is not news and has been noted by many. Herman Melville called Lima “the strangest and saddest city thou can’st see.” While not cold in the strictest sense of the word, it is unpleasant. In addition to the constant dead grey sky, there is the “garua” which is the closest thing to rain in these parts. It is really a drizzling mist. “It’s raining!” Isabel says, but really, it’s not. (I know someone who is from the Pacific Northwest and she says it pains her that her sons think that this is rain). It is like walking in a cold dirty wet cloud, without the refreshing cleansing that a good rain can provide.

You’re on the next flight, right? ha!

This is your typical winter sky. Note the Navy boats there for a naval and air show for the Fiestas Patrias

And so, as the weather is just so miserable, the last two weeks of July is holiday time. It wisely coincides with the giant Fiestas Patrias — think July 4th. Schools are closed and almost everyone gets out of the city if they can. Even my housecleaner took a 6 hour bus trip to go to the nearest jungle area for a short visit with her family.

Alfonso’s cousin Santiago was getting married and the wedding ceremony itself would be in the small French town of his lovely bride, Celina and the reception 10 minutes away in the Belgium town of Mons. Europe beckoned and we obeyed! The timing couldn’t have been better!

The church

But first: Amsterdam.

We decided to fly to Amsterdam, spend a few days there and then rent a car and drive through Belgium with the wedding as the final stop. Alfonso’s parents, sister, aunt, grandmother and Santiago would all be in Amsterdam as well for different amounts of time, and we did get to spend some time with all of them.

Me and the Isabels

What can I say, I fell in love with Amsterdam. Really, even more so now than I did when I was 18 years old. We stayed in the museum district, away from the busy-ness of the city center, but still close enough to walk most everywhere (which we did!). The first night, we ambled around with no real destination in mind. We wound up in the Jordaan area and meandered the 9 streets. I was struck by the beauty of the canals as well as the every day, normal seeming people enjoying an evening cruise down these canals. Small motorboats with young and old groups, sitting, drinking wine, eating snacks, and just cruising by, enjoying the night. I really wanted to be them or at the very least, be with them in their boats, drinking wine, chatting and laughing. Aside from the business strips, all I saw were independent mom and pop stores, with surprisingly reasonable prices. I felt immediately comfortable and at home on these streets. Although, my only complaint — lots of cigarette smokers and too many cigarette buts on the streets. The streets were not clean. Oh and the bikes will kill you. Really, it’s no joke, they seriously have the right of way. But everyone is blonde and tall and skinny and just as friendly as my 18 year old self remembered them to be!

Stunning Canals

We spent 5 days in Amsterdam. I can’t wait to go back.

Then we all piled into a giant van to drive through Belgium. Alfonso, myself, Isabel, Alfonso’s parents and his sister. Our plan was to leave Amsterdam early in order to arrive in Bruges, spend the day and night in Bruges, leave Bruges early, spend a few hours in Brussels and then arrive in Mons with enough time to relax and get ready to meet all the guests staying in Mons for a welcome drink. Ha.

We got completely lost leaving Amsterdam, driving around and around the quite lovely countryside (cute gabled houses with nicely manicured green lawns facing canals –really picturesque). Being lost could have been pleasant except for the fact that Isabel was having none of it. She decided that this would be a good time to have an all out crying fit. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen her cry like this. Boy was that fun. It felt like we were driving in circles. Finally we stopped, so that I could try and calm the baby, and then miraculously the GPS started working and we were on our way!

We arrived much later than planned in Bruges. But we still were able to enjoy the fairy tale town. It seriously looks like you’ve walked into a fairy tale, with medieval stone gabled buildings, canals with swans swimming by and, just to top it off, horse drawn carriages driven by young blonde women wearing hats. Isabel LOVED the horses and quickly recognized the sound of the horses’ hooves on the cobblestones and would say excitedly “another! caballo!” We walked, drank some gorgeous Belgium beer and ate some mussels. I also cannot wait to come back for a longer visit.

Brussels has a reputation for not being a great city. It was much prettier than I expected. We did a quick tour, saw the Gran Plac, The Manneken Pis, drank some more beer, ate some more mussels, topped it off with some waffles and went crazy in one of the many chocolate stores. Isabel ate her first chocolate lollipop thanks to her grandfather who was so excited to give it to her. She ate half, gave the rest to me and then fell asleep!

And then back on the road. You’ll see these last two paragraphs were quite short — much like the visit! Next stop Mons.

The wedding was lovely as all weddings should be. The church was in this quaint country town. The priest had to run out at the end of the ceremony because he was needed in another church in another small town. The life of a small town priest! At the reception, Isabel played with her cousins. She ran around and really had a great time. It was nice to be able to talk to grown ups without her tugging at my dress all night. She was super into her tia and primos, and they were happy (I hope!) to entertain her!

The Happy Couple

Isabel charming her primo Guillermo

Isabel wants to be in the boy's picture too!

Isabel photo bombing the boys!

And then, just as quick to say hello and reconnect with family, it was time to go!

Alfonso, Isabel and I were off to Berlin for 5 more days of vacation, but I think I’ll leave that for another post!

Some pics for your viewing pleasure…

: Amsterdam at sunset

: Isabel partaking of a typical Dutch breakfast of chocolate on toast

: Playing in the park (note the blondes in the back!)

: This was in a book of photos at the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam. They looked like my people…

: Amsterdam

: In Vondlepark, Amsterdam, A “Findfence”

: so civilized!

: Mons, view from my hotel room

: The Church

: From left: My mother in law, Begoña, Alfonso’s cousin Clara, Tia Ana, the bride and groom, Raquel, me, Isa and Monica, Alfonso’s aunt.

: All cleaned up at the reception

: Isabel and her great grandmother and namesake at the reception.

Please dear reader forgive me. I’ve been completely remiss in posting and updating. I know loyal reader (all 4 or 5 of you) have been looking forward to these posts and I’ve failed you! haha. But seriously folks, my goal is to be writing more in the new year.

A big change has happened in our lives. In mid October we made the move to Lima, Peru. Alfonso has been working here over the last year, traveling back and forth between Madrid and Lima. This was a situation that was untenable and so we packed up our house and moved from sunny blue-skied Madrid to cloudy grey Lima.

We are living right on the Malecón in the Miraflores district of Lima. The Malecón is a 6 mile stretch of park along the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean. We have an unbelievably breathtaking view of the ocean. I wake up every morning, pull back the shades, open the window and listen to the pounding waves from down below. A steady stream of runners and bikers, skateboarders and dog walkers parade below my window at all hours of the day. Black dots bob in the ocean in the distance — Surfers, who are already surfing at 5:30 am and who will still be there when the sun sets at 7 pm. For the past week, a giant Navy ship has been parked in the ocean and helicopters and Navy jets have been periodically booming by. (Edit: As I was writing this 12 helicopters in formation flew slowly along the coast). This is the first large scale ship I’ve seen. Once or twice a week you can see small fishing row boats, they seem to gather nets at low(ish) tide. But other than that, surfers and giant sea birds are the only traffic this part of the Pacific sees (as far as I can tell and see).

The Malecón is absolutely beautiful. An army of workers in blue uniforms descend in the morning to prune, trim, cut, plant and beautify the park. At around 2 pm, after lunch, they sit and lie in groups under the trees, resting, chatting eating fruit and drinking Inka Cola before continuing on working. They are not the only workers lying under trees resting after lunch.

Other usual characters in the park are nannies pushing strollers, skateboarding teenagers on their way to the skatepark, lovers of all ages sitting on park benches, maids in uniform walking dogs, businessmen, workers, private security guards and tourists.

In addition to the dim sound of the waves, the click clack of skateboard wheels against the sidewalk, constant car alarms, and the never ending sound of progress — construction — is the daily soundtrack we hear from the apartment. Lima is not a quiet city.

Lima is also not a pedestrian friendly city. The traffic is …. bad. Many of the cars are …. old. The air is heavily polluted. Traffic lights are few and far between. You take your life in your hands crossing many of the streets. I’ve found paths to the two nearest supermarkets through trial and error. Once I was stuck at a traffic circle for what seemed like a ridiculously long amount of time. I almost cried. I don’t go that way anymore! Crossing a dangerous street alone is one thing, doing it with a stroller that you have to push into traffic is something else! I’m getting pretty good at it. Rule number 1 – cross when everyone else does! Rule number 2 – a car horn does not mean that they’re letting you go, rather the opposite. Rule number 3 -beware the combis (microbuses- google it) with squeaky brakes – there is no assurance that they will actually stop. Rule number 4 – don’t assume that anyone will stop for the nice mommy pushing the stroller.

Other than learning how to cross a street, Isabel and I have been leading a relatively relaxed life. There are many playgrounds nearby. Every monday Isabel goes to a music class in the park. Carlos, the teacher, has a guitar and a trumpet and lots of patience. He sings songs that require some kind of participation. Some songs require you to march in a circle, turn around, stomp your feet, jump up and down, wave your hands, shake your tail (like a dog); all the mothers are quite good at following the directions. It’s pleasant sitting there in the grass as the toddlers toddle around, dancing, shaking maracas, banging on drums, wandering away, stealing instruments and snacks from the other kids. Tourists walking by almost always stop to watch and take pictures. Mostly other mothers go to the class, but there are some nannies. (The Nanny Culture is something I’ll write about in another post). Everyone is friendly and Isabel and I have made some friends with some of the moms and their kids. After class most of the moms hang out chatting, the kids run around. On the way home Isabel almost always falls asleep.

It is spring here. There is a constant refreshing breeze from the ocean in our apartment, which continues to trick me into overdressing! The streets and the sun are hot. The sun is deadly, even through the clouds. I’m tanner than I’ve been in recent memory!

And the clouds – even when it’s sunny, its still cloudy! I take photos of the sunset almost nightly, but you never get the classic photo of the sun setting into the ocean because the sun always disappears behind the clouds before it gets to the ocean. Having said that, we have a front row seat every night of the glowing, glorious, giant sun setting from our terrace.

Here are some photos, mostly of the various parks that make up the Malecón of Miraflores.