in lima

well, it has been about two months since i last updated this blog, but now's a good of time as any to give you loyal readers (ha) an update on my whereabouts.

currently in lima, peru this week for work. as this is my first time in peru, i don't have much of an idea what to expect. lima is ok - today was the exception, but it seems to be always so grey. no rain, no sun, just grey. it is in the 60s, so considering it is their winter, all is not bad. last night i survived my first seismic activity if you don't count the lancaster experience when i was younger. according to the news, it was 5.8 on the richter scale! i thought i was just having a crazy dream, like falling or something.

so far, the food has been great. i've not been as creative as i'd hoped with the choices (a lot of meals at the hotel), but lots of seafood. fish in a sauce of tomatoes and onions, ceviche, lentils, and sopa criolla (a peruvian soup with potato, cilantro, chiles, and a fried egg on top - which i didn't touch) have been some highlights so far. it sounds like a lot of food for 3 days, but it is not that much. as for the libations, i've been drinking chamomille tea like it's my job. perhaps tomorrow i will cash in my coupon for a free pisco sour.

what strikes me most about peru, or perhaps more accurately lima, is how many american brands set up shop here. like act ii popcorn. i don't know anyone that is an act ii fan in the states, yet here it is popular. or colgate (said with a spanish accent - col-gat-eh). one of the most famous spots in lima is a shopping mall overlooking the pacific, with such stores as starbucks, hooters, etc. and don't even ask how many kfc/pizza hut's i've seen so far.

i'll try to keep this blog updated daily during my two week tour of south america. for now, abrazos.

drink of the week: basil limeade

my days are all messed up with the long weekend, so tuesday's drink is posted today, wednesday.

i had bought a big bag of limes that were starting to turn, so i decided to make limeade this weekend. to give it a bit of a twist, i made a simple syrup (one part water to one part sugar, heated on the stove until the sugar dissolves) and infused it with basil leaves. i also added some soda water in place of regular water, which also gave it a bit of a kick.

verdict: it was delicious. a perfect summer drink, that also can be used as a drink base with vodka or rum. will definitely make again.

what a day

most of my memorial day was spent streaming sex and the city episodes from a shady chinese website with a .cc domain (apparently an island off australia, for those curious). while it is extremely useful to have such a thing available at my disposal, i wish the servers were faster! i was only able to get six episodes finished... a long way to go in my quest to finish all the episodes in time for the movie, which i will go see on the 5th with colleagues.

drink of the week: aguila

this week's brew comes from baranquilla, colombia. aguila is the colombian equivalent of budweiser, i suppose, since they have aguila girls that go to bars and events, just like the good ol' us of a. 

it is a pilsner style beer. it complements the hell-like hot weather and humidity of the colombian coast quite well, it is just a shame that it is currently cold and rainy in bmore.

verdict: j picked this up from well's for $3.99. for a six pack of bottles. that is almost cheaper than water! aguila is a fine enough beer, it gets the job done, and i'm sure i'll have some again when i go back to colombia for work the next time.

adventures in birdland

sunday afternoon, the pets and i heard some fidgeting at the door and thought someone was trying to break in. when i didn't see anyone through the peephole, i opened up the door and it turned out to be a bird that flew into the storm door and temporarily got stuck between the wrought iron bars. poor thing. it was rather stunned and just sitting on our steps for some time and pablo loved it. he even started chirping!