Scribbles

Our beloved friends from NY arrived last Thursday night and kicked off our extended MLK weekend. Putting to the first true test of how my apartment handles guests, I think we managed it quite well. For one of our friends – it was her first time in California – we strung together a diverse itinerary stretching from the beaches of Santa Monica all the way down to Orange County. And for good measure, we even trekked out to Magic Mountain for some amazing roller coasters, eleven of them to be precise. And heavy partying in Hollywood and tons of food filled in the gaps. Believe me when I say that I’m exhausted, mostly from the eating. That and some unhealthy eating this weekend for CNY, should be grounds for another detox session.
 
Whenever I travel, I usually hate the tourist traps. And this time around, I’m sincerely glad that we didn’t overdo them. I always enjoy a walk along the ocean so Santa Monica works for me regardless. Walking down avenue of Stars along the Chinese Theater was something I hadn’t done in years. The rest of it was relatively localized: Chinese food in San Gabriel Valley felt like my weekly visit to see gramps; brunch at Farmers Market is already becoming part of my weekly routine; and reliving my youthful days in Magic Mountain, a theme park you don’t expect to beat out Disneyland or Universal Studios when it comes to tourists. Not that I could possibly bear Disneyland anyways.
 

Our laundry list of merry eating and drinking:
LA-y places: Brunch at Farmers Market (meet me at 3rd and Fairfax), 3 am vegan meals at Swingers, self ordered grub from terminals at uWink in Hollywood, the obligatory pit stop at In-n-Out Burgers (where I unfortunately had a small bite after years of successfully avoiding);
Downtown: Shojin (my adopted family in downtown), Nickel Diner, drinks at the Association;
San Gabriel Valley Taiwanese Food Tour: Din Tai Fung, Tea Station, yam porridge at Lu’s Garden;
and a long haul down to the OC for raw Vietnamese food at Au Lac.

 
When I review that list I realize that we crammed too much into too short of a time period. Next time I would tune things down a notch and include a real beach trip for lounging around. Sand under the toes has to be a crowd-pleaser. As for consecutive nights of clubbing, hindsight says they’re excessive. Although it did make for two separate instances of negotiation training. On the first night out, the parking attendant tried to rip us off by charging us another $10 for picking up the car after 2am. He threatened to make us wait until the parking office opened in the morning. I made him unlock the doors so the girls can rest in the car while I talked his ear off for 10 minutes. I’d like to believe it was my fast talking instead of his fatigue that led to him “doing me a favor” and handing off my keys. And on the second night, four members of the crew managed to wrangle themselves into the club for free after missing the time limit on guest list access. The money saved was eventually spent on Tequila, which may not have been such a great deal after all. Nonetheless, I can’t help thinking that our over-partying resulted in missing our planned visit to the Getty Center, one of my favorite places. But hey, no regrets, c’est la vie.
 
All in all, the timing was perfect. After freezing in NY, our guests enjoyed perfect weather here, with most days nary a cloud and temperatures friendly to t-shirt and shorts. On they day of their departure, we bore witness to the Inauguration at home while watching the crowd congregate 2 blocks down at LA Live. An inspiring and memorable send-off to a great visit, undoubtedly with more to come.
 

The diversity of Peru in geography and people opened my eyes like no other place in recent memory. We had a fabulous time in Lima, living the city life and partying with locals. I was lucky enough to take two full weeks off and immerse myself in a brand new country. While I’ve been to other south American countries for work, but never experienced it as a traveler. And I did it while celebrating some very special events with some of my best friends.

Our official reunion took place on New Year’s Eve, where Gino’s college buddy Marcela graciously hosted everyone at her house. Guests came from everywhere, her friends and family, both sides of the wedding couple, random friends from all around the world. I’ll admit that at first the eclectic group from different backgrounds and various ages didn’t click. We battled over the music, we formed our little cliques, we were being uncomfortable norte americanos (euphemism for gringo). Maybe it was jet-lag and travel fatigue that caused the lull in energy and outgoingness. Still a fun night was inevitable. We loosened up and time flew by. The countdown crept up so quickly and caught me by complete surprise. The pleasant part of the surprise was when the older aunties passed out all sorts of merry-making props, like funky 2009 plastic glasses. They grabbed each of us for warm hugs and kisses. If only my family could learn from them and lose some of their uptightness, but that’s a battle for another day. The summer weather allowed us to salsa away on the backyard dance floor while free flowing food and drinks kept us going the whole night. It couldn’t have been a better pre-wedding party.

After a day of recovery, we attended the grand event – holy matrimony for Gino y Laura. The Catholic wedding was a little more special than usual because of Gino’s brother Antonio, whom I met almost 3 years ago at our graduation. Still his charming, humorous self, the man of the cloth led the way in Spanish and English. I still remember the first time Gino and Laura met in Paris. It was the French Week party. There were three of us from our house; Gino and Juan encountered two very lovely ladies (one of them was Laura) while I was introduced to a somewhat aggressive woman that I felt no attraction towards. At the end of that night, I left Gino and Laura on their own while I took the shuttle bus back to Fontainbleau, feeling a bit miffed about getting ditched, muttering to myself a popular Chinese saying about seeing the beauties and forgetting one’s friends. Little did I know from that fateful night, that we would eventually have this beautiful couple, so happy to have each other, and with our full blessings. Douglas calls them the tallest couple in Peru; they certainly are at the top of the world.

Newly Weds Surrounded by Monty Gang

One final thought on Lima – mind blowing food. From all the options available, and there were many, my favorite was the ceviche, fish and seafood appetizer marinated with lime and onions. On first taste, it short circuited my taste buds and went straight to the bliss neurons in my brain. I’ve had ceviche elsewhere before, but it doesn’t compare to what’s offered in Lima; fresh from the ocean (Lima is right on the coast) and marinated with refreshing ingredients. It has to be the freshness coupled with the succulent lime. Back in France, Gino always told us about how great the lime was back home. Then we could only imagine and mouth water over the citrus delight that we eventually consummated in reality years later. But it’s not just me, even the hard-to-please, the world’s least-adventurous self-proclaimed foodie, Peter Guy gives his props to Peruvian food.

Heavenly, Breath-taking, Out of this World

Peru is certainly a gem, and relatively undiscovered one that’s not on everyone’s shortlist of places to visit. It should be on yours.

The boys invented this concoction in Lima – Inca Cola and vodka. Tastes like bubble-gum and and sneaks up behind to knock the lights out. Ironically the locals never mix Inca Cola with any alcohol…

Gringo Cocktail

I survived! Despite two bouts of food poisoning, sun burn, and altitude sickness, I am back home and couldn’t be happier about the trip. More details to follow about Peru, Gino’s wedding and parties, and of course the Inca Trail.

Kiss from Lima