Those who know me know that I know nothing about soccer. I played one season in the 4th grade… and then to everyone’s relief, I went back to softball.
Not surprisingly, I am clueless about international soccer. But the day we were in Lima, Peru was playing Brazil. (Which made walking around the city on a Sunday even quieter… except for the periodic collective shots or groans at corner TV shops & bars.) Peru ended up tying Brazil 1-1…. which I’m told is huge for Peru and a bit embarrassing for Brazil.
On our flight out that night, we were at the airport and a flock of people were chasing after this one guy. My boyfriend, a soccer player & fan, recognized Ronaldinho leading the pack and getting swarmed for autographs & photos. We followed them… and found the rest of Brazilian soccer team waiting at the gate next to ours. They were on the way home.
I grabbed two good photos. The first is of Ronaldinho. The second is of the “random cute guy” on the team who caught my eye. A few minutes later, I found out his name was Kaka. Kaka just won the European Footballer of the Year last week. Ironically, no one at the airport was asking for his autograph or his photo.
p.s. After this, my new Nikon telephoto zoom lens was officially dubbed the “stalker lens.
ronaldinho
kaka
I have fond memories of reading Paddington Bear as a kid. But I guess I didn’t actually remember much of the story.
In Lima, I was surprised to see Paddington Bear in Peru… until a friend reminded me that Paddington Bear came from Peru.
From Wikipedia:
This gentle bear was found at Paddington railway station in London. … He has arrived as a stowaway coming from “Darkest Peru“, sent by his Aunt Lucy (his only known relative, aside from an unnamed uncle who gave Paddington his hat), who has gone to live in the Home for Retired Bears in Lima. He claims, “I came all the way in a lifeboat, and ate marmalade. Bears like marmalade.”
He tells them that no one can understand his Peruvian name, so the Browns decide to call him Paddington after the railway station in which he was found. Bond originally wanted Paddington to have “travelled all the way from darkest Africa”, but his agent advised him that there were no bears in darkest Africa, and thus it was amended to darkest Peru, home of the spectacled bear.
Paddington Bear in a shop window
We had less than 24 hours in Lima. Our flight from the States arrived after midnight and we flew to Bolivia the next day at 8pm. Most folks said recommended bypassing Lima completely, and we had planned on (mostly) taking their advice.
A friend’s parents live in Lima, and we had the pleasure to spend the day with them. (Thanks Islas!) It was a lot of fun, and we were pleasantly surprised by the city. The neighborhoods of Miraflores & Barranco were very charming, and Lima Centro was beautiful. I guess the current mayor has done a lot for the city (and tourism) in recent times, and it definitely showed.
Of course, I think it also helped, though, that we had local tour guides. :) Lima is still not particularly safe, and having friendly hosts who knew the city was a great treat.
the cliffs of miraflores
making jewelry in Barranco
placio arzobispal in plaza de armas
carriage in plaza de armas
pigeons, pigeons everywhere…
placio arzobispal in plaza de armas
iglesia de san pedro