Leaving Peru

I don't know or don't remember how this came up but, when we were at my friend Loren's wedding, his friend Catherine's husband leaned in and told Kiah and I "Lima reminds me or Iraq." Kiah and I turned to each other and before we could say anything in response, we were interrupted by the festivities of the evening. Kiah and I talked about it later. Lima reminded him of Iraq? That's pretty bad. Lima, at least the part that Kiah and I were in, does not have any charm to speak of. To be fair, we hadn't ventured far since we were only in Lima for the wedding but still, the part we did see, was not anything that subdued us into leaving Lima with a good impression. 

Our last night we spent in Miraflores, the upper class area of Lima. They had named brand hotels, American restaurants,  tourists and the beach. It was beautiful and totally was the exact opposite of the first couple days of Lima. Our hostel was very party esque and down the street from a drive thru Starbucks. We spent the last day walking around, shopping and eating typical Peru food that we hadn't gotten earlier in the trip. I finally got my ceviche. Yum. And my papas salchichas from a specialty restaurant that only had various flavors of papas salchichas.  Felt like a little kid again. 

As with any big metropolitan town you imagine some sort of public transportation. The buses in Peru are large vans that have general street or suburb names listed on the side of the van but you don't know exactly where that van is heading until someone hops out of the van while it is still in motion and shouts where the bus will be off to next. In reading blogs and books about Peru, everything recommended taking taxis....I stand by that fact. 

When we first arrived in Lima, we saw tons of dogs. The only thing that all the cities we have visited have in common is that there are TONS of stray dogs that roam the streets. Although, sometimes it was hard to tell if they were stray or loose but regardless, each city had dog, after dog just walking around the city. In one city, Kiah turned to me and said "this country has the most dogs I have ever seen. And I've never seen half of these breeds before." The dogs aren't rabid, they aren't vicious, they don't beg, they were just there....in the background of all of these cities. They all looked well fed and would casually just meander around the town or watch you as you walked by. 

However, walking around Miraflores we didn't see ANY dogs. We saw only cats. We found where all the cats live. Of course they lived in the posh area of town. They invaded the parks, streets and stores. The opposite of the rest of Peru. It was so weird. 

All in all it was such a whirl wind trip that when we tell people I get tired trying to remember what we did. Each day wad a different adventure and I'm glad Kiah and I had the samr attitude-"go big or go home"

Torino

I am currently in Torino (Turin for you non-Italiners) having a beer next to the Po river. The plan was to not spend any unnecessary money today since my host family packed me sandwiches and water but...I'm on vacation now! And to not slow down and enjoy the sights would be a shame right? Right! Especially since I already saw some sights.

Earlier today I went to the Duomo di San Giovanni or the Turin Cathedral that houses The Shroud of Turin. Ok so who knows what that actually is? I mean I heard it growing up but never knew...until today. The Shroud of Turin is a piece of fabric, linen to be exact that is said to have been the burial cloth in which Jesus was wrapped in after he was taken down from the cross. Apparently in the Shroud there is a face of a man that they believe is Jesus. Ok maybe you knew that...but I did not at all. Anyway, did you know that you cannot see the Shroud? The last time it was out for display was in 2008 (little late for that) and the next scheduled time will be 2025. 2025! Are you joking? How will I even remember that?...Worry about that one later. Anyway, the Shroud is in a box, and the box is covered with a religious ornamental fabric and that box, covered with the fabric is for display. Basically, you are looking at a storage facility for a piece of fabric. The rest of the Cathedral is beautiful but...kind of not what I wanted to see you know? Also, I don't know if I mentioned this before but in a lot of the big churches or cathedrals, women cannot show their bare shoulders. Many couches will have a shawl you can get at the front door. I mention it because if people read this and plan to go, they are well informed because I did not know that until I got here. I also saw the House of the Royals and...I was not that impressed. It was kind of ugly. I didn't pay to go inside so maybe the inside makes up for it but...not that cute. However, next to the House of the Royals there was a monument for the soldiers of Italy which was kind of cool. They are these giant statues of men, carved so realistically as if they just came back from war, just a beautiful monument.

Ok and something else that they don't tell you about Torino is the bus system. You cannot buy your bus ticket on the bus. You have to buy it at the Tobacco store, pharmacy, or somewhere else that you randomly see. Then you stamp it on the bus meaning its good for the next 90 minutes. So because I did not know this I got on the bus and the bus driver was like I don't sell tickets. Uh....ok...guess I'll just risk it. This woman heard us and gave me her ticket when she left. Thank goodness she did because about 20 minutes later the police came on board to check your tickets and the stamps. Thank you lady, thank you! Also, I forgot to mention that before I got on the bus I felt like I was in the scene of a movie where police cars pulled up to the station from all angles, hopped out and arrested some guy. Totally out of a movie.