100 soles clubs, World Cup game(s!), Zoo and Bars

So after my relaxing day on Friday, I met up with Liz and Kaitlin to walk over to Larco Mar to go to Gotica! The walk was definitely nice, though somewhat (ok, really!) chilly. We tried our hardest to put together cute outfits, but none of us really brought appropriate clothes for this club haha. We got in for free if we got there before 11 because some people know people, so it was empty at first. In Peru, things get going around 2 or 3 it seems! Imagine really posh club scenes in NYC. This is where you go to see and be seen in Lima. I am quite certain this is where all the tall people in Lima congregate as well! Haha. Some people got a little bit crazy, but we all had a good time dancing and hanging out!
Luckily, I live really close, so some people walked me home before they took taxis home.

The next day I slept in until about 10 to find an avocado sandwich waiting for me! Gabby had gone to the synagogue, but by the time I had showered and gotten ready she was back as well. I made it my personal goal to watch the US game on a nice TV, so I got Eric to meet us at TGIFridays in Larco Mar! Carlin and Ginny met up to walk over with us and then Ella, Danielle, and Frances met up with us. I really wanted to see the whole game, so we were walking rather quickly and then practically ran into Fridays, convinced the waiter to move our table right in front of the TV to watch right as Ghana scored.... that was a bummer. We were able to watch the entire exciting, yet quite disappointing game in front of HD tvs! Our meals were ridiculously overpriced, but then I realized that it was bascially the equivalent of what you would pay in the states haha. I got a burger and fries.. mmmm it really was just what I wanted! There were surprisingly a good amount of people rooting for the US, but I guess that makes sense since we were in an American restaurant. We were actually encouraged to not go to the Centro Lima to watch the game haha. They told us this way we wouldnt have to worry so much about our safety if we went to Larco Mar haha. I thoroughly enjoyed relaxing and watching the game though... I unfortunately havent seen many games at all, so this was a nice treat!

Afterward, we all walked back toward the main part of Miraflores (Larco Mar is located right along the beach, so when we were watching the World Cup game we actually also had a perfect seaside view! I live about 2 minutes from the beach, and the main Park of Miraflores is about 10 minutes from that... Parque Kennedy). We stopped at a world famous place for Churros (delicious! though i only could eat a bite... my stomach wasnt quite used to the greasy hamburger haha so i thought i would take it easy) I am definitely going back for another one though! Some people also got some ice cream before we stopped at some shops for awhile. It was getting dark, so some people headed back, but Ginny, Danielle, Gabby and I went over to watch the old salsa dancers in the middle of the park! So cute. And there was also a vintage car show which we checked out.
Finally, Ginny and I caught a bus down Arequipa to Liz and Kaitlins house. They showed us all the parks around their house in San Isidro. I actually think that San Isidro is nicer than Miraflores... its more for bringing up a family. Lots of parks, security guards, large houses etc. We went back to their house to meet up with Marquis, I guess who would be their Peruvian moms somewhat secret boyfriend. He is from the Bronx and really doesnt speak good Spanish haha. He wanted to take us to some more local Peruvian places to show us a side other than the touristy parts. First we went to a really good beer place called Chez ? that had beer from all over the world. Slightly more pricey, but good beer. Then we headed over to the Centro. I would never want to go over there by myself at night, but Marquis made us feel completely safe. The Centro is beautiful at night! We explored the Plaza de las Armas as well as the Plaza of San Martin. The buildings look like they belong in Europe... very Western, gorgeous architecture that was lit up. Finally, we arrived at Munich, a piano bar. We were definitely the only non Peruvians there haha. Lots of dancing, piano playing, drinking, smoking. It was a really cool atmosphere. It was about 1130 by now and we hadnt eaten anything, so we shared some fried chicken pieces and were on our way. We then took a taxi to Miraflores and checked out another club slash bar. After that I headed home because they were going to check out Barranco and then San Isidro, and I knew it would be hard for me to get home alone haha.

Sunday I woke up, made some coffee and a PB&J!!!!!! and then on a whim turned on the TV in my room. I flipped through and found the Germany and England game. Best. Thing. Ever. I didnt catch it until the second half but it was worth it. This tv is really grainy, and there is double of everything haha, so I learned to ignore the slighty fainter players and constant screeching noise, but it was so nice to watch this game! Then Morena got home and made me another sandwich as I waited for Gabby to wake up. Around 1230 we headed over to the zoo! Zoos in Peru are more like huge parks! We got to see a lot of Amazonian animals, but I was sad t osee that all of their cages were way too small... the lions and tigers were in little prisons and the workers dont enforce the dont feed the animals policy. It was really cheap to get in, and it seems to be a popular destination for Peruvian families to come on teh weekends. There was a small train that would ride all around the zoo, huge parks to picnic and play in, and we even saw a group of nuns playing volleyball haha. After spending about 3 hours there we headed back home.

We no longer have access to Internet at our house, so Gabby went to the Internet cafe and I went off on my own. I spent a good amount of money on food at Vivanda... I found some apples that were imported from the US so I bought some haha. The Peruvian apples are mushy and make me sick, so I paid the extra sol for some. Later, I realized that they already passed their best by used date, but they were still sooooo delicious. I havent had an apple in 5 weeks! They are so delicious. Bought lots of snacks and water for Cusco too... I think I actually have too much now haha... I am getting concerned about the amount of stuff I have... I have to bring everythign to Cusco and my original plan was to just leave all my shampoo and PB and anything that took up room here in Lima... but now I hav eto bring all that stuff to Cusco, so this will be quite difficult. I will squeeze everything in there though! Walked around the area some more and I even helped someone who didnt speak Spanish! haha, how ironic.
Since we didnt eat lunch, we convinced Morena to maybe have dinner around 6 instead of the usual 8... chicken, rice and potatoes again haha. For the past 2 weeks this has been my dinner! I cant complain though, at least I get filling food. After dinner I finished up my Spanish paper and hung out til bed time.

Today I think taht a group of us wanted to check out Barronco after school, which is the district that is on the other side of Miraflores that is a little farther from the school. Maybe a nice dinner somewhere? Im never really quite sure of what I will be doing until the day of haha. Only 3 full days in Lima left =( I am excited to see some sun in Cusco though!